Orphanage in Haiti - Please Pray
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New update...
http://www.gazette.com/news/to...2-denver-flying.html
Haitian orphans arrive in the Springs
Comments 7 | Recommend 5
January 24, 2010 4:48 PM
MARK BARNA
THE GAZETTE
Excited chatter, wide-eyed glances and loving introductions went on Sunday at the Marvin household in Falcon.
Walt and Rose Marvin had met their two Haitian children only once before Sunday, and the Marvins' three boys had never met their new siblings.
So having Anaika, 5, and Vasti, 8, home months before anyone had thought possible prior to the Haiti quake was surreal, the Marvins said.
"This is all a bit overwhelming," Walt Marvin said. "It really has been a stressful last few days."
Thirty Haitian orphans flew into Denver on Sunday from Sanford-Orlando Airport in Florida to be greeted by adoptive parents from Colorado, Illinois and Kansas. Nine adoptive families from the Colorado Springs area were on hand to greet their Haitian children.
Tears flowed when the Marvins saw Anaika and Vasti for the first time in nearly a year at the Denver airport. The Marvins swooped up the children in their arms and gave them big hugs and wet kisses, Walt said.
"This has all been so amazing," he said.
Greg and Melissa Nowlin of the Springs hugged and kissed 9-year-old Mariah and 11-year-old Swolbee. "It's hard to believe it's finally happened," Greg Nowlin said. "I'm really grateful and looking forward to getting them to the Springs to give them a tour of the house."
Because of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, U.S. and Haitian authorities have expedited parole visas for about 900 orphans, about 35 of whom are coming to families in Colorado. Adoptive families are bringing their children home months or years earlier than planned. Haitian adoptions typically take 18 months to three years to complete.
But getting the children home has sometimes been a chore.
In the Colorado Springs area, there are 11 families adopting 18 children from Haiti's Maison des Enfants Dieu orphanage. Over the past week, the families have heard conflicting information from the U.S. State Department about when their children would arrive in the U.S.
Things finally started moving forward Saturday when paperwork was completed to allow 82 of the 109 Maison orphans with U.S. adoptive parents to fly to Florida, according to a statement by Kim Harmon, director of For His Glory Adoption Outreach in Texas. The children were processed, medically examined and lodged overnight in Sanford, Fla.
But on Sunday, Florida's Department of Homeland Security tried to cancel the Denver flight, sources say. That's when Colorado authorities, led by Gov. Bill Ritter, stepped in. Ritter made sure all necessary paperwork was processed, and fought to allow incidental paperwork to be waived and completed early this week, sources say.
Paul and Amy Kinch, who welcomed Wadnise, 9, Djimmy, 7, and Stanley, 4, to their Springs home Sunday, said Ritter was instrumental in cutting through red tape.
"The governor would not take no for an answer," Paul Kinch said.
Springs adoptive parents learned early Sunday that their children were flying into Denver within hours. Accompanying the children on the flight was a medical team from the Colorado Children's Hospital. Families from several states were on hand to pick up their children when the plane arrived at 12:15 p.m.
But not all the Maison orphans with adoptive families in Colorado arrived Sunday in Denver. Ken and Bev Ellson's child, 12-year-old Samantha, never left Haiti because she was one of the 27 Maison children whose visa parole had not been completed.
Furthermore, Florida's Department of Human Services announced on Sunday that orphans would be released only to their adoptive parents, which means Samantha won't be flying to Denver. The Ellsons will have to pick up Samantha when she arrives at a Florida airport, which may not be till Wednesday.
"We are not surprised that everything hasn't gone smoothly," Ken Ellson said. "But God promised us Samantha. All these delays are just another hoop to jump through."
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http://www.gazette.com/news/to...2-denver-flying.html
Haitian orphans arrive in the Springs
Comments 7 | Recommend 5
January 24, 2010 4:48 PM
MARK BARNA
THE GAZETTE
Excited chatter, wide-eyed glances and loving introductions went on Sunday at the Marvin household in Falcon.
Walt and Rose Marvin had met their two Haitian children only once before Sunday, and the Marvins' three boys had never met their new siblings.
So having Anaika, 5, and Vasti, 8, home months before anyone had thought possible prior to the Haiti quake was surreal, the Marvins said.
"This is all a bit overwhelming," Walt Marvin said. "It really has been a stressful last few days."
Thirty Haitian orphans flew into Denver on Sunday from Sanford-Orlando Airport in Florida to be greeted by adoptive parents from Colorado, Illinois and Kansas. Nine adoptive families from the Colorado Springs area were on hand to greet their Haitian children.
Tears flowed when the Marvins saw Anaika and Vasti for the first time in nearly a year at the Denver airport. The Marvins swooped up the children in their arms and gave them big hugs and wet kisses, Walt said.
"This has all been so amazing," he said.
Greg and Melissa Nowlin of the Springs hugged and kissed 9-year-old Mariah and 11-year-old Swolbee. "It's hard to believe it's finally happened," Greg Nowlin said. "I'm really grateful and looking forward to getting them to the Springs to give them a tour of the house."
Because of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, U.S. and Haitian authorities have expedited parole visas for about 900 orphans, about 35 of whom are coming to families in Colorado. Adoptive families are bringing their children home months or years earlier than planned. Haitian adoptions typically take 18 months to three years to complete.
But getting the children home has sometimes been a chore.
In the Colorado Springs area, there are 11 families adopting 18 children from Haiti's Maison des Enfants Dieu orphanage. Over the past week, the families have heard conflicting information from the U.S. State Department about when their children would arrive in the U.S.
Things finally started moving forward Saturday when paperwork was completed to allow 82 of the 109 Maison orphans with U.S. adoptive parents to fly to Florida, according to a statement by Kim Harmon, director of For His Glory Adoption Outreach in Texas. The children were processed, medically examined and lodged overnight in Sanford, Fla.
But on Sunday, Florida's Department of Homeland Security tried to cancel the Denver flight, sources say. That's when Colorado authorities, led by Gov. Bill Ritter, stepped in. Ritter made sure all necessary paperwork was processed, and fought to allow incidental paperwork to be waived and completed early this week, sources say.
Paul and Amy Kinch, who welcomed Wadnise, 9, Djimmy, 7, and Stanley, 4, to their Springs home Sunday, said Ritter was instrumental in cutting through red tape.
"The governor would not take no for an answer," Paul Kinch said.
Springs adoptive parents learned early Sunday that their children were flying into Denver within hours. Accompanying the children on the flight was a medical team from the Colorado Children's Hospital. Families from several states were on hand to pick up their children when the plane arrived at 12:15 p.m.
But not all the Maison orphans with adoptive families in Colorado arrived Sunday in Denver. Ken and Bev Ellson's child, 12-year-old Samantha, never left Haiti because she was one of the 27 Maison children whose visa parole had not been completed.
Furthermore, Florida's Department of Human Services announced on Sunday that orphans would be released only to their adoptive parents, which means Samantha won't be flying to Denver. The Ellsons will have to pick up Samantha when she arrives at a Florida airport, which may not be till Wednesday.
"We are not surprised that everything hasn't gone smoothly," Ken Ellson said. "But God promised us Samantha. All these delays are just another hoop to jump through."
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