Bringing Christopher Home

We are now in our 19th month of trying to bring Christopher, our 9th child, home from Haiti. It is exciting to know how close we are to the end of this adoption and that it won't be too much longer until we can love on our son. Christopher has Sickle Cell and we are anxious to bring him home and get him treatment for his disease. Most of all I want to enjoy those mischievous eyes and killer smile.
This adoption has been different than the others for us, in that we started out applying for Humanitarian Aid for Christopher after the horrible Earthquake in Haiti. After several months of going down that road, we went full fledge into the adoption process. I traveled to Haiti in April to stand before the Judges and Embassy. It was a great trip and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute spent with Christopher.
We only have a little more money we need to raise to complete his adoption. We've set up a Chip In account to help with the fundraising. If you have the means and wish to help, this is an easy way to do so.

2010 came and went....

This year started off with our family living 4 hours away from each other. Shane, Nathan and Evan were living in Center Point...working on the double-wide we had just purchased on 12 acres, while the girls and I were still in Houston, waiting for our house to sell.

January 12th brought devastation to the home country of half of our children. Haiti experienced a huge earthquake that destroyed much of Port au Prince, killing thousands. I remember my mom coming downstairs to tell me she just saw that Haiti had an earthquake. I was on the phone with Shane at the time, so I jumped online to check it out. I read to him the news I was getting off the internet. It just made us sick. For days...weeks, we prayed non-stop for our friends and family in Haiti, and the people who were going through so much suffering. I wanted to go. Right then. But I couldn't. Not having any nursing ability, I would have just been in the way.

February brought our family together again, as our house in Houston sold and we were all able to move to Center Point. My parents moved into our double-wide with us as they waited for their own house to be set up on our property.

We got news from Haiti that we could try to get Christopher out on Humanitarian Parole. I had met him in August of 2009 while working at his orphanage. We knew he had Sickle Cell disease and was at risk staying in Haiti. The next several months were consumed with paperwork and phone calls....jumping through several hoops trying to get this sweet boy out of Haiti, only to be told in the end that he was denied Humanitarian Parole because of the original wording on his Birth Parent Relinquishment paper. The form that the orphanage used for birthparents to sign stated they were giving their child to the creche so they would be "lavished with care" instead of saying they would be available for adoption. EVEN THOUGH...a creche is an orphanage that is licensed to adopt out children. EVEN THOUGH... his birth mother had already had 2 other children adopted out through this orphanage. EVEN THOUGH...other children with the same wording on their paperwork had been released on humanitarian parole. EVEN THOUGH...Christopher has a disease and Tulane University Medical Center has promised him medical treatment upon arriving in the States. Sometimes...well....most of the time, the decisions made by U.S. government officials baffle me. How on earth does it make sense to prevent this child from coming home to a family that is ready to love and care for him, and to deny him the medical care that he needs, leaving him to wait for a year or more while the paperwork for an adoption goes through?

We started the full adoption of Christopher, the fundraising that is needed to pay the $10,000 Haitian fee and sent our full dossier to Haiti in August. Currently, our paperwork is in the Haitian system and we are waiting for it to be processed. We've been blessed to have some people traveling to Haiti send us photos of Christopher. He turned 3 in October.


July brought a visit from my 2 sisters and their kids. We had SO much fun visiting. We were able to go to New Braunfels and stay in a time-share for a few days. We took a day trip to San Antonio. Spent a couple days playing at the river. I hated to see our time together end.


Shane and I were part of a group of parents who started a new ACE/Christian school after the school our boys were attending (and the one Shane graduated from) closed in May. As we worked with this dedicated group of parents we were both drawn more and more to the vision of the school. We decided after much prayer to put our resumes in for the teaching positions. We were offered the job and accepted it. In September Grace Academy of Kerrville opened with Shane teaching the 7th to 12th grades and me teaching the 1st to 6th grades. We love it. It is so great to be working together and having all the kids (minus Nathan) with us. It is just a really neat experience for our family.

Nathan turned 18 in September and just finished his Associates Degree this Christmas. He has been accepted to Schreiner University and offered their highest scholarship. He will began classes in January. As of now, he has chosen Exercise Science as his Major. We are really proud of him.

Evan turned 16 in October and got his driver's permit. He plays basketball for Grace Academy and is still playing the guitar.
Jairtzi was able to participate in a summer Track program where she ran the hurdles and did the long jump. She also played Volleyball for Grace Academy this fall and loved it.



Jazmin is continuing her love of information and knowledge. She reads constantly and retains everything! She still has a goal of becoming a doctor and going to Haiti to help her people.


Allie is still everything Horses. She LOVES horses. I've long since given up the thought that this is a passing phase. I pray that she will get the opportunity to be around horses, as this is obviously a God Given love.


