Last night I was checking Fabiola's immigrant visa case status online, like I do every couple days, and USCIS has finally approved the petition! The first part of the process is done! They should be sending a letter to my parents detailing the next steps. It's about to get a lot more expensive, but I'm so happy that some progress is being made. It really lifted my spirits.
I got sick again starting Sunday night. I've really been feeling weak lately, but today I feel a little stronger. The evenings have been hard because we normally lose power around 4 pm. Once the fan goes off it gets really really hot. We do have batteries, but we don't start to use them until it gets dark in the hopes they will last throughout the night.
The girls from the children's home have been living at the same place as Fabiola and I for about a month now. We have enjoyed having them around. Fabiola has been helping them get organized and showing them how to cook, etc. I normally just goof off with them whenever I have the energy for it. I chase the younger ones around the house and silly things like that. When the power goes out I try to use some of that time to read the Bible. The girls see me do this and I hope it's a good example for them. I want them to have a man in their life that loves the Word of God. I love listening to the girls sing songs of worship to the Lord! I love seeing them read the Bible! The other night they were sitting together at a table and writing prayer requests. After they write the prayer requests they pass it to the person next to them and they pray.
There are some things I will not miss about living in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. There are also things I will miss. My wife is at the top of that list. When I leave on July 22nd, Fabiola and I will be married almost 8 months. It's been a hard 8 months, but it's not because of our marriage. I don't know how I could have made it this long without her. I'm not sure how I'm going to make it without her while I am in the States and she is still here. She is such a sweet, beautiful person. We have been through a lot in only 8 months and I know we can make it through anything. Our covenant of marriage will last until one of us draws our last breath or the Lord comes back.
I've been talking with the board of CLS and Sherrie and I believe they have reached the decision to allow Fabiola to receive financial support in Haiti to help cover her expenses here. So if anyone who currently supports us would like to continue to support Fabiola's work with Christian Light School you can do so. This will be a big help and will allow me to focus more on paying off debt in the States and preparing things for when Fabiola can come. Sherrie will get the money to her through payroll so it won't even be disbursed to my personal bank account. It will just be for Fabiola, which in my opinion is a great investment!
At the moment I think I will be keeping my travel schedule the same as when I originally bought the tickets. I will stay in Pennsylvania until August 20th and then fly to Florida to begin looking for work. I'm going to try to earn a little money while I'm in Pennsylvania if I can get some small jobs to do, etc. It's certainly a bittersweet time thinking about the return to my country. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, but I'm really going to miss my wife!
