Clayson Conrad Football Season 2011

GO #12
CLAYSON CONRAD!

Football Season 2011 Guymael

GO #82

GUYMAEL CONRAD!

What a handsome stud!

Summer Fun Photos

This is not a real earring!

Lovely Schella

Clayson's team won the championship!

Clay got an in-the-park home run!

Guymael just hanging out!

Photos of Randy's Trip to Haiti

Schella Homecoming

Our homecoming at the airport with Schella!

The boys have balloons and snacks for Schella

Randy Haiti Trip Pics

Randy with Jackson -(Boys' Uncle) on left, Jesse - (Boys' Brother) on right.

Schella (left) and Naphtaline (Right) at the church grounds.

Schella already wants a cell phone!

The US embassy building -all these kids were waiting for their Humanitarian Parole documents.

US Embassy - One of the safest buildings in Port Au Prince, Haiti.

Wow...Barely made it - PRAISE GOD

Sunday night, 6pm - Port Au Prince
Hal Nungester, the orphanage director announced to the group... "Come on, we gotta get all these kids to the airport NOW!!!!" Apparently, the new prime minister of Haiti was going to start reviewing all the kids' paperwork that were going to be leaving the country. He wanted to check every single file before releasing the kids to the United States. AHHH!!! Now, remind you - the kids were not planning to leave until Monday morning. So, the adults frantically started getting the kids around in the dark (there were no lights, no electricity) They are fumbling for shoes, clothes for all these kids to head to Florida on a moments notice. They finally got all the kids in the truck and got to the airport. There are over 50 kids and several adults that need to get on a plane. Once they reach the airport in PAP - they check in most of the kids for the first plane, about 40 made it on the first plane - Schella and Randy were able to make it on the first plane. They get a flight out - praise God!!! The other 10+ were able to make it out on the second plane. What a minute.... they were supposed to fly to Miami, that is where all the adoptive parents are meeting them.... OH NO!! They flew them all to Orlando! Randy called me late last night and said "We have over 50 kids in Orlando, what are we gonna do? How are we going to find a place for all these kids?" After several hours going through customs, the kids were released and on their way. As I speak, they are working on a flight from Orlando to Miami for the 50 kids so they can meet their adoptive parents in Miami.

Praise God.... Randy and I have completed enough of the adoption process that he can take Schella with him and head home. THEY WILL BE HERE IN ARIZONA TODAY!!! OH GOD, THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! PRAISE BE TO YOU JESUS!

Schella and Randy are coming Home, together

Schella & Randy are scheduled to leave PAP on Monday at 10:00 am! Praise God, Praise Jesus!! They will get into Miami around 1:00 pm EST. I am going to fly over there to meet them.... I'm so excited - I gotta make some phone calls! We all will be back in Arizona on Tuesday! WHOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Talked to Randy - FINALLY!!!

01/22/2010
It's 10:00 pm and I just talked to Randy on the phone tonight. Apparently, only 22 kids got their visa paperwork today. Many of the kids were pretty excited, but Schella did not get her visa. This is discouraging. Sooooo, that means they have to go back to the Embassy again tommorrow! At least the US Embassy is open on Saturday... that is a blessing! So, Randy and Schella will go back tommorrow to try to get her visa processed.

Randy said that they haven't gotten much sleep at all. When they got to the orphanage, they unloaded the truck and all the supplies and then hopped into the big truck and drove to the Embassy. He said that he has been at the embassy ever since. He hasn't gotten any sleep, the kids are running around and it's pretty tiring!

Please continue to pray for his stamina and for him to get some rest. He is back at Quisqueya Chapel tonight and hopefully should get some much needed sleep!

We really need your prayers. Thanks so much for checking on our progress! We are almost there...almost there....

Angie

Schella Waiting at The Embassy Office

Here are our kids waiting for their Visas at the US Embassy in Port Au Prince. You can see Schella sitting in the chair with the blue tshirt on and jeans (next to the girl in the orange shirt). They've been there for almost 2 days!!!!

