Juan Pablo’s 7th Birthday

On Tuesday morning, I returned to the Embassy alone since JP was still sore from shots and both he and Emily needed to sleep in.  The early morning trips have been wearing on all of us, but I’d much rather carry the burden if the rest of my family doesn’t have to attend.  Same Embassy crowd with me being the only Gringo.  I read Psalm 91 and prayed as I waited for the next hour.  The Embassy team arrived on the scene about 7:30 to issue #’s for the 9:00 appointments.  They asked my reason for being there, then asked to see the copy of the passport I was going to turn in.  Though it still needed to be notarized, they wanted to see the document.  Fortunately Mabel was approaching just in time with that document, then I was given a #.  Mabel contacted Carlota, our lawyer’s secretary, who knew of a notary somewhere around the Embassy.  It sounded like a great plan, but time was passing quickly before it was 8:30 and still no sign of Carlota.  She was traveling on those infamous Guatemala city buses from her office to the Embassy, so anything could have been going wrong.  I couldn’t be late for the 9:00 appointment and I was loosing my patience.  Just as I was about to give up on her and walk the other way, there she appeared. 

We walked about 5 blocks away from the Embassy in zig zag pattern.  I knew that as soon as this document was notarized, I’d have to split from Mabel and Carlota and sprint to the Embassy.  That’s exactly what happened.  Running through the streets of Guatemala City wasn’t anything like the Indy Mini Marathon, but I had envisioned arriving to the Embassy gates on time.  I made it with 15 minutes to spare!  Has anything been easy for us in this process?  I went through Security and waited for my name to be called.  Once called, I then turned in the notarized passport copy to complete our final document submission.  Our hope was that we would have our Visa appointment the next morning, pick up our Visa Thursday, then leave either that day or Friday.  I received some news that I didn’t want to hear.  Due to a high number of Visa applications submitted by natives for the holiday season, the Embassy had to reallocate resources to that department. Hence, our Visa appointment would be pushed into next week.  I explained that our hearts were set on leaving this week and asked if anything could be done, but no solutions were offered.  I grieved to share this news with Emily later.  Our probable schedule now looks like this: Visa interview Monday, Visa pick up on Tuesday, leave for home on Wednesday.  Please pray for this as we are weary and just ready to come home.

Today is Juan Pablo’s 7th birthday.  To celebrate, we again stayed at the Tikal hotel and started off the day swimming.  JP just can’t get enough of it. He says that swimming makes his legs feel better from the shots and his legs only hurt when he is not swimming.

First experience with the robes:

We checked out of the hotel, walked around the mall, bought JP some new shoes and a couple toys for his birthday, then headed back to the Buckner office where we’d stay for the night.  JP’s birthday party was set for 5 pm at the baby home.  Our friends Jenny, Mabel, and Abi took the load from us and worked out all the details – invitations, food, games, etc.  This was not only going to be JP 7th b-day party, but also a going away party.  All of the Buckner staff and friends from the orphanage were invited.  JP had a surprise visitor as his friend Jose, who is now living with his grandmother, was able to come. 

No Guatemalan birthday can officially start without a pinata bash, so a defenseless Spiderman form was hung up for each child to demolish.  Candy for everyone!

We’re so glad that we could celebrate this day with those who Juan Pablo knows to be his first family.  Many of those at the party have made a great impact on JP’s life.  We’ve been told that they are sad to see Juan Pablo go, but know that he is in the right place with his new family.  Emily and I also knew this would be our last time with all of the precious children, JP’s brothers and sisters, as one group and in the same place.  At this time next week, it’s expected for all of the children to have gone and joined a new home.  It’s sad to consider the thought of it all, but tried to make the best of our time by loving and playing as we would any other visit. 

 

Look at how Starsky and Hutch intimidate the enemy with lethal foam rounds…..

We praise God for Abi and Jenny for their friendship and labor for not only Juan Pablo, but the rest of the children.  We pray that the Lord will reward them for their service. 

Today brought encouragement for us in light of our additional week ahead.  We appreciate all of the Happy Birthday wishes we’ve received for JP today either via email or Facebook.  He was happy to hear about each one as we passed them along.  Please continue to pray for us in that we receive a confirmation email about our Visa appointment.

Once again, Feliz Cumpleanos hijo!

Final Documents and Medical Appointment

We submitted our final documents to the Embassy this morning.  At that point, we received the orange form for JP’s medical appointment.  We quickly called the clinic right away and scheduled his appointment for noon.  Sometimes you have to wait a day in order to schedule that visit, so we are thankful that God opened a door for that to happen.  The doctor who examined Juan was very informative and spoke clear English, which helped us quite a bit especially when discussing medical history.  As we discussed JP’s history, the doctor recommended a few options for us when arriving back to the states in regard to his condition and an existing swollen node that causes occasional pain.  This doctor also explained to us the 3 medicines we had been giving to JP on this trip.

