Jean Jules is HOME!
And we couldn’t be happier for him.
The journey of adoption is long and filled with many uncertainties, obstacles, and emotions. As difficult and painful as this process can be, when a child goes home with his or her family, we know with all certainty that every struggle is worth enduring. Every child is worth our every effort.
We at Three Angels are very nearly as overjoyed with each adoption as are the families of these precious children who have been in our care. We have painstakingly poured out every resource available to us to ensure that each child grows stronger and healthier by the day, both physically and emotionally. It is a principal goal of ours to prepare each child to integrate as effortlessly as possible into their adoptive families, and part of that goal includes time spent with both parents and their Angel House caretakers for at least one week prior to departure. In the case of Jean Jules, that just wasn’t possible.
Our world is changing, and we must adapt.
Because of the restrictions for travel associated with the global pandemic, Jean Jules’ parents could not go to Haiti. Nor, for the protection of all the children and staff at Angel House, could we have permitted visitors to come and go.
But there is no ocean too wide to keep a family apart for long.
Jean Jules’ story is a reflection of these unusual times in which we are living, and we’re here to share his incredible journey with you.
Jean Jules’ parents have waited years for this homecoming.
Many tedious tasks must be checked off before this final step, and with much civil unrest and now the global pandemic, processes have been very slow and unpredictable. Our Team in Haiti has been unwaveringly tenacious, however, and the completion of Jean Jules’ adoption journey had finally arrived! We just had to find a way for him to get home.
Although travel into Haiti is not possible at this time, travel out of Haiti is, under certain conditions. A missionary couple serving with another organization had made plans to travel home to the United States and was already escorting two children from another crèche, a brother and sister, to unite with their adoptive family in Florida, and they very graciously agreed to take Jean Jules with them, too.
The couple arrived early on the morning of departure at Angel House where they met Jean Jules. He warmed up to them quickly, especially the wife, which was an answer to our prayers— at only three years old, Jean Jules is too young to understand why he was being taken away by strangers. We were fearful that he would shy away from his escorts and cry to stay with his nannies and friends, but God allowed this tiny boy to find comfort in kind arms, so they left for the the airport together, the other two children in tow. Rose, our Crèche Director, tagged along as far as the airport to provide a familiar face for Jean Jules.
Although he remained calm and quiet, Jean Jules clung to his new surrogate nanny throughout this journey and did not want to leave her side for a moment. She very kindly comforted him every step of the way—and lots of cookies helped to soothe any fears! Although the actual flight between Haiti and Florida is less than two hours long, there are customs and security checkpoints to navigate that can add on hours to this journey. They were fortunate to move through all this quickly and without mishap, lessening the margin for toddler overload. And this was such a blessing for many! Besides Jean Jules, more than a dozen children were on that same flight traveling to meet their adoptive families, and God was providing a broad way for them all.
Our Haiti Director, Christine Helgemo, and a representative from the adoption agency joined Jean Jules’ family and friends at the airport in Florida to await his arrival. Everyone’s anticipation was palpable, until at long last they took their first look at his precious little face, right there before them. He was home! Jean Jules and his companions took photos and allowed him time to reacquaint with his parents, whom he had not seen in many months because of civil unrest in Haiti. Again, there was no need for worry because God blessed this tiny boy with a quick remembrance, and he was more than ready to go home with his family.
The social distancing and mask-wearing certainly changed the event from what one would have expected. The usual hugs and handshakes that would be exchanged were strangely absent. Conversation with masked companions creates a distance and some difficulty for communication, and faces look less familiar.
But we give all the glory to God that Jean Jules is now with his forever family.
Jean Jules’ mom, Mary-Kate, was gracious to tell this story from their perspective as the adoptive family, and she also has an update to share on their first few weeks at home together:
Our family had been in the process of adoption for over seven years all together. During this time, the Lord grew us in our ability to patiently wait on Him and to trust His perfect timing and plans. There had been several times over the last year or so when we thought we were close to bringing our son home, only to hit another bump in the road. We finally had all paperwork completed, and the only step left in the process was to travel to Haiti to bring our son home. Due to the rioting in Haiti, a travel ban was put in place, so it became clear that we would not be traveling to Haiti ourselves but instead would be looking for someone to escort our son to the US. Once COVID-19 hit the scene and international travel was brought to a standstill, we prepared ourselves for another delay. Our adoption agency, Lifeline Children's Services, was working diligently all the while trying to find a way to get our son home despite all that was going on in the world. Every door seemed to be closed, and our hearts were hurting. Christine Helgemo (of Three Angels) was in the US due to the virus and was ready and willing to travel to Haiti to escort our son home, but flights just weren't happening.
