IBESR APPROVAL!

It is with outrageous joy that we share that we received our IBESR approval last Friday!  We still can't believe it!  This approval came as a complete surprise, as I had steadied myself for another 7 months of waiting.  Because we have three biological children, and therefore do not meet the Haitian adoption law of no biological children, we had to wait on a Presidential dispensation (President Martelly had to sign our dossier).  I was anticipating this would take a full year to complete.  But our dossier went into IBESR in December and came out in July.  Not bad.  I guess it all depends on your expectations.

I was kind of wondering what God was up to.  On July 20th, I had two different friends call or email and say that they were praying for us and for Kervens.  One of these friends posted a prayer for Kervens on her blog that brought me to tears.  And the other friend just called out of the blue to say she was praying.  And right after both of those interactions, on the same morning, I met a lady at our curriculum fair (who was here from Cincinnati managing the Answers In Genesis booth), who was so interested in our adoption story.  She listened with tears in her eyes.  Then she just grabbed me and prayed over me right there at her booth, with all kinds of people shopping around us... and both of us crying.  And lastly, on July 27th (the day we got "the call") I was able to spend some time with my friend, Sasha, who has adopted three times now.  She was such an encouragement to me.  And she, too, prayed for me right in the middle of a public pool, with all kinds of kids running around screaming and playing.  It was an hour later that....

....we got the call.  When I got back from the pool, I checked my phone to see that our social worker left us a message, saying she had some big news to share with us.  As I listened to the message, I began to shake and fight tears.  I couldn't think of any other reason she would call and tell us that we had some big news.  For about 10 minutes I could not get ahold of her.  In those 10 minutes, I kept trying to calm myself in case it was not what I hoped.  But finally, she called back.  She told us the astounding news, that we had exited IBESR!  The black hole of Haitian adoption, with no timeframe what-so-ever!  We are out!!  She congratulated us, and then we hung up.

What happened next is hard for me to describe.  It still brings tears to my eyes as I think about it a week later.  I fell on the bed after hanging up with her, and I began to sob.  No... WAIL!  I could not control the intensity with which the tears flowed.  It was the most passionate moment of worship I have yet to experience.  I have never been so grateful in all of my life.  I mean that.  I have never had to long for something, pray for something, wait for something like this.  Ever.

And Kervens, when you read this some day as an adult, I want you to know how much we longed for you, prayed for you, waited for you.  You were not some random addition to our lives.  We felt the anticipation of you as much as any child knit together in my womb.  Maybe even more.  We feel so strongly that you were created to be in our family.  No, it is not a perfect scenario.  No mama should ever have to give her child to an orphanage in order to keep them alive.  But we are grateful for the opportunity to share our lives with you, to celebrate your life day by day, and to watch you grow into the man God ordained for you to be.

And that is what this feels like now... an actual pregnancy, with a due date.  It feels real.  I am finally beginning to think about a timeframe.  Like... maybe he will be here BEFORE his 4th birthday on May 9th!  That is roughly the timeframe we are expecting based on families that have gone before us.

In order to finalize our adoption of Kervens, we have the following 4 steps to accomplish in Haiti:

Parquet - a series of steps to receive an adoption decree

MOI - a series of steps to prepare for passports

Passport - Haiti must issue Kervens his passport to allow him to leave the country

Visa - the U.S. must issue him a visa that allows him to be accepted into our country

HOME!  Oh, what a glorious day that will be!