American Idol and Talking Points

Rumor has it that tonight American Idol is taking calls from random people (323-874-7777) concerning humanitarian issues. I was not able to get through just now, but those watching the show and/or having access to other numbers, feel free to share the story and make an appeal to the President if you are lucky enough to get on the air. I'm thinking only people who know us personally should call, just in case they think it is some sort of bad joke going around the Internet.

Below is a 2-paragraph summary that could be used for American Idol, Bill O'Reilly, or anything else. God does not need these letters in order to give us our adoption orders, but that does not mean we won't keep trying until the last minute.....thanks for everything!

Subject: Kenya Adoption Crisis

My friends Jeromy and Kim Smith traveled to Kenya 9 months ago to adopt two orphans. Their kids, Sundi and Damon, have been in their continuous care since last July. They are a young couple with no biological children, who have chosen adoption as the preferred way to start their family. Because this is not the norm, the court suspects that their true intentions. Due primarily to this concern, they are now faced with the possibility of losing the children.

In order to both the legal concerns and child safety concerns, they need letters from the office of the US Attorney General and the President of the United States. And they need them by tomorrow night (Thursday).We want to make sure that Sundi and Damon are allowed to remain in the only family they know. However, it is also imperative to ensure all Africans that any orphaned children adopted into American families will be treated as priceless treasures, and will be safe and loved.

2 new last-minute great ideas !!!!!

1. Email Bill O'Reilly at oreilly@foxnews.com. I'll put a suggested text out there when I can catch my breath. But in the meantime, you can paste the request we made to the President into an email (subject "Diffusing false rumors of Kenyan children mistreated" or something like that). The focus just has to be on the fact that we have a responsibility as a nation to assure all Kenyans (and by extension, all Africans) that Americans believe their children are treasures that we hold in the highest regard. And that our letters from the AG and President's offices are due tomorrow night.

2. If you are a Kenyan-American, please call the Kenya Embassy and ask the ambassador to encourage our government to honor the Kenya high court's request and acknowledge that we are an approved adoptive couple. The ambassador can vouch for the fact that the concerns being expressed are very real to countless Kenyans, and are NOT an excuse to look for a bribe. Even if you are personal friends with His Excellency President Kibaki or Honorable PM Raila Odinga, do not call them to ask what is going on with our case. We are trying to allay all fears about the safety of Kenya's children, not strong-arm or intimidate anyone into giving us a positive adoption ruling.

Two days left....thank you so much!

Bibi, Babu, and Shangazi all left today. Many thanks to those who helped make it possible for them to come. Their presence was not only a calming presence in court, but a huge encouragement to us and a bright spot in a bleak time. And the kids were blissfully oblivious that their future is up in the air, so they really had a blast! The kids really miss them already, and so do we.

We've heard whispers of possibilities, but it is one of those things that we just won't know we have a letter until we know. But we got a lot of positive feedback today.

If you didn't have time to send a fax today, would you please consider sending one tomorrow?
Otherwise, if you can do the same stuff we did today PLUS reach out to any friends that you have in local media, that would be huge. So, the short list is below. Asante sana, sana.

1. Fax the White House. 202-456-2461. I know it seems like an intimidating task to some, but give it a try. You might have to dial "9" first when calling outside the office :-)
   
   
2. Email First Lady Laura Bush. first.lady@whitehouse.gov.
   
   
3. Put posts on MySpace and/or Facebook for the Bush, Obama, Clinton, or McCain groups
   
   
4. If you have any connections with local US media that might be interested in the story, please feel free to use them. Even if this doesn't result in receiving the letter, maybe it will help encourage other adoptive couples that we don't need to be afraid to relentlessly love our children.
   
   
5. Please pray that we can find Sundi's hearing aid. She lost it at a children's function and we fear another kid may have reclaimed it as a toy. This actually happened last week, so she's struggling with her old ones right now but we pray that miraculously they show up.
   

New development

There is a new development. As of last Friday, the plan was to submit all of our remaining paperwork to the court this Friday, May 2^nd. The information would then be reviewed for the next two weeks, with a final ruling given on May 16^th. But last Friday (4/25) was to be our last day in court.

This morning we learned that we will have our seventh hearing this Friday, 5/2. On one hand, maybe it is a good thing because we will have one more opportunity to plead with the courts in person that our motives our pure and our documentation is adequate. On the other hand, this makes the Thursday deadline even more pressing. Either way, please keep up the prayers and the hard work. We are so grateful for your support.

Please see “Phase 6” below if you would be willing to sacrifice a few minutes of your time today to send a fax or an email. Mungu acubariki sana!

Phase 6-- Tuesday, 4/29

Yours truly has a lot of software project management experience, but not much with politics. But fortunately, you guys are more savvy than me. There have been some outstanding suggestions, and if you are able to help us try them tomorrow (or tonight) that would be great!

1. Bombard the White House fax line. 202-456-2461. Can use today's message as a cover sheet, and the letter from the president as the second page. Faxes are much harder to ignore than emails. You guys know that I am a big advocate of recycling and hate wastefulness, going back to my days as a garbageman for Harford Sanitation Services. But what if they ran out of paper in the fax machines tomorrow? If that happens, somebody is bound to notice! And we can plant a tree later. Sooner or later, somebody from the White House is going to call us back. Hopefully. Maybe.
   
   
2. Email First Lady Laura Bush. first.lady@whitehouse.gov. Subject: Kenya adoption crisis. Let’s keep it real, fellas. Women have a much better track record for nurturing kids than we do. It’s not that we don’t care, as much as that we don’t always think through things when we are busy. (Oh, sorry Kim, I didn’t realize it was mid-night; maybe the kids should go to bed. We were just having such a good time pillow-fighting!) It would be good to cc: Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. But if you only have time for one email, let’s place our bets on the First Lady!
   
