3. Love and Care
GLA has touched our life in incomprehensible ways. In 2006 God laid on
our hearts to adopt a child from Haiti. We did tons of research and almost
everywhere we turned we heard positive things about GLA so we decided
to apply there. We were accepted and began the wait for a proposal. In
June 2007 we received the proposal for Alex. We were overjoyed. It meant
so much to us to know that Dixie had prayed and sought the Lord on the
right child for our family. Adoption can be such a scary thing with so
many unknowns, but knowing Dixie was seeking God about who to place
with us gave us such peace.
As the months went by and our adoption process went on and on we grew
more and more impatient and ready to bring our little boy home. One
thing that sustained us was the monthly pictures and updates about Alex.
We anxiously waited each month for our update. We would look at the
pictures as a family and ooh and ahh over the amazing child God had
blessed us with.
4. Love and Care
In November 2009 we unexpectedly were required to go to Haiti to meet Alex. (We
later realized God's hand was in having all of the parents go to Haiti to meet their
children. It was so much easier on the children to fly to Miami to parents they had
already met, than to total strangers!) In my heart I yearned to hold my son, but also
knew how heart wrenching it would be to hold him and then leave him for an
unknown amount of time. Being in Haiti though at GLA gave both of us an amazing
amount of peace. As we watched Molly and Joyce so lovingly care for all of the
children and really "get it" in terms of child development, attachment, and nurture,
we realized that our son truly was in the best place he could be while he waited for
his forever family. I remember the day we left Haiti, literally sobbing as I held my
little boy. Joyce translated for us what we wanted Alex to know and remember. Then
she and Molly held him and Wilde as we waved goodbye. They promised me they
would make it an extra special day for him to help ease the sadness. I clung to that as
we flew back home.
The next couple of months were the hardest months of my life. I grieved for my son
in Haiti and pleaded with God for a miracle to bring Him home. In my Bible on
January 10, 2008 I wrote, "Alex coming home" next to the verse Psalm 118:23 "This is
the Lord's doing, it is marvelous in our eyes." Little did I know that a year later the
earthquake would happen and our son would be expedited home.
5. Love and Care
Although the earthquake was a horrible tragedy intended by the enemy to
destroy, I believe God used it to bring hope and healing to some. After the
earthquake happened, we spent the next 9 days calling and writing as
many people as we could to contact our congress and
representatives requesting that Humanitarian Parole be granted.
Miraculously, Humanitarian Parole was granted and our little boy came
home. I am overcome with emotion just thinking about that wonderful
day.
Fast forward to now and we feel so honored that God chose us to parent
Alex. He is the happiest, sweetest, most creative little boy ever! He is kind
and loving and obedient. We truly feel this is because GLA gave him such
a wonderful start in life. He lived there for nearly 2 years and was
nurtured and loved and fed and well cared for. The professionals who
helped us after we brought him home as well as friends and family all
commented on how "good he looked", how healthy he was, and that he
had obviously had excellent care. We are so grateful to Molly and Joyce
and his nannies at GLA for being his temporary mamas and loving him
and nurturing him.
7. Love and Care
We feel GLA is an amazing place. We are so happy
to know that children who need a place to be loved
and cared for can go to GLA. They truly are the
hands and feet of Jesus and we feel so blessed for the
huge role they have played in our family!!
Abby Hoefer
8. 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!