US Embassy Processing - UPDATE

Friday, 01/22/10 5pm (EST) - THIS Message is from Heath -

Been a long couple of days with very little sleep! On the flip side we are very safe as the amount of guns walking around is unbelievable! The US embassy is still working on our papers. They are severely under staffed and a large amount of people are here with lots of kids. They came out about an hour ago and said they are still working on it. We are hoping that we get the word tonite. Not sure any of us can handle another night in here. Will update when we hear something. Have to conserve battery as without this phone we don't have a lot of communication even with Hal back at the church. Keep praying!

Heath Peters

So.... what Heath is saying is that The Embassy in PAP has been processing only those adoptions that have completed the I-600 form. That is not us! We only have our I-600a complete (advance petition to adopt and orphan). Please continue to pray that they will move to our files and complete the kids that do not have the I-600 filed. The US Embassy in PAP only has three YES that is 3!!! workers. They are completely bogged down and have tons of requests piling in. We will keep you posted on our progress. I gotta go pray!Angie

New Update About Visit to Embassy

1st Update at 3:49 pm (EST) January 21, 2010

Still at embassy with 56 of the kids. Nothing yet but they now have all the paperwork for this batch. We may stay here tonight in order to be first in line and what better place to be than on american soil!! Kids are doing good but keeping 56 children calm for the last 10 hours is a tremendous challenge to say the least. Will update if I get any info!

2nd Update at 4:57 PM (EST) January 21, 2010

Staying at embassy tonite! Been a long few days! Not a lot of sleep at this point. Hope to have something tomorrow sometime. Will update later. Heath Peters

So, this means that 56 of the children are getting their visas. Schella is in this group. There are still almost 50 kids that are waiting at the orphanage to get their approval to go. The embassy was extremely busy yesterday, so the kids, Chris Nungester, Randy, Heath and Junior were waiting for them to open this morning Friday, 01/22/10 to get the visas. We hope that they will be coming home soon! This will be such a huge blessing and praise God - he is so mighty to save!!!

THEY MADE IT TO THE ORPHANAGE!!!!

Praise God! They made it, and better yet - read Heath's message I got this morning! Praise God! Thank you Jesus!

At the church now! All supplies unloaded! Loading 56 kids in truck to go to embassy. All of group 1 and 2!!!

Heath Peters
GLR Inc.

Update on our boys' family in Haiti

Our boys' biological family in Haiti is okay. I got a call from their older brother, Jessy and they are all okay. Including their Mom -Josie, Uncle -Jackson, and their Grandma and little brother. This is so much of a relief to know that they are well. They are running out of food and water. Luckily, Randy will be there to offer some assistance. Praise God that we heard from them!

Pics of the Bins/ Delta Airlines IS AWESOME!!

Julie Manfred (On Right) helped get the team together! Awesome Job! Delta Airlines donated all the shipping of the supplies. The cost would have been $25,000 and now free! Awesome!

Bins waiting to be flown to the D.R. There were 90 Total - this is only part of them! Amazing!

Bins & Bags waiting to go to the Orphanage.

Here is part of the team. Randy wasn't there yet, because he was still in Boston, MA. He caught up with them in JFK. Amanda (Adoptive Mom) is to the right of Julie - Her and her husband Jed (far right) were getting the bins together early in the morning with Julie. Thank you so much! They will not be travelling to Haiti, but are really helping in the effort to get the supplies to the kids and orphanage!

Randy is on his way to the D.R.

Randy left this morning from JFK airport at 7:00am Eastern Time this morning. He was in great spirits and said they are "ON A MISSION" to get all their supplies to the orphanage. They will be in the D.R. Most of the day today, waiting at the bus depot. They will be heading to Haiti at night, waiting at the Haitian border until the sun rises, so that they can cross into Haiti on Thursday. They will be meeting Hal, The Orphanage Director at the Bus Depot in Port Au Prince around 10 AM - Noon on Thursday morning.

If you didn't hear, Randy and his whole team had their tickets paid for to the D.R.! It was a miracle. All 10 of them and their 92 bags/bins are being flown FREE to the D.R. thanks to Delta Airlines! Awesome! This is purely a blessing from God - now these funds can go directly to the needs of the orphanage and the kids.