   
3. Put posts on MySpace and/or Facebook for the Bush, Obama, Clinton, or McCain groups. If you want to do this, we need to stick close to the standard text so it doesn’t make Kenya look bad or confuse what the issue is-- but change it slightly so Facebook won't think that you are spamming. (we want to avoid stuff like "give them their kids", etc) We have not been asked for a bribe, and the judge is making requests that are lawful given the extenuating circumstances. Bottom line is that it is uncommon for young, otherwise childless couples to come to Kenya to adopt. And maybe some day young couples will be lining up to love these babies and this will actually seem normal. In the meantime, we just need our government to comply with the request of the courts, and re-assure them of the safety of their children by acknowledging that the Smiths have been approved by the US government for international adoption.
   
   For a personal touch, you could just put brief statements of affirmation out there…such as “I know Jeromy and Kim. If Jeromy stuck with the Detroit Lions through all those miserable years, he has the persistence to make it through parenting” or “If Kim can put up with Jeromy for 4 years of marriage, she can handle two kids!” You get the idea. If you don’t know how to set up a Facebook account, ask somebody younger than Jeromy and they can help you.
   
   Bottom line is that we just need to complete the impossible task of receiving the Attorney General and Presidential letters by Thursday. And let’s face it, Jeromy looks more like Stone Cold Steve Austin than Mr. Clever; I might not trust myself with kids either! Just joking; sorry, 17 days of minimal sleep are catching up with me. In all seriousness, Kenyans have a sincere concern for the safety of their children. Let’s give all Kenyans the assurance they need that ALL of their children that cross our borders are safe and loved here.

Rumor has it that a few friends are going to take the Marc train down to visit Washington DC this weekend if we don’t get the letter. Sounds like fun to me !!!!! We will let you know more details if this actually materializes. Maybe a game of ultimate Frisbee with a “we love Kenya!” theme?

Thanks for everything.

Serving the God of the impossible,
Baba Sundi

Phase 5-- Monday, January 28 (updated 2pm)

HOW TO HELP SUNDI AND DAMON

Note: re the Thursday deadline for these letters. If we get a scanned PDF by Thursday, we can file it in court on Friday as long as we know that the original is on the way.

1. Call, email, OR fax the White House. Fax might be the most effective option, if you have access to one. Faxes are more difficult to ignore :-) PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO SAY THANK YOU!!!
   

FAX
202-456-2461

EMAIL

first.lady@whitehouse.gov Just added-- Laura Bush!!!
AND
comments@whitehouse.gov
AND
vice_president@whitehouse.gov

CALL
* Switchboard, 202-456-1414
* Comment line, 202-456-1111

If you are in the area and want to stop by, the Visitor’s Office number is 202-456-2121. But please don’t call unless you are really going to stop by.

The text below can be used for a phone call, fax, or email. Just be sure to put your name and specify whether you are writing or calling. You don’t need to speak the second and third paragraphs in your phone call, unless the person asks more questions or wants to continue the conversation. However, please include them in any emails or faxed correspondence if possible. J

TEXT FOR OUR FRIENDS' CORRESPONDENCE IS:

Subject: Smith Kenya Adoption Approval Letter
My name is ____________. I am writing/calling to respectfully request that President Bush and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey each provide an adoption approval letter for Jeromy and Kim Smith by this Thursday. It is simply to assure the Kenyan government that the Smiths are approved to adopt by the U.S. Government. You can call them at 011-254-710-347-499 with any questions.

Due to many tragic, true stories about human trafficking, there are many false, equally tragic rumors that African children are taken to the U.S. to be killed and harvested for organs, used as slaves, or subjected to equally repulsive abuse. Understandably, many Kenyans and other Africans fear for the fate of their children when they leave for foreign soil. As far-fetched as these rumors may sound to the average America, our comparative silence on this topic leaves room for these rumors to persist unchallenged.

There is no greater sign of trust between nations that they should trust one another with their most precious resource, their children. Kenya is a great friend and ally to the United States. This crisis presents an outstanding opportunity for the U.S. Government to assure Kenya—and ultimately all Africans—that we share the same concern for the safety and well-being of these priceless treasures with which our nation has been entrusted.

We know your office is extremely busy. Many thanks for taking the time to listen to our request. Best regards.

2. If you have any personal connections that might be able to get us in contact with the US Attorney General, please use them. But at this point the AG’s office isn’t up to speed on our request, since it just came in on Friday afternoon, so the last thing we want to do is bombard different offices with phone calls.
   
   
3. If you are a constituent of Elijah Cummings, please say thanks for jumping in and helping us extensively. (email http://www.house.gov/cummings/contact.shtml, phone 202-225-4741) We are reminded of the parable of the two brothers—one said they weren’t going to do any, but later changed their mind and worked their butt off. The other brother did the opposite. The one who did the work in the end was the good guy in this story. The office of Elijah Cummings originally said that there was nothing they could do, but in the end they worked hard to help Senator Landrieu with the custom letter, and also gave us extensive legal counsel late on Friday. So, we are extremely grateful for how they came through for us in the clutch!
   
   Please continue to be brief, respectful, and grateful. We really don’t want any staffers to walk away from today feeling annoyed and fed up—we want them to be amazed at how a group of random people, all passionate about the cause of orphans, were every bit as kind as they were passionate. Then God can really have the glory when we bring our kids home. That’s what’s up!

A huge impetus behind our sense of urgency is that our government has made it clear they will not intervene if our children are taken away, out of respect for Kenya’s sovereignty. This makes total sense. Therefore, we are simply asking that we show the utmost respect to the nation of Kenya by providing them complete, undeniable assurances that their children will be well-loved and cared for in America.

We will post more background information later for those interested in passing along background details to friends, but this should be enough to get us started. Or, you can always call us at 011-254-710-347-499. Thanks for giving our family the strength and confidence to believe that the impossible is possible. Asante sana, infinity! Not sure the Kiswahili word for “infinity”, but we are incredibly thankful!

Letter content, US Attorney General & President Bush

Although the requested letters from President Bush and US Attorney General Michael Mukasey need to be written separately, we wrote the letter (in the text below) so that the same text can be used for each. Please see blog entry above for instructions on how to help get the word out. We want to keep this letter as a totally separate blog entry for the sake of simplicity. Asante sana, sana !!!!