Widnie is enjoying attending school and making new friends. She is doing great academically. She has grown so much since coming to the U.S. We laugh when we look at her photo of first coming home and how short and small she was. Now she is much taller than Allie who is 7 months older than her.

Francia is still our monkey. She flashes those dimples at us and we can't help but smile. She is a tease through and through. She LOVES monkeys and says she wants to be a zookeeper and a teacher when she grows up.

Eliana continues her adjustments and settling into our family. She has gown and matured. It is so good to see all that she has accomplished. She is doing very well in school and we continue to steer her in the right direction when making social decisions. She has taught us so much as parents.


Shane and I celebrate 20 years of marriage on Dec. 27th. Wow! What a ride! We never would have thought that 20 years could contain so much change for us. I am SO thankful that God has brought us closer together through every trial and every blessing.

Adoption is still very much a part of our lives and vision for our family. God has really placed the desire on our hearts to start adoption ministries in churches. We have been able to talk to some people about this and were even featured in the local newspaper regarding this issue. Unfortunately at this time, no churches have responded to our emails or newspaper article. We will not give up though. We will continue to pray and let God guide us to where we need to go with this mission.

2010 was another year of big changes for our family. God brought us through once again. He has never failed us. I pray that 2011 will bring Christopher into our home, see Adoption Ministries pop up in churches through-out our community and bring our family closer together.

Dear Friends,
We would like to give you an update on our adoption of Christopher. The last time we wrote, we were waiting for Christopher to be released on Humanitarian Parole. Much to our surprise and disappointment, the government denied our petition due to wording on his birth parent relinquishment papers.
Our adoption paperwork is now in the Haitian Social Service agency awaiting approval. This step usually takes 4-5 months. There are a few more steps to go through once the paperwork is released, but we are hopeful that Christopher will be home this spring.
As you may remember, Christopher has Sickle Cell Disease. He will be treated at Tulane University in New Orleans when he arrives in the States. We have been blessed to receive updated photos and even video of Christopher from families that have visited his orphanage recently. They report that he is happy and has a great sense of humor. We love to see the sparkle in his eyes and long for him to be home. Christopher will turn 3 on the last day of October.
We have been blessed by your prayers and financial support in our endeavor to give Christopher a loving, secure home and a happy, healthy future. We still need to raise the remaining $7,000 of adoption costs.
If you know anyone who would like to contribute to Christopher’s fund would you please pass this letter on to them. Tax Deductible contributions can be made to:
Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries
PO BOX 48744
Spokane, WA 99228

Please DO NOT include our names anywhere on the check. IRS regulations do not allow for a tax-deductible donation to have any name other than the tax-exempt organization written on it. Just include a note that states you would like the donation to go toward the Shane & Jana Williamson adoption.
Or, if you would rather, you can contact KKAM and make a donation with credit card at (509) 465-3520.
Words cannot express how much your support means to our family. God has called us to the mission of adoption and we could not do it without you coming beside us. Please contact us with any questions you may have in regards to our fundraising and adoption. We are always open to suggestions.

Blessings,
The Williamsons
Shane, Jana, Nathan, Evan, Jairtzi, Jazmin, Allie, Widnie, Francia, Eliana and Christopher

1 Blessed is the one who considers the poor!
   In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;
2 the LORD protects him and keeps him alive;
   he is called blessed in the land;
Psalm 41:1-2 (ESV)

Goofing off in the Garden

Spring Flowers

These were taken this spring on our property.

Fiesta Texas July 2010

We took the boys to Fiesta Texas with 3 other families. Evan, who when we went to Disneyland threw FITS about going on any ride scarier than Dumbo, turned into some kind of Roller Coaster freak. I guess that just proves what peer pressure can do. He had his brother and 4 other teenagers "encouraging" him to ride the coasters. I told him it was a good thing they weren't telling him to go smoke pot since he probably would have! He rode just about every roller coaster there, and some of them repeatedly. They even talked Shane and I onto a couple of them. Yes, even I succumbed to the pressure. When your teenager actually WANTS to go do something with you (even if it is for the sole purpose of torturing you) it's hard to pass the opportunity up.

Jairtzi ~ Track Star

Jairtzi was thrilled to take part in the Kerrville Parks and Rec Summer Track program this year. I was less than thrilled to be at the track 4 days a week at 7:30 am, but it beats having it later in the day in the Texas heat. Jairtzi really wanted to run the hurdles, which she had never done before. She got her chance and did very well. She ran at Regionals last Friday and placed:
2nd in 80 M hurdles (lost to a boy)
1st in 100 M dash
1st in Shot put
1st in 200 M dash
We declined going on to the State meet in Waco. A little far to go and spend 4 days. We will reconsider that next year, as I'm sure she'll be running again.