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
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| Mary 21 months ago |
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| Mary, July 24, 2013 |
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| Mary and Alex, July 24, 2013 |