Dear Honorable High Court of Kenya:

This letter is to confirm that Jeromy and Kimberly Smith were approved for adoption by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in January 2007, followed by subsequent approval by Kenya in July 2007. USCIS is an agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. Government that issues immigration benefits, visas, etc. All USCIS approval notices are in a Form Format with receipt notice numbers, known as I-797-C, I-171-H, etc. The Smiths correctly submitted a valid USCIS approval notice, with receipt number BAL-07-006-50039 issued by the U.S. Government for adoption.

Furthermore, please be assured for this matter and all other future international adoption matters, that USCIS is acting under the full Executive and Judicial authority of the highest levels of the United States government. Please interpret their legal recommendations pertaining to international adoption and repatriation matters as full and final representations of the U.S. Government’s official position.

There is no greater sign of trust between nations that they should trust one another with their most precious resource, their children. Please know that the United States is also a sending country and citizens of other nations, on occasion, adopt children from the United States and repatriate them, offering them permanent loving families around the globe. We share your conviction that children need loving families. First we must look for these families in their own communities, then in their country, then around the world. We applaud your court for showing such great concern that these children will be much loved and well cared for.

THAT'S IT !!!!! Please note that the above note it written in such a way that it will NOT set a a precedent for future requests. ASANTE SANA, SANA !!!!!

Help Tomorrow-- Phase 5

Today was a great day. We dedicated our children to the Lord at Pastor Samuel's church in Soweto, then Jeromy was baptized along with about 12 other people there. Since our family is leaving Tuesday morning, we decided to take a leap of faith and not wait for the official adoption orders to dedicate our kids to God. It was truly an incredible experience.

Tomorrow we want to do 2 things:
1. Call, email, and fax our President and VP, asking them for a letter confirming that the Smiths have approval to adopt 2 children from Kenya, and also confirming that US-CIS/DHS has the authority to speak to adoption law and practice (I'll probably draft something in the morning, along with putting some background on the blog, but that's the most important part.)

2. Continue to pursue, through a few good Samaritans, a letter from the US Attorney General. Since this request is brand new as of Friday, we want to work directly with small groups for now and then hope that some of our new friends can pull off another miracle. Please pray for us in this AND if you are willing to spend the time to get caught up to speed, you can help us be a point person for the AG offices. We only need 2-3 people for this, I think.

One IMPORTANT clarification on something that I got wrong on the blog this weekend. The Monday deadline was to get the PDFs we presented in court on Friday authenticated at the US Embassy. This should be done tomorrow. However, we have until cob Thursday for scanned copies of the US AG and Presidential letters!! Still a daunting task that will take a miracle, but this makes it feel a bit more feasible.

My body is literally shutting down on me after 2 + weeks of minimal sleep, so instead of risking any mis-communication whatsoever, we'll jump online tomorrow morning and target having detailed instructions (and background info) ready by 6am EST for anyone who is willing to help us through this final phase. Please don't lose hope-- or interest. We are almost to the end and remain eternally grateful for your help. We are still idealistic (or perhaps naive) enough to believe that God could use your collective prayers and efforts to somehow alter the course of history for Kenya's orphans. Seriously.

Weekend Prayer Requests for Kenya

- First of all, thank you Lord for your incredible love for every child and how you have used so many strangers and friends to protect the future of our children! Please bless the countless people that pulled off the miracle of this week, only half of whom we know personally.

- Please pray that we will successfully obtain the letters from President Bush and the highest levels of the judiciary that all necessary to remove any doubt concerning our legal standing as a couple that has the approval of the US government to adopt.

- For the healing and reconciliation process to reach a point where the IDP’s can return home. For the materials provided by IBS to be a catalyst in this process.

- Strength and provision for the countless widows and low income families in Kenya who carry a disproportionate weight of orphan care, particularly in rural areas. Kenyans are strong people. Our sacrifice pales in comparison to theirs.

- That God would move the hearts of more Kenyans to give permanent families to the 2.4 million Kenyan children without parents. That Kenya will find families for all orphans within the next five years, setting an example not only to Africa but to the rest of the world.

- For more inter-country dialogue about adoption, to build trust about motives for adoption. Suspicion remains a major barrier to children finding a forever family. Many disturbing stories about the West are pervasive—such as that children are killed and their organs harvested, or that they are sold to be domestic servants or worse. And to be fair, historically it hasn’t been that long since apartheid in South Africa or “separate but equal” in the US. So despite the fact that these rumors seem unfathomable to most of us in the US, the suspicions against people of my skin color were not born in a vacuum.

- That HIV can be conquered—it has claimed the lives of the parents of half of Kenya’s 2.4 parentless children.

- That young, economically challenged women save their bodies in anticipation of a permanent relationship, reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies. That those with unplanned pregnancies would be empowered to keep the babies, reducing the number of abandoned kids (also about 1.2 million).

- For Baby M.—that she would find her way out of the orphanage and into her permanent family.

- For J., Sundi’s age mate ; who was taken back to the orphanage by a local family who was undergoing hardship. He is a kind, polite, and fun but sometimes sad boy that is craving a Mom and Dad. Pray that God finds him a family soon.

- That God would use the challenging stuff we’ve been going through lately as a positive catalyst for representing the blessings of adoption, rather than as a discouragement. We don’t want anyone to hear horror stories that scare them away from receiving this blessing if God has put it on their hearts.

- That God would use the church—both in Kenya and abroad—to change the misconception that adoption is only for those who can’t procreate or are older and done having “their own” kids. That we would embrace the implications of Ephesians chapter 1, that we are adopted by God—and that this isn’t a “tier 2” option. That adoption and “old-fashioned” birth would be seen by the church as equal opportunities to receive God’s blessings and expand our families. That this calling for permanent families for the orphan would be the banner of the next generation of the church (I Timothy 4:12)

- Why are you downcast, oh my soul? And why you troubled within me? Put your hope in God, for yet will I praise Him. My saviour and my God!

