This Saturday, we will be boarding a plane headed for Malawi to bring home our little girl! 698 days since we first learned about her, we will finally meet our daughter. We can hardly believe the words in that sentence. We were told by so many people along the way that this would never happen, that this just doesn't happen. And here we are packing and planning to go pick up our daughter!
We have learned so much on this journey. God is so beyond us, our plans, our timelines and our limitations. He is on the move in this world to bring justice and healing to the oppressed and forgotten. He sees them and He gives us the opportunities to love them and meet their needs. We can say "yes" or we can choose not to hear or see. We are so thankful that He gave us this specific opportunity and even more thankful that we said "yes" to Him. That answer came from trembling, scared-out-of-our-mind lips. To be honest with you, we have doubted so, so many times. This adoption did not fit into our plans AT ALL. But He, who promises to give us everything that we need to do what He has called us to do, met us and walked with us through every door that He opened. God has been so faithful to us and deserves all of the glory. There will be plenty of time in the future for more reflection and we hope that we will be able to do justice to the incredible story that God is writing in little Mary's life. It's an honor to be her parents.
We will be try our best to keep you all updated while we are in Malawi. We will be leaving bright and early from Knoxville on Saturday, September 7th and will arrive in Malawi around noon the next day. We will return to Knoxville on Monday, September 16th.
Some things to keep in prayer:
- Mary as she prepares (unknowingly) to leave the only home and family that she has ever known.
- Her Grandmother as she prepares to say goodbye to her granddaughter. The thought of it is heartbreaking.
- Alex and his family. Alex has been God's right hand man through this process. We recently learned that his name means "defender of men" - how fitting! He has been a tremendous blessing to our family and to Mary's family.
- Emerson and Owen. There could not be sweeter boys on this planet. Leaving them will be the hardest thing we have ever done. We want to take them with us, but it just isn't financially feasible for us. This will be the longest that we have been separated from them. Pray for peace in all of our hearts.
- Brandie's parents as they travel to Tennessee to care for the boys. We are so thankful that they are willing and able to do this for us.
- Our health. Because of the timing of our trip and the lack of typhoid vaccines (the military is hogging them all) we have to take our typhoid medication orally. Apparently, you can't take typhoid pills and malaria pills together, so we will be unprotected from malaria for a few days. Pray that our hunting-strength bug repellent will ward off all hungry mosquitoes.
We cannot even begin to express our gratitude to all of you who have prayed with us, encouraged us, supported us, raised money and given money during this time. Without you this would not have been possible.
Thank you for walking this journey with us.
Much love and gratitude,
Wes and Brandie
