New experiences!

Well these last few days have been quite an experience for Delcy and all of us as well! Delcy woke up his first morning to a little disappointment.  He didn't realize that Aly and Val don't live at home anymore, but in their own apartments.  Bill was able to make him feel better though, with a plate of waffles, eggs and ham...all were approved of by Delcy!  That afternoon Aly and Val joined us when we took Delcy shopping for some clothes that are a little better suited to winter weather in Omaha. As we drove through Omaha, Delcy commented that there are not as many people out on the streets as there are in Haiti.  When we got to the mall, he saw where all the people were! He saw the escalator at Von Maur and asked if he could ride on it...after three flights up and then back down, he was satisfied.  We had a successful shopping trip and Delcy is currently feeling very stylish :-)  

We took Delcy with us to the grocery store and he was pretty amazed at all it had to offer.  He asked if the store had hot dogs, so we bought some and they were part of our dinner that evening.  The next afternoon Val asked Delcy, "do you like our dogs?"...Delcy's response was "yes thank you, I ate one last night." We all had a good laugh about that, Delcy included! 

We all went to church together on Sunday morning, and Delcy was very good at communicating with all those who introduced themselves and wished him well.  He said he enjoyed church very much and would like to go there as often as possible.  Well, since I work there, I'll plan on bringing him with me when I can.  After church, we went out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant and Delcy had tacos, beans and rice and liked all three.  On our way home, we drove around Omaha a bit to show Delcy some highlights and stopped for ice cream downtown.  We also drove by the hospital where Delcy will have his surgery so that he could see where he will be having his operation.

Nick, our new friend who speaks Creole, picked Delcy up today and took him to the Children's Museum along with his 4 year old son, Niko.  They had lunch at a Jamaican restaurant and then spent some time at Nick's house.  Nick told me that Delcy saw a pretty young woman that worked at the museum and walked right up to her, introduced himself and talked to her for almost 10 minutes!  He's very charming our Delcyn:-)

A few other things that Delcy has learned about in the last few days...hot showers, dishwashers, wearing seatbelts in the car, how to make and throw a snowball, operating the TV and DVD player, and bowling with Wii. He also learned that you don't put ketchup on your salad (he prefers poppyseed dressing!). His English is getting better everyday and we're all picking up a little creole!

Delcy's pre-surgical  appointments with his surgeon are this Thursday and we're supposed to get up to a foot of snow that day!  We have a four wheel drive Jeep, but would still appreciate some prayers 

that we have no problems getting Delcy where he needs to be.  I'll keep you posted...

Peace,

Margie

Well, after much anticipation, Delcy arrived in Omaha this evening! Thank God for answered prayers!   I can't imagine what this journey has already been like for Delcy...waiting, waiting and more waiting!  Now, he's left behind all that he's familiar with and entered a culture that will most likely send him into shock. And to make it all a little more bizarre for him, he came to the Midwest in February! So long balmy Haiti...hello fresh snow in Omaha!

Bill and I were lucky enough to be connected with a former Haitian volunteer/mission worker.  His name is Nick, he lives here in Omaha and he speaks fluent Haitian Creole...can I get an AMEN?!!  Nick went with us to pick up Delcy and what a Godsend that was! Poor Delcy looked exhausted, nervous and overwhelmed when they brought him to us in a wheelchair.  He was polite, but very quiet at first.  After we got his bag and got in the car though he started talking with Nick a little bit, and by the time we got home he was chatting away!  It really helped Delcy start to feel comfortable to have someone that he could talk to as we showed him around the house.  When Bill showed him his room, Delcy gave him a big hug. :-)

We have two daughters the same age as Delcy and they came over to meet him and brought their fiance and boyfriend as well.  Aly and Val both took French in High School and before long they were all laughing together and communicating fairly well (our Google Translate app on the iPad was a bit of a help too!).  It was very special to see my kids starting to form a friendship with Delcy so quickly...they can't wait to come back and spend more time with him.  Nick is planning on spending quite a bit of time with us as well and I know Delcy will like that.

I believe that everything went as well as we could have hoped, and I'm looking forward to the rest of this journey. For now, I think it's safe to say that Delcy will sleep well tonight!

Peace,

Margie

We're almost there

You'd think that having a visa for Delcy would pretty much mean all is well. That's not exactly how it turned out.  Nothing is easy in Haiti and Delcy's journey since our last post has had many twists and turns.  But, he's almost on his way.  If all goes as planned, Delcy will be flying from Port-au-Prince to Omaha this Friday, February 15. 

Well, actually, all we know for sure is that he will be flying to Miami even though he does have a ticket to Omaha. One thing we learned during this saga is that a visa is really only an invitation to come to a US port of entry.  It does not mean you actually get to enter the country.  Whether you can enter or not  and how long you get to stay is determined by the Department of Homeland Security AFTER you reach the port of entry. 

It will be a long and exciting day and probably very scary trip for this young man. His host family will greet him at the airport with a heavy jacket, hat etc. because, well, he doesn't have any snow gear, of course.

On February 21 he will undergo testing and the surgery is scheduled for February 25.

Delcy was at Kay Jezi Mari today getting last minute instructions from Sr. Jackie. He's a little nervous, of course, but so profoundly grateful for all those who have helped to make this trip possible. He said he is praying for all of us. I told him we were all praying for him.