Phase 4

Please know that your prayers have NOT been in vain. In the 11^th hour, we successfully obtained all of the US government documentation from the high court that was requested from us on April 11, and were able to carry it with confidence (and relief) to court. The teamwork to make this happen in three days, in many cases from people who don’t know us, was nothing short of heroic. This documentation, along with the character references and the presence of family members, greatly increased our credibility in the eyes of the court.

We were blown away by how many people stayed up late or set their alarms to pray for our kids. We felt your prayers in court today—we are not being over-spiritual, we really did. We are so blessed to have family and friends like you, as well as generous, altruistic strangers who care about kids.

Unfortunately, we did not get the thumbs up today. Our ruling is pending, contingent upon prompt receipt of additional documentation and authentication of documents received today.

As of this time, the High Court’s position (in short) is that we still don’t have proof that we have the authorization of the US government to adopt foreign children or formal government acknowledgement of our fitness as parents. Furthermore, that DHS/US-CIS has the right to authorize or reject the assimilation of adopted children when they come to the United States, but not the legal authority to verify that individual citizens have authorization to adopt. We’ll explain more later, hopefully today, so that everyone who is praying for us can be on the same page.

Although we are disappointed, our focus must be to act immediately to address the court’s concerns. Although this is tough to understand from our perspective, we have to respect the right that the court has to ask for any additional documentation, particularly given that there are still concerns about our motives for adoption and fitness as parents.

We need to provide all legal documentation, no matter how technical the detail seems. Hopefully when we finally do so it will make it easier for other American couples who are being blessed with Kenyan children.

Most importantly, today they did NOT take our children away. So, although it seems like disappointing news, we still took our kids back home with us. You can't put a price on that. Although we are a bit biased, we figure that all this must mean God has something really special planned for Sundi and Damon.

More details to follow….we don’t want to hog your time, but if you don’t mind checking in soon to hear how you can pray we would be very grateful.

Prayer for Court-- 8:30 Kenya, 1:30 EST US

We are now 12 hours away. Is it OK if we hog the prayers requests today, and put the full Kenya prayers request tomorrow? We have all of the paperwork that was requested and more, so we just want to ask for the followings prayers.

1. Our lawyer, Mrs. Musyimi, will speak clearly, concisely, and with wisdom.
2. The judge’s concerns about our motives are satisfied by the recommendation letters.
3. The judge’s concerns about our family’s lack of acceptance will be satisfied by the presence of Mom, Dad, and Becca.
4. The judge’s concerns about the law would be addressed by the outstanding letter we were graciously given.
5. The guardian, Mrs. Esther Keli, would be able to address any concerns about our fitness as parents.
6. The Carolina Adoption Services International Director, Mr. Tom Jackson, is able to help explain any potential gaps in US law.
7. All of us would be patient and have a good attitude, regardless of how good or bad things have gone.
8. Any spiritual strongholds will be broken. Proverbs teaches that the horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.

Find rest, my soul, in Christ alone

Know his power

In quietness and trust.

When the oceans rise and thunders roar,

We will soar with you above the storm

Father you are King over the flood.

Help us be still and know you are God.

Phase 3-- Operation Sundi's Gift

We have been blessed beyond measure by the efforts on behalf of our children throughout the past two weeks, but especially the past 2 days. Quite frankly, as of April 11^th we both felt as if God had forgotten about us. This quickly changed as you guys mobilized to gather a stack of character reference letters. These touched our hearts deeply, and I think we’ll probably combine them with some of the inspirational emails and bind them into a scrapbook.

We already knew that we have the most incredible family and friends on the planet. But the past two days, we truly were shocked and awed by how many people that we don’t even know—and then friends of those people we don’t even know—made time to call, email, or send Facebook bulletins to people everywhere, praying to locate the elusive person willing and able to accomplish the unique task that we had been given. Our kids are the most “prayed for” kids on the planet right now.

Mama Sundi was reflecting that when you go through times like these, you wish God were a tangible God that you could see, touch, and maybe even Poke on Facebook. Tonight she observed that He is a tangible God, and we have certainly felt His love through all of you! Your love and kindness has re-assured us that God has not forgotten Sundi and Damon!

After being thrown out of court like a washed out WWE wrestler so many times, an attitude of skepticism is tough to shake. We heard whispers earlier today of things people were working on. Then a word that something was coming—which we’ve heard several times before, right before disappointment.

Then the phone rang. It was a guy named Mark I had never spoken with before, from the congressional adoption coalition. He said that the letter is almost ready. Where should it be addressed? WOO HOO !!!! People that we have never spoken to before today stayed hours late at work to help us. We don’t have Senator Landrieu’s letter in hand yet, but we still have 5 hours left and we know it will be here soon. What happened in the past few hours is truly a miracle of epic proportions!

Operation “Sundi’s Gift” will continue until our adoption orders are in hand, so we still have a ways to go and the biggest challenge is this Friday.

PHASE 3 of Operation Sundi’s Gift is:

1. Say thank you! Although many, many people are involved, it is my understanding that Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana was the first to say “yes, we can do that.” Would you be willing to call her at (202) 224-5824 or post a note online at Web Form: landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm to say “thanks for helping Sundi and Damon in Kenya!”? I doubt staffers get flooded with thank you calls/notes very often. (Yes, for the skeptics-- if the letter doesn't come, I'll edit this!)
   
   
2. Pray a bit longer! If we could be so bold, please check the blog tomorrow afternoon for some specific prayer requests about the adoption and the children of Kenya. Our court date is on Friday at 8:30am Nairobi time, 1:30am EST.

The Bible says to never let any debt remain outstanding, except for the continuing debt to love one another. We could work the rest of our lives and never pay off the measures of love and blessings that we have been paid in the past 48 hours. The debt will always remain outstanding. We can’t wait to tell our kids this incredible story when they are older. We will never forget April 23^rd, 2008 as long as we live.

Bwana Asifiwe Kabisa! To God be all the praise!

Updated approach

Thanks so much for all of your continued support. We have been overwhelmed by your love and your support for our kids. Slight change of plans if you read the blog this afternoon. Please continue to be brief and polite. (I have struggled with both today, to be honest.)

