LIFECHANGE STORIES

Hi, my name is Sue Budd and my family has been attending Grace Community for 17 years. Last month I traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti with my daughter, Clarissa, to visit Roselande, who currently lives in Kingdom of Kids Orphanage (KKO). Our family, which includes my husband, Fred and our three children: Richard (20), Clarissa (18), and Griffin (14), is adopting Roselande. Clarissa and I traveled with a group of parents who are all adopting children from KKO. This was my second visit, the first being in November 2010, when I submitted our paperwork to start the adoption process. Roselande is a happy, healthy 13-year old girl who loves to sing and dance. She has a beautiful smile and sweet temperament. Much of our time was spent at the orphanage, where the kids hung out with us playing games, taking pictures, watching DVDs, listening to music, and talking. The children are allowed to eat all their meals with visiting family members, as well as sleep in the same rooms together, which is a real treat from their normal daily activity of school, chores, etc.

Our 5-day visit included a day trip to a local beach resort. It was a really fun time! We traveled by bus and open-back truck 1.5 hours away from the orphanage. The resort has two in-ground swimming pools, ocean with sand (most Haitian beaches have stones vs. sand), playground, and buffet lunch. We swam together, walked the beach, laughed, and just enjoyed one another’s company.

We’ve been waiting 16 months for our adoption to be processed.

One thing we’re learning through this journey is that God is in control, not us. Everything in Haiti takes a L O N G time. Yet, we have seen His hand of provision over us and Roselande from the very beginning and that encourages us immensely. We have also gotten to know and love many other adopting families going through the same process, including right here in our own Grace Community church family. Building these friendships has been an added blessing, knowing that all our families will forever be connected and we are all looking forward to the day when each child is in their forever home.

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Sue 1 year ago

Hi, my name is Sue Budd and my family has been attending Grace Community for 17 years. Last month I traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti with my daughter, Clarissa, to visit Roselande, who currently lives in Kingdom of Kids Orphanage (KKO). Our family, which includes my husband, Fred and our three children: Richard (20), Clarissa (18), and Griffin (14), is adopting Roselande. Clarissa and I traveled with a group of parents who are all adopting children from KKO. This was my second visit, the first being in November 2010, when I submitted our paperwork to start the adoption process. Roselande is a happy, healthy 13-year old girl who loves to sing and dance. She has a beautiful smile and sweet temperament. Much of our time was spent at the orphanage, where the kids hung out with us playing games, taking pictures, watching DVDs, listening to music, and talking. The children are allowed to eat all their meals with visiting family members, as well as sleep in the same rooms together, which is a real treat from their normal daily activity of school, chores, etc.

Our 5-day visit included a day trip to a local beach resort. It was a really fun time! We traveled by bus and open-back truck 1.5 hours away from the orphanage. The resort has two in-ground swimming pools, ocean with sand (most Haitian beaches have stones vs. sand), playground, and buffet lunch. We swam together, walked the beach, laughed, and just enjoyed one another’s company.

We’ve been waiting 16 months for our adoption to be processed. One thing we’re learning through this journey is that God is in control, not us. Everything in Haiti takes a L O N G time. Yet, we have seen His hand of provision over us and Roselande from the very beginning and that encourages us immensely. We have also gotten to know and love many other adopting families going through the same process, including right here in our own Grace Community church family. Building these friendships has been an added blessing, knowing that all our families will forever be connected and we are all looking forward to the day when each child is in their forever home.

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