Mama and Papa Keanan

We are back in Port-au-Prince, and focused on getting some quality time in with Keanan. Before our little country excursion, I was feeling really dismayed that Keanan seemed so dazed and confused around us. He was like a deer in headlights – very quiet and subdued – but we kept hearing stories about what a little comedian he was. Well, the past two days he has shown his true colors, and it is a delight. He is hilarious. He is quite the little flirt once he got comfortable around us.

But with that comfort has come bonding, and this part is tearing me up. Even though he is only 18 months old, he gets that we are here for him. He got upset today any time Mark set him down. We took him to church with us this morning, and when I went to drop him off at the orphanage for his nap, he cried and cried. This evening, we were playing and then all of us starting getting ready to go for the evening. He noticed, and again started really crying. This made me start to bawl, not just because he was sad, but just realizing how much he is in need of family. An orphanage is no place for a child, no matter how well it’s run.

We had a conversation tonight with the orphanage director. He told us we need to get an update from one of his staff members tomorrow about the adoption status. But from the brief things he said, it doesn’t sound like good news. I think we are waiting for approval from the very first Haitian office (of three). They have had our paperwork for almost a year. It’s looking like years, as opposed to months, before he comes home. This orphanage has not had a child go home in the last year.

I’m not sure why God has allowed us to be involved in such excrutiating adoptions. First Jafta, now this. I thought that things with Jafta were particularly difficult because we were living as a family during the time of uncertainty. But now, I think that having a child living in an orphanage is by no means a better option. The children here all call us “mama and papa keanan” . . . and it’s both delicious and heartbreaking to hear that all day.