Some unsettling news - as I write this, tears come to my eyes....another aftershock hit Haiti this morning at 6am, EST. I have not heard any news about the kids, but since they are living outside in tents... they should be okay. I will keep you updated on anything else that I hear.

Thank you again for all your prayers, please keep praying for safety, protection for the team and all the supplies they are trying to bring. Also, that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven! Please pray that God would give each of the kids, the workers, the directors their daily bread today. Thank you so much!

Angie

PRAISE GOD FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!

I just wanted to let you know that we raised $8,140.86 in a few short days for the orphanage in Haiti! We are feeling blessed beyond belief and Randy and I regularly cry out of happiness for everyone's generosity and for the difference it will make in the children of Haiti! We wanted to thank the following people: Maurice & Nancy Findley, Rick & Lisa Godwin, Scott & Sharon Baldock, Stephen & Cherami Mosher, Leonard & Jean Warren, Northside Community Church in Newberg, OR and our fellowship there, Church For the Nations our pastors Randy & Kim Wolf and our fellowship there, Matt & Debbie Stowell, Bill & Barb Hutchens, Chris Karvowski and his workplace, John & Sheri Cook, John & Annamae Hoskins, Alan & Jamie Gavin, Brent Findley, Dana Davis, John Lotz, Jim & Kim McMillan, Doug & Angela Williams, Scott & Gwen Olds, Mark & Julie Litkie, Scott & Leslie Curtis, Todd & Susan Bos, Chris & Mindy Geisch, Chris & Rhonda Andrews. I know the list could go on... and our families for all their support, The Conrad's, The Findley's, The William's (way too many names to mention there). Dave Duncan and his church fellowship in Enterprise, Oregon. The boy's teachers, Hannah Ross and Pam Bull! Thank you all soooo much for your wonderful support and generosity! Thank you also for all your prayers....We are so blessed by everything. Of course, thank you God for all you've done!! Praise HIM!

Donation Websites Added

I have added links to the websites that we use to help the kids in Haiti. If you look at the Convoy of Hope website - you'll see things that are going on at Quisqueya Chapel (Where Schella is at the moment). You can actually see the back of their Pathfinder as well as Schella's purple suitcase in the background! Amazing!! This is encouraging. Check it out! Also, HIS Home for Children website is also available if you would like to make a paypal donation! Our church also regularly supports Fishers of Men - Haiti where they provide food for almost 1,500 people per day as well as education. Currently, their building was destroyed and 30 of their staff members and congregation were killed in the earthquake. Please pray for their recovery as they try to rebuild in Haiti. Thank you!

PLANS CHANGED!

First off, we found out yesterday that all flights to Haiti were grounded. This notice is expected to last quite a few days. Nevertheless, after a lot of prayer last night with our friends, Rick & Lisa - we felt God's leading to keep pursuing through any open doors that God might give us.

Therefore, Randy is leaving tomorrow for Boston, MA. His airline ticket from Boston to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was paid for. PRAISE GOD! We were also able to get our airline ticket for Friday refunded which will pay for his ticket to Boston!! Amazing how God is taking care of these things. Their team will be taking a chartered bus from Santo Domingo, D.R. to P.A.P. and delivering their items to the orphanage. Randy will be traveling with three other adoptive parents, 2 doctors and an EMT to provide supplies and medical assistance to the orphanage.

Please, please keep Randy and this group of adults in your prayers. Some of their names are Julie, Clay, Heath & Dr. Collins. Thank you so much for your support of our family!

I will keep you posted as I hear more!

Donation Update!

Hello Everyone -
We are so grateful for your response to help the children at HIS Home For Children! Here is a recent PRAISE update. Someone donated to our crew 10 (yes that's ten) 8 man tents that will house the children until they can find new homes to live in! This is a huge blessing - and will allow for privacy for the children, shelter from the bugs - as well as shelter in case it rains! The kids have begun only eating two meals a day to ration the food until Clay, Heath, Randy & their crew to arrive. Please pray for their food to miraculously multiply until the crew gets there with more supplies and money!

