Hey, everyone.
First of all, I want to thank you for your prayers and warm thoughts over the past few days. I have received many comforting words via email or Facebook (some by phone too!), and I appreciate all of you thinking of the children in Haiti at this time, and all those working so hard to get them home, including myself.
That being said, many of you have asked for an update and since life has been so busy lately, I haven't had much time. And just so you know, I'd love to respond to your individual comments as they've come, however that simply is not feasible at this moment. Tonight was my third straight night working 16+ hours straight, and I'm operating on very little sleep, so please forgive me if I don't make much sense. Still, I'll do the best that I can . . .
First of all, I wanted to let everyone know that the drop of supplies in Haiti on Monday was a success! We met the donor of the private plane at the airport, loaded all 1500 lbs. of rice, beans, charcoal, baby formula, water, medicines and more on board, and took off. We refueled in FL (in case we had to circle above Port-au-Prince airport before landing), however received permission to land right as we approached the runway. We miraculously met up with our contacts in Haiti at the airport (they managed to sweet-talk themselves right onto the runway!), and before the engines had even stopped turning, we had many of the supplies already loaded in their two trucks. Thankfully, one truck was enclosed and the other had high wire sides (difficult to scale), so we were encouraged that everything would make it back to the creche in one piece. We handed over cash ($10K) inside the private plane (didn't want to cause a scene or draw attention to the fact we were handing over that much $) and after securing everything (the cash was hid in a pack, strapped underneath the pantleg of one of the orphanage workers), said tearful goodbyes to the team on the ground. Oh how I wished I could go with them back to the creche and the children! We allowed our goodbye hugs to linger just a bit, and promised we'd see each other soon.
We were soon approached by a medical team from the University of Miami that had been volunteering in Haiti, and asked if we could take 7 doctors back to the States since our plane was now empty. As soon as they were loaded on, we were off again. We weren't on the ground for more than 3 hours.
By the time we landed again in FL, we had confirmation via email that everything did make it to the creche ok, and that the children cheered when they saw all the supplies being unloaded. A hundred "thank you's" ensued--yes, even by email--which just echoed the words of gratitude pouring out of those we had handed the supplies to earlier. A total success! We were very pleased and considering we were preparing for a most difficult delivery, were extremely grateful everything happened so smoothly. God definitely had a hand in that!
Since my return at 8p Monday night, however, we have seen a whirlwind of activity. We (Judy, Lily, Jean, and I) have been working non-stop to get the required information to the US Dept. of State, the office of Homeland Security, and our families that is needed to obtain humanitarian parole visas that would grant entry into the United States. Requirements change so fast (or are further defined)--hourly sometimes--and so in some ways it feels like we just keep doing the same things over and over again. I know that's not true, however when you've been up for as long as we have contacting everyone under the sun to support us in this great endeavor, it's easy to lose track of what progress you're making, where. In addition to this, I in particular have had families adopting from China or Ethiopia contact me and want further information on details of their process. I feel that some situations have more of my attention now (clearly), however don't want to neglect my responsibilities to other families who are open to bringing orphans into their home, so am attempting to balance all that I can. I don't think I'm doing a very good job, however for the most part, families aren't complaining. I may be delinquent in my responses to them, but overall, they seem to understand.
Things could be happening soon . . . very soon . . . and the "things" I speak of could be very big. In fact, I pray they are. SO many people have come together to fight for these families and their children in Haiti . . . I just hope we're able to pull this off before something stalls the process again. I cannot yet speak to details as any revelation before the time to bring action could seriously hinder (perhaps prohibit even) our efforts. Still, I promise to update all just as soon as I can.
Once again, I find myself asking you to pray and send good vibes our way . . .
Pray for the children who continue to live at the creche despite a less-than-ideal situation and unsanitary conditions (they're still sleeping outside). Pray that they will not only be taken care of physically during this difficult time, but emotionally as well. I can only imagine what they're going through.
Pray for the families still waiting stateside to hold their precious children in their arms. That they remain encouraged despite a lack of positive news and a seemingly endless maze of red tape, and that they continue to trust us (CCAI) as we do our best to guide them through this unprecedented process.
Pray for myself and those I work with, that we are able to accomplish all that we need to in order to get the children out of Haiti and home with their families. Pray that we remain invigorated and operate at our highest ability, despite very little sleep and long hours running like mad at the office, and that our hearts are prepared for the results to come, whatever and whenever that may be. We each have so much invested in these children and their parents . . .
Finally, pray for yourself and all those who feel anything for Haiti at this moment (I am!). Pray that the people of Haiti aren't forgotten after the drama related to the initial crisis is over, and that the country is able to build itself up even stronger than before. Pray for those that support us, who donated to our agency so that the supplies could be dropped, to our family members and dear friends who have been so patient and understanding as we've neglected duties at home and haven't had much time to nurture those relationships . . . that they feel the peace of God and choose to continue to support such a worthy cause despite the sacrifice.
I'll update as soon as this madness is over (or I have space to breath another breath). Thank you all again for your love and support.
~Kimberly
P.S. The 6.0 magnitude earthquake/aftershock this morning toppled structures that were already weakened by the first quake, however didn't seem to do much damage to anything holding firm from last week. Thanks be to God, again, all the children were uninjured and remained safe.
