2 Tickets down, 3 tickets back

So we had briefly considered flying off as soon as we received notice and trying to get Anderlin home for Christmas.  However - as much as having him home for Christmas sounded super huge and was something that we had always thought would happen (thinking back to last Christmas), it already is hard to image what that rushed trip would have looked like and it would have been significantly more stressful on us and especially for Anderlin.

If you put yourself in Anderlin's shoes - almost everything is going to be new for him.  From freeways to seat belts to Costco to church to big dogs and goats, to cold and wet, to stairs, to busy schedules, to a new home, new foods, new bedroom, new beds, new mom and dad, new brothers, grandparents, friends.  The list is endless.

This picture of Christmas at my parents made me think of how overwhelming it likely would have been to Anderlin potentially.  17 grand kids (of which he would have made 18).  It was awesome for us, but putting the trip off til after the Holidays not only will allow us to get ready, but also we'll be able to keep things more laid back like we are taught is best for his transition.

Not to mention all the preparation for setting up care for our boys (Thanks Grandparents and various others pitching in here and there!), me getting ready to be off work for some time after we come home (lots of catch up and tidying up to pass off to people who are going to cover for me at work), and then packing and getting together what we need to take for us (and where we can be courier for others needing things there).  

Anyway - excited and ready to go ASAP, but also down deep really thankful for an adequate amount of time to prepare.  God's timing is good if we'll rest in it.

Since we're not going till January, we rushed off a package of a few things hoping to get them to Florida in time for the last Agape flights load into Haiti (Non-profit that ships things to missionaries in the Caribbean).   Yeah - it arrived!  Roni (Roni and Stephanie are Anderlin's house/foster parents in Haiti) sent us a picture of Anderlin's Christmas morning, holding some sort of snowflake craft/letter that our gift giver Gabe concocted and had sent down in the package.

We in turn sent down a snapshot of our Christmas morning as well, our last Christmas morning without Anderlin.

I think most of the preparation plans are coming together.  We have such great family and friends so willing to lend support both now and when we get back.  God has blessed us greatly with so much support around us.

We've got our tickets purchased.  2 tickets for the way there and 3 for the way back...

OK'd to travel!

If the Visa appointment news a number of weeks ago made things seem more real and closer, the news we just received makes it seem super real.  We received e-mail that Anderlin received his Visa (From the US embassy) and that he also already received his Haitian passport.

So we just have to figure out the right time to travel - weighing endless pros and cons.  One thought process tends to be - let's travel tomorrow, we don't want to wait another day - which the flights looked like they actually could have worked.  But the other side of things is a bit more rational and realizes that we've been waiting for several years and waiting a few more weeks to find the best time, get things setup right, make sure our other boys are all lined up for their accommodations while we are away, have a little more time to plan coverage for my work, and have better options for flight times and costs etc....

We're leaning toward the later then, going the first week of January.  Hard a little to wait, but the time will fly as we prepare!

So right before we heard this news we planned an early Anniversary getaway to Hood River for a couple nights.  Knowing that we'd likely have Anderlin home or be in Haiti on our Anniversary (Jan 4th) it seemed to make sense.  Then also has been a good time to make lists and prepare for what we have to get ready.  

We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Hood River (Inn at the Gorge).  Each morning while we ate breakfast we chatted with Jack who helps run the Inn.  The 2nd morning we were chatting with him and one of the owners, Michael.  The subject of our kids came up and we ended up sharing that we were on the verge of bringing Anderlin home.  Its always a decision whether to mention that he has Spina Bifida or not.  In this case Sarah did - the awesome thing in the discussion is that Jack shared that a really good friend of his is in a wheel chair due to a motor cross accident.  He is also an engineer and invented a add on wheel attachment (called FreeWheel: www.Gofreewheel.com) that clips on a larger tire in the front of a std wheel chair to make it much more off road worthy (vs the little wheels on the front of wheel chairs).  Was a great discussion of all the advancements and possibilities available for sporting activities (since Hood River is such an outdoor sports hub).  Definitely going to check into it in the future!

Finally seeing the finish (or start?)

Last week (Oct 29th) we finally received notice from the Embassy that Anderlin could come for his Visa medical exam and interview.  This mean that we had exited the phase with the Haitian Ministry of Interior (MOI) - an "8 week phase" that due to whatever (probably summer holidays and lack of motivation) took over 16 weeks.  There's an extra couple months.  :-( 

But nonetheless - we've continued just to rely on God for things that are out of our hands.  Anderlin will be here at some point and as soon as he is, that whirlwind will start and it will be all that we know going forward.

So then yesterday Anderlin had his visit to Port Au Prince to the Embassy and for a required medical exam.  He and Roni (house/foster parent) flew to Port Au Prince for the day.  Roni kept us up to date throughout the day, documenting some of their progress and activities.

Here Anderlin is in the airport with his boarding pass:

On the Airplane

 

The "Waiting room" for his medical appt.

Not sure where the playground was, but Anderlin had a chance to show some skills with stairs and climbing!

 Planning to keep the blogs flowing as it makes sense to document the journey for us to look back on and for any others interested to share with us and/or learn more about how this works for any possible call that God might put on their hearts.

Skyping with Anderlin as we get closer

Well for the last month or so we've been Skyping with Anderlin and Roni (Roni and Steph are Anderlin's house/foster parents at COTP in Haiti).  That's been good although challenging for sure at times with a 4 and 6 year old (here with us) who struggle with nice orderly communication and struggle with sitting still for more than 2 minutes.  They want to bring everything and show everything to Anderlin which at times can be overwhelming for all.

Then there is the challenge of the internet - which on both sides can come and go a little - but overall is great for all of us.  Anderlin is getting better with his speech and having questions for us, but at times does lose focus.  Sometimes his answers struggle and it is hard to tell how much is some developmental challenges or just being under the spotlight a bit.

A number of times as we've closed the call he has broken into tears.  Probably partly as it is always his bedtime when we Skype, but also he is enjoying the time and appears to be anticipating being with us.  This seems like good news!

Anderlin, Roni, and Fanelson (another boy in the Hope House who joined the calls a few times).