Adoption leads to a heart for Haiti . . .

by Karin L. Nauber

karin@inhnews.com

Pictured: Homeless Haitians set up tents all over the country in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Many of the tent cities still exist today. —photo used with permission from Wikipedia Commons by Marcello Casal Jr/ABr. Original post: http://www.agenciabrasil.gov./br/media/imagens/2010/01/190110mca0582.jpg/view

When Wes and Jillian Wagner from Baxter wanted to adopt, they thought of Haiti and began an adoption process in 2011. It took them four years to actually bring their two adoptees home to Minnesota, though.

They have six kids altogether including eight-year-olds Kaiya and Josiah.

They first met the children when they were babies, but the adoption process was slow.

But perhaps God had a hand in that. The Wagners made numerous trips to Haiti to see their children, perform necessary paperwork and to start bonding with them. And through it all, they developed a heart for Haiti and the horrible conditions that face those people every day.

Wes Wagner talked about the heart for Haiti he had gained through he and his wife’s experience of adopting two of their six children from Haiti.

In 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook the country of Haiti and they have yet to recover from its effects. Many major aftershocks added to the devastation.

Wes said that part of it was because the concrete buildings were put up with no rebar so they simply collapsed when the earth began to shake.

Over 300,000 people were killed as a result of the quake and another 1.5 million people were left homeless. Much of the country is still in ruins with thousands still living in tent cities.

A man exited a restaurant after he looked for his belongings. An earthquake rocked Port au Prince on January 12, 2010. —photo used with permission from Wikipedia Commons. Photo by Marco Dormino/ The United Nations United Nations Development Programme - originally posted to Flickr as Haiti Earthquake.

When Wes first went to Haiti, it was about a year after the earthquake.

“It was a big culture shock because it was so different and so baffling. When we first got off the plane, I looked for the airport. It was a tin shed because the airport had been severely damaged. There were people everywhere,” he said.

First they lost their luggage. Once that was found, they looked for their driver.

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