We have also received donations as follows:
1.) Kayla's school is writing letters to the children at the orphanage! Awesome!
2.) Many people have hopped on board to provide Protein Bars.
3.) Several friends have decided to make donations towards the purchase of food, fuel and supplies in Haiti.
5.) Others have decided to help pay for extra baggage costs!

We also have many people that are already praying regularly for this trip and will continue to do so. At church tomorrow, our pastors will be praying over us! Our church from Newberg,OR is also praying for us tomorrow! Wow! We just feel so blessed and grateful. Words cannot describe how much God is showing his faithfulness through all this.

Thank you again for your generosity!

Angie

Haiti Travel Plans

Randy has booked his flight to Haiti for Friday, January 22nd. God willing, he will be in Haiti on Saturday, January 23rd. Since the orphanage buildings are unusable, the orphanage kids and workers are residing at a local church grounds (Quisqueya Church) - sleeping outside. Randy is planning on helping provide food (primarily protein bars and items that have good nutrients) and water purification treatments (purification tablets or otherwise). The orphanage directors are working on acquiring another building that can house the children soon. Hopefully, Randy and his travelling companions can help them move into a new building. He will be travelling with two other adoptive parents (Clay & Heath), along with a Haitian friend (Sadrack) who used to work at the Orphanage. Since banks are not accessible and grocery stores not available to handle cashing checks, cash is needed to buy basic necessities and fuel. If you can help provide any of these items, it would be very much appreciated by us and all of those we are trying to help in Haiti.

2nd Haiti Update

Hello Friends and Family:
There is news pouring in all the time. Many are good news.
1.) The owner of the hotel we stayed in (May 2009 Hotel Villa Therese). The hotel collapsed with the owner, Alix, inside but he is OK!!! Praise God!
2.) Amanda Taylor (her blog website is listed to the right) has safely arrived back from Haiti today - now is in Miami!
3.) ORPHANAGE UPDATE:
We got a call from Chris Nungester, the orphanage director. The Orphanage has closed both buildings (Boy's Home and Children's Home) due to more earthquake damage from aftershocks. They have moved all the kids and their supplies to the local church (Quisqueya Chapel) The kids will be living in the corner of the church building. They are also setting up a makeshift hospital on the Quisqueya grounds to help people in need. Right now, they need CASH delivered. This is the only way to buy goods right now since there is so much devastation. They also need Protein Bars for hungry people. We will keep you posted on our travel plans as soon as we know more!
Angie Conrad

1st Haiti Update

Hello Everyone:
I wanted to give everyone an update on the events in Haiti. There is much devastation in Port Au Prince - as you have probably seen on the news. We are praising God that Schella is fine. The kids at HIS Home For Children are all fine. Miraculously, the building is in pretty good shape, although the kids are sleeping outside. Right now, the kids do not realize the extent of the situation in Port Au Prince, they are just excited with the opportunity to be outside for the evening! We received word right after the earthquake that the kids were all fine and unharmed. Today, we also received a text from Hal Nungester, the director of the orphanage. He said that telephone service is hit or miss, electricity is down, internet is down. They are low on fuel for the generator. Their food supply is ok and their water supply is ok. The prices at the town markets have doubled - although I have not heard about the grocery stores (if any have made it through the earthquake). If you would like to make a donation towards the Orphanage expenses and upcoming costs, you can visit their website at http://www.hishomeforchildren.com/ and use their paypal donation site.

We also heard news that the tension is rising in Port Au Prince. We are praying that this will not happen, since that will inhibit the aid that is trying to get in. We heard about worldwide aid coming in to Haiti and are so thankful to hear this good news! What a tremendous answer to prayer that the world will finally see the horrible plight that these people are in!

We will keep you posted anytime we hear more! Thank you so much for your prayers and your concern. We have received so many wonderful calls and emails and are so thankful for all your prayers!

We love you all and are just feeling so blessed right now! We wish you blessings and joy as well!
Randy, Angie, James, Clayson & Guymael

God has found me - Again!