In order to complete the medical paperwork for the US Embassy, it has to be documented that the adopted child is up to date of vaccinations.  Unfortunately, we don’t have any of JP’s medical records from his early years during which he may have received certain vaccinations.  The homeopathic physicians were concerned that some vaccines would conflict with Juan’s condition, so they prepared a brief document with the recommendation to avoid said vaccines.  We had to make a difficult decision as the examining physician disagreed with the letter and we were told that the Embassy wouldn’t give us a Visa without our son having all of the vaccines.  We had to consider the effects the vaccinations would have on JP, but at the same time we want to bring him home to Indiana.  We chose the latter and prayed that the vaccinations would not harm JP.  The hard part came when JP heard that four letter word that makes most children cringe: SHOT.  We all anticipated him not receiving any injections, so we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare and build up our son to receive the 4 shots that were to come.  A few nurses entered the small exam room with needles in hand.  JP began to panic and cry.  He squirmed around on the table as his pants were pulled down for injections into his thighs.  The nurses asked me to hold down his legs so that they could stick him.  I couldn’t bear his tears as he fought against what was about to happen.  Emily left the room as she too couldn’t witness her son in distress and pain.  I knew it had to be done, so I put all pressure down on his knees to lower legs.  I tried to calm JP down, but he yelled and cried as each of the 4 shots were given.  The cute little band aids didn’t cover his pain when it was all over.  Emily re-entered and we tried to calm him with our love hoping that he wouldn’t hate us for making him go through the pain.  I later told him that it had to be done in order to come with us to his new home.

We returned to the babies home to pick up Abi and Alejandra to join Mabel, JP, and I for some lunch at Nais.  Mabel and Abi have both worked diligently in our adoption and have lived selflessly to put the needs of the children first. We are a planning a party for Juan Pablo on his birthday, which is this Wednesday.  This will fiesta will serve as both a birthday and going away party.  All of the Buckner staff will be invited along with some of JP’s friends.  Some good friends are coordinating the event, which will include pizza, cake, ice cream, and a pinata. 

To reward JP for his bravery after today’s medical exam, we promised him that we’d stay in the hotel and he could swim as much as he wanted.  So, we’ve returned to the Tikal hotel, which is where we stayed at on Thanksgiving.  We’ll stay here Monday and Tuesday night, then probably head back to the Buckner office.

We learned later in the day that one of our final documents delivered today needed to be corrected.  The copy we made of JP’s new passport needs to be authorized by a Guatemalan notary.  So, it’s back to the Embassy in the morning to submit this corrected document.  Pray that we will quickly find a notary who authorize this document for us.  Once turned back over to the Embassy, we’ll wait to receive an email about the date/time of our Visa appointment.  The days until we return home are few!

Big Week Ahead

On Friday evening, we prepared all of our final documents that the US Embassy requires for a VISA appointment.  There are 4 documents that we were able to mark on the check list, all of which required a fight to obtain.  God is good and we’re so thankful that we have arrived at this point.  Our final document packet will be reviewed by the Embassy and if all is well, they will schedule a final exit interview during which JP’s new VISA will be issued.  Tomorrow morning we will again hit the Embassy around 7 AM to draw a # and return at 9 AM to enter the Embassy and turn in our documents.  Pray for our submission in that it would include everything and not have any faults.  We’re excited at the possibility of returning to the US this week!

Visit with Danny

We topped off our stay at the hotel with an awesome buffet breakfast, which served as a brunch for us.  This was yet another blessing as we didn’t think the meal was included with our stay.  We just so happened to run into another adoptive mom in the hallway, who was returning from breakfast and confirmed that a free meal awaited us.  This was a great supplement to our Thanksgiving dinner the night before.

No crazy Black Friday plans for us in Guatemala, but planned to travel to see JP’s friend Daniel.  Danny and JP were several of the first children in the Buckner baby home and spent 3-4 years together.  Over that period of time, they established a brotherly bond, that was recently broken up by the Buckner home closing.  Danny was placed in a home called Casa Bernabé, which is a Christian founded institution consisting of 160 kids, half of whom are permanent residents.  The other half are either adoptable or capable of being placed into a foster family.  We felt that God wanted us to visit Danny before we left Guatemala and thought perhaps that is the reason our case is carrying over to another week.  Our purpose for the visit was to reconnect he and JP, to let him know that he wasn’t forgotten and was loved, but more importantly that his heavenly Father would always be with him. 

Thanks to our friend Harvey Burkholder for changing his schedule around to accommodate taking us to Casa Bernabé, which is a place he works with through his organization.  We arrived at the Casa Bernabé campus and first saw its large soccer field and playground around which children were already playing.  Next to the playground is their school house, then up the hill the administrative offices and houses.  The entire campus spans across 13-acres.  Already we could tell that this appeared to be a vast, safe place for Danny. 

We pulled up near the main offices where Danny just so happened to be at.  JP gave a shout out to his pal and they began conversing through the van window.  In no time, JP was out out the vehicle and embraced his friend.  They began talking at rapid speeds to catch up and JP gave him some candy we brought along. Together, they walked alone and away from everyone else across the soccer field.  One could only imagine what their conversations were like in those moments. 

 

Emily and I chatted with one of the staff members who gave us an update on Danny’s status at the orphanage.  She told us that he cries a lot and misses his old nannies and friends at Buckner.  The situation would be devastating for any child that age who had spent nearly 4 years in one place, then to be relocated to a new home.  He lives in one home with house parents (mom and dad) and 14 other children.  At CB, he is well nurtured, has a family structure, new friends, attends school, learns about Jesus, and has a large area in which he can play.  Additionally, we were told that he meets with a psychologist once a week to discuss his feelings.  This all sounds wonderful, but it will take time for Daniel to adjust to this new world of his.  

