Where do they go from here? (Brenda's recent trip to Haiti to see Luke)

Many of you have messaged or wondered what does this process actually look like going forward for the Tobey’s! Will this just be another round of disappointments and lost money for them? Or how is this time different….Brenda did this write up for us after her most recent visit with Luke! We hope this helps you understand the complexity, but also the hope that this time looks different for them! Read what Brenda has to say!

“Mid October afforded me the opportunity to head to Haiti on another medical mission trip.  It was an exciting time for me, but also a time filled with great anxiety over seeing Luke.  It had been two years since my last trip.....the longest time frame that has lapsed in all of my trips to see him and I knew in my gut what that meant.  He wouldn't remember......

Sitting at the kitchen table upon our arrival, Luke told Momma Bonnie what I has suspected would be true, he didn't remember me….

Truth be told I wanted to break into a million pieces.  My heart was shattered.  It was one of those punch in the gut moments that makes you question all things in your life in one second.  I wanted to cry like a child, both because I was crushed and because I was overjoyed that he hadn't been wondering why I hadn't come back for him.

The good news was Luke wasn't feeling the pain of our adoption process the same way I was… and for this I was grateful. 

It has always been a huge blessing to me that Luke was so young during this adoption process that he had not idea what was going on (or rather NOT going on with our adoption,) Throughout the process it has been my goal to protect him from knowing that we are adopting him for fear of him being hurt by the time and troubles. 

Adopting from Haiti has been the most unreal and frustrating experiences that doesn't even make sense to most adults let alone trying to explain it to a child. 

Luke's health, happiness, and well being has always been my priority and he is blessed to have that covered in his current living situation so my job was to keep him safe from the heartache of his adoption.  He understands us to be his "sponsors."  Sponsors help cover the costs of the children at Cabaret Haiti Mission and often are even able to visit with the children they sponsor while on mission trips to the home so its not uncommon to have a relationship with your sponsored child.  Luke understands that our family loves him, prays for him, visits him, AND most importantly bring him special presents :)

He's no different than our children here in America...... an adult comes home with a suitcase and they want to know what we brought them right!?

Luke’s favorite superhero is Captain America….seems fitting:-)

This trip was filled with many blessed moments of serving my Haitian friends and providing medical care they would otherwise not have access to.  It was also filled with lots of great Luke moments that I cherish. 

In addition, I was able to connect with some new contacts that are helping with our adoption on the ground in Haiti and that is extremely important.  Most people in my position have had to move to Haiti for a period of time, usually a few months or so, in order to complete their adoption.  Literally being there in Haiti working on the adoption and being in the face of the people that make the decisions is like no person I could hire. It’s really the only way to complete an adoption in our unique situation.  So as we work diligently on paperwork, process, and relationships/connections we also work on a plan for one of us to relocate and be the force that wraps this up and brings our boy home.  The idea of that seems overwhelming, but we know ultimately God is in control and He has all the details already worked out, so we will just trust in His timing!

Right now we have the attention of the right people and we must move now to continue moving forward and gaining momentum!

I am so excited and so scared all at once but mostly I am confident Luke is our son and he is meant to be here as part of our tribe.  The gratitude I have for you all joining us in whatever capacity you are able to is the greatest blessing!!   WE are making this happen!  WE are bringing Luke home, together!   A million thanks still could not convey the gratitude we feel for for this LOVE SWARM that’s surrounding us during this week! “

Love, Brenda 

LEMONADE STAND SATURDAY!!! A Tobey Kid Event!!!

When we first started throwing around ideas of how we were going to raise the money to bring Luke home forever, the Tobey kids were excited to get in on the action! They came up with a great idea to have kids and families around the city or even country do their own Lemonade Stand for Luke! And even came up with a graphic that you can print and post on your stand!

We thought this was such a great idea and wanted to incorporate the Lemonade theme into the entire event! Besides who doesn’t love a good glass of lemonade and here in Florida it’s pretty much always a good time to drink Lemonade since it’s a million degrees outside all the time!

So recently when Brenda went to see Luke she had a glass of lemonade with him and took this adorable photo together! We love how the Tobey’s are involving their kids in this project and they want to challenge you to be a part of the fun this Saturday, November 10th!

