We're home! Haiti was a great experience.
I don't have a lot of time to post...so this one will be quick!
We are doing well. Much better than I had expected! Bonding already. The language barrier isn't as difficult as I had expected either. Jeremy is very shy around people, but when he's just with our family he is all smiles and giggles! (That is until the word "no" is used! :) Something we are working on very slowly).
More to come...with pictures!

Will you pray with us?

Thanks everyone for cheering with us!

Andrew has been busy arranging travel plans. Through out this adoption process it seemed like we kept getting road blocks where ever we turned. If it's not one thing it's another. In the past there have been times that we just didn't know how it would work out and then...God makes a way.
As we begin our preparations to go to Haiti we face a mountain of obstacles. As we try to figure out how in the world we are going to pay for Haiti fees, Post adoption fees, doctor fees, etc., etc., etc.! We are a bit unsure of how it will work out...and yet fully assured that God will make a way. Already we have seen God work in amazing ways. Only God can do that.

We are leaving for Haiti on Monday!
We are actually going. Our little boy is coming home.
A new chapter in The adventures of the Young Family is beginning.

This morning Andrew reminded me that we are facing more than just physical opposition. This is spiritual too. I often don't think about the spiritual battle going on. But it is real. It is nothing that we fear because we know God is all-powerful, all-knowing and the victory belongs to Him.

Would you partner in prayer with us?
We have many things that we will face as we prepare, travel, and stay in Haiti.

We are looking expectantly at how God will show His mighty hand. The weapon of the enenmy is fear, anxiety, doubt, and looking to self for provision....all these things are unstable and do not succeed. But we know and believe that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

Will you pray with us this week?

Okay...we kind of expected something unexpected to happen...it's the story of our lives!

Yesterday, when the orphanage went to the visa interview, they found a note on the door saying that the guy had some kind of emergency and was out of the office.
I feel bad for this man and whatever emergency he had that took him away from the office...but really?! It just couldn't happen smoothly could it?! Oh well.
The orphanage will try again today. They were quite upset about the appointment. They will call us when they've been able to get the interview for the visa.

We know that God's timing and ways are perfect.
This is all just a part of the journey of life.

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There is so much going on this week that we have plenty to keep us distracted and busy...and less time to sit around feeling bummed!

Serve Day is happening on Sunday.

It is one opportunity as Christians to show that we believe what happens outside the church is as important as what happens inside. Serve Day is confirmation of that fact. All Sunday services will be canceled on May 17th for a chance to love our communities in tangible ways. It is pretty awesome.

There are all sorts of service teams. Some will do construction projects, clean business windows, put on a carnival, wash cars, clean up streets, beautify a school, be a team that walks through the neighborhood helping to clean up lawns or install smoke detectors or light bulbs. There will be about a thousand people a part of this! It was so exciting last year! I loved how it brought Christians together for a common goal: to love people, not just in words but in deed and truth.

Andrew one of the main guys in charge of planning, organizing and directing everything that will take place on Serve Day. There is so much that goes into preparing and figuring out how to ensure that it all goes as well as possible.
Andrew is does a great job. He is humble and would instantly brush off any compliment aimed at him, but I know the stress and the pressure that comes with what he does and I know for a fact that he's doing an amazing job!

I'll keep you posted on the latest updates on Jeremy and Serve Day!

ARE YOU FINALLY READY FOR SOME GREAT NEWS?! Jeremy has a visa interview tomorrow! Then, the orphanage should be able to get his visa by mid-week. THEN...we can book our flights! We truly ARE going to HAITI!

Stay tuned for the latest!

Jeremy

Jeremy

In our latest update we learned a lot about our little guy:

They said that if they could use one word to sum up Jeremy’s presence it would be “involved”. He is always right there in the middle! He wants to know everything that is going on, and if he can’t lead it he at least wants to be a vocal part of it.

He has joy overflowing!

He almost always has a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye… though the twinkle is for the mischief he is planning!

Jeremy gets put in time out at least twice a day, so they told us to be prepared! They wrote that he knows right and wrong and just hopes he can scrape by without being noticed. He is pretty good about walking himself into his room and climbing up in bed, he knows its coming so he might as well not resist. The other morning the gal in charge put him in his bed and he got down as soon as she left the room… so she marched him back in and he climbed back up…. And then on a different time he got down and went outside…. He saw her spot him from 50 feet away and before she even headed in his direction he marched himself back in his room and climbed into bed. Ten minutes later she went in to get him out of time out and he was no where to be found. She asked his nanny, whom she had forgotten to tell that Jeremy was in trouble, and the nanny had taken him up to school. One hour later when Jeremy walked in the gate after class, he came walking up to her and said, “I had to get up to go to school, do I have to go back to bed now?” They commented that Jeremy is SO SMART!!! And they also warned us that he’s going to be trying to negotiate all kinds of boundaries with us when we get him home!

He’s a sweet and loving kid. The gal in charge said that she thinks a lot of his difficulties in respecting other kids and authority has to do with being 1 of 70. It just doesn’t suit him. Some kids can handle it, other kids hide inside a shell and never quite come out, and some kids just have to be the loudest, fastest, most recognized child of their age group. She thinks Jeremy does a lot of what he does to get the attention he needs. He wants to be recognized as often as possible. He loves just getting his name called, and being waved to from a distance even if she can’t stop and go give him a high five and ask him how its going. He is thrilled to be picked up and piggy backed across the yard for five minutes time. He does well with positive reinforcement.

Jeremy’s verbal skills are excellent, and he is really bright socially. She said that it’s a good age for him to come home and predicts that he’ll be picking up English in a month’s time. He talks talks talks, and he loves things to be clearly explained to him.

Here's one of their conversations:

“What are you doing?”

“Taking the keys out to Jean Louis.”

“Why does Jean Louis need the keys?”

“So he can unlock the gate.”

“Who is coming to the gate.”

“The trash truck.”

“OHHHH, is the trash truck going to take all of the trash.”

“Yes”

“Can I carry trash out to the truck?”

...And the conversation could go on forever...
















He’s an amazing little boy with so much life inside of him!


Adoption Status: VISA

In regards to our adoption, the translations for the paper that GLA has been waiting for finally arrived to them! They are planning on delivering it to the U.S. Consulate tomorrow (in Haiti).

This is GREAT news!

This means everything has been submitted that has been asked for.
Hopefully they will hear something VERY soon from the Consulate indicating that Jeremy can go for his visa interview. When the interview takes place, GLA is given the visa pick-up slip (which is normally for the next day or two).

At that point, GLA will give us the travel information!

We're getting close!!!

Please come and visit us at:

www.xanga.com/andrewandjennyoung