Please focus on:
- US-CIS to see if they can contact their counterparts in Kenya to resolve the impasse between the two governments. Kenya courts and the US immigration hold what appear to be irreconcilable opposing legal positions, even though our countries have agreed to partner together in adoption. As hard as we have tried to play mediator, if we aren't able get these parties to talk, then Kim and I don't have the expertise necessary to resolve this dispute.
- Elijah Cummings office. He is my Congressman, and my best hope of getting help from somewhere. If you voted for him (like I did), maybe you can call and ask if he is sure that absolutely nothing can be done. I am NOT saying that to be sarcastic. But since he is our congressman, he is our best hope of getting any legislative help whatsoever.
- The President's line
- The VP's email
- Does anybody know anybody in Senator McCain's office? Since thus far none of the Maryland Democrats are able to help, maybe desperate measures call for trying a Republican. (OK, bad joke, sorry!)
- Any other politician you know who might care enough to make a phone call asking for a letter. At this point the letter can say John Q Public if there is good stationery and a official-sounding title.

Please stop calling:
- Senator Cardin's office.
- Senator Mikulski's office.
- Congressman Sarbanes office.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR CARING ABOUT OUR KIDS!!!

Baba na Mama Sundi

PLEASE HELP !!!!! (1 of 5)

OPERATION “SUNDI’S GIFT”

Sundi’s Gift is the code name for the emergency operation needed to ensure that the Smith family does not have their two adopted children, Sundi and Damon, taken away due to suspicions concerning their true motivations for adoption.

MISSION:

Obtain a signature from the desk of President George W. Bush, using a customized pre-written letter that assures the High Court of Kenya that the Smiths’ two adopted Kenyan children will be accepted as US citizens, and that the government will follow standard practices to ensure that children are not used as domestic servants or abused in any other way. The contents of this letter have been provided to the appropriate US government offices, but nobody we’ve contacted is able to write the customized letter that we need in court. We are now out of time.

STRATEGY:

“Shock” and “Awe”—that is, to shock and awe our leaders with the level of concern that every day Americans have for orphaned children in need of forever families. From Tuesday, 4/22 at 8am until 8pm EST Wednesday, 4/23, we are begging our friends, family, and everyone they know to respectfully and diplomatically flood our leaders’ offices with phone calls and emails requesting this letter. Please see “The letter we need is below” link on the blog for the full contents. We don’t have any powerful American politician friends, but we MUST have a letter by Wednesday night, so our only hope is to somehow hit the magic number of emails and/or calls that merits immediate attention at the highest levels. We don’t know what that number is, but it must be a huge number, so we need all of the help that we can get !!!!!!

NOT THE STRATEGY:

We do NOT want the US government to intervene with the Kenyan government, nor to pressure them in any way to approve our adoption if they are not comfortable with it. Child trafficking is a pervasive global issue. The judge has expressed serious concerns about the rights of the children, and these concerns should be treated as such. If Kenya needs written assurance that our children will be given full rights as citizens and that standard adoption follow-up policies will be followed, it is our obligation to comply. If our government will not do this for us, then it will implicitly validate the suspicions about our negative intentions.

BACKGROUND:

The Smiths were approved for adoption by the United States in January 2007 and Kenya’s National Adoption Committee in July 2007, and traveled to Kenya shortly thereafter. They have been continuously caring for their two adopted children for the past nine months. Unfortunately, they have hit some road blocks in the adoption process and since November have had 8 court dates canceled. Last Friday, the Smiths were threatened with having their kids taken away from them. The primary red flag is that the Smiths are a young couple with no biological children, choosing adoption as a first option. Since this is not common, the High Court of Kenya is concerned that the Smiths may have ulterior motives for how they will use our children when they return to the United States . If we don’t have this letter when we walk into the court on Friday at 8am (1am EST), we have been promised we will be thrown out of court—for the sixth consecutive time since February 29. And that’s the best case scenario.

IMPLEMENTATION:

If you are willing to help us, please send emails starting NOW and/or phone calls starting tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9am. The earlier people hear about our kids’ plight, the better. You can scroll down or click on the “Sending Emails” or “Making Phone Calls” link on the right to see all of the info that you need. We made them different blog entries to make it easier to scroll.

Since you are just expressing support of a pending request that has already been submitted, you can contact offices from other states (For example, you can contact Obama even if you don’t live in Illinois.) Also, you do NOT need to know us personally to participate.

We don’t have any time to spare, as we have already missed our original deadline. However, if we receive the letter by cob Wednesday then we hope we can submit the letter as evidence on Thursday, the day before our court date.

This won’t take much time. All you have to do is copy and paste the email, then put your name and where you are from. You don’t have to know us in order to call or write; you just need to be concerned by the possibility of orphaned children being taken away from their adoptive family and put back into an orphanage.

If anyone is hesistant because they think this is a joke, please point them to our blog at www.us-in-kenya.blogspot.com to confirm that this is legitimate. We really wish it were a hoax.

Remember that the goal is not to win an argument, but to present a simple request. As Christians, Kim and I want even this process of begging for help to be characterized by gentleness, self-control, and gratitude on the part of us and our friends. That way, God can be honored even in the midst of a very difficult situation. We believe God has already said “yes” to our adoption, and now we are waiting for the hearts of men and women in positions of authority to be moved.

Our orphanage, Happy Life Children’s Home, has a saying “You can’t change the whole world, but you can change the whole world for one person.” Please help us permanently secure the privilege that we believe God has already given us; the opportunity to change the whole world for two fun, beautiful, and incredible little Kenyan kids that we couldn’t love any more if they had our own blood. And we are more blessed to have them than they are to have us. Please help us bring them home!

MUNGU ACUBARIKI SANA SANA! God bless you so much!

HOW TO EMAIL or POST TO THE WEB (3 of 5)

Contact Information

Please scroll down to Contents of the Email to see the text that needs to be used. Feel free to add a personal note if you want, but don’t spend much time on it.

Dick Cheney, Vice President: Email vice_president@whitehouse.gov

Senator Barbara Mikulski

http://mikulski.senate.gov/ Click on Contact Me, then fill out the “Send me a message” part at the bottom. For topic, pick “Human Rights”.

