Meet the Timjon Family: September's Family of the Month

I'm very excited to introduce you all to the Timjon family! I've so enjoyed chatting with them and hearing about their adoption story. I connected with them through a ministry called Children of the Promise in Haiti. I have known many people (including my parents!) who have worked with this ministry first-hand and I think that what they do for many young children and families in Haiti is incredible. I encourage you to go to their site and learn more about Children of the Promise.

Although this conversation with the family of the month is a little longer than usual, I encourage you to read it all! It's an absolutely beautiful story :)

Aren't they are such a darling family?

1.) What would you like your readers to know about your family?  Why did you choose to adopt from Haiti?

Our adoption story is definitely unique (to put it mildly!) but we are incredibly blessed to be in the process of adopting our second little "Haitian Sensation!" 

Our family and our first adoption journey started back in 2004, following a life-changing trip to work in the orphanages of Haiti.  Our eyes were opened to an amazing bunch of kids who had such joy and zest for life and were just waiting for someone to say "yes" to them so that they might have a family and a more promising future.  

It was not long after we returned from Haiti that we were actively pursuing adoption, and in the throes of the home-study and Dossier preparation process.

We were blessed to receive a referral on Thanksgiving weekend, 2004 for our first daughter, Nadia.  From the tips of her chubby little toes to the tips of her cute little afro-curls, we knew she was ours and began the arduous 18 month wait until she finally joined our family on Easter weekend, 2006 at 2.5 years of age.

Nadia blesses us every day with her delightful sense of humor, her compassionate heart and her enthusiasm for life.  It is a privilege to be her parents andwe are so grateful that God chose her for us, and us for her!

We knew that we would adopt from Haiti again someday, but that dream was deferred a bit when our family took a big leap of faith in 2008.  Following a long-standing career in Sales, Jason went back to grad school to pursue a career in Dentistry and to gain a skill that we hope to bring back to the people of Haiti in the years ahead.  As a stay-at-home Mom and student Dad, we felt certain that it would be impossible to adopt again until his studies were complete.  As it turns out, God's ways are sometimes higher (and far more creative) than we might ever imagine....

2.) Can you tell us a little about Givenson?

Born in the north of Haiti in November, 2009, Givenson was abandoned at a local hospital with a life-threatening birth defect at just 3 days old.  After emergency surgical intervention, it was determined that he would need further surgical care that was simply not available in Haiti.  He was transferred to Children of the Promise Orphan Care Center and staff there began the process of acquiring a Medical VISA and a commitment for donated surgical care in the US.

How did our family initially come to know Givenson?  Quite honestly, he entered our lives quite unassumingly - his was one of the cases given to me as a volunteer who helps COTP and other orphan care centers in securing commitments for donated surgical care here in the US.  His case was proposed at the Mayo Clinic here in MN and caught the attention of a compassionate surgeon and nurse team.

As plans were coming together for Givenson's medical care and transfer, a massive earthquake hit Haiti on January 12th, 2010, leaving an already struggling country in total despair and chaos.  Though he and all of the children at the orphanage were unharmed, it was unclear if there would be any hope for Givenson to get to the US for the care he needed.  

But miracle after amazing miracle happened on his behalf and with the help of Mayo Clinic, the current MN senator, the Department of Homeland Security, and countless others, Givenson was on a flight out of Haiti and MN bound just ten days after the earthquake.

With little time to make the usual arrangements for a local host family in the Mayo Clinic area, our family agreed to host Givenson in our own home and to walk him through the surgery he needed before returning to the orphanage in Haiti or to an adoptive family here in the US.  His expected length of stay was 3-6 months.

At the time he arrived, we knew that he had one congenital birth defect that required two surgeries to correct.  But his pre-op physical at Mayo Clinic just days after his arrival revealed a far more extensive series of congenital birth defects (35 in total!) and launched us all into an amazing and unexpected journey of learning, praying, grieving, healing, hoping, loving, bonding and ultimately, ADOPTING!

We know now that Givenson has a very rare condition called VACTERL Association - a series of non-random birth defects affecting multiple systems in the body including the spine, GI tract, heart, trachea/esophagus, kidneys, bladder, limbs, etc.  Amazingly, though he has required an extensive amount of diagnostics, surgeries (eight so far!),ongoing therapies and medications, Givenson's "prognosis" is extremely good!  He is a bright, happy little guy who has the most amazing disposition and joyful spirit.  He is an absolute delight to all who know him and he has COMPLETELY stolen our hearts.

You can read much, much more about his incredible medical journey on a blog we have kept since his arrival:  www.haitisgivenson.blogspot.com  His story is a MIRACLE story!

Having been through so much together, we have bonded completely and totally with this little miracle boy, and despite all the obstacles, we took another leap of faith and decided to pursue permanent placement of Givenson into our family.  It has been a unique adoption process, requiring the counsel of both adoption and immigration attorneys, and coordination with multiple government entities, but we are optimistic that Givenson should officially be a Thimjon by the Spring of 2012.  We are trusting God in all things and know that he will make a way for us and our "Given Son" to be a forever family.

**Remember that 25% of each sale from Dulcitas or Home for Hire {the shop} goes towards the family of the month. This is the last month Dulcitas will be open!**