This week...

Dear loved ones,

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

September...

We learned this week that we will not be traveling to Malawi in August as we had initially thought. Unfortunately, Mary's passport application cannot be completed until the 18th of August. In order to make the most efficient use of our time in Malawi and expedite our return home, her passport and new birth certificate need to be issued before we travel. As things stand right now, we are planning on leaving the first week in September. We were a little disappointed at first by this delay, but we know it's His timing. Being home for a few extra few weeks will give us more time to prepare for adding a toddler to our home, as well as start the school year with the boys and give them a fantastic birthday celebration before we leave. And, as it turns out, it will also enable us to have the medical exam needed for her visa processing completed before we leave. We know it's a good thing. Still, we are so eager to finally meet our girl.

We are so grateful for the incredible support we've received from many of you. This whole process has been very humbling and all we can say is "thank you". God really has something going on here and we're amazed that He's letting us be a part of it.

Mary Alex, July 31, 2013

Much love,

Wes & Brandie

She's ours!

This is the post that we have looked forward to writing ever since we started this journey 21 months ago. We are beyond excited to share with you all that Mary is officially the newest member of our family!!  On July 23rd, our friend Alex went with our attorney (our "team") and represented us in a hearing before the High Court of Malawi to decide on our petition to adopt Mary. We had originally been told that we needed to be there for the judge to approve the adoption. In addition, we learned that it could take many weeks, if not months, for Mary's new birth certificate, passport, visa, and I600 form to be approved in Malawi so that we could travel home with her. These documents cannot be filed without an approved adoption order. In short, we were suppose to be there for the court hearing and then wait, potentially many weeks, in Malawi before we could bring her home with us. Obviously, that is not something that we can do with Wes' work schedule and our boys. On the night of the 22nd, we asked our team if there was any way that the adoption could be approved without us being there. That way, we could start processing documents before we travel so that we will not be held up in Malawi for weeks/months. Our team said they would try. We were feeling doubtful and wondering if this adoption would ever really happen. Alex was urging us to trust God and His timing. We woke up the next morning to joyful e-mails from Alex, praising God for a fully approved adoption! We were floored. We are so happy and humbled to say that we are now Mary's parents. All we have to do is go get her! Plus, our team is starting the process for her birth certificate and passport this week. Documents will be processing before we even get there. The impossibility of this entire thing only proves that absolutely nothing is impossible for Him.  From the very beginning, every single step, every period of silence, every open door...all Him.  We're fully convinced that there is a reason this has all worked out as it has. God has big plans for this little girl!

We're tentatively planning on traveling to Malawi on August 15. If that doesn't work out, it will be sometime in early September. We will update you all as soon as we know more about our travel plans. Please keep us, our team, and Mary in prayer as we piece together the final parts of this adoption.

Many of you have asked how you can help us. Here are some of our biggest needs going forward:

1.) Airfare. Up until now, we were confident that we had raised and saved enough money for our trip to Malawi and court fees. However, after talking to our travel agent this week, we're a little disappointed to learn that airfare to Malawi has doubled because of the season and is even higher because we are planning a trip with less than 4 weeks notice.  We could definitely use some help with the extra cost. We really do not want to have to delay in going to get her, but if we can't purchase airfare we may have to wait until September to pick her up.

2.) Apple laptop computer. We are also looking for a gently used/new mac laptop computer to take over for our dear friend, Alex.  He has selflessly taken care of Mary and has not asked for anything in return. We know that this would mean a lot to him. If you or anyone you know would like to donate one to bless Alex's socks off, please let us know.

3.) Lastly, we've put together a small registry at Target for things that Mary will need once she is home with us. If you'd like to check it out, it's listed under our names online at target.com or in any target store near you.

Again, thank you all so much for praying and supporting us through this process. We couldn't have done it without you and we cannot wait to introduce our little girl to you!!

Much love and anticipation,

Wes and Brandie

Mary 21 months ago

Mary, July 24, 2013

Mary and Alex, July 24, 2013

Mornings of Mary...

