Her Name Is Keemberlie

Keemberlie Julien. That's her Haitian Creole name. The one thing she has to call her very own.  And above, is the first and only picture we had of her until recently. Today I discovered that we can share her name and her pictures with you. And, as her mom, I am eager to do so. She is a Christmas baby - well, late by one day - December 26, 2003.

The meaning of names is important to me. But because Keemberlie is 6 years old we don't want to change it. So I decided, early in this process, to see what her name means. I believe I shared this with some of you before, but I don't believe I blogged about it. Her name, Keemberlie (pronounced like "Kimberly" as we know it), actually means, "From a royal forrest". When I read those words it immediately came to me that Haiti is probably one of the most de-forested countries in the world. And right then it was as if God was showing me - This girl's life, though she is a citizen of Haiti, is not under the authority of Haiti as much as she under the authority of The Royal Forrest - the lush, life-giving Kingdom of God. And as a child of the King she is under his care and the Power above all powers. Her name is a promise over her life. A promise of royalty. A promise of abundant life. A promise of salvation.

We probably will, at some point, change the spelling to: Kimberlie and change her other name "Julien" to Jewel - so Kimberlie Jewel Foote. And I can easily hear us calling her "Kimmie" - in fact, we already do. Yesterday Libby and Gracie were stuck in the car for much longer than they expected, but they were so great about it. I kept telling them - "I have the 2 best girls in the world" And Libby said, "Mom, what about Kimmie?" To which I said, "You're right! I have the 3 best girls in the world." Kimmie is already here in many ways.

My friend, Katie, was able to visit HCRM where Keemberlie resides! Praise the Lord! She was able to deliver our care package to Kimmie and show her our picture, explaining who we are - her family! She shared with me that Keemberlie RAN to her. Keemberlie is called "Petite Keemberlie" because she is the tiniest of 3 Keemberlie's at the orphanage. I'm told she smiled the entire time, and beamed when she saw our pictures and gifts. MANY MANY THANKS to Katie for doing this for us! Enough words - here's the photos Katie brought back for us!

The last one includes Pastor Jean Fritz (far right) who runs HCRM and his wife (far left)

All of these pictures were water to my soul. I really feel like we have something missing in our lives without her. While I was eager and ready to travel to get Libby and Gracie, I also knew they were babies and did not know they had parents coming for them. But Keemberlie is 6. She knows our faces through pictures. She knows our names, her sisters. And yet, she is too young to comprehend why we are taking so long to get to her. That is breaking my heart. In that regard, this adoption is taking me to a new host of emotions and thoughts. She belongs here and there is nothing in our power/control to change the fact that she is not. We are dependent upon God to move mountains and bring her home. Please continue to pray with us for her sake!