We were able to see the home in which he stays and meets the house mother.  The home is called Casa Samuel.  Daniel seemed excited to give us a tour of the house and invite us into his room to show his room and bed.

 

Danny and JP spent some time on the playground where conversation continued.  It is obvious that these two are so close and share an extensive history.

 

 

Our limited stay was almost up as the lunch bell had rang.  It seemed as though seeing some familiar faces would have helped Danny, but through the tears and clinginess, we questioned or visit.  Emily, JP, and I surrounded our friend before leaving to pray over him.  We can only trust the Lord to bring peace, comfort, and the the strength to grow in this new place.  We told Danny that we would stay in touch via email and share photos from back home.  When Daniel was in the Buckner orphanage and our team had left after a week, Estuardo began to cry. Danny comforted him by assuring him that we would always be back.  Hopefully by our visit, his promise to a friend was fulfilled to bring him much needed comfort.  Please lift this special one up in prayer that God would continue to work on his heart and have a continual relationship with his heavenly Father.  We hope to return to see him, but are hopeful also in future visits to Casa Bernabé by other friends.

We headed back to the Burkholder’s house for a while until we would depart together back to San Cristobal.  JP played with their 3 children in the back yard, then rode bikes in the front.  Harvey built a long caged in area for 3 rabbits they bought for their kids.  It was entertaining to watch Juan burn off energy in his attempt to catch these quick conejos:

After over an hour drive through traffic back to San Cristobal, we arrived at the Paiz complex where we had some McDonald’s, then hit the barber shop for a much needed hair cut.  We don’t really have a lot of plans for the weekend, but are planning to mainly stay in, relax, and pray over our big day on Monday when we submit our final documents to the US Embassy!

Passport on Thanksgiving

After a landmark day of getting the new birth certificate, we again arrived early at RENAP to pick up our final processed file that was needed to take to immigration for the new passport.  The usual crowd was standing in line at RENAP.  Carlota met us 5 minutes after our arrival and we proceeded through the gates easily unlike the day before when we prayed and fought our way through.  I stood on the other side of the window as a lady from RENAP flipped through folders in a filing cabinet.  I was praying that ours was there and that it was ready for pick up.  After a minute of searching she pulled out our file and slipped it under the window.  Everything was fine and RENAP had approved that file containing documents from the CNA and family court.  Whew!  That was probably the easiest thing of this trip and our last visit to that place.

We were off to immigration with peaceful hearts and figured that we’d go through the process of paying for passport processing in one store, then simply go into immigration and get his new passport.  I’m afraid it wasn’t that easy.  The processing department informed us that a supervisor had to approve our file from RENAP.  No problem. We walked over to immigration, handed over our file to someone who had been familiar with our case, and it was signed off, which meant we could go ahead and pay for the fee for JP’s new passport.  We re-entered immigration, stood in line, and were asked to have a seat in another room.  As we waited several people stopped by and asked questions about our file from RENAP.  Mabel was completely frustrated since we had anything and everything we needed for them to issue the updated passport.  After an hour or so, someone of authority came and explained that everything was fine, but we just needed to make a photocopy of our packet, which was 28 pages with some being front and back.  So, as my friend Harvey would put it, we turned the other cheek and left to make a photocopy.

Believe it or not, the copying business seems to be a booming one here especially if you’re located around the immigration office.  We waited in line for nearly an hour to enter a room where there were two aged copy machines.  The man running the operation was thorough with the workflow of determining the paper size, adjusting the copy settings, lifting the scanner cover, placing a document face down on the glass, hitting a button, then waiting.  As I waited, my impatience was setting in as I kept thinking about a duplex copy machine with an automatic document feeder that could save so much time!  But, I had to be thankful that there was a copy outlet just a few doors down from immigration.  With our copy in hand, Mabel and I re-entered immigration to meet back up with Emily and JP who had been waiting together all that time.  Emily was praying as JP was glued to a continuous showing of Monsters Inc.  Together, we waited a little while in a corrections line and finally made it to the attendant.  We had to complete a form with the spelling of our full names, then that of Juan Pablo Wiggins.  Has a nice ring to it :)  We’ve been trying to teach JP his new last name, which was one of the questions the man asked JP.  He’ll remember it in time, but failed to come up with the answer on his own. 

An additional step for us in the passport process is that JP had an old passport and medical VISA.  So, immigration had to first cancel his old passport with his previous last name.  This was done and we were on our way through for a photo for the new passport.  JP sat down and smiled for the camera as the image captured would appear on his ticket for entry into the US. I signed the pen pad to authorize the passport.  My signature appears directly below the photo on the passport.  We were then passed back out into the lobby to wait for the printing of the new passport.   As people’s passports would become ready, their picture would appear on a TV screen.  JP’s never appeared there, but rather, I was called up to pick it up.  The passport was hot off the press, but I quickly opened it to review the bio page.  His new picture and name were clearly inscribed.  I held it up in victory as I walked back to my wife and son.  Praise God for this moment for we wouldn’t have made it through without his grace and strength.  It’s now even more official as Juan Pablo Wiggins has a birth certificate and passport.  Here’s a picture we took later of him with these two items:

