Haiti

Our home study has begun and we are almost through 3 of the 4 meetings! We' re so excited to get moving in this process, but with the home study comes a LOT of reading/homework!

You would think the home study is to look at your life under a magnifying glass and analyze every little bit of it! Although that is some of what the home study is all about,  most of the process is being educated on what we should prepare for, expect to see/deal with along the road, and to help us get ready for a new child to enter our family! With that comes a lot of studying and reading. Our awesome program is making sure that we have as little to no surprises as we embark on the international part of our journey! We are so thankful for that.

We have been fitting in a couple of hours of reading every night. It's all good reading, and important readings, but it just takes time. So once we have tucked our Bash into bed, we pull out our ipads and read, read, take tests, and read some more! Good thing we have each other for company. It's really a good bonding experience for The Man and I. 

I have to say the most eye opening part of this reading has been reading about the state of Haiti right now. I knew it was not great over there, but I had NO CLUE just what it was like over there until I read the travel information.  I encourage you to look at it yourself. Right now it has a DO NOT TRAVEL status, which is so encouraging to me since we will be going there three times. Here are some interesting points I found (Read from the site: http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/haiti.html): 

Overview:
The January 12, 2010, earthquake significantly damaged key infrastructure and reduced the capacity of Haiti’s medical facilities. While slowly improving, Haiti’s infrastructure remains in poor condition, unable to support normal activity, much less crisis situations. While the Embassy's ability to provide emergency consular services has improved since the earthquake, it remains limited. The Haitian National Police (HNP), with assistance from the UN Stabilization Force for Haiti (MINUSTAH), is responsible for keeping the peace in Haiti and rendering assistance during times of civil unrest. The level of violent crime in Port-au-Prince, including murder and kidnapping, remains a concern and Haiti is considered a ‘critical threat’ post for crime.

Safety:
There remains a persistent danger of violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide, rape, and kidnapping. While the size of the Haitian National Police (HNP) force has been growing and its capabilities improving, its ability to maintain citizen security is limited. The presence of MINUSTAH peacekeeping troops and UN-formed police units remain critical to maintaining an adequate level of security throughout the country. The limited capability of local law enforcement to respond to and investigate crimes further compounds the security threat to U.S. citizens. In particular, there have been cases in which travelers arriving in Port-au-Prince on flights from the United States were attacked and robbed after exiting the airport by car (two such cases involving U.S. citizens have been reported in the first six months of 2013). Police authorities believe criminals may be targeting travelers arriving on flights from the United States, following them, and attacking once they are out of the area. 

It is important to exercise a high degree of caution throughout the country. Keep valuables well hidden, ensure possessions are not left in parked vehicles, use private transportation, alternate your travel routes, and keep doors and windows in homes and vehicles closed and locked. You should avoid all night-time travel due to poor road conditions and increased criminal activity after dark. Remain alert for suspicious onlookers when entering and exiting banks, as criminals often watch and subsequently attack bank customers. Withdrawals of large amounts of cash should be avoided. 

Avoid using public transportation, including "tap-taps" (private transportation used for commercial purposes). All public transportation is prohibited for Embassy personnel due to the safety and security risks associated with its use. When arriving to Haiti by air, arrange for someone you know to meet you at the airport.

Travel:
Driving in Haiti must be undertaken with extreme caution. Traffic is usually chaotic; those with no knowledge of Haitian roads and traffic customs should hire a driver through a local tour operator or hotel. Roads are generally unmarked, and detailed and accurate maps are not widely available. Lanes are not marked and signs indicating the direction of traffic flow seldom exist. Huge potholes may cause drivers to execute unpredictable and dangerous maneuvers in heavy traffic. The Haitian government lacks adequate resources to assist drivers in distress or to clear the road of accidents or broken-down vehicles blocking the flow of traffic. While drinking and driving is illegal in Haiti, people frequently drive after drinking, especially at night.

