I wanted to make everyone aware that Brent's going to Haiti next week. He'll be traveling with the other non-profit we've partnered with and with students from the U of U School of Architecture. They'll be visiting the property that we've purchased and assessing it as well as visiting some other orphanages in the area to find out what works and what doesn't about their buildings.
I haven't talked a lot about what we've found out about Jessica in the last few months. People don't understand how things work in Haiti and how the culture is there. Harry tells us that Jessica's birth father is "a devil man" and that he threatened Jessica's birth mother that he would kill Jessica if the birth mother tried to regain custody of Jessica. We've also been told that the birth father has a sister that has told him she'll send him a monthly support check "as long as he has Jessica". So our Miss Jess is a cash cow for him.
Jessica was granted Humanitarian Parole the same day Nathan was, so technically, we'd be able to bring her home if the birth father changes his mind again.
With that in mind, the other thing we hope to accomplish on this trip is to make contact with Jessica and her birth father. As wonderful as it has been to finally be parents and to have Nathan home, it still doesn't feel "right". It doesn't seem like it's supposed to be just Nathan. It's been a real struggle, particularly for Brent because he saw the conditions she's living in. It still feels like Miss Jess is our little girl.
We're praying that Brent and Harry are able to find Jessica and her birth father and that they'll find Jessica to be healthy and happy. We're also praying that we'll at least be able to find peace about this situation if it's truly not meant for Jessica to be part of our family.
We're praying for miracles.
We ask that you join us with your prayers (or at least your positive thoughts if you're not the praying kind) that we'll be able to get some sort of resolution and peace with this trip.
Thank you for your continued love and support,
Brent and Lori
I haven't talked a lot about what we've found out about Jessica in the last few months. People don't understand how things work in Haiti and how the culture is there. Harry tells us that Jessica's birth father is "a devil man" and that he threatened Jessica's birth mother that he would kill Jessica if the birth mother tried to regain custody of Jessica. We've also been told that the birth father has a sister that has told him she'll send him a monthly support check "as long as he has Jessica". So our Miss Jess is a cash cow for him.
Jessica was granted Humanitarian Parole the same day Nathan was, so technically, we'd be able to bring her home if the birth father changes his mind again.
With that in mind, the other thing we hope to accomplish on this trip is to make contact with Jessica and her birth father. As wonderful as it has been to finally be parents and to have Nathan home, it still doesn't feel "right". It doesn't seem like it's supposed to be just Nathan. It's been a real struggle, particularly for Brent because he saw the conditions she's living in. It still feels like Miss Jess is our little girl.
We're praying that Brent and Harry are able to find Jessica and her birth father and that they'll find Jessica to be healthy and happy. We're also praying that we'll at least be able to find peace about this situation if it's truly not meant for Jessica to be part of our family.
We're praying for miracles.
We ask that you join us with your prayers (or at least your positive thoughts if you're not the praying kind) that we'll be able to get some sort of resolution and peace with this trip.
Thank you for your continued love and support,
Brent and Lori
