Pierre and Ange-Laurette are with us and ready to start a new life in South Dakota! At midnight, we got news that our paperwork was complete, and that the children were OURS. No more waiting...no more goodbyes...no more unknowns. They were wide awake when the Red Cross workers went to help them gather their donated clothes and toys they were allowed to keep. We were escorted to our rental car, where we taught them how to fasten a seatbelt...and how to open the door to get out!
The new experiences and things to learn will be endless! They saw their first fire truck, their first tunnel, and their first fish bowl. They saw their friends Jimmy and Rose Dania on the cover of the newspaper. This is not a very realistic picture of life in America that they have seen so far...but they have a lifetime to figure that out.
Bruce and I are speechless. We cannot believe that we have been blessed like this! We are amazed at the outpouring of support, and we are confident that it was your prayers that brought the kids home. Please do not stop praying for the hundreds of children still waiting to be joined with their families. We cannot forget the people of Haiti. We have all they need.
An interpreter asked the kids what they would like to tell us. He told us that Pierre said, "I want to thank you so much for what you have done for me." THIS from a 9 year old! Ange-Laurette wanted us to know this: "There was a terrible earthquake in Haiti. Everything kept shaking. The buildings fell down. We all tried to get people out, but we could not get them out." I asked her to tell me about her ride to the airport through Port-au-Prince. She said, "It was fine. It was not shaking anymore."
Both children were able to tell their birthmothers goodbye. They know that their birthfamilies are unharmed. We have promised them a return trip to their beautiful country one day, where we would thank their birthmothers for God's most precious and beautiful gift!
Tomorrow we land on South Dakota soil to begin our new life. They have talked to their new siblings on the phone already. This is going to be a wild ride...but one that is nothing but a miracle orchestrated by God!
