There is no guarantee that this will be the way it will continue, but we have been encouraged to hear that parents whose paperwork was started post-earthquake and submitted to the Haitian government in November of 2010 are taking home their children! This news COULD potentially cut our wait time in half. We are not putting our hope in man, but our miracle making God could bring our family together sooner than we ever could have hoped!
This past Wednesday, we had our Dossier orientation. For all of you who just went, "huh?" I'll catch you up. When going through the adoption process, our family will submit a home study & dossier to the Haitian government. More on the home study as we walk through that in the next 6 weeks.
Our dossier is a compilation of legal documents that show we are who we say we are. The documents include a letter from us to Haiti asking for the privilege to bring home our son, birth certificates, marriage certificate, employment letters, bank letters & statements, tax returns, police clearance, Psychiatrist wellness letter, blood work and Doctor wellness letter, (overwhelmed yet?) Passport photos, 3 different picture IDs, and reference letters. If that isn't enough to send you into a locked bathroom and cry...Most of the documents must be notarized, certified and some authenticated! "What does that mean?" and more importantly, "How in the world are we going to get this accomplished in the next 2 months with the kids going back to school and ministry starting up in September?"
We are stepping out in faith that as we get all our tasks accomplished, Haiti will be able to get their tasks accomplished so that our son will not spend 1 extra day apart from us. Our agency director informed us that there are 2 little boys that fit our age requirement whose paperwork has not yet been completed. That means they haven't been there long. God knows if 1 of them is ours. Please pray with us that our little boy has been able to spend time with a loving, caring mother for his baby months/years.
Now if you will excuse me, I need to make my bite size to-do list so that I can take it 1 document (and day) at a time.
ah, the dossier. the forms and what you have to do w/ them is always more overwhelming than it really is. Trust me .... the more you dive in - the more it makes sense. And if I possessed even half the organizational ability you have, I'd say it was a breeze even! :) You'll do great!
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