Praying for Haitian orphans

Did you know that to adopt a child from Haiti it takes a really long time? As in, about a year to get a referral and then an ADDITIONAL 2-3 years of waiting to bring that child home. Wow. No kidding. Way to make it so NOT easy to save those children.

That of course is pre-earth quake. At this point it's going to be next to impossible. Trying to determine whether or not a child is in fact an orphan will be quite a task. There are children who have been referred to families in America who will be "expedited" through. This article talks about how these children will get home...

Press Release

(Port-au-Prince, Haiti) On January 20, 2010, 133 orphans from the Maison des Enfants de Dieu (Children of the House of God) orphanage will begin the difficult process outlined by the U.S. Department of State for humanitarian parole and onward transportation to the United States. In accordance with instructions received from the State Department, as relayed by the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS) at 8 p.m. today, orphans along with orphanage staff members have been instructed to arrive at the U.S. Embassy as early as possible on Wednesday morning. JCICS warned that no food, water or facilities would be available for the children while processing at the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince.

JCICS further relayed that orphanage requests to the U.S. Embassy for security and transportation for the children have been denied by the State Department. The U.S. ministry associated with this orphanage, For His Glory Adoption Outreach (FHG), was also asked to stop requesting security, transportation or even water at the orphanage location. Following discussions with staff and board members in Port-au-Prince, the difficult decision was made that all 133 children, including approximately 60 children under the age of 3, will begin early in the morning of January 20th to walk the over 2 kilometers to the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince. This decision was made due to the limited staff available and the increasingly dangerous security situation at the orphanage in Port-au-Prince. The staff will carry as much water, food and baby formula as possible with them for the orphans while processing at the U.S. Embassy. JCICS relayed that once processing is completed, the orphans will travel to the United States on "cargo jets to locations that are not often known until an hour or so before the flight leaves."

Kim Harmon, President of FHG, acknowledged that "this arrangement is far from ideal for the safety and well-being of the children. We are calling to all who care about these precious children to pray earnestly for their safety tomorrow."

Yeah, they are WALKING to the U.S. Embassy to catch cargo planes who knows when to finally get out. I pray that they've made it safely. That is just one orphanage.

So what about the children who were obviously orphans prior to the disaster? What about those children now? How much longer will they now need to wait to find families, especially since there could be a hold put on adoptions through Haiti? I followed some links and found this. At this point, I wish I were screened and approved as a foster parent. I would gladly foster a child until they could get back to Haiti.

Please pray for these children.