Like we have said before, we absolutely love the mornings when we wake up to pictures of Mary in our inbox. Honestly, it's elating! The four of us are crowded around the computer screen with huge smiles on our faces. Seeing her sweet face reminds us of why we are following the Lord on this journey. It puts the skin on what, at times, can feel overwhelmingly surreal. It gives strength to our ability to wait on Him. Considering how ill Mary has been,  it was especially refreshing to see her face today.  According to our dear friend, Alex (who you see above holding Mary), she is on the mend. He took her to the clinic on the island today for another check up and we should get the results of that visit soon. We are so thankful for Alex and his love for Mary. We would be lost in this process without him.  

Just wanted to update you all and share these pictures with you. Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated!!

*A quick side note-  We sent our first package to Mary a few months ago with some special items that she could use and eventually bring home to the USA with her. We were a little nervous that the package would be intercepted along it's journey and eventually lost or stolen, but it did make it! The outfit that Mary is wearing in this photo was chosen by her soon to be Daddy. It's fun to see a little bit of us with her in the photos. 

Much love, 

Wes, Brandie, and the boys

Pray for Mary

Would you commit to praying for Mary and our adoption every day for the next seven days? We're  worried about Mary's health and we're really feeling the distance that is between us and this sweet girl. About a month ago, Mary came down with some illness that has been very difficult for her to fight off. Our friend, Alex, has been doing his best to care for her and get her to medical clinics. Unfortunately, the illness has really affected her little body, so much so that we barely recognized her in the photos we received today. It's heart breaking because there is nothing we can do from thousands of miles away. Our complete trust is in the Lord who holds her and has brought her this far. Please pray that she will bounce back from this illness. Pray also that the last few details of the adoption will progress so that we can bring her home. We are so close!

Mary and her paternal grandmother. Mary is holding the bear we just sent her.

Looking at the board book of our family that we made for Mary.

With much love,

Wes, Brandie, and the boys

Wait, Trust, Hope

Well, we're apparently not the most consistent of bloggers.  It's been almost 4 months since we last updated you on the adoption. So sorry! Our lack of communication, however, does not indicate a lack of activity in the adoption. Since we last updated you, we have:

-completed our home study and were approved - 2/11/2013
-been fingerprinted for US immigration in Nashville, TN - 3/15/2013
-received and signed the affidavit and petition to adopt Mary from our lawyer in Malawi - 3/15/2013
-been approved by US immigration to adopt (without one question from Homeland Security!) - 4/12/13

In light of all of this,  our lawyer is ready to schedule the court hearing in Malawi.  The only thing remaining on our end is for Mary specifically to be approved by US immigration. This should take a few weeks and there shouldn't be any problems.  Once she is approved we can start travel plans. We're guesstimating that we could be going sometime in June or early July depending on when they can secure a court date.  In the interim, we're continuing to wait, trust, and hope in the One who is orchestrating all of this. It has been amazing to watch Him bring all of this together without really any significant efforts on our part.  It has confirmed in my heart that He will do what He plans to do with or without us. We can choose to follow and be a part or we can choose to stay put and miss out on what he is doing. We pray that we will always follow Him no matter what the cost. The gift of this little life, this precious girl, humbles us beyond words.

Most recent picture of Mary with her great-grandmother.

On a slightly different note, a while back we had the privilege of helping our friend, Alex, build a new home for Mary's grandparents. Apparently, their home was in dire need of repair. We were able to raise money to assist with the building of the new home. The approximate cost of the new home was about $500. It's sobering to think of the things we spend our money on, when for such a small sum (by American standards) you could significantly improve a family's life. Below are some pictures of the process.

We hope to be updating you soon with travel plans.  Please continue to pray for Mary's continued health, and for her grandparents, their health and their hearts as they prepare to say goodbye to Mary.  Pray also for George, our lawyer, as he completes this process with wisdom and integrity. And, for our dear friend Alex as he continues to be the "middle-man" in all of this. This wouldn't be happening at all without him.

Lastly, we want to thank those of you who have continued to support us in this. Thank you for your prayers, your financial support, your adorable gifts, and for your inquiries as to how Mary is doing. Nothing means more than when a friend asks, out of the blue, how Mary is and how they can pray for her and us. It reminds us that, even though we're not pregnant, we are still expecting a child.

Blessings to you all and again, thanks for walking this road with us. =)

Much love,

Wes, Brandie, Emerson , Owen