Then on May 8 we received a phone call about a new possibility: There was a missionary couple willing to bring Jean Jules with them from Haiti to Ft. Lauderdale! Since COVID-19 had begun, there had been flights scheduled every couple of weeks for US citizens seeking to leave Haiti; this couple, the VanDervorts, were hoping to get on the next flight available. We were beyond excited but were trying not to get our hopes up too much after so many other disappointments, but from there, everything happened very quickly. On May 12, a flight was announced for May 14, so we quickly booked that flight and began making preparations for our son, who would be home in only two days! After such a long wait, it was hard to believe that the day was actually so close at hand. The Lord worked out every detail, including our transport to Florida to greet our son—our friend who is a charter pilot, Paul Russouw, along with his wife Cristi, offered to fly our family to Ft. Lauderdale. Everything felt so surreal, like we wouldn't be able to believe it was really happening until we were on the flight back home with our son in our arms.
We expected to have a long wait in Ft. Lauderdale as the VanDervorts made it through immigration, but as soon as we pulled up to the terminal, they were through immigration and waiting on our arrival. We saw our son through the glass doors, and tears filled our eyes; he was really in the United States, and we were so close! He quickly warmed up to us, and before we knew it he was giggling and playing with his three sisters. Christine Helgemo kindly met us at the airport just to make sure everything went smoothly, as well as to offer another familiar face for our son when he arrived. It all felt like a dream! After such a long and arduous wait, this day could not have gone any more smoothly.
Before we knew it, we were on our return flight heading home. I grew overwhelmed with emotion when we touched down and for the first time our son was home with his family where he belonged! Words cannot describe the joy we felt…To God be the glory!
We have been home for a little over four weeks now, and life is wonderful! We are following Lifeline's guidance for "cocooning” , and COVID-19 quarantining actually turned out to be a good thing for us. We haven’t had to explain to people that we only want immediate family to hold him and play with him up close. Friends and family have stopped by to bring gifts and food but have kept their distance because of the virus. Dan (Jean Jules’ father) is working from home, so he has been able to spend lots of time with our little guy too!
Eating has been a little challenging, but we were warned that he is a picky eater! We are slowly but surely finding more things he will eat—oatmeal, bananas, plain grilled chicken shredded up, goldfish, zucchini bread, applesauce, grilled cheese, cheese dip, and peanut butter cookies are all hits! He is sleeping really well during nap time and through the night. It does take a little while for him to settle in and let us leave him in his room alone, but once he is asleep, he's asleep!
Jean Jules loves to swing in our big tree swing with his sisters, jump on the trampoline, look at books, build with blocks, and play with cars, and he really enjoys bath time. He dumps out lots of his toys throughout the day but then loves to help clean them up, wanting everything to go back in its 'place'. We completely see how he got his nickname [of “The Flash”] at Three Angels! He is always on the go and is definitely giving us a workout each day, but we love it!
We are planning to change his name to Simon James; Simon being the surname he was given, but of course we pronounce it differently, and James being Dan's first name. Right now, we are calling him Jean Simon to get him used to hearing the name Simon and eventually we will just drop the Jean.
We are beyond grateful for Three Angels and the way they loved and cared for our son for the first three years of his life. He loves to talk about all his nannies and friends, and we look at pictures of everyone often. We have no doubt that the wonderful care he received is part of the reason he is adjusting so well thus far, and we can't wait for the day we can bring our family to Haiti to visit Three Angels, where Jean Jules’ story began!
Jean Jules’ first three years were spent in the care of his wonderful nanny, Dania. As he was leaving Angel House to embark on his new life, Dania gifted him with of a framed photo of the two of them—a very generous and heart-felt gesture which touched us, knowing how much effort and expense this took at a time such as this in Haiti. As loved as Jean Jules is by his adoptive family, we know that Dania and his other nannies love him deeply and are missing him.
As much as he will be missed, we could not be more thrilled to hear how well this sweet boy is doing. We wish Jean Jules and his wonderful family all the love and happiness in the world! We know that they live near Hendell, who went home in January, and we hope and pray these two precious children, orphans no longer, will remain bonded into adulthood.
And as for us, we will continue to love Jean Jules and every child who has gone home before him and every child yet to come into our care. Because when it comes to love, there is no ocean too wide.
