Along with the good, comes the bad.

On Thursday, I received good news from our coordinator that the required interview with Jameson's birth mother went as planned with no issues or concerns! For a little history about this, when we went to Haiti for our bonding trip, we had our US Embassy appointment our second day there. During the appointment an officer gave us a 5-10 minute interview and at the end, she tells us that they want to interview the birth mother and also see Jameson in person instead of a picture. For us, this was another potential road block in the process and made me somewhat nervous. Before issuing a referral Jameson's birth mother was already required to be interviewed twice, so this will be a third time! My thoughts were, "What if she does not show up or they can't locate her?" Many questions and concerns were running through my head. Her interview was scheduled for September 13th. On September 9th, I received an email from USCIS-Haiti, saying they needed to reschedule her interview for September 26th. So that meant we had to wait two more long weeks for this to happen. Last week (September 29th) I received this email from our coordinator about the interview:

Hi Amorie,

I heard back from D/S and they told me that the interview with Jameson’s birth mother went as scheduled with no concerns! Right now we are waiting for your file to exit IBESR and I will let you know when that occurs.

Thanks,

Anna

 

I was so happy and relieved that everything went as planned. This should be the last big hurdle for us to cross until the end. Now just waiting to exit IBESR. I also received videos and pictures of Jameson on Saturday from one of my close family friends that is also with CAS. Her husband traveled down to MDA to visit their daughter, who is in the same room with Jameson. They brought them both out to the play area, let them play and gave him snacks. I'm so grateful for people like this, that take time to look out for others. It made me so happy to see that he is doing well.

 

The bad news, is that the approaching storm of Hurricane Matthew :( :( We learned of the storm last week. Right now it's a category 4 hurricane with 130-140 mph winds. It's headed directly for Haiti late today and tomorrow. I have not been sleeping well thinking about all the damage this storm may cause. I'm praying for Haiti and especially our little boy and MDA staff. I just want this storm to pass quickly. I know this will probably slow down our process because of potential mass flooding and lack of access to different areas of PAP. I have asked my agency to give me an update as soon as possible. I'm also thankful for the Haiti FB group, for those that are in Haiti now during the storm and the constant updates they give for those of us who are worried about what's happening.

*Just got an update from my agency. I called this morning to see if they had heard anything from MDA or Daniel & Sylvia (our laywer reps in Haiti). Daniel informed us that MDA is well prepared for the storm and it's one of the safest places to be in Haiti during this time. It's a study building, built of concrete by the Germans. I didn't know that, lol! It was renovated after the earthquake to withstand forces of mother nature. She assured me Jameson and the other kids would be safe. I hope so. Praying for this to be over soon!!