Senator Ben Cardin, Maryland

http://cardin.senate.gov/ Click on Contact Ben (upper left corner), then follow directions.

Senator Barack Obama (you can contact him even if you don’t live in Illinois!)

http://obama.senate.gov (click on email us on the left-hand side)

Congressman John Sarbanes, Maryland:

http://sarbanes.house.gov/contact.shtml Click on send me an email

Congressman Elijah Cummings, Maryland: TBD

http://www.house.gov/cummings/contact.shtml

Please contact anyone else outside of these offices that might be able to ensure that we get this letter. I don’t know exactly how these things work, but I’m pretty sure we can get a letter with the President’s signature even if he isn’t personally consulted first. Sorry, we've never had a crisis like this before!

Contents of the Email

Please have subject/header say “Smith/Kenya Adoption Crisis”.

If you are posting online to a politician’s website and there is no “header”, just use “RE: Smith/Kenya Adoption Crisis” If people see a bunch of emails with the same header when they arrive first thing in the morning, hopefully it will immediately attract their attention. If the box is too small to fit all of the text, then you can just use the first paragraph.

Just Copy and Paste the Text Below, Adding Your Name and Where you Live

My name is___________ . I live in ______________. I am writing on behalf of Sundi and Damon, the prospective adoptive children of Jeromy & Kimberly Smith. Can you please petition President Bush to sign the Smith’s customized approval letter, requested by the Kenya High Court, pertaining to adoption cause matters 179 and 180 of 2007?

As you are aware, the legitimate concerns about Sundi and Damon’s safety raised by the government of Kenya are serious and should be treated as such. Tragically, forced child labor and many other forms of abuse are pervasive throughout the world. Therefore, the suspicions regarding the Smith’s possible negative intentions for the children are not born in a vacuum. The United States is equally committed to eradicating child trafficking from the planet.

Section 162, Subsection B of the Kenya Children’s Act of 2001 requires that the requested documentation be provided per the court’s request, as a pre-condition of granting the Smith’s adoption order. Kenya is a sovereign state that places utmost emphasis on the protection of any children that come out from under their protective umbrella and into the protection of another sovereign state. Given that both our governments share the same burden for the protection of all children—particularly orphans—please assure the Kenyan government of America’s commitment to the safety of Kenya’s precious children by providing assurances that Sundi and Damon will be accepted as US citizens and enjoy all of the corresponding privileges and protections.

The Smiths MUST have this letter in their hands by Wednesday, April 23^rd. Kenya is 7 hours ahead of EST and the final, extended deadline for submitting official documents is Thursday morning. Their hearing is on Friday, April 25^th at 8:30 am (1:30am EST).

Sundi is now five and a special needs child in serious need of medical intervention that cannot be obtained in Kenya, and Damon is 20 months old. Thank you in advance for your time, and for doing everything you can to ensure that these two orphaned children are not removed from the family that they have been part of for the past nine months, which is the only family that they have ever known.

Respectfully,

HOW TO DO PHONE CALLS (4 of 5)

Please try to start calling as soon as the phone lines open (9am), and if it is busy please try again if possible. Don’t feel bad if we tie up the phone lines for a short time. People who handle “national emergencies” have access to different phone numbers than we do, and we’re not tying up 911 or anything that will threaten someone’s life. This will be over by Wednesday night, regardless of whether or not we are successful in obtaining the letter that we desperately need.

What to Say

Hi, my name is___________ . I am calling on behalf of the Smith family. Jeromy and Kim have been threatened with losing their adopted Kenyan children, due to concerns about their motives to adopt. Can you please ask President Bush’s office to sign the Smith’s adoption approval letter, to assure the Kenyan High Court that these children will be awarded all of the rights of citizens? Thank you very much for your time

Unless they have any questions or comments for you, that’s it! You do not need to force the issue if they push back—just politely express your concern, thank them for their time, and close the call.

Before you call, PLEASE remember:

- Pray for the person that you are about to speak with before you call

- The first person who answers the phone usually done not have a lot of authority, and is by design faces a cumbersome process to escalate, as well as a bunch of tiers. Often they genuinely want to help but are limited in their ability to do so; so sometimes they are just as frustrated as you are that they can’t just “fix” it. I know this firsthand from when I did that job! Please be polite and brief, and don’t feel like you need to demand action. The fact that you called will be huge.

- If they say that the US can’t intervene, please tell them that we are NOT asking President Bush to contact the Kenyan government and convince them to intervene on our behalf. We are only asking his office to sign a letter that is already written, complying with the Kenyan government’s request.

- Don’t get angry even if you feel like they are blowing you off, and don’t get drawn into an argument. Even if someone seems frustrated, just be kind in return.

- If they say that they don’t know anything about the situation, please apologize to them on Jeromy’s behalf.

- Please thank them profusely for their time, regardless of how the conversation goes.

MOST IMPORTANTLY. If you happen to be one of those bizarre born-again Christians like we are, please remember that first and foremost we are representing Jesus in these conversations. This is an opportunity to support a worthy cause in a polite and respectful way. How cool would it be for the people answering the phones, at the end of the day Wednesday, to think “Wow, I got so many calls regarding those adopted kids, but everyone was so grateful, calm and respectful that I didn’t even mind.” In other words, if we speak the truth in love, hopefully the experience can be positive for those who are serving our community in these offices.

Who to Call

Most important is the President, then USCIS, then the Senators and other leaders.

President George W. Bush, Presidential Correspondence, 202-456-2281 (most important) 202-456-1414 operator, and 202-456-1111 comment line (please leave a comment!) If somebody has a better number that is publishable, please let me know.

USCIS

Call 202-272-8000 and 202-272-1000.

Also request that the head of US-CIS reach out directly to the Chief Justice of the Kenya High Court, since the two sets of policies appear to be irreconcilably different. The question is, what makes our case so special that Kenya and the US can’t work out a mutual understanding?

Senator Barack Obama (even if you don’t live in Illinois)

He has 4 different numbers for 4 different offices.