Although Haitian law requires that applicants pass both a written and a driving test to qualify for a driver’s license, many Haitian drivers appear unaware of traffic laws. Signaling imminent actions is not widely practiced and not all drivers use turn indicators or international hand signals properly. For instance, many drivers use their left blinker for all actions, including turning right and stopping in the road, and others flap their left arm out the window to indicate that they will be taking an unspecified action. Drivers do not always verify that the road is clear before switching lanes, turning, or merging. When making a left-hand turn, drivers should be aware that traffic may pass on the left while they are attempting to turn. This is legal in Haiti. The driver passing on the left has the right of way even when the car being overtaken has its left-hand turn signal on and is attempting to turn left.

In addition to vehicles, a variety of other objects may appear on the road in Haiti, such as wooden carts dragged by people or animals, small ice cream carts, animals, mechanics working on vehicles parked on the street, and vendors and their wares. Haiti’s unwritten rule of the road is that any vehicle that breaks down, must be left exactly where it stopped until it can be repaired, even if it creates an enormous backup of traffic. Cars often remain in the roadway for hours or days while often extensive repairs are carried out in-situ. Vehicles are often abandoned in the road or by the side of the road. These are often identified by tree branches extending from the rear of the vehicle. There are few marked crosswalks and sidewalks, and pedestrians often wend their way through traffic in urban areas. Additionally, motorcycles on Haitian roads tend to maneuver in between traffic on both the left and right sides of vehicles, as well as into on-coming traffic. Drivers should check all their rear view mirrors prior to changing lanes or making turns to avoid colliding with other traffic.



I know that it was a lot of reading, and if you want the full read up, look at the site above! There were a couple feelings coming from reading this:
1. Thank the LORD for letting me stay in a country that is so AMAZING. How blessed we are to be able to live in America where people drive on the right side of the road and there are hospitals and police officers that can help us and support us in our times of need.
2. I'm a bit scared to go... not enough NOT to go... but I know it will be an eye opening experience for me.
3. SOOOOOOO thankful we'll get to take our child out of that environment and give them one of love and support! I just pray that we get there before they have to experience TOO much of it!

 I hope you pray for our little one that is living in Haiti right now. They need our love, support, and prayers as much as we can give! 

On the Road

Hey all! Things are happening  in our adoption process and it feels so exciting!!! We're hoping things go as fast as they can, and we can get moving on everything (all the paper work) as quickly as we possibly can go! I'm so thankful for our adoption agency and our amazing social worker they are making everything seem doable in a situation where there really is SOOOOOO much to do and complete!

Right now The Man and I are writing our autobiography! It has been an intense step back into my childhood that I had forgotten a lot about. Not because it was bad.... I just struggle to remember so many specific details (the struggles of getting old... eh?). Some awesome things I got to write about is how close my family is, how much I love and appreciate my family, and I got a good look at how amazing my parents really are. They raised all 4 of us kids to grow up and love and appreciate each other! What an amazing feat! I also love bragging about how awesome my siblings are! They are some of my favorite people on this earth! I can't imagine any moment in my life without them. They have been there for me through each and every moment (good or bad) and I love them so much for it. It has been such a great (and time consuming) writing experience for me.

The funniest conversation The Man and I had about it was when we were sitting down eating dinner and I was asking him about his autobiography and how far he was and what he was writing about his parents... Then I asked him how formal he was writing this autobiography:
He said: " A little bit formal and a little bit informal"
I said: "You are? I'm writing pretty informal..."
He said: "You don't have another kind of writing, that is how you write."
I said: "I can write formally, I just hate it... and I don't want to EVER!"
He said: "mmm.... I don't know about that..."
I said: "It's called voice dear.... I write with a lot of voice"
He said: "I don't think formal writing has voice...."
I said: "well....... I use smiley faces in my autobiography... so....."
He said: laughing at me
I said: "I mean a LOT of smiley faces 
He said: still laughing at me and shaking his head
I said: That's a part of my voice!" (laughing)


On another note we had our first home visit YESTERDAY! We have tons of "assignments," papers, and forms to get ready. We're so excited for this adoption every step we take we get one step closer to seeing our child. Our beloved amazing child that is waiting for us in Haiti!


Thanks for all your prayers and support. Please continue!

I believe this will be our mantra for awhile: