Haiti- Continued prayer needed!

Mark 9:35- Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

We all know that the need in Haiti continues and will for a long time to come.  Please- please continue to pray for those affected.  It's so easy to forget when they don't make the front page of the paper. Please pray that the leaders and the authority figures will MAKE something happen to get the orphans and those displaced to where they would be safest as soon as possible.  Safe Families of Indianapolis is continuing to work and prepare for orphans to arrive in Indy should the barriers be broken down, while Indy government officials are doing the same.  That's just what we know about in Indiana!  The same thing is happening all over! There is an absolute willingness and desire to do whatever necessary from so many people around the world, so please pray that God moves the hand and hearts of those in power.  Where is the humanity!?!  Policy and procedure absolutely have there place but to go by the book and sacrifice even ONE more human life because of it, is negligence.


Also below, I have cut and pasted Dixie's blog entry for today (of Gods Littlest Angels orphanage- in Haiti)

And Life In Haiti Goes On...

(Dixie's Blog)

Last updated:29 January 2010 

29 January 12:10 PM

We went out and bought more blankets and supplies to take back to Haiti.  It took 6 shopping carts and 2 taxis to get it back to the hotel. We bought every blanket that we could find because our staff has told us that everyone is freezing sleeping on the groud and they need blankets. Today, I rented a van to go to other Walmarts stores to buy more blankets.  We will also go to Costco to get some food to take back with us.  We will return to Haiti on Saturday afternoon and then start handing out supplies on Monday.

Everyone is so nice to us.  We went to Dollar Rent-a-Car and the people at the counter did what they could to make our rental go smoothly.  We will return to Haiti on Vision Airlines again.  I do not know what we would have done without them during this crisis.  If they had not brought charters into Haiti, we would not have been able to take the American adopted children to Miami or have returned to Haiti with supplies.  Now, they are taking us back into Haiti after taking the adopted children into Canada  I could not have left if I had not know we could get back in!

As we left Canada, we went through securtiy in Toronto.  I had not been through security entering the USA since all of the trouble they had on the flight to Detroit.  It is WILD!  I feel sorry for anyone traveling to the USA.  It took 2 hours to get through the whole security line!!!  I was upset.  How many times has US born citizens been part of terrorists attacks on airlines?  So why do we have to be patted down, step on special mats that are checking for who knows what, and have our clothing and hands swabbed for explosives??  The lines were HUGE!!  We had 3 hours between planes and we needed that much time to make it through security! 

No Matter what the different countries do to make security better, the people who are crazy and try to get things on planes...will probably find a way.  And the rest of us will just be extremely inconvenienced! 

The different medical groups in Haiti are now calling for nurses instead of doctors.  They need nurses to help care for the patient that have had surgery or just with wounds. 

I am supposed to be making an appearanceon the Larry King Show on CNN tonight at 9 PM.  We will be talking about the displaced children and how to find their parents.

Haiti- A blessed day for a little girl and her family!

Please continue to remember all of the orphans in your prayers.   Anything is possible through Christ!!!  He can break down all the barriers that currently keep orphans from entering the U.S.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerindex?id=9600125

ALSO- I have cut and pasted an update on Dixies blog (from Gods Littlest Angels orphanage, below)

And Life In Haiti Goes On...

(Dixie's Blog)

Last updated:25 January 2010 

25 January 2010   11:55 AM

There was some problems with the Canadian transfer of the children.  We did not hear from the Canadian government until Friday.  I had just arrived in Miami with the American children.  My days are running together and it is difficult to remember one day from another!  The Canadian Embassy personel told my staff that there was a flight going out on Saturday night and they wanted GLA children on it.  My staff told them that this was impossible until Joyce, Molly, and I could return to Haiti.  We had told some of the older children that we would return and see them.  We felt it important that GLA children all went together and that they traveled with familiar people and not strangers.  We did not want any of the children traumatized.  These children  have no voice.  I am their guardian and as such, I am their voice.  I want what is best for them and being handed over to complete strangers at the Haitian airport is not what is best for them.  By waiting 3 days, the children will be traveling with Molly, Joyce, Susan, and I and we will hand them over to their families.  We are all just trying to do our best in the worst situation!  

Prayers for Haiti orphans

Good morning! It's a rainy day here in Indy and we're running around taking care of lots of "to do's" :)  I wanted to get out a specific prayer request.  Yesterday morning Hoosiers were given the opportunity to take in some of the Haitian orphans that were going to be taken out of Haiti and brought to Indianapolis.  This morning we found out that these orphans walked with the care takers (2 kil) from the orphanage to the US Embassy in Port-au Prince with very little water, formula, they are out of diapers, etc.  When they arrived they were turned away because of confusion about photo id info for each child.  I'm sure you are thinking the same thing we thought, right now...REALLY???!!!!!  How could they possibly expect photo ID info for orphans amidst a disaster?  Our prayer request is that the hearts of the folks making the call are softened.  That they will get passionate about finding a way to get these kiddos out of Haiti and to safe havens anywhere in the world as soon as possible!!!  Please pray!!!  These poor children need to get out of Haiti!


Matthew 18:20- For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them 

Haiti

Happy Sunday to everyone and YAY, Colts!!!!! We had a great game last night here in Indy and now on to the playoffs next Sunday when Indianapolis takes on the winner of the Jets/Chargers game today!

I wanted to post a few links regarding what's happening in Haiti. I know that this disaster has been on all of our minds lately. While disaster happens in all forms all over the world, each and everyday...We are called to respond to what we know about. There is an orphanage that we've followed for the last few years called Gods Littlest Angels and I thought I'd post a few links to take a look at. They are in need of support, like everyone in Haiti is right now. Dixie, an American who runs this orphanage updates her blog (located on the GLA website) pretty much daily. It's a great way to stay informed on there needs. I've also cut and pasted her blog entry for today, below. Hope this helps! :)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34838824#34838342

http://glahaiti.org/haiti_earthquake_relief

http://glahaiti.org

Deutoronomy 15:11-

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

And Life In Haiti Goes On...

(Dixie's Blog)

Last updated:17January 2010

17 January 2010 10:45 AM

Today, I am walking around in a fog. The exhaustion has finally caught up with me and everyone else! I went to bed thinking I would get a good night's sleep and at 2 AM the nurses woke me up to start an IV on a sick baby! Which just shows that these children are fragile! If I did not have nurses working here and have some medicines in our cabinets, what would we do? If I needed a hospital, it would be difficult to find one! We have 3 more children with vomiting and diarrhea today plus some of the staff. Is it just stress? Is it a virus? Is it something else?

Of course, after starting the IV, then I could not get back to sleep. I tried doing my Sudoku puzzles but I just could not think logically enough to solve them! Finally I went to sleep and then John's alarm went off at 5 AM and the dogs scratched on the door at 7:30. So another night of broken sleep. (PS. any families wanting to bring me a little gift? Bring a sudoku puzzle book. I find them a great stress reliever!)

I look in the mirror and my hair needs a good washing,there are dark circles under my eyes, and my eyes are bright red and blood shot! Yikes, who is that person staring back at me? LOL

Everyone but Laurie, Susan,and I have gone to church. We need church today. We need the comfort of routine and being with other people. Unfortunately, Susan is the only nurse for the babies, Laurie is trying to find water and fuel and answering the phones and I am trying to get some paperwork done that we will needed on Monday! The pastor and his wife will come to the orphanage later to share a little message with us which will be very nice.

I feel like I am walking through sand or knee-deep mud today! I know it is just from being tired, but I have so much to do that I cannot quit quite yet! Hopefully, I will be able to take a short nap this afternoon to help get refreshed a little.

If I repeat myself, forgive me. Days, Hours, Minutes are all starting to run together for me! Can it truly have been 4 1/2 days since the earthquake happened?

For those of you who are following our aftershocks, here is a great web site to watch:Earthquakes.

For all of you who are writing asking me about the welfare of biological parents, don't waste your time at the computer! There is no way of knowing anything unless they contact us. I have been having some parents call asking about the children and the orphanage! We are trying to keep a record of anyone who called but it will be weeks before we can communicate this with adoptive parents. I know for your peace of mind, you would like to know, but it just is not top priority for us right now. Sorry...

I am sitting her listening to my laundry ladies signing and clapping along to their radio which is broadcasting Christian music. It is very uplifting to hear them singing and rejoicing!

We are trying to keep the children's routines as normal as possible. They are all doing well. Probably better than all of us adults! God has given children such a powerful ability to adapt to certain situations and especially if their routines are kept as normal as possible!

And life in Haiti goes on...

Wyatt 7 months today

Hello-Hello! It's another chilly-willy day here in Indy (imagine that??) :) Although from the sound of it...It's chilly just about everywhere else in the country as well!! My friends and family down south say they are freezing there tooshes off too! On a positive note...It's fun wearing all the hats, scarves and boots that go along with the weather. And I think that would be about it for the positive side ;-) besides that, I'm counting down the days till SPRING! Scary thought considering Brandon reminded me today that we are just a couple of weeks into WINTER!! :)

Well of course today is Wyatt's 7 month Birthday! YAY!!! He's somethin else! (I say that alot) We tell him multiple times throughout the day that we want to eat his cheeks or squeezy-squeeze him to pieces. I think the worse part at this point is rather than calling him by his name (which I'm not even sure he knows yet!), "Wyatt"...We've been calling him, "Super Why" for the last 2 months, thanks to grandma introducing us to the TV show. He's going to be so confused! I can hear it now..."What's your name cutie?"...He'll respond with, "SUPER WHY!!" Probably not wise to have your child identify with an educational cartoon character ;-) Well on to today. I volunteer on Monday mornings and Brandon has daddy/son day with our lil man. Today my 2 cuties had a full morning which included breakfast, nap-time, GROCERY SHOPPING (WOW!) and a couple of errands! So our lil guy was an angel with his daddy this morning and I got home just in time to put him down for his afternoon nap. While I was at the Center today and after lots of deep conversation about the world we live in, I was having one of those moments of introspecting...It's been coming to a peak over the last few days. It started with a book that one of my good friends shared with me called, "The Hole in Our Gospel" (by Richard Stearns- Head of World Vision). It's one of those books that makes you take a long, hard look at yourself and if I'm being honest, made me think that I've got work to do! The President of World Vision (Richard Stearns) and his story are inspiring, so I thought I'd post the link to their website in case you'd like to learn more about the amazing ministries they are involved in http://www.worldvision.org/ This man is real, he's honest and he's making a difference in peoples lives all over the world. I'm working on finishing the book up today so hopefully I can give you some very brief cliff notes on my next post. My thoughts as of today are, it's a great book for everyone/anyone to read because it really moves you outside of your comfort zone and to where Gods word tells us we should be if we are truly saved...Baring fruit. Richard Stearns is one of those people that always thought he was living a good life, contributing and giving back until his life changed and his eyes were opened.

And now baby Wyatt is up...Time to go snatch up my cutie and have some playtime! :) Have a great day!!

Big-big hugs to all!!!

Robin

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2010

Happy New Year!!! It's hard to believe how quickly the Holidays zoomed past us this year! We are back in Indy after a few weeks away down south for Christmas and New Years. It's a beautiful snowy day here and FREEZING! I'm sitting in our family room just watching the snow come down while our lil man is still sleeping, cozy in his bed. We have been very-very blessed with a wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year! We had Thanksgiving at our new house this year and invited family in to stay with us. It was a great week to see everyone! It seemed like in a flash it was time to head south to the Georgia mountains for our annual Christmas gathering where my family and Brandon's mom all meet to spend Christmas. It's always so relaxing and just a nice getaway!! It's beautiful, peaceful and so much fun that every year we feel like it wasn't long enough. Playing the Wii was still hot (with our family) this year 3-4 years running now but this year we all managed to show off our dancing (OR lack there of) skills in the new Wii dance. Katie (my cousin) and Brandon (HAHA!) were the 2 to beat!!! I have to laugh when I say that because I've always said that Brandon doesn't have a stitch of rhythm but he sure was kicking some toosh in this game and kept us all thoroughly entertained! For those of you who haven't seen this game yet... Imagine watching a tall man, dance to a goofy choreographed dance of a Blondie song...HILARIOUS!! I'm now wishing I would have taped it! :) From Georgia we went down to FL and returned home to Indy late Tuesday night. Yesterday, we unpacked and took down the majority of our Christmas decorations and today, I'll be doing much of the same.

Of course our little man was a hoot this Holiday! His 1st Christmas!!!! It couldn't have been better. He's a big boy, sitting up on his own and getting his knees under him when he's on his tummy...My hunch is crawling isn't too, terribly far off. His grandma introduced him to, "Super Why" over Thanksgiving and Oh My goodness!!!...It's his favorite! We got him a talking Wyatt/Super Why for Christmas and he just loves it-loves it!! He got his 2 first teeth while down in FL...His lower left came in on the 29th and his lower right just popped through yesterday. He looks so stinkin cute when he opens that mouth of his! We had some family photos taken over Thanksgiving (Wyatt was 5 1/2) months so I'll post those and get back in the saddle on keeping this blog up to date in the new year.

On the adoption front...No news yet, we're hoping that 2010 will be our year in China! Praying- Praying!

Hugs and the Happiest of 2010 to all!!!

XOXOXO

Brandon, Robin and Wyatt