Latest Press Release

Here is the latest Press Release from FHG.
Please continue to pray that God would move on the hearts of all involved both on the US and Haitian side to do what's best for these children and unite them with their forever families as soon as possible.


Paperwork Lost for Some Humanitarian Paroled Orphans

Paperwork losses and ongoing negotiations block children's departure from Haiti
(Port-au-Prince, Haiti) Twenty-nine children from the Maison des Enfants de Dieu (Children of the House of God) orphanage, who qualified for humanitarian parole, had their paperwork submitted to the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince last weekend. The paperwork for 11 of those children has been lost at the Embassy and needs to be resubmitted.
There is still no word on when the Haitian government will release the approximately 300 to 400 remaining children, who qualify for humanitarian parole under the U.S. guidelines, and reunite them with their adoptive families in the United States. Parents were told on a recent conference call with the Department of State, the Joint Council on International Children's Services and others that this process would NOT take weeks or months, but days.
Kim Harmon, President of the U.S. ministry, For His Glory Adoption Outreach (FHG), asked all who care about these defenseless Haitian orphans to, "Please continue to urge our government officials to press this issue so that our children are not left in this state of limbo between the U.S. and Haitian governments. Do not let our children be forgotten."
FHG is a ministry to the people and children of Haiti. Our ministry is dedicated to fundraising and assisting the orphanage, Maison des Enfants de Dieu, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. For previous press releases and updates visit http://www.forhisgloryoutreach.org/

Why Pray for Haiti? (Or why pray at all??)

WHY PRAY?
I came across a very thought provoking blog post this morning that tackles the following questions:
Why should we pray for Haiti? 
Does it REALLY make a difference??

Check out the post and the discussion/comments that followed Here
and then come back and tell me
Why do you pray??

A Call to Prayer and Fasting

While I am rejoicing that some children affected by the earthquake 2 weeks ago have finally been reunited with their anxious adoptive parents, there are still MANY, many more who are stuck in Haiti.  The government of Haiti's recent decision to halt ALL children leaving the country not only affects those families waiting for their children to come home, but also limits what the orphanages in Haiti can do and provide for the untold thousands of other children who were left destitute by this terrible tragedy.
The ministry that is associated with my nephews' orphanage released the following call to prayer and fasting last night.  Would you join with me in lifting up this country, their leadership and especially the children?

Our God is a God who listens to the cries of His children!

A CALL FOR NATIONAL PRAYER AND FASTING ON JANUARY 28TH FOR THE ORPHANS OF HAITI:

(Kingsland, Texas) We are deeply grateful to God for all of the Haitian children who have been united with their adoptive parents. We sincerely thank all of the governors, senators, congressmen and government departments who have joined in the effort to secure the safety and well being of these defenseless Haitian orphans. Unfortunately, there now seems to be a mountain standing between the orphans who remain in Haiti and the safe and loving homes of their adoptive families. That mountain is the Haitian Government's new, and still undefined, exit process for children with foreign adoptive parents. With limited resources available to Haitian orphanages, this process has stopped the departure of orphans with humanitarian parole status and directly affects our ability to care for those children orphaned since the earthquake.

I call on all adoptive families, relatives, friends, churches, Christian ministries and all those who care for Haiti's orphans to set aside Thursday, January 28th, as a day of fasting and prayer. We are asking God to intervene, not only for the children in our Port-au-Prince orphanage, Maison des Enfants de Dieu, but also for all the surviving orphanages in Haiti. In addition, we want to include those children who now have no one and no place to go because of the limitations of Haitian orphanages. We would like you to specifically pray:
· For the immediate safety and security of the orphanages, the staff and children. In recent days, we have received verified reports of Haitian criminal gangs targeting orphanages as locations with potential stocks of food and water.
· That God will provide the water, formula, food, shelter and supplies needed by the surviving orphanages of Haiti to care for the swelling number new orphans. Our orphanage alone accepted 40 new orphans on Tuesday, January 26th, but many more have no place to go. The needs of these newly orphaned Haitians are immediate.
· That God will comfort and strengthen orphanage staffs in Haiti. Most have lost their homes and many have lost loved ones. Yet they have continued to selflessly serve the orphans in their care.
· That the ongoing discussions between the U.S. and Haitian governments will quickly produce a workable process to allow orphans to be united with their foreign adoptive parents where they will be safe and loved. And that the cries of the orphans will be heard in the hearts of the negotiators. Each child who departs Haiti opens up much needed space for those children who now have nothing and no one.
For His Glory Adoption Outreach

Still Waiting, But God is Working Miracles!

Long story short:
The children from my nephews' orphanage are STILL at the orphanage in Haiti.
Workers decided NOT to walk the children the 2km on Wednesday, opting instead to send several workers to the Embassy to process the paperwork. (Turned out to be a VERY good decision as they were turned away and asked to present more documentatin.)
Thursday, an attempt was made to drive 114 of the children (toddlers and older kids on a bus, and infants in a van) to the Embassy, but horrible road conditions, dead bodies and the unbearable heat in the bus led the workers to decide to head back to the orphanage.  The younger children were beginning to get ill.  You can see coverage of this trek here (covered by Soledad O'Brien from CNN).  The team got permission to process the remaining paperwork without the children present and that is what's currently going on now.

Sooo many blessings have occured in the past few days!  Supplies have been given, buses and vans donated, Samaritan's purse has gotten involved, doctors and even a search and rescue team are now with the children and are committed to seeing them through this journey!

One of the doctors present with the children just posted this on her FB page: "Pierre (the Haitian director of the orphanage) has been invited by CNN to be interviewed for the Telethon for Haiti tonight by C Anderson Cooper broadcasting to an estimated 40 million people.  Is God Good or What???? THIS IS REALLY FOR HIS GLORY!"

I am so grateful for all of the people all over the world praying for these children and am so relieved to see so many giving of themselves to ensure that they make it safely to their families!
God IS so good.  "An ever present help in times of trouble."
Thank you Jesus for working your miracles even in the midst of chaos and trouble.  You ARE SO Good!

**Urgent** 133 Orphans & Workers Attempting a Walk to the US Embassy for Evacuation

Breaking News and Prayers Needed This Morning!!!
Below is a press release from the For His Glory Adoption Outreach Website.
All 133 children are en route by foot this morning to the US Embassy to be evacuated.
They have very limited supplies and won't be provided any additional while at the US Embassy.
Please pray for the safety of these children and for the orphanage workers who will be attempting to keep all of them safe and together as they make the walk to the Embassy and then for their safety and protection as they travel together to the US.

Press Release: January 19, 2010
Orphans Intend to Depart Haiti
Orphans begin procedures to depart Haiti at U.S. Embassy
(Port-au-Prince, Haiti) On January 20, 2010, 133 orphans from the Maison des Enfants de Dieu (Children of the House of God) orphanage will begin the difficult process outlined by the U.S. Department of State for humanitarian parole and onward transportation to the United States. In accordance with instructions received from the State Department, as relayed by the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS) at 8 p.m. today, orphans along with orphanage staff members have been instructed to arrive at the U.S. Embassy as early as possible on Wednesday morning. JCICS warned that no food, water or facilities would be available for the children while processing at the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince.
JCICS further relayed that orphanage requests to the U.S. Embassy for security and transportation for the children have been denied by the State Department. The U.S. ministry associated with this orphanage, For His Glory Adoption Outreach (FHG), was also asked to stop requesting security, transportation or even water at the orphanage location. Following discussions with staff and board members in Port-au-Prince, the difficult decision was made that all 133 children, including approximately 60 children under the age of 3, will begin early in the morning of January 20th to walk the over 2 kilometers to the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince. This decision was made due to the limited staff available and the increasingly dangerous security situation at the orphanage in Port-au-Prince. The staff will carry as much water, food and baby formula as possible with them for the orphans while processing at the U.S. Embassy. JCICS relayed that once processing is completed, the orphans will travel to the United States on "cargo jets to locations that are not often known until an hour or so before the flight leaves."
Kim Harmon, President of FHG, acknowledged that "this arrangement is far from ideal for the safety and well-being of the children. We are calling to all who care about these precious children to pray earnestly for their safety tomorrow."
FHG is a ministry to the people and children of Haiti. Our ministry is dedicated to fundraising and assisting the orphanage, Maison des Enfants de Dieu, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

URGENT CALL TO ACT - Tuesday, January 19, 2010
We need you all to act again on behalf of all our children. Currently, we have two families from Argentina and one from Canada adopting. Our governments are not cooperating and working together to get all our kids out, they are dragging their feet. We are going to start losing babies due to dehydration if we do not evacuate these children quickly to the U.S. and then process them here. We do not have time for a one by one assessment of the state of their adoption process and issuance of visas prior to evacuation.
Please, begin contacting your governors and continue to pressure your senators and congressmen to get a plan in place, quickly, to evacuate the children to the U.S. The Argentinean and Canadian Governments could then work with the U.S. to bring their children home from the U.S. Time is of the essence. This is not going to look good for the U.S., the State Department, the other world governments or the United Nations if our children, who survived the earthquake, begin to perish because the governments and agencies would not work together to quickly evacuate all the children in the orphanages.
This needs to be a united effort. PLEASE CALL YOUR GOVERNORS, SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE.
We have confirmed reports that Governor Ed Rendell form Pennsylvania went to Haiti and has brought back 54 children to Pennsylvania from an orphanage. If this can happen for them, it needs to happen for all the orphans that are suffering in orphanages with little supplies, starting to experience diarrhea and sicknesses due to the conditions.
PLEASE ACT NOW ON BEHALF OF OUR BABIES AND CHILDREN.
Thank you,
Kim Harmon,
President

Please Contact Your Congressmen and Senators!!

For His Glory Outreach released the following statement this morning:
January 18, 2010

Kim is asking all families to please contact your local media. Tell them that the orphanage that Geraldo Rivera was at during his two hour special last night is your orphanage where your kids are. We need to CONTINUE to get the message out that these kids need to come home. And we need the public to join us in being loud with our government that this is what needs to happen.

And we need everyone to contact their Senators and Congressmen, and ask everyone you know to contact them as well. It is a federal holiday, but call and leave voicemails, emails, etc. We have to keep pushing, letting everyone we can know that we are there, and we need help, and we need to get the kids out. Thanks for your help!


Below is a copy of the email I sent to both my Congressman and Senator.  Please feel free to copy and use to contact YOUR constituents as well.  (I used Google and simply did a search for "Congressman, DE and Senator, DE and easily found the email links and phone #s for each)

"My request is regarding the following orphanage in Port Au Prince and the EMERGENCY EVACUATION of children already matched with adoptive families here in the US:

Maison des Enfants de Dieu houses 138 orphans at Delmas 31 #32 in Port Au Prince. This week's earthquake have left these children with substandard housing and a lack of access to food and water. They received food and water yesterday but this was only after an urgent cry for help went out and people connected to the orphanage began desperately seeking help from any sources they knew of. They were only given a 1/2 day supply; obviously this will quickly run out. They are also concerned with their safety as the exterior walls to the compound have collapsed and looting is an issue in all of the city. They have sick children and many babies who have been drinking regular milk rather than formula for lack of a better alternative. Please advocate for the children of this orphanage to be evacuated to the US as there are not places in Haiti that can adequately take in this many people at once. Many of these children have been matched with adoptive parents who are willing to care for them and complete their adoptions stateside. There is paperwork to establish who these children are; they are not newly orphaned children with no identification. These children need to be evacuated from Haiti as staying in Haiti at best means life in a tent city and at worst means starvation or death from illness.
I implore you to contact the State Department and ask them to issue the approval for this to take place!
From the JCICS website...
"It is Joint Council’s position that the U.S. government should immediately grant humanitarian parole to all children being adopted by U.S. citizens. At present, Joint Council is appealing with the U.S. government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to issue humanitarian parole for any child that has been referred to an American family. Humanitarian parole, if granted, would eliminate the need for a visa. Humanitarian parole would also minimize the paperwork and possibly eliminate the need to find documents, which have been destroyed in the earthquake. Given the urgent needs of the children, the fact that the Haitian government has lifted all exit requirements and that the children have adoptive families, we believe that humanitarian parole is the most humane solution to this crisis. Please note that Joint Council has not received confirmation for humanitarian parole but we are working diligently towards that end. When and if humanitarian parole is granted, we will publish the information widely. "
The Haitian government has lifted all exit requirements. That is a huge deal. That means it is just up to our government to agree to let children who have been matched with families in and to come up with a plan to do so.
Thanks cannot even begin to express my gratitude for your timely and urgent help in this matter,
Jennifer D. Ream
Wilmington, DE
P.S. I have two 9-year old nephews who were adopted from this very orphanage and JUST arrived HOME the week before Thanksgiving. I am so grateful that they are home, but there are so many other families waiting for their children to be saved. Please help."
 

Not only will this allow the children from this one particular orphanage to come home, but it will allow ALL Haitian children currently in the process of being adopted from the US to be evacuated out of the unthinkable circumstances they find themselves in.
Please do what you can, pass along the information and pray that God will do "exceedingly more than we can ask or imagine!"
To God Be The Glory!
~Jenn~

Please pray for a miracle, NOW!

Below is an excerpt from my sister-in-law Julie's blog.  The orphanage where she and her husband just recently adopted two of their boys is in dire need.

Please pass this along to all you can and ask for urgent prayers on behalf of the 100 or so children (from infants to teenagers) who are in desperate need of a miracle right now.


 

"This is the heartbreaking message posted by our orphanage here :" (Once on the site, scroll down to read the updates)

URGENT CALL FOR PRAYER
We received word from Pierre this morning that the situation in the orphanage is becoming dire. We would like to ask EVERYONE that receives this to use this information to get on your knees before our Lord and ask Him to provide.
We have one nanny that is deceased and the orphanage needs her body to be removed.
The orphanage has no drinkable water.
In addition they need:
formula for babies
medicines
IV fluids (one child is currently on an IV)
charcoal to cook
diesel
cash to buy supplies if they find them. They are running out of cash and there are no banks open to get cash, so it needs to be delivered by someone already on the ground or by helicopter.
Others are beginning to rob them of what supplies they do have.
There are helicopters flying over the orphanage and they have made a sign on the roof that says they are an orphanage and need help.
The staff is also working to get together all the paperwork for each child that has an adoptive family in a way that it can be attached to their body if there is an opportunity to evacuate.
For His Glory is doing everything we can on this end to contact people who may be able to help. Please pray. Currently, that is the best thing you can do to help.
Trusting in Him,
For His Glory


Our hearts are broken for this indescribable situation. Lord, please deliver them!