During my May 4-9, 2011 trip to Haiti I spent a lot of time talking with Redjina. Her English continues to improve and we are able to talk more in length. During our conversations we will write some words down on paper to help clarify when we don’t understand the others pronunciations. And we sometimes need to look up words to translate meanings. But all in all we are able to communicate very effectively.
That said I want to share something that God revealed during this past trip. This story is so amazing to me that it is obvious that only God could have orchestrated it, and for which only He deserves the glory!
I arrived in Tabarre around mid-day on Wednesday, May 4th. Jesula had not yet arrived from Camatin and Redjina was still in school. So, I spent some time with Ricot discussing the status of the adoption process for both girls. With regards to Redjina, Ricot said the only outstanding item he needed was to obtain a Death Certificate for her deceased father. Although I had never discussed Redjina’s father with her, I understood he had died when she was very young. Anyway, Ricot said he hoped to have the Death Certificate within a week and at that point everything needed would be in the attorney’s hands.
On Thursday evening Redjina and I were alone talking. During the conversation and to my surprise Redjina said, “Popi I miss my father”. For some time I had been hoping the opportunity would arise for Redjina and I to discuss her family and childhood. Well, here was my chance to learn more. I asked her, “Jina why do you miss your father?” to which she replied, “because he die.” I told her about my mother dying when I was young and how I still miss her 30 years later. Then I asked the question to which God revealed his majesty. I simply asked, “baby, when did your father die?” She thought for a minute, like she does when she is trying to figure out how to answer in English and in a manner I will understand. Then she said, “Popi, do you remember when you brought mommi to meet Jesula for the first time, and I met you?” I said “yes baby, that was last October...”
Shawna and I met Redjina by chance when we travelled to Haiti last October for the sole purpose of Shawna meeting Jesula for the first time. We spent only a day, October 29th, in Tabarre where Redjina lives, before going onto Camatin with Jesula. During those few hours in Tabarre on October 29th Redjina made a very profound impression on us. God placed her so heavily on our hearts that day, that after we left her there, Shawna and I could not get her out of our thoughts. Within a couple of weeks, following a lot of prayer and discussion, we knew God was leading us through a chance meeting to adopt her, and that we did!
Anyway, back to my conversation with Redjina. So, I had asked Redjina the question, “when did your father die?” To which she replied, “Popi, do you remember when you brought mommi to meet Jesula for the first time, and I met you?” To which I said, “yes baby, that was last October, it was October 29th”. Then, in a shaky voice Redjina said, “my father die that day I met you.” I was stunned. In my mind I questioned if that was possible. I thought maybe she was confused. I questioned her again and she appeared sure about that being the day. We talked a little longer and soon decided it was time to sleep. Needless to say I had a hard time sleeping that night.
The next day on Friday, Ricot came to me and said he had gotten Redjina’s father’s Death Certificate and handed it to me. The first thing I saw when I looked at it was, ‘Date of Death: October 29, 2010’. I asked Ricot about her father. Ricot said her father was injured in the earthquake, January 12, 2010, and had indeed died shortly after Shawna and I left Tabarre on October 29, 2010.
How Great is our God? I am just in awe to see myself placed in the middle of God’s eternal plan. To realize that God’s plan included what I thought was a chance meeting with Redjina, only to find out many months later that her father died on the same day that I met her and that God placed her in my heart. I have no doubt that my family is Living a Part in God’s Story!
