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Good day to be a judge: Haitian adoption approved

Written by Tim Hillman [Rising Sun/Ohio County Editor]

Thursday, 29 July 2010

Judges - like Dearborn-Ohio County Circuit Court Judge James D.
Humphrey- keep very busy and must preside over some of the most
devastating times in people’s lives.
That’s why on Wednesday, July 21 the judge was able to take a short
break from the often gloomy days of the courtroom to express extreme
pleasure in announcing that Isabella Eugene is now Isabella Niehaus.
The two-year-old Haitian officially became the daughter of Aurora native
John Niehaus and his wife Carmen, both missionaries in Haiti.
Bella (as she is most commonly called) was abandoned in her hometown of
Port-de-Paix Haiti when she was just five days old. John and Carmen were
at their home off Sunnyside Avenue when they got the call from Haiti to
see if they were interested in Bella. Because she was abandoned Bella
was given the last name of the town’s mayor Eugene (a common practice in
Haiti).
Most international adoptions take about two years but, just as the
couple thought they had gone through the various bureaucratic hoops, a
devastating earthquake hit the island of Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010 ...
destroying all the paperwork in the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Fortunately, the couple and missionaries at Sonlight Academy in
northwest Haiti received little damage from the quake. Also, because of
the quake, the couple was granted a category one probation status which
cleared the way for them (and others who had completed the adoption
paperwork) to come to the United Sates with Bella.
Last summer Carmen spent the summer in Haiti with Bella while John
returned to do things around the house in Aurora and meet with supporters.
School starts next month and Carmen will stay in the states with Bella
until all the paperwork is final and they are sure Bella will be able to
travel to Haiti and then back to the states.
During the July 21 proceedings Carmen’s cell phone went off.
“I hope that’s a good omen,” Judge Humphrey quipped.
Moments later, it became official but not before Bella was called up to
the judge’s stand, where Humphrey held out a pair of stuffed animals for
her to choose from.
“Life’s about choices,” he said. She chose a cuddly brown bear.
When Bella was asked her name she said Niehaus (pronounced knee-house).
There’s a lot in that name.
The knee symbolizes prayer which many people in southeastern Indiana and
around the country have done throughout the adoption process.
After receiving an official birth certificate and establishing
citizenship they’ll need to get a passport so they can all return to
Haiti where Carmen is principal of Sonlight Academy and John is in
charge of maintenance and construction.
“Don’t stop praying for us now,” said John who wants to thank all those
who have prayed and helped out.
Lawrenceburg attorney Robert Ewbank represented the Niehaus family.
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