- 312-886-3514

- 217-492-5099

- 618-997-2850

- 309-736-1233

Congressman John Sarbanes, Maryland: 410-832-8890

Congressman Elijah Cummings, Maryland

- Annapolis: 410-295-1679

- DC: 202-225-4741

- Howard County: 410-465-8259

Senator Ben Cardin, Maryland

- Baltimore/Towson: 410-962-4436—most important

- Washington DC: 202-224-4524—second most important

- Bowie: 301-860-0414

- Salisbury: 410-546-4250

- Cumberland: 301-777-2957

Senator Barbara Mikulski, Maryland

- Washington DC: 202-224-4654

Governor Martin O’Malley

410.974.3901 or 1.800.811.8336

Mungu acubariki sana,

Baba Sundi, Mama Sundi, Sundi, and Damon

This is the letter that we need (5 of 5)

US Approval Number BAL-07-006-5039 April 22, 2008

RE: Kenya High Court Adoption Matters Number 179 & 180 of 2007
Jeromy and Kimberly Smith

THIS DOCUMENT IS FOR THE AUTHORITIES IN KENYA ONLY

Dear Honorable Justice (name goes here; we don't want to put in on the Internet):

The United States government has determined that Jeromy and Kimberly Smith, both of whom are US citizens, are able to properly care for two adopted children from Kenya, as per their approved I-797-C, dated January 10, 2007. It is our understanding that the proposed adoption will be finalized in Kenya. Once the adoption is finalized, United States legislation recognizes the children as full members of the adopting family and as such, the children are treated in the same manner as all other children of legally constituted families.

The United States welcomes the adopted children from Kenya as the legal son and daughter of Jeromy Chad Smith and Kimberly Ruth (Nissly) Smith. As such, the children adopted by the Smiths will be issued full and immediate citizenship upon entrance into the United States.

The State of Maryland, as well as all other states in the union, respects and honors the United States Immigration Laws concerning adoption. The State of Maryland, through government licensed agencies, monitors adopted children in the home to ensure health and security for the adopted child. Therefore, the State of Maryland honors Kenyan adoptions as full and complete, awarding citizenship under the IR3 Visa.

Furthermore, please be assured that the global child trafficking issue is a crisis that the United States government takes very seriously. Therefore, international adoptions are treated with the utmost care and caution. To proactively prevent the use of children as domestic servants and eradicate all other forms of abuse, the United States takes all of the precautions outlined in the attached USCIS letter, dated April 18^th. After the adoption is finalized, specialized US government agencies monitor the home environment of the children on an ongoing basis. Carolina Adoption Services, an agency licensed by both the United States government and the Hague Convention, has approved the Smith’s home study for international placement and will be scheduling home visits every 3 months to ensure that the adopted children of Jeromy and Kimberly Smith are being raised in a safe and healthy environment.

WE NEED THE ABOVE TO BE COPIED AND PASTED ONTO OFFICIAL US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LETTERHEAD. THAT'S ALL WE NEED!

Hopefully this helps answer any questions about what we are praying for; please also join us in prayer to receive this letter immediately, because we were told we will not have our hearing this Friday without it. You can see that we aren't asking for the US to do an "intervention" or put pressure on Kenya to give the children to us. On the contrary, we are simply asking the US government to honor the request made by the High Court of Kenya. Child trafficking is an international tragedy of epic proportions, and we owe it to all sovereign states entrusting us with their children via adoption to allay any such fears that are expressed.

Thanks. And a request for prayer and preparation.

Dear Friends and Family. Words cannot express how grateful we are for the incredible outpouring of love, prayers, service, and time during the nine-day nightmare that began April 11th when we were first faced with the prospect of losing our children.

We truly have the most incredible family and friends on the planet. Thanks for the 130 character reference letters that many of you took the time not only to write, but to fed ex or even drive or walk a distance to hand-deliver. Just reading through the first part of them has been one of the most affirming experiences of our lives. I even saw Kim get teary-eyed a couple times! The encouragement that has been offered has renewed our strength to press on.

In the midst of this crisis, we have yet another thing to be grateful for. Thanks to a generous donation by a friend, International Bible Society (in Colorado Springs) has enough seed money to launch a program targeted toward the 300,000-ish Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) in Kenya. They will provide them with books called “Survivors” targeted toward kids, brochures called “How to Overcome Violence” targeted toward youth, and Bibles for young and old alike. Please keep this important initiative in your prayers, as people who have endured the traumatic events that they have-- along with the difficult conditions in camps-- have significant emotional and psychological challenges that are difficult for most of us to comprehend. IBS can be a key partner in providing hope, encouragement, and even a positive way to channel feelings and thought patterns.

WE HAVE ONE MORE REQUEST.

Unfortunately, despite some heroic efforts on our behalf, we have not been able to obtain the approval letter from the US government that Kenya is asking for. The judge told us in no uncertain terms that if we don’t have it, she will throw us out of court again on Friday. We are trying one final path of escalation. If we do not receive the letter that we need by tomorrow, we will need your help one more time. We will need to do a “shock and awe” all-out barrage of emails and phone calls from everyone that we know (and everyone that you know who would be willing to help), to Senators, Congressmen, and even the President, simply asking for this letter.

Before 8pm EST tomorrow night (Monday) we’ll either give the wonderful news that we have the letter, or we’ll be asking for you to help us in a nonstop 2-day plea to the US government to help us simply get the cover letter that we need.

The blog will include instructions on how to help, along with brief phone call bullet points and an email that can simply be copied and pasted for you to add your name. BUT PLEASE PRAY THAT WE GET THE LETTER TOMORROW SO THIS WON’T BE NECESSARY. We really, really don’t want to go this route, but the bottom line is that we have no choice but to comply with the judge or else we risk losing our children. So at this point we will knock on anyone’s door who can help us get the letter that we need to keep our family intact.

In case you are wondering, the content of the letter that we need is listed below. Thanks for all of the words of encouragement, prayers, and even fasting on our behalf.

