SHREVEPORT (AP) — Fear and uncertainty sometimes keeps Bruny and Brunel Civil awake at night.Memories of the devastating earthquake and anguish widespread in their native Haiti are enough to bring tears to their eyes. But the 11-year-old twins know their mommy and daddy are no longer far away.”The bond is building; the trust is building,” said Rebecca Erickson, whom the boys call mommy.For seven years, Rebecca and her husband, David, worked to bring the twin boys from a Christian orphanage near Port-au-Prince to their Shreveport home. Unfilled promises from Haitian lawyers drained them emotionally and financially. At one point, they doubted they would ever bring the brothers home.But last month they received an e-mail from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security telling them the boys were on a flight to Miami.”It was hard to realize that it was real because it was such a long time that we had waited for them,” Rebecca said.The Erickson’s biological children — Isaac, 6, Isabelle, 3, and Arielle, 1  — were also waiting for the twins.A week before getting the e-mail, Rebecca and David were told the boys would be in Miami. Those plans never materialized. They had driven to Miami once before in hopes of reuniting with the twins. But this time they would be leaving Miami with Bruny and Brunel.”David and I both had been crying that morning, and we couldn’t believe it was actually happening,” Rebecca said. “We were so close. Other parents were crying. It was a precious time.”It was the first time in seven years she had hugged the boys and said “I love you” while looking into their eyes. Exhilarating, overwhelming and unbelievable, is how she describes that moment.Staff with Christian Haitian Outreach, where Bruny and Brunel lived in Haiti, said nine children have come to the United States temporarily and have united with families under the humanitarian parole policy. As of Friday, a total of 877 children have come to the U.S. under the policy, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.For the Ericksons, the next step is legal adoption.All 134 children in their orphanage survived the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the island on Jan. 12.”The children are still having issues because of the earthquake” but “they are back in the orphanage,” said Sara Jones, sponsorship coordinator for the orphanage, headquartered in Miami.Rebecca says the twins haven’t forgotten the friends they left behind. They ask if mom and dad can bring four friends from the orphanage, or if the family can visit Haiti.They are quickly embracing the change from sleeping in tents and eating one or two meals a day to a room with bunk beds and a refrigerator full of choices.They like car rides, hot showers and bananas, and they treasure the Nintendo Wii. Brunel is fascinated with watches, and Bruny mustered the courage to lead a worship song in English during a Wednesday children’s service at Shreveport Community Church. “They just have joy,” David said.With the help of students and teachers at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, the boys are learning more English and developing their writing and math skills. The school created a program that lets the twins attend third-grade classes in the morning and fourth-grade classes in the afternoon.”It has been amazing how many people in our school and our church have blessed us,” Rebecca said.Running through the yard with their brother and sisters or snuggling on their father’s lap, their joy is evident. The smile on their faces and the warmth in their eyes doesn’t tell the complete story of the life they have lived. But they are adapting: “new people, new expectations, new food, new church, new language,” Rebecca said.Information from: The Times, http://www.shreveporttimes.com—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]