On U.S. Soil
Julie arrived in Miami on a plane with about 39 children, and another plane (if we understood right) arrived with about 48 children. Melinda called us at about 8:00 pm and told us that she was still in customs with all the children, and Julie fell asleep before landing and was carried off the plane sleeping and was still sleeping in a Red Cross worker’s arms. At a little after 3:00pm today we arrived at Miami airport, and spent a couple hours there on couches with drinks and snacks and a few other expectant parents there also. The officials there did not want to believe us that a plane was coming in, they claimed they knew nothing about it. But we had heard from Melinda at about 1:00 pm that she was on the way to get on the airplane, with all the children and documents, and at about 1:15 we got a call from Melinda’s friend that stayed in Haiti and she told us that Melinda was on the airplane and it had just left. By the time we left the Miami airport, they had a paper that said that Julie was on a flight, but that the flight was going to Orland-Sanford airport. So that’s why it took so long to get to Miami, they went to Orlando first. The children will all get to a children’s home here in Miami, where they will be bathed, served supper, and spend the night while officials continue to do paper work, which we submitted to them before leaving to go to a motel for night. We are told that we can be back there at about 9:00 am and soon get to be with the children and play with them, etc., until each child gets cleared to leave with their parents.
We are spending the night in a motel, ANXIOUSLY AWAITING going in the A.M. to see our girl for the first time…