Our story began long before our paperwork was sent to Haiti on 12/31/07. When we moved to our new home in 2002, we considered being foster parents. We had met several people who were foster parents. I investigated the possibility and the requirements didn’t fit into our schedule.
One day I opened our local paper and saw a picture of a little boy on a swing. I fell in love with him and called about adopting him. The picture was an old picture and they said that his mom had met the requirements to get him back. He wasn’t available. The year was 2004. We didn’t mention this to any one. Our families didn’t even know that God was beginning to soften our hearts and open them up to the possibility of adoption.
As I was organizing my scrapbook papers and I found an old journal from 2004. The entry date was 1/1/04. “Today Leanna asked me for a baby brother. I told her daddy and I would talk about it.”
On July 13, 2004 in Haiti her little brother came into this world. God had his hand on his life. Clifford’s mom knew that unless she got her son help he would soon die. Clifford was 1 ½ years old when his mom took him to her friend at the orpahange. With much love and care, he was fed slowly and he overcame Kwashiorkor. This is a form of protein-energy malnutrition produced by severe protein deficiency. Clifford was 18 months old, and he was never out of the Lord’s sight or hands. Clifford was a chunky 3-½ year old when we arrived at the orphanage to lead a medical clinic. He should have been walking but he only crawled. The well-child examination on him determined that he had some type of hip issue, but without x-rays there was no way to be sure. Our week came to an end and we left with Clifford in our hearts. We had no idea that 2 ½ years later he would have a room in our home and our hearts.
The Lord kept bringing adoption to our hearts. He placed people in our lives that were adoptive parents or were in the process of adopting. Michael and I both recognized that God was up to something but we just didn’t know what it was.
The next August, we had the opportunity to return to Haiti. Prior to that trip, my grandmother shared some articles with me that she had read about Karen Kingsbury and another family. This was the story of their Haitian adoptions. She said that the Lord led her to share the articles with me. I knew that we would be open to the possibility if it presented itself.
I found Clifford as soon as we arrived at the orphanage. He was asleep on the floor of his room and flies were all over him. It wasn’t because he was dirty; it was because it was Haiti. I stood over him and cried. I said to myself, “If I can help it, he won’t grow up like this”. Let me insert that this in no way criticizes the orphanage, if it wasn’t for it being there, I’m sure he would have died of starvation. Later that day, I was holding Clifford in my arms and the orphanage coordinator, said she wanted us to think about adopting Clifford. I immediately said, “yes, we will”. My wonderful husband reassured me that we would pray about it. We talked and have prayed many days about adopting him. We flew out of Haiti with adoption paperwork. At that time, it seemed so far away and nearly impossible.
On September 21, 2007, I submitted our paperwork to the United States Government. We were applying for permission to bring an adoptive international child into the U.S. We were given fingerprint appointments and began the process of completing a homestudy. The personal and financial aspects of our lives were reviewed and we were sent a notice of favorable determination. The paper stated that “it has been determined that (we) are able to furnish proper care to an orphan.” The notice arrived in the mail on Christmas eve and was the best Christmas present.
On January 1, 2008 the countdown officially began. Once all paperwork was in Haiti, the 4 of us began counting the months until Clifford would be home with us and we would be a family of 5. God had so much more in mind for our family than just waiting. He loved us too much to leave us where we were. He desired a closer relationship with us and little did we know how greatly he was going to use our obedience of answering His call for us to adopt.
Holidays came and went. We waited through Christmas 2008 and I cried when I realized that he would not be home for his birthday this past July. The longer the process became, the stronger our faith became.
One night in the spring of 09, I was begging God to bring Clifford home. I was so tired of the rollercoaster ride of up and downs. Clifford had been listed as a girl on his paperwork – twice. I was so frustrated but I clearly heard God speak to my heart, “Karin, this isn’t about you and what you want. I’m building faith experiences in the girls. I want them to know they can trust in me.” My attitude changed and I began to include them in every up and down of the adoption.
At one point, we thought that his mom had changed her mind. We were devastated. We prayed and prayed and found out that she went through with the interview in Port Au Prince. Two weeks before we brought him home, we received an email stating that Michael’s signature wasn’t on a very important piece of paperwork. The girls and I prayed and cried out to God for it to be a mistake. It was! We recently heard these lyrics, “when it’s out of your hands, hold on to faith”. Leanna very quietly and sweetly said, “We know all about that don’t we Momma!”
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