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The Thomas Family's Story with God's Littlest Angels in Haiti
- 3. God Does The Impossible After a crazy 10 day rollercoaster of emotions after the earthquake we were united with our son on Friday, January 22nd. Here is how the week went down Wednesday Ryan and I drive to Denver to be fingerprinted for the 3rd time by the Department of Homeland Security (keep in mind the fingerprints expire every 15 months, so yes, it has taken that long)! We are driving home when we receive the call that all of the U.S. kids at Gods Littlest Angels were coming home. We were told to be ready to leave at a moments notice. We were in complete shock and couldnt wait to get home and get better updates. At one point, I look down and Ryan is flying through Castle Rock going 90 mph. We were excited to say the least. We immediately called our moms to share the good news. I then realized that we had nothing prepared to bring a 1 almost 2 year old home. I quickly called my best friend, Amber (the queen of shopping), and got her on the job. She rose to the occasion and delivered clothes, diapers, wipes, snacks, toys, etc. for Jeffry. We got word at 8:00 p.m. that the trip was a go and that we needed to be in Miami by Thursday evening. We bought tickets, finished packing, made arrangements for the other 3 kids, and went to bed
- 4. God Does The Impossible Thursday We were up at 5:00 a.m. and were in the air by 7:20 a.m. We arrived in Dallas as scheduled and quickly got to our connecting gate. After enjoying an oatmeal and latte from Starbucks, we were informed that the plane waiting at the gate was not in fact flying to Florida. They quickly had another plane ready and sent us back to the concourse from which we had just come. After waiting there for 30- 45 minutes we were told that the 2nd plane was not able to fly due to mechanical problems (good to know)! They sent us on to our 3rd gate and plane, and we boarded and flew to Florida without incident. We met up with some friends from Denver (also adopting) for dinner and then headed to the airport to wait for our babies. We were told to arrive at the airport at 9:30 and wait in Concourse G for further instructions. The plane was supposed to land around 9:40 p.m., but did not end up leaving Port-Au- Prince until 11:00 p.m. The kids and staff waited on a grassy area next to the Port-Au-Prince runway for 2 遜 hours before they could find someone to push their plane back from the gate. They said the kids had a great time singing songs, playing games, and laughing.
- 5. God Does The Impossible There were probably at least 60 families waiting for 81 kids, and Im sure we were quite the sight to behold. There was media everywhere and we completely took over a carpeted area in front of a ticket counter. Through the night there were cheers, tears, prayers, rejoicing, heart to heart talks and a bonding that is indescribable. At times we found ourselves laying on the hard floor using our diaper bags for pillows and trying to get a few minutes of sleep with other people laying on the floor just inches away trying to do the same thing. We shared secrets, dreams, fears and everything in between. The night was also filled with tons of joking and laughter. Pilots from Vision Airlines (they flew our kids home) kept us stocked with water, coffee and Dunkin Donuts all night.
- 6. God Does The Impossible Friday The plane landed at 12:52 a.m. Our babies were officially on U.S. soil! We erupted in cheers. We were now confident that our babies were safe and would be in our arms very soon. Now all we had to do was wait for them to go through customs and immigration. Everyone involved thought this process would take a couple of hours we were all wrong! It took 8 1/2! Can you imagine processing 81 children, ages 2 months to 15 years, through immigration? Fingerprints, photos and unimaginable paperwork. So, while parents paced, sat and slept on the floor of Concourse G, 81 children weresleeping, playing, singing, eating, taken potty and changed while being fingerprinted, photographed, etc. AMAZING! Around 3:30 a.m. someone discovered that there was a Subway that stayed open all night in the airport. I have to say, that was the most delicious sandwich I have ever eaten! The night wore on and the airport that we watched go to sleep woke back up, and we were still there, WAITING.
- 7. God Does The Impossible Around 7:30 a.m. the airport decided we were too much of a motley crue and kicked us out of the now famous Concourse G. We were escorted to a holding room, where we would meet our children, at the other end of the airport (a 10-15 minute walk away) and began waiting again. The Red Cross, the Miami airport and other volunteers had drinks and snacks for us. We were now getting regular updates and knew that we would be reunited with our kids very soon. At approximately 9:15 a.m. the doors to our holding room were closed and our kids were escorted into the room next to us. Talk about torture! We could hear them and we were now within feet of our precious ones! Dixie Bickel, the orphanage director, walked in and the room erupted with applause. She told the story of the journey to the U.S. and explained the process by which we would be united with our kids. We were called out 3-4 families at a time (alphabetically by our childs first name), met our kids in the lobby with lots of hugs and kisses and then were able to take them back in the room with the rest of the kids to talk and take pictures with the rest of the families. This room was also stocked with snacks and drinks for the kids as well as the parents. There were also items available (diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, clothes, etc.) for those families that didnt have time to shop before flying to Florida. So, at 10:00 a.m. we took Jeffry into our arms and knew that we would never have to say goodbye again! 34 months of waiting melted away in that moment. At 11:30 a.m. we collected Jeffrys paperwork, said our final good-byes and walked out of the airport with our son!
- 8. God Does The Impossible There were no tears from the kids, only JOY! They knew in their hearts, no matter how young, that they were with their FOREVER FAMILIES! Our sweet Jeffry was in complete amazement at all he was seeing cars, trucks, escalators, elevators, ceiling fans, lights a whole new world was before him. We brought him back to our hotel and bathed him and dressed him, for the first time, in his very own clothes! After his bath, he fell into a peaceful sleep! When he finally woke, he was starving as were we. What should his first meal in the U.S. be? The answer was obvious Chipotle! You should have seen the look on his cute face as he peered through the glass and saw the food PRICELESS! He filled his little tummy with beans and rice and meat and a big sippy cup of apple juice! We then drove to the beach (but Jeffry fell asleep) and sat under the stars listening to the ocean, drinking Starbucks and praising God for the miracle in our arms! Watching him sleep between us that night was incredible, his innocence and peace unimaginable. He was safe and in the arms of his parents at long last!
- 9. God Does The Impossible Saturday We had a very early flight and had to leave the hotel at 4:30 a.m. Jeffry was a doll and enjoyed eating breakfast in the car on the way to the airport. Again, he was amazed by all the sights and sounds. He loved flying and was great for both legs of the flight. His tummy, however, was apparently having some trouble and so, after 3 遜 years with no diapers, I got a crash course in exploding diapers times 5! Thankfully, since the last time I flew with a child in diapers, the airlines have installed changing stations in the teeny, tiny bathrooms! We were welcomed home at the Colorado Springs airport by 2 big sisters, a big brother and Grandma Cathy! He recognized his siblings immediately (from pictures) and began waving at them as we approached. They fell in love immediately. Our life as a family of 6 is nothing short of incredible. We love every minute of it and can't imagine it any other way. God loves to do impossible things, and He did! Ryan and Naomi Thomas
- 10. If youd like to talk about helping Gods Littlest Angels, please contact Laurie Bickel at 719-638-4348 or lorlor@glahaiti.org or Tom Vanderwell at (616) 884-8901 or tom@glahaiti.org. Thank you!