3. The 20th Update
December 18, 2009 marked the 20th monthly update I had received from GLA
for my son Kenderson.
This unique update was truly a Christmas gift and made the tears well up faster
and hotter than previous updates. Strong, active, verbal, independent, secure,
loud, energetic, content, shy, bright, playful was the list of words compiled by GLA
staff members to describe the little boy who was referred to me at 4 months of
age, I had met once at 9 months and got to know on paper from the fantastic GLA
monthly updates, but who was now nearly 2 years old and obviously developing a
personality.
As always, I clung to every single word of the update, proudly passed it along to
my list of supporters, and relished the responses I received: words of
encouragement and declarations of Kenderson’s apparent health and well being.
The update also struck my heart fiercely. A deep longing to wrap my arms around
this bright, shy, energetic, playful child right now stabbed deeply. It had been an
agonizing 20 months of waiting with the end not yet in sight.
4. The 20th Update
Little did I know that the December 2009 Kenderson Update would
be the last.
I had gone for my nightly dog walk with a good friend who lived down
the street on January 12, 2010 and had just walked in the door when
she called and urged me to turn on the news. An earthquake had
struck Haiti less than an hour ago. With trembling hands and a wildly
beating heart, I quickly opened my laptop and clicked on “favorites.”
God’s Littlest Angels was an oft chosen site and my eyes found it
instantly on the list. I warned myself the opening page would look the
same as it had for the past several weeks; information about
adoptions was never frequent or adequate enough for a waiting
parent. My knees gave way when I saw in bold red letters “An
earthquake of magnitude 7.0 Mw struck Haiti tonight. There is minor
structural damage to the orphanage but all staff and children are
safe.” Thanks be to God!
5. The 20th Update
I couldn’t tear myself away from the TV that night (or for the next 2 weeks
for that matter) and was incredulous to see Dixie Bickel being interviewed
by Matt Lauer on the Today show the next morning as I ate my cereal!
Suddenly, the information from Haiti came fast and furious. What would
this mean for adoptions? My adoption agency (Bethany Christian
Services), adoption advocacy groups, and GLA were working feverishly to
get governments to do the right thing and evacuate children already in the
adoption process out of the country. The next 10 days were a rollercoaster
of emotion and activity.
I continued to work full-time but would check my e-mail constantly for
new updates or directions. The day the United States granted
Humanitarian Parole, I stopped by the store to buy diapers – the first item I
had allowed myself to stock in preparation for Kenderson’s homecoming.
The icy evening of January 20, I was at a friend’s home borrowing toddler-
sized clothing, when the message came that parents of GLA children were
to be in Miami by 6:00 pm the following evening.
6. The 20th Update
I hustled home and made arrangements to fly out of Minneapolis (300 miles from
my Sioux Falls, South Dakota home) with my Creole-speaking friend, Karla, and the
Christenson’s, another adoptive family from my hometown. We decided that the
foggy, freezing drizzle weather that evening, warranted getting on the road as soon
as possible. By midnight we were driving caravan to Minneapolis. We made it to the
specified gate at the Miami airport by the specified time and did what we all knew
how to do best…wait! Later we were informed by Dixie during a preamble speech to
meeting our children where everyone hung attentively on her every word, that there
had been delays in Haiti and a long process of documenting each child in Miami.
At that point it no longer mattered, we could hear the sounds of children in the next
room. They were finally here, all cuddly and warm and full of life; no longer just
photos and descriptive words.
A few moments later, Kenderson was placed in my arms and I began to fall in love
with my strong, active, verbal, independent, secure, loud, energetic, content, shy,
bright, playful 23 month old son!
7. What GLA Means to Me
What GLA means to me:
The amazing thing about those descriptive words submitted about Kenderson is how accurate
they are. When you prepare to adopt a child living in an orphanage, you hope and pray they are
well fed, clothed, and stimulated. GLA goes well beyond the basics. They actively know and love
their children. They promote normal development in every possible way .… and it pays off.
Kenderson and I bonded immediately. When he saw me, heard my voice, felt my embrace there
was no hesitation. It all seemed very familiar to him. When he entered our home, he seemed to
recognize the space from photo albums obviously viewed frequently. I have to credit this to ideas
that GLA provided to waiting parents preparing for their child’s homecoming and by
conditioning him with attention, loving care, and general pampering.
GLA not only excels at their Haitian baby mission but they also become involved in the
betterment of their Haitian community. The earned respect given Dixie and all the GLA staff is
obvious when you visit Haiti but also apparent when you read about the involvement of the staff
in various non-orphanage related projects. I pridefully collect information provided by and found
out about GLA to pass on to my son at the appropriate time. And I look forward to one day
returning with him to the vibrant, loving home of his first 23 months.
Jeanine Scheetz and Kenderson (3yrs)
9. If you’d like to talk about helping God’s Littlest Angels, please contact
Laurie Bickel at 719-638-4348 or lorlor@glahaiti.org or Tom Vanderwell
at (616) 884-8901 or tom@glahaiti.org. Thank you!