Come be a part of the fun HERE and don’t forget you can also buy a virtual glass of lemonade HERE!

Do For One What You Wish You Could Do For All

Today we want to tell you a little bit about the little guy you are pouring into and loving on through this time! The little man the Tobey’s have fell in love with and can’t wait to be able to hold and hug him everyday!

Luke has been in the orphanage since the death of his mother in March of 2012.  His mom died when Luke was just a couple of weeks old and his father and his aunt brought him to the orphanage certain he was near death.  Brenda and the team arrived in the morning and as you heard on the video, met Luke for the first time and stepped right into the role of caretaker for him. She fell in love with this tiny baby and strongly felt this one was different from the rest! This one was meant to be in her arms for longer than just a week during her stay.

 Luke’s biological father knows where he is and has come to the orphanage a couple of times to see him, but is unable to care for him. He also has other children and even when offered the support to reunify with the family, desired to have Luke stay where he is.  He has come to meet The Tobey’s during their visits to see Luke and has expressed his happiness in their relationship with Luke.  He has verbalized to the authorities as well that he has a strong desire for Luke to be adopted by the Tobey Family.  

The name of the orphanage Luke currently lives in is Cabaret Haiti Mission, Inc. You can check them out here!

https://www.cabarethaitimission.org    

Luke's parents at the orphanage are Mike and Bonnie Snider or Papa Mike and Momma Bonnie as they are called by all the children who live there. They have lived in Haiti at the Children's home since 2010 and are the loving parents to the 50 kids living there!! Luke is actually pretty spoiled:)  Since he's been there since he was several weeks old, he has made his way "upstairs" where the kids are only allowed on special occasions, he can often be found sharing a cup of coffee with Momma Bonnie in the am or even stealing a snuggle in bed.  When Brenda goes to visit Luke, she stays at the orphanage with them and Luke is her wake up call:-) He likes to come into where we stay and sneak into bed for cuddles. 

Mike and Bonnie have made the adoption process tolerable for The Tobey’s because they know he is loved and cared for so very well.  They do an incredible job of loving on all the kids!  

Currently Luke is obsessed with Captain America.  He attends school and loves to play soccer like all kids at the orphanage.  He loves praise and worship and he likes to perform dances and singing on open Mic night every Saturday night in the commons area of the orphanage.  

Luke will turn 7 in January.  This is 7 birthdays, 7 Christmas’s, 7 of everything that we have missed sharing with him.  Many firsts of walking, talking, playing, days of school etc.  Though these firsts haven't been experienced here at home with his family at the orphanage, the Tobey’s have been able to share in much of the joy of these special events because of the contact with Mike and Bonnie and their regular visits.   

It's Lemonade For Luke Kickoff Day!! (A Love Swarm)

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been a little quiet around Promise Love the past few months! We hit our goal with the Smith’s and they are all riding around in vehicles that fit their beautiful families and that was so exciting!!

And then we heard of an amazing family, the Tobey’s, who have been waiting SIX years….Yes, I will say that again….SIX years to bring home their son, Luke, from Haiti. Luke is currently in an orphanage and Brenda (mom) met him when she was on a medical missions trip there 6 years ago. She is a nicu nurse here and often takes medical missions trips to Haiti with a team to help babies coming into the orphanages. If you missed the story and this beautiful family, please be sure to watch it HERE….it is truly an amazing God story!

After we shared that story with you, things got a little hectic with our lives and work and kids. But we are ready to kick back into high gear and get this little boy home to his forever family! God surely knows they have all waited long enough!

So the next 7 days…ONE WEEK…is dedicated to this LOVE SWARM!! Whats a Love Swarm you ask? Well just like bees swarm to build their colonies to produce something sweet like honey, we want to swarm this family with love so they can continue building theirs and bring this special little guy home forever! But it takes alot of us to do that!

Will you help us swarm them with LOVE?!

Here’s how you can get be a part of the swarm!

1. Go like our facebook event Here!

2. Buy a glass of Lemonade!!!

3. Host a lemonade stand in your neighborhood this Saturday! (printables loaded on the fb event page)

4. Share this page this event and challenge 5 or more friends to buy a glass!

Thats it! And by the end of the week, watch how much love is swarmed on the Tobey family! Check back here for updates, videos and announcements throughout the week!