VISA! VISA! VISA!

            Carmelo 3 years old                                            

 

Carmelo 12 years old

Some number for you.

3–years old.  When Carmelo was severely burned when his clothes caught on fire.

1–year old.  When mom and I first met him in a feeding center in Titanyen.

9–months it took for his burns to heal.

2–mothers that love him

1999-March  when he was burned

2000- year we started working on the adoption papers

3–number of times papers expired and had to be redone.

2006–Dec.  paper submitted to IBESR

2007-March 10th  day he is legally our child

8–times since 2000 that I have left Haiti without him.

1–grandma that loved him so much and wanted to make the first flight on the airplane with him

4-number of trips to offices since March 2009 asking for more papers each time we go.

8–inches of the papers I have for the adoption measure in height when stacked up

2-brothers that miss their brother each time they travel without him

17-number of adoptions that I have helped with since I starting working on Carmelo’s

12-of the 17 that have been completely processed during our waiting period.

1-email received yesterday from the US immigrant visa department to stop by and see them this week

10:05am-the time the lady at the window told me that Carmelo was being issued a visa.

can’t count them–tears of joy

This has been a long emotional process for our whole family.  I did not even call dad to tell him we were going in today again, it is just so upsetting when things do not work out.  The visa can be picked up at the end of next week.  We are making plans now to try and figure out when we will travel.  It will likely be a quick trip back to the states maybe 7 to 10 days.  We will do a big trip for a month in the spring with the other two boys.  My mom always wanted to be the one to fly with Carmelo the first time on the plane.  She wanted to answer all his questions about everything and experience it with him.  We miss her so much and will be thinking of her when we do travel.

I want to thank each of you that have prayed for us during this long journey.  We are so grateful to each of you.  Please continue to pray for us.  We will be making plans in the next few days about when we will be traveling.  Please pray that the visa will be issued on time next week.  Please pray that we can come up with funds for the tickets (estimated cost $1400-$1500 round trip tickets for Carmelo and I).  Pray for the boys, Enoch, Lori, Charlie and the wonderful staff we have when we are gone.

We are so very thankful to God that has been with us through this whole process.  Without Him it would have been impossible!

3 years old                                                  12 years old