Baba Sundi

US Approval Number BAL-07-006-5039 April 18, 2008

RE: Kenya High Court Adoption Matters Number 179 & 180 of 2007
Jeromy and Kimberly Smith

THIS DOCUMENT IS FOR THE AUTHORITIES IN KENYA ONLY

Dear Honorable Justice (Insert Name):

The United States government has determined that Jeromy and Kimberly Smith, both of whom are US citizens, are able to properly care for two adopted children from Kenya, as per their approved I-797-C, dated January 10, 2007. It is our understanding that the proposed adoption will be finalized in Kenya. Once the adoption is finalized, United States legislation recognizes the children as full members of the adopting family and as such, the children are treated in the same manner as all other children of legally constituted families.

The United States welcomes the adopted children from Kenya as the legal son and daughter of Jeromy Chad Smith and Kimberly Ruth (Nissly) Smith. As such, the children adopted by the Smiths will be issued full and immediate citizenship upon entrance into the United States.

The State of Maryland, as well as all other states in the union, respects and honors the United States Immigration Laws concerning adoption. The State of Maryland, through government licensed agencies, monitors adopted children in the home to ensure health and security for the adopted child. Therefore, the State of Maryland honors Kenyan adoptions as full and complete, awarding citizenship under the IR3 Visa.

Furthermore, please be assured that the global child trafficking issue is a crisis that the United States government takes very seriously. Therefore, international adoptions are treated with the utmost care and caution. To proactively prevent the use of children as domestic servants and eradicate all other forms of abuse, the United States takes all of the precautions outlined in the attached USCIS letter, dated April 18^th. After the adoption is finalized, specialized US government agencies monitor the home environment of the children on an ongoing basis. Carolina Adoption Services, an agency licensed by both the United States government and the Hague Convention, has approved the Smith’s home study for international placement and will be scheduling home visits every 3 months to ensure that the adopted children of Jeromy and Kimberly Smith are being raised in a safe and healthy environment.

Confused by what he saw in court on Friday, Damon decided to take action!

So, he got on the phone and started to call all of his contacts pleading for help!

Admitting that his contacts were slim, he persevered nonetheless.

The boy is persistent and in the end convinced his Bibi and Babu to come out and support us! He is very excited!

She's not as grown as she looks!

But she is as cute!

God's Word for such a time

"The Lord is my light and my salvation-

SO WHY SHOULD I BE AFRAID?

“The Lord protects me from danger-

SO WHY SHOULD I TREMBLE?”

Though a mighty army surrounds me,

MY HEART WILL KNOW NO FEAR.

Even if they attack me,

I REMAIN CONFIDENT.

The one thing I ask of the Lord-

The thing I seek the most-

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His temple.

For He will conceal me when troubles come,

He will hide me in His sanctuary.

He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

THEN I WILL HOLD MY HEAD HIGH,

Above my enemies who surround me.

Teach me how to live.

Lead me along the path of honesty,

for my enemies are waiting for me to fall.

Do not let me fall into their hands,

for they accuse me of things I have never done.

YET I AM CONFIDENT THAT I WILL SEE THE LORD”S GOODNESS
while I am here in the land of the living.

Wait patiently for the Lord,
Be brave and courageous,

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

-Ps 27

Find rest my soul, in Christ alone

Know His power, in quietness and trust

Though the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with YOU above the storm,

Father, you are King over the flood

I WILL BE STILL AND KNOW YOU ARE GOD

-Mama Sundi for the four of us.

Another day in court

Tomorrow is the big day. OK, it is a big day.....OK, maybe it will be a big day.....we do know it will be our fifth trip to the High Court in the last 6 weeks.

We are officially on the docket....listed last, but still on the docket....so, we might actually be heard when some of you are waking up in the morning. We are cautiously optimistic, but ready for almost anything.

Thanks so much for your prayer support!

Day with Daddy

Jeromy took last Monday off to spend with the kids. I had errands to run, so he took them to the Nairobi Arboretum which sits just down the hill from us. They had so much fun and came back smelling like delicious kid sweat and outside! I love it when I pick up my son and he smells like that.

Sundi found a very BIG stick which she was very proud to display!

Guess she wasn't satisfied. When she saw this HUGE stick, she enlisted some help from her unusually big little brother! Love the teamwork!!

"Dude, this is no sweat for a guy like me!"
"Hmmm, thought she said this was heavy!"

Jeromy said that Sundi really wanted to get up here, but when she finally made it, she got a little nervous.

Gtting bigger everyday!

Sundi's treasure from her adventure with Dad. Still sitting in her room-not sure how to break it to her, but these are NOT going back home with us!

Damon helping Daddy stay in shape!

Virus warning

Hey guys. Just a heads up that in the past few days some "fake" comments were put on the blog. It is safe to read any comments that are put out there, but please don't click on anything within the Comments section that says "please see here". There are many people out there who have nothing better to do than to waste your time and hurt your computer!

We had a moving experience on Saturday, going up country in "Kamba land" where our daughter's roots are. More on that soon!

Have a great Sunday.

And the verdict is....

.....wait one more week. Our “hearing” was canceled because our judge had another meeting at 9am, but instead we had a “mention” at 8:30 this morning. This is not to be confused with an “honorable mention”. It’s not quite as good as a hearing, and not quite as bad as a “seeyasucka”. Damon couldn't believe it either.
So, the net of our meeting was that the previous judge did not brief the new judge (who is the most senior) during the last month, so no decision concerning the legitimacy of our US approval could be made. However, the encouraging thing is that the new judge agreed to hear our matter next week and offered to bring the file home with her to review. So, we are hoping for Friday, April 11^th.....but nothing will surprise us at this point. In the meantime, we think we now officially hold the record for most times being removed from court. We are applying to the Guiness Book of World Records next week.

Today we had the privilege of having lunch with several displaced people from the Kiambaa village (the Eldoret church) who were in Nairobi for a diocese conference. From left (below), they were Jane, Peter, Anthony, and Brother Philip. They all lost loved ones and/or had family critically burned or injured. Their testimonies were incredible, and their humility was moving.

Caleb with Jane. Jane is the one who wrote the messages on the wall of the house in Eldoret.