 

To celebrate the blessings from the adoption process this week and Thanksgiving, we decided to stay at the the Grand Tikal Futura Hotel.  We discussed staying at a great hotel days before knowing that we’re leaving for the US, but we decided that an early break in lodging was necessary.  After all, we were looking forward to the indoor heated pool, comfortable beds, a Thanksgiving meal, and the relaxation of a hot shower or bath.  The hotel was beautiful and was the perfect resort in which we could celebrate.  Our first initiative was to go for a swim.  There was a full sized and kiddie pool, both of which were heated.  I had been teaching JP to swim little at a time, but it just took him observing someone else doing the breast stroke, then he decided to try that motion to swim to me.  We already know he is fearless, so that attitude helped with separating himself from me to swim.  We are proud:

The pool area also had ping pong and foosball tables, so we messed around with that for a while. 

We were bummed that we couldn’t be home with the rest of our families to celebrate Thanksgiving, but know that they were thinking and praying for us.  December should be a big month of celebration!  We met up with 2 other couples in the adoption process at the hotel: the Cruz’s and the Emch’s. 

The hotel restaurant was decked out for the event and prepared food from a variety of cultures.  We did have turkey, mashed potatoes, and rolls, but missed out on the noodles, sweet potato casseroles, etc that we would have back home.  We had a great time getting to know both families over dinner and tried to encourage one another as we share the common cause in Guatemala adoptions.  Afterwards, Stacey Emch was kind enough to take some pictures of us in the hotel lobby, which was set beautifully adorned for the Christmas season. 

  

Psalm 107:1
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Birth Certificate Received!

Today we visited RENAP to request escalation of the release of JP’s new birth certificate.  When we went on Monday to submit a final requested document to RENAP, we were given a ticket to come back for an appointment December 1st.  Even on that date, there wouldn’t be a guarantee that our file would be processed and BC released.  We knew that it would require a miracle for us to receive the BC today, but didn’t anticipate experiencing such spiritual, emotional, and physical strain.  A battle awaited us, but we were equipped with the provision of the Lord.

We arrived to RENAP a little after 7 AM so that we could avoid the lines and crowd, though people were already filling up the sidewalks just outside the building.  More importantly, we were there that early to speak with the director of the BC/adoptions department in an effort to persuade faster processing of the birth certificate.  As we waited in line, staff from RENAP began to patrol the lines asking people what they needed.  A female supervisor greeted us and Carlota (our lawyer’s secretary) and Mabel (our Guat. case manager) began to explain the situation that we were told to come back this morning to speak with the director.  She wasn’t buying our story and responded by saying we needed a written order to proceed to speak with the director.  This lady was confident in standing her ground not to mention she was a bit grumpy.  After more conversation between this woman and our representatives, it seemed that the situation was impossible.  Looking through the outside gates guarded by 2 men with guns and the verbal opposition, it seemed impossible for us to advance.  This scene brought back the memory of our time in the Embassy months ago when we were told through a window that we would never be able to adopt Juan Pablo.  I remembered that through that hopeless situation, God was faithful to deliver us, so we were going to trust Him in this one.  Sometimes we need to reflect on God’s past to trust him in the present. 

Surrounded by Guatemalans, Mabel began to pray in Spanish as we circled together in our position against the enemies.  Her prayer was one against the opposition and a call for the Lord’s presence with us.  In those moments, we are confident that the Lord sent a host from heaven to be with us and to move forward into the building to build favor for us in the heats of the staff who would deal with this case.  We knew that we couldn’t just give up, but rather, by faith, put on the armor and fight.  Our intent was to remain at the door until the public window opened at 9.  During that time, Carlotta again pleaded with no avail and the woman continued to ask us to come back the following week.  Instead of leaving we stood outside the door praying.  The supervisor returned and wasn’t pleased that we were still standing there, which in doing so disorganized her system.  I’d hate to tell her, from the street view in the afternoon, the system completely falls apart!  We shifted back away from the gates a bit and in doing so, she asked if I spoke Spanish.  In my affirmative response, it also seemed to hit her that we were JP’s parents.  In this first sign of favor, I was asked to step aside into a room where I could wait to be attended.  The woman didn’t allow Mabel or Carlota to enter and continued to show opposition to them.  As we sat down in this smaller room, I studied each wall’s sign to figure out which might be the best one to approach to explain case.  I started by sitting in a chair at the corrections desk where I spoke with an attendant who didn’t have a computer, so I figured I would be passed along to someone else or somewhere else if I did make it through.  She listened to my story of already submitting adoption documents and our need to get JP to the US.  Mabel snuck in and more clearly explained what needed to happen, then the person went inside for follow up.  The connection had been made!  We sat there for another hour until our big bad lady friend came back in.  She informed us that they had our file and were working on it!  We couldn’t believe how the direction had changed once again.  We sat in the room praying for the next hour trying to keep JP occupied with a sticker book, 2 generic games on the cell phone, and some hang man.  He really did well for us once again for as long as we waited today, but it’s hard to keep any child that age to keep still for that period of time. 

A woman sat by Emily and told her in Spanish that great faith was required and more that I didn’t quite understand.  The supervisor had some words with Mabel and Carlota outside, which at first worried us, but were later assured when Mabel looked in with a smile and a thumbs up.  Our case was still a work in progress, but we were willing to wait as long as it took.  All we wanted was the birth certificate in our hands!  I noticed some of the staff in our room showing some frustration with the responsiveness of their system.  Eventually, I began seeing some Windows errors on different monitors to indicate that their server was experiencing problems.  We were told that we could wait, but it may be best to return in the afternoon.  We took the hunch that maybe they wanted us to clear out while the system was repair, so we walked a few blocks down the road for an early lunch.  After returning to RENAP, we resumed sitting in that same room and informed the staff that we were back, but unfortunately our certificate wasn’t ready.  It did appear, however, that the system was back up and running and normal operation had commenced.  A bit later, the supervisor came and asked if we had JP’s cert #, a couple other #’s associated to JP which we didn’t have with us.  God had placed us in the right place as we were sitting at the back of the room, but in front of a younger employee who had grown fond of JP through the hours we were there.  Mabel, under the radar of the supervisor, asked his girl for the information being requested.  She searched and found that data and wrote it down on a paper for Mabel to return.  We had a few discussions with that girl earlier and we knew she fell in love with JP and knew our position, so she didn’t hesitate to help.  We provided our passports so that the correct spelling of our last name wouldn’t be misinterpreted on the new BC.  We waited a little while longer when Mabel returned asking for 100 quetzales (~13 US dollars), which made us believe we were about to check out. 

About 10 minutes later, I headed toward the window in the main building where our representatives were standing and they were actually walking toward me.  They had the new birth certificate in hand!  The battle had been won, but we determined to have already been victorious by faith.  We rejoiced in this moment that marked a huge step for us toward the end of the adoption.  Emily had tears of joy rolling down her cheeks as this burden had been lifted.  I had to stop and review the BC to ensure this had all happened.  Indeed it had, as the name JUAN PABLO WIGGINS was clearly typed across all 5 original copies of the new BC.  When we returned to the car, we circled again to offer praises to the Lord who had proved his faithfulness once again.  Mabel reminded all of us that nothing is impossible with God.  We trust that the Lord responded to our requests today.  We know that we weren’t alone in this battle as all of our faithful family and friends have been lifting us up in prayer.  Mountains had been moved today and walls torn down.  We can attest that:

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:16)

Tomorrow we will be getting Juan Pablo’s passport.  Fortunately, these offices are opened on Thanksgiving and the day after unlike the US Embassy.  Along with the BC, passport, and translated final documentation, we should be ready to deliver our case to the Embassy on Monday for the last time.

What a day!  Upon returning to the office this afternoon, Emily finished reading our devotion for the day, which is from Psalm 50:14-15, which reads:

¹⁴ Offer to God thanksgiving,
         And pay your vows to the Most High.
¹⁵ Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
         I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

This scripture was fulfilled for us that in this day of trouble, the Most High delivered us.  To him we give all the thanks, honor, and glory.  We will celebrate this Thanksgiving with thankful hearts, praising Him for all that He has done for us especially in carrying us through this great test.  I’m thankful for my new family: Emily, JP, and Samuel. 

Jay County Commercial Review Article

Emily was interviewed some time ago for a future story to be published in the Commercial Review newspaper in Portland.  This was published in today’s paper as a Thanksgiving special.  Here is the article pasted from thecr.com:

Bringing him home

Virginia Cline

11/25/2009 12:11:00 PM

Juan Pablo is held by his “special friends” John and Emily Wiggins, soon to be his adoptive parents. A garage sale during this year’s engine show helped the couple in their persistent efforts to build a future for their new son. (Photo provided)

When a young married couple attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert four years ago, they had no idea it would lead them to a third world country and into the heart of one special boy.
Emily Wiggins, a Portland resident who lived in Terre Haute at the time, said Chapman talked about mission trips and adoption during his contemporary Christian music concert.
"That started the discussion," Emily said with her husband John. She had always wanted to take a mission trip.
Her dream became reality when she and John visited Guatemala with a team organized by Buckner International in Dallas, to help with "Shoes for Orphan Souls."
Fellowship Baptist Church in Portland helped the couple collect 1,000 pairs of shoes and socks. They visited nine different orphanages where they washed the feet of orphans, passed out the shoes and socks and taught Bible school.
"We were just so excited," Emily said.
Upon returning home, they organized their own mission trip. Emily, John, Emily’s parents Kim and Bill McAbee, sister Hannah and approximately 10 friends from Maryland Community Church in Terre Haute set off for Guatemala.
This time the group only visited three orphanages; one was for boys with special needs. They cleaned and painted in the mornings and taught Bible school in the afternoons.
In the meantime the young couple was planning their family and Emily eventually had three miscarriages. It was a "really hard time for us spiritually," Emily said. She said they were on their knees praying and didn’t know what God was doing with their lives.
"Maybe God wanted us to adopt," Emily thought. They took their advice from the Bible in James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (New International Version).
The couple was pre-approved for a baby but didn’t feel peace about it. We "didn’t receive word from God," Emily said.
Later Emily and John mentored another girl to become a mission leader. Their church in Terre Haute decided to make two mission trips a year to Guatemala. While at the airport returning home, their pastor wrote a blog at http://www.wiggsworld.com.
Emily remembers reading the blog about a young boy named Juan Pablo from Guatemala who was in a gas explosion when he was three months old. He was taken to a hospital and abandoned by his parents. As the pastor looked at the picture he had taken of Juan Pablo, he didn’t see the scars that were on his face from the accident. He only saw the beauty – how Jesus would see him. The pastor recalled playing ball with him and throwing him in the air. He said his laugh was infectious.
"His story touched us," Emily said.
That evening after reading the blog, Emily and John attended a Bible study with friends that were connected with Guatemala. She discussed her fears about putting "money down for a perfect baby."
"How could I justify in my heart when there were so many kids that no one wanted – older with special needs," she said.
Emily felt Jesus whisper to her, "Who would I choose? Who would I choose?" Later that night she and John made the choice to let God decide their family.
The next morning Emily was running late for her job as a kindergarten teacher and again felt God speak to her.
"Maybe God wanted us to adopt Juan Pablo," she said. She felt fear about him being older and having special needs but felt peace because "God is so much bigger than my fears and my worries."
After making the decision to try to adopt Juan Pablo, Emily said she felt she had suffered through the miscarriages so God could lead her and John to adopt. She was "overwhelmed with peace that this was exactly what we were supposed to do."
After Emily and John prayed about their decision, Emily called Buckner International and talked with a woman on the phone who began crying when she explained that she was calling about adopting Juan Pablo. The woman was familiar with his story and said he was adoptable. She informed Emily that Juan Pablo had been having trouble with his lymph nodes swelling.
The couple started the paperwork and the home study. At this point, Juan Pablo was having trouble breathing because of the swelling and had been on antibiotics for a year.
Buckner International sponsors medical visas and the director of Buckner arranged to have Juan Pablo sent to Texas to see doctors. Emily and John met him at the airport and went to Juan Pablo’s doctors’ appointments with him and spent time visiting with him.
Doctors thought maybe Juan Pablo had lymphoma and scheduled a biopsy. Emily and John were asked if they still wanted to adopt him if he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Again fear crept. Their answer was yes as she and John decided they wanted to continue doing God’s will.
After waiting a few hours, the doctor reported to Emily and John, with tears, that Juan Pablo did not have lymphoma. He did however, have a rare condition called ‘sinus histiocytosis’ and doctors said he needed chemotherapy. The doctor decided not to do chemotherapy but instead took Juan Pablo to a homeopathic doctor.
Juan Pablo returned to Guatemala, and Emily and John visited him several months later. The swelling in his lymph nodes was gone because of the medicine the homeopathic doctor prescribed, and Emily and John feel he was healed. Juan Pablo still takes some homeopathic medicine and doctors at Riley Hospital for Children are willing to work with them for Juan Pablo’s care once he is adopted.
Emily and John spent a week with Juan Pablo and other boys from his orphanage. They learned the boys were fascinated with Spider-Man and John bought a costume on eBay. When John dressed as the popular superhero, the boys were mesmerized. They also bought the boys each their own superhero costumes.
The couple has built a relationship with the director of the orphanage and has earned his trust to take Juan Pablo and his friends for outside visits. They have taken the boys to McDonald’s, the zoo, museums and swimming. Each time they visit Guatemala, they take several suitcases full of items people donate to the couple for the boys.
The adoption process has taken many twists and turns. Emily said once they began their paperwork, there was so much corruption that the country decided to stop adoption, its biggest industry.
Since they had already began the process, the embassy said they needed to be grandfathered in, but were denied because they said some papers were missing. They were informed that they couldn’t be grandfathered in, and they couldn’t adopt. Emily said they "decided to keep praying and trusting God."
They were later informed that since they had a previous relationship with Juan Pablo that they could continue the adoption with new rules from the government.
After meeting with the government in Guatemala, Emily and John were told they needed a paper from the United States Embassy and were informed that since they weren’t grandfathered in they wouldn’t be able to bring Juan Pablo home.
"It was an awful moment," Emily recalled as she and John stood inside the small cubicle at the embassy. She said she couldn’t even cry because of the shock of the latest development.
"We were pretty heartbroken," she said. They were experiencing a roller coaster ride of emotions. Later that night Emily and John received a call that they were to report to the U.S. Embassy the next day for an interview.
They were told the next day that they had been grandfathered in even though they hadn’t. The couple can’t explain what happened, but they have the necessary paper and that’s all that matters.
They spent the next two weeks with Juan Pablo where they went through a study and were observed and the couple finally has the approval to adopt. The judge signed off on the paperwork and Emily and John are waiting for Juan Pablo’s birth certificate and pre-approval from the embassy. After an exit interview with the embassy, they should be able to bring him home.
Emily and John were confident that "God would provide the whole cost." They clung to the scripture in Ephesians 3:20 which reads "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more that all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." (New International Version) With the cost of a lawyer and the 10 trips they have made to Guatemala, the couple has had much financial support from the community.
A rummage sale was held during the Tractor and Engine Show at mom Kim’s home on Pleasant Street in Portland.
Would-be buyers were told that the proceeds were to "Help Bring Juan Pablo home" and his picture was visible at the check out line.
Once the word got out to local churches and the community, donations for the sale started pouring in and $4,000 was made toward their goal. "I am just overwhelmed about the generosity of people," Kim said during the sale. "I just want the whole world to know."
The couple has received two anonymous donations for $3,500 and $5,000.
Also children who attend the Cave at The Rock church where John, Emily and her parents attend have been bringing their tithes and offerings to bring Juan Pablo home and collected 500 pairs of underwear for orphans at an Undy 500 event. They are also planning a party and some are traveling to the airport to pick up Juan Pablo.
"God over and over completely shocks us," Emily said.
Even though Juan Pablo doesn’t speak English, he has picked up the phrases "I love you" and "I miss you." throughout the visits he has had with Emily and John.
John speaks fluent Spanish. They also get to visit once a week on the phone and talk via Web cam.
Emily and John and Juan Pablo have always called themselves "special friends," but since the adoption process is upon them they have recently told him they are his mommy and daddy.
They are currently in Guatemala with Juan Pablo and will be throughout Thanksgiving. John will be taking a family leave act absence when his vacation days run out next week. Emily’s mom Kim said this time she isn’t coming home without him.
More information about Juan Pablo’s journey to America is available at www.wiggsworld.com.

 

This article can be read directly from the Commercial Review’s website by clicking the link below, however you must have an account to view:

http://thecr.com/main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=20307

Monday: Pre-Approval

We woke up Monday morning to find a surprising email from the Embassy that stated pre-approval would be issued.  On Friday, the Embassy emailed Indianapolis to get an updated I171-H because it reflected our old Terre Haute address and not the one in Portland, which appears on the rest of our documents.  That goes to show how long we’ve been in the adoption process that we’ve lived in 2 different places.  We were so thrilled to receive this news for sometimes a turnaround for missing documentation can take days and even weeks.  Shortly after the initial email, we received the official pre-approval notice stating that we could come to the Embassy to pick up our pre-approval packet.  This was a miracle!

When Mabel, our adoption agent arrived to the office, we shared this news and begin compiling a list of tasks for the day.  We didn’t want to overwhelm her so much as she just returned to the office after a week in Honduras.  She has always been dedicated to our cause and spent the day handling items on the list.  We drove to the Embassy to pick up our pre-approval document, but were turned away because their policy is to only allow adoption related business beginning at 9 AM.   In order for that to happen, you must arrive early at 6:30 AM to get a number, then show up for your appointment, which will be some time after 9 depending on the number you draw.  We knew all of this, but the email stated that we could come at our earliest convenience.  The guards read the Spanish part of the document, which didn’t mention anything about convenient time for us.  I attempted to argue the differences in the translation, but it is their policy that we be there in the early AM.  Shot down again, but I realized this was really no hurry to pick up the document.  I just wanted to handle anything that was in our control. 

We walked across the street to the CNA (National Council of Adoptions) to pick up a document that was missing for our birth certificate in RENAP.  We waited there for a couple of hours until the missing signed document was released to us.  While there, our friend, Harvey Burkholder stopped in with our lawyer’s secretary to request similar documentation for the CNA so that he could first apply for a birth certificate for his child.  I think our presence there actually helped Harvey in getting what he was after, but certainly a God thing.  He had fought early in the morning in Antigua to collect needed documents from the family court there.  He and I had some good conversation about our frustrations with the processes and our struggle with patience.  We’ve appreciated he and his wife’s insight and look forward to more run-ins with their family.

After getting the needed document in regard to our identification from the CNA, we walked a few more blocks to RENAP (National Registration office) to turn in the document.  We met Harvey there again and went in with our adoption representatives.  If you ever thought that the license branch is bad in the US, then you don’t want to wait in these lines!  Fortunately for us, the line we needed was much shorter and didn’t require us to wait until they called a  number such as 2,530.  Our lawyer’s secretary had been to RENAP just about every day last week and was sent away each time because we were missing something.  They received what we brought today and returned to us a printed slip with an appointment date/time, which was for December 1st.  We, nor our reps., were too thrilled about the date since we have submitted items into RENAP plenty of times before.  Therefore, we’re going to return to RENAP on Wednesday morning to speak with the director about possibly processing the birth certificate sooner.  Please pray for that meeting in that we’d have favor to get our BC and head onto the Embassy to submit our final documentation.

It’ doesn’t look like we’ll be home for Thanksgiving, but are praying for next week.  We’re just happy to receive the news we have today and try to remain persistent in faith for the things to come.  Outside of adoption business, JP has been learning new English words and picking up on phrases that we have said.  So far he has said: “Oh man! (John), Stinky, Come on (Emily).”  Emily was ready to pack up tonight after we found a couple of large spiders in our room.  I’m not a fan of them either, but somebody had to take ‘em out.  Just hope they aren’t any more in the family 🙂

Weekend with Friends

Saturday we just stayed around the Buckner office for the day.  We ordered our first McDonald’s meal over the internet delivered by a guy on a moto.  A mission team of about 10 people dropped by to see the office and pick up some supplies.  It didn’t take JP long to connect with them as he gave hugs and a couple of them started a 3 way game of catch.  It was encouraging to meet other groups who share a similar passion to reach out and minister to orphans.  Emily was able to catch up on some rest as JP and I were in and out.  With only a limited number of things to do, we got creative by having a pirate sword fight with PVC pipe and broken tree limbs.  Juan Pablo would laugh hysterically when one of our swords would shatter.  All boys deserve the chance to fulfill their longing for adventure and just be a kid.  I’m excited for the chance to relive some of of those moments while fathering JP through stages of life.

For dinner, we went with Jose, Jenny, and their son Andres to the restaurant called “Nais".  In Spanish, you pronounce it the way we say the word “nice.”  Jose joked that “Nais” was nice.  We were ready to get out of the office and hang out with some friends.  They have such great faith in what God is capable of and have big dreams.  We’re excited to see how the Lord will respond and grown their family.  Jenny and Jose returned to the office with us where we had some coffee, exchanged some early Christmas gifts, and let JP and Andres play together. 

Our Sunday agenda was to have lunch and go to church with Chiqui Mollinedo.   She has been a major advocate for not only Juan Pablo, but all the other children we love so much. She used to be the director of Buckner in Guatemala.  She picked us up around noon along with her daughter Beatriz and her sister.  We ate at a Tre Fratelli on the other side of Guatemala City.  It was wonderful to catch up with her and hear about how God has been working in her life.  She has been and always will be an inspiration to us and we know that the Lord has a future for her.  Her late husband Sergio was also a great influence in JP’s life and arranged for his medical visit to Texas in 2007.  We certainly miss him, but know that he is with Jesus, loving children, and I’m sure playing softball :) 

There was a side room for children to play video games and watch TV.  Juan was introduced to Wii for the first time.  He was turned loose to play until lunch came, but returned dripping with sweat.  This video of him boxing will speak for itself:

Christmas gift hint: I think we….I mean he, needs a Wii 😉

After lunch, we headed over to the mall for some ice cream.  Afterwards, we took JP and Beatriz to a game area to kill time before church where they played video games, air hockey, and rode on some small rides like a mechanical cow.  Don’t worry, nobody was hurt with the latter.  Here are some pics from the mall:

It was great to be able to attend worship while in Guatemala.  We went to Casa De Dios with Chiqui where we’ve been several times in the past.  The place was rockin’ as God’s people shouted out songs and praise.  I especially loved to see the response from the song “I am Free” by Newsboys, course all in Spanish.  All the teenagers flooded to the front of the stage to form a mosh pit and everyone in the house was jumping.  Pastor Cash Luna was on a crusade in Mexico, but the guest teacher spoke about being thankful and enjoying the small things in life.  This was good for us to hear being so far from our comfort one here in Guatemala.  We’re thankful that we are in Guatemala and can share special moments with our son.  Pray for us in the week ahead and that God would continue to deliver us through the end of the adoption. 

End of Week Wrap-Up

Sorry for the lack of updates from the last half of the week, but we really haven’t had a lot of updates until yesterday.  I’ll try to to summarize what we’ve been up to since Wednesday.  As from the prior post where we were requesting encouragement, the need continued through the rest of the week.  We decided that we weren’t going to try to figure things out with the adoption or put power into our own hands, but were just waiting and trusting God with the results.

On Wednesday, we spent most of our day at the baby home.  The children were lively as usual and ready to play.  Mili and Cristel would sneak upon me and when I would turn to look at them, they’d scream and then start running in the opposite direction.  This repeated much of the afternoon, but I couldn’t resist hearing their harmonious responses.  JP and Marvin have always had a close connection, which is seen when JP picks up to hug his younger amigo.  Here is a shot of Marvin attempting to drive JP around on the back of his cycle:

On a sad note, a familiar face was missing from among the group that visit.  Isabel left on Tuesday to her new home.  I could always count on her to wrap herself around my legs and not let go with various grunts being exhausted.  This precious child, who has cerebral palsy, has gone to a place where her special need can be best treated.  She’s been at the Buckner baby home for as long as we can remember and has a special place in all of the hearts of those who have spent time with her.  Please pray for God to strengthen her and remain with her in this new transition in her life. 

On a positive note, we were told that Isabel hasn’t shown any emotional distress from her placement into the new home.  In fact, she has been an inspiration to the other children there because she can walk.  Already fitting in very well 🙂

Mili’s laugh is just so contagious.  Check her out and Emily has her on her lap:

Friday morning we woke up and got into the Word.  I remember praying in a room by myself and feeling such a peace about everything.  Our week up to this point had no evidence of accomplishment in the adoption, but God never sleeps and is always at work.  I had left a message the previous day with someone at the Embassy to inquire about our pre-approval status.  Shortly after our quiet time Friday morning, that woman called back and gave us wonderful news.  She said that everything is well with our pre-approval, however she has a document that has our old address in Terre Haute.  She told us that she was going to email the Indiana office to request a copy of our home study, which should have our updated address in Portland.  The reason for the request is that all of our documents must reflect our current address.  Pray for the documentation being requested by the Embassy that it will be adequate and received timely.  As for our birth certificate, it sounds like after a week, we still don’t have it in our possession, but with a provided document on Monday, it is anticipated that RENAP will release it to us.  With that in hand, we can then go to the Embassy, get JP’s passport and submit our final documentation for a later Visa interview.  No timeline as to our return, but as we wait through the weekend, we hope for great things to happen next week.