Most families when they get their adoption referral (which is what we recently got which triggers the two week trip) go to Haiti within a few days of receiving the referral. That had always been our plan. We were disappointed when we found out that wasn't going to work as there were some accommodation issues with the dates we wanted to travel. But Ed and I both have felt God making it very clear to us as to the reason for the need for the wait and can see Gods hand in guiding us through every step. Which I think so often, we forget to see that sometimes our unanswered prayers are really for our protection or for our future blessings.
Point in case, for our socialization trip we actually are going to be flying through New York to get to Haiti.....not the normal plan, but because our trip pushes up against Spring Break flight cost are double what they usually are and the most economical route is through New York flying on a Delta flight. Had we traveled in "our" timing, today we could have been flying Delta through New York. Did you see what happened to a Delta flight at LaGuardia today and the storm everyone on the East Coast is dealing with:
Delta Flight Skids off Runway at LaGuardia
Yup, God guided us right past that one. For sure we would have had problems flying out today, and because we are required to have 15 days on the ground in Haiti for this trip, it would have caused major problems if we had flight delays that delayed our trip. Forecast for our travel dates next week in New York- sunny and blue skies!
Next, we have been hugely blessed to walk through this adoption journey with two other families at our church who are all adopting kiddo's from Chances for Children. This is a huge blessing both to us and to our kiddo's that are going to continue to have each other in their life from Haiti to Clovis. Well, had we gone in "our" timing on our two week trip we would be there on our own. But now, with this delay of two weeks before we could go it looks like now one of these families will get to be in Haiti with us for part of our trip. Huge blessing, and once again, all from His guidance. Not only will Ed, Claire, I and our daughter be bonding on this trip, but I believe this will help grow our daughter and this families children from C4C closer together in preparation for their transition to Clovis.
So, let me keep going on other ways we are seeing His hand. Our daughter currently is at Chances for Children, but prior to that she was at an orphanage that has much to be desired and is a very damaging environment/circumstance to be in for a child (or for anyone. I will tell you more about this place in later blogs and have previously blogged about it before...utterly heartbreaking). The kids at Chances for Children who came from this other orphanage, called Duet, frequently get to go back there and visit their friends who are still at that orphanage. At Duet they have a wall of pictures and there is a picture on that wall of our daughter from many years ago when she lived there, and in the background of that picture is the face of a beautiful lady who is very involved with C4C. On a previous mission trip I had gone to Duet with the child that will be becoming our daughter and she saw that picture. I remember her telling me a little about her time at Duet and how hard it was there and that the lady in the picture loved her so much and made her feel loved during that time. My heart melted at that story both for the tragedy of our sweet girl and what she has experienced in her life, but also with gratitude for all the volunteers that have gone before us, like this lady, and shown love to our child before we ever knew her and when we couldn't be there (side note- if you feel the tug to go on a mission trip GO, need help figuring out how, message/email me and I can point in the right direction). So after that trip I reached out and shared that story with the woman who was in the picture as I knew who she was via Facebook. Well guess what!!!!! With the new timing of our trip, that is the Lord's timing, that lady will actually be in Haiti with us for part of our trip. To able to thank her in person for the love she showed to a child who desperately needed to be loved.....well, there are no words that will be able to express our gratitude, but what a huge blessing it will be to meet her, encourage her, and see our daughter see her again! Yup, God gave us another peek as to why we needed to wait and to follow His path on this trip.
So one week from today is our big day to begin travel and we are SO excited to see our sweet girl again. Claire is going with us and it is really cool to see her getting more and more excited and the plans she has for the things her and her sister are going to do.
Proverbs 3:23-26
Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble.
24When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
26for the Lord will be at your side
and will keep your foot from being snared.
Hebrews 12:2
2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
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