I'm just thinking about God again. This happens alot, but even more recently it has become a more natural occurance instead of the prior way of thinking which was...."I mustn't forget about God today, so I need to talk to Him." I've also had a curious thought lately, "If I do nothing will God still love me?". I've found in the past two weeks that God keeps finding me, in the most curious of places. I was in Goodwill, waiting for James - and God found me again and led me to a book I needed to read. Also, He is teaching me about love - without any effort of my own - Jesus is speaking and showing me how to do this. I can't help but thank Jesus for His goodness to me! I look forward to how He will keep showing His love for me! The other day I was laying in the sun and God found me again and said " Abide in me". I thought to myself "What does 'abide' mean?". Then I heard "When you lay in the sun, you are abiding in the sun. It is the same with me - you just enjoy my presence, feel my warmth, soak ME IN." It sounds so simple! I'm going to do nothing and abide in Him and learn something that I haven't really ever grasped - that God does love me even if I do nothing!

Jamie Hinsz Way to Go Girl

If you are checking out our blog, I just want to give you a push to check out Jamie's blog as well. We are so proud of her and want those of you who know her to check out her recent Award. Congratulations Jamie from The Conrads.

Photos of the cousins!

Adoption Update

I wanted to update on the status of our adoption. All of our paperwork has been submitted to Haiti. We are currently in IBESR - the Haitian Social Service agency. This process can take anywhere from 3 - 9 months. It will be a waiting game to see when we get approval. After approval from IBESR - we have to go through the court process in Haiti, get our adoption approved in Haiti, documents need translated and then get passports and Visa. It sounds like just a few steps, but each process takes lots of time! We are hoping to get Schella home in the next year!

Beautiful Island Girl!

Hotel Photos

Alix - owner of the hotel was a wonderful host!

Enjoying a swim in the pool!

Schella, Ismania and Ismarie watch a movie in our room.

Schella takes a dip.

Schella takes a self-portrait!

Hotel Villa Therese

Our first day we arrive at the hotel and Schella gets a picture next to the waterfall.

Baptist Mission and drive through Port-Au-Prince

A typical sight along the road - although not all streets are paved like this one.

A photo of a few homes along the way up to the Baptist Mission.

A gallery of art available for sale in Petionville.

The mountains of Haiti along the road.

Schella at the restaurant at the Baptist Mission.

Haiti Visit May 2009

Hello friends and family:
I had a wonderful time in Haiti. It was the first time I had visited alone and the first time I had ever visited and stayed at a hotel in Port-Au-Prince. It was extremely nice to have all those amenities - running HOT and COLD water. The hotel had electricity all day long with air conditioners. It was amazingly comfortable. This trip I was able to get out several times. We went to the beach one day, the baptist mission up in the mountains, we went to the market and out to eat at Epidor (which is a Haitian style Mcdonald's). I'm posting several of the pictures of the trip and some of the places we went.
Schella is doing good! Her health has plateaued and they are reducing some of her medications. We had a wonderful time together. I was so grateful to spend this time with her and miss her tremendously now that I am home. I hope that soon we will be together again.
I felt very safe in the hotel we stayed at - Hotel Villa Therese. The owner, Alix was very gracious and we were able to have a live band come and sing to us one night. It was wonderful! This trip was probably the most "fun" and "entertaining" I've ever had in Haiti. I'm so grateful for experiencing the country in this way.
Please keep praying for Schella, for her health and her emotions as she continues to wait for us to bring her home. Sometimes it is difficult for her to wait for this long process. Please continue to pray for the workers, the directors (Chris & Hal) and the kids that are waiting for adoptive homes. Thank you for thinking of us and the people in Haiti!

Angie

Tap Tap, Hotel, Beach Pictures

A tap-tap in downtown area. The streets are very busy!

A hut at the beach where we ate lunch and snorkeled in the ocean. It was a great time together!It was cloudy that day but the water was remarkably clear and we saw an eel and plenty of fish.

Schella enjoyed swimming in the pool, our hotel had air conditioning and electricity all day long! An extreme luxury in Haiti. We felt like we were being pampered the whole time we were there.

A picture of the front of the hotel. Some of the adoptive parents and Ismarie are in the picture.