3. God Does The Impossible
After a crazy 10 day rollercoaster of emotions after the earthquake… we were united
with our son on Friday, January 22nd. Here is how the week went down…
Wednesday – Ryan and I drive to Denver to be fingerprinted for the 3rd time by the
Department of Homeland Security (keep in mind the fingerprints expire every 15
months, so yes, it has taken that long)! We are driving home when we receive the call
that all of the U.S. kids at God’s Littlest Angels were coming home. We were told to
be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. We were in complete shock and couldn’t wait
to get home and get better updates. At one point, I look down and Ryan is flying
through Castle Rock going 90 mph. We were excited to say the least. We immediately
called our moms to share the good news. I then realized that we had nothing
prepared to bring a 1 almost 2 year old home. I quickly called my best friend, Amber
(the queen of shopping), and got her on the job. She rose to the occasion and
delivered clothes, diapers, wipes, snacks, toys, etc. for Jeffry. We got word at 8:00
p.m. that the trip was a go and that we needed to be in Miami by Thursday evening.
We bought tickets, finished packing, made arrangements for the other 3 kids, and
went to bed
4. God Does The Impossible
Thursday – We were up at 5:00 a.m. and were in the air by 7:20 a.m. We arrived in
Dallas as scheduled and quickly got to our connecting gate. After enjoying an oatmeal
and latte from Starbucks, we were informed that the plane waiting at the gate was not
in fact flying to Florida. They quickly had another plane ready and sent us back to the
concourse from which we had just come. After waiting there for 30- 45 minutes we
were told that the 2nd plane was not able to fly due to mechanical problems (good to
know)! They sent us on to our 3rd gate and plane, and we boarded and flew to Florida
without incident.
We met up with some friends from Denver (also adopting) for dinner and then headed
to the airport to wait for our babies. We were told to arrive at the airport at 9:30 and
wait in “Concourse G” for further instructions. The plane was supposed to land around
9:40 p.m., but did not end up leaving Port-Au- Prince until 11:00 p.m. The kids and
staff waited on a grassy area next to the Port-Au-Prince runway for 2 ½ hours before
they could find someone to push their plane back from the gate. They said the kids
had a great time singing songs, playing games, and laughing.
5. God Does The Impossible
There were probably at least 60 families waiting for 81 kids, and
I’m sure we were quite the sight to behold. There was media
everywhere and we completely took over a carpeted area in front
of a ticket counter. Through the night there were
cheers, tears, prayers, rejoicing, heart to heart talks and a bonding
that is indescribable. At times we found ourselves laying on the
hard floor using our diaper bags for pillows and trying to get a few
minutes of sleep with other people laying on the floor just inches
away trying to do the same thing. We shared
secrets, dreams, fears and everything in between. The night was
also filled with tons of joking and laughter. Pilots from Vision
Airlines (they flew our kids home) kept us stocked with
water, coffee and Dunkin’ Donuts all night.
6. God Does The Impossible
Friday – The plane landed at 12:52 a.m. Our babies were officially on
U.S. soil! We erupted in cheers. We were now confident that our babies
were safe and would be in our arms very soon. Now all we had to do was
wait for them to go through customs and immigration. Everyone involved
thought this process would take a couple of hours… we were all wrong! It
took 8 1/2! Can you imagine processing 81 children, ages 2 months to 15
years, through immigration? Fingerprints, photos and unimaginable
paperwork. So, while parents paced, sat and slept on the floor of
“Concourse G”, 81 children weresleeping, playing, singing, eating, taken
potty and changed while being fingerprinted, photographed, etc.
AMAZING! Around 3:30 a.m. someone discovered that there was a
Subway that stayed open all night in the airport. I have to say, that was
the most delicious sandwich I have ever eaten! The night wore on and
the airport that we watched go to sleep… woke back up, and we were
still there, WAITING.
7. God Does The Impossible
Around 7:30 a.m. the airport decided we were too much of a “motley crue” and kicked us
out of the now famous “Concourse G”. We were escorted to a holding room, where we
would meet our children, at the other end of the airport (a 10-15 minute walk away) and
began waiting again. The Red Cross, the Miami airport and other volunteers had drinks
and snacks for us. We were now getting regular updates and knew that we would be
reunited with our kids very soon. At approximately 9:15 a.m. the doors to our holding
room were closed and our kids were escorted into the room next to us. Talk about
torture! We could hear them and we were now within feet of our precious ones!
Dixie Bickel, the orphanage director, walked in and the room erupted with applause. She
told the story of the journey to the U.S. and explained the process by which we would be
united with our kids. We were called out 3-4 families at a time (alphabetically by our
child’s first name), met our kids in the lobby with lots of hugs and kisses and then were
able to take them back in the room with the rest of the kids to talk and take pictures with
the rest of the families. This room was also stocked with snacks and drinks for the kids as
well as the parents. There were also items available (diapers, wipes, bottles, formula,
clothes, etc.) for those families that didn’t have time to shop before flying to Florida. So,
at 10:00 a.m. we took Jeffry into our arms and knew that we would never have to say
goodbye again! 34 months of waiting melted away in that moment. At 11:30 a.m. we
collected Jeffry’s paperwork, said our final good-byes and walked out of the airport with
our son!
8. God Does The Impossible
There were no tears from the kids, only JOY! They knew in their hearts, no
matter how young, that they were with their FOREVER FAMILIES! Our sweet
Jeffry was in complete amazement at all he was seeing…
cars, trucks, escalators, elevators, ceiling fans, lights… a whole new world was
before him. We brought him back to our hotel and bathed him and dressed
him, for the first time, in his very own clothes! After his bath, he fell into a
peaceful sleep! When he finally woke, he was starving as were we. What
should his first meal in the U.S. be?
The answer was obvious… Chipotle!
You should have seen the look on his cute face as he peered through the glass
and saw the food… PRICELESS! He filled his little tummy with beans and rice
and meat and a big sippy cup of apple juice! We then drove to the beach (but
Jeffry fell asleep) and sat under the stars listening to the ocean, drinking
Starbucks and praising God for the miracle in our arms! Watching him sleep
between us that night was incredible, his innocence and peace unimaginable.
He was safe and in the arms of his parents at long last!
9. God Does The Impossible
Saturday – We had a very early flight and had to leave the hotel at 4:30 a.m. Jeffry
was a doll and enjoyed eating breakfast in the car on the way to the airport.
Again, he was amazed by all the sights and sounds. He loved flying and was great
for both legs of the flight. His tummy, however, was apparently having some
trouble and so, after 3 ½ years with no diapers, I got a crash course in exploding
diapers times 5! Thankfully, since the last time I flew with a child in diapers, the
airlines have installed changing stations in the teeny, tiny bathrooms!
We were welcomed home at the Colorado Springs airport by 2 big sisters, a big
brother and Grandma Cathy! He recognized his siblings immediately (from
pictures) and began waving at them as we approached. They fell in love
immediately. Our life as a family of 6 is nothing short of incredible. We love every
minute of it and can't imagine it any other way. God loves to do
impossible things, and He did!
Ryan and Naomi Thomas
10. 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!
