And so it begins.

Greetings friends and family,

So earlier tonight I shaved off my beard, even before winter could arrive.  And if you know me well at all, you know that not many things could make me want to part with my seasonal face sweater before springtime.  So this could only mean one thing…  it's go time.

Let me back up a bit.  As you know, Molly and I have been in the long process of waiting to adopt a child from Ethiopia.  As in, several years patiently waiting.  But back in July, Molly and I learned about a boy in Uganda who needed a permanent home and parents.  As we both saw his picture and started reading what there was of his story, we were both struck with the same thought and wondered (separately, I might add) if this soft eyed, widely grinning, 5-ish year old boy might indeed be our son.  So we asked if we could possibly become his parents.  Apparently, our adoption agency thought so as they offered his referral to us only a few days later - which we enthusiastically accepted.  So over the late summer, we (mainly Molly) threw ourselves full-tilt into getting our home study and paperwork redone in order to meet Ugandan requirements and had our new dossier complete, all in only 3 weeks.  We exhaled and then we waited.  Little bits of news trickled in here and there.  Just eleven days ago we learned that our case was submitted to the courts.  Hmmm…  things might start happening soon, we thought - maybe we should start thinking about turning one of our two guest rooms into a boy's bedroom.  This past weekend, I rode motorcycles with a friend while Molly painted the bedroom and ordered a dresser.  Things are coming together.  

Yesterday morning, October 17th at 7am the phone rings.  It's our adoption agency calling and saying the courts have set a date to hear our case.  Whoa, sweet!!  We're pumped.  When is it, we asked.  It's next week, October 23th.  ……silence...…  Oh wow, that's really soon - when do you need us to get there? Um, you really need to get there asap. You'll need time to meet this boy and spend as much time bonding with him as possible before your stand in front of the judge next Tuesday and demonstrate that you and he have a meaningful and stable connection and that you are fit to be his parents.  …..gulp….

Well friends, here we are - the time has come.  After 36 hours of rushing around like maniacs, with several friends and family members pitching in like champs, we are almost packed and ready to go.  Tomorrow noon Molly and I board a plane for Uganda to finally meet our to-be son and hopefully bring him home in the next four to six weeks, if all goes as planned.  We'll arrive in Uganda 10pm Saturday night, be taken to a guest house (imagine a African Bed and Breakfast compound) and bright and early Sunday morning, this handsome little man and his caretaker will arrive.  We'll likely spend the morning with he and his caregiver (his "Mom" for the past year), she will depart and then he will be living with Molly and I from then on, through the court hearing Tuesday and the court ruling a few weeks later, and then at that point, and God willing, he will be our son.

Whew.

So here we go.  And what can you do?  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  If I may, here's how:

Pray specifically for our boy:  that he won't be scared and that he'll somehow know and sense that he is loved far beyond imagination, by us, by you and that everything will be alright.  Oh, did I mention that he speaks only Luganda and we speak English?  And pray that he will feel safe and form some sort of meaningful bond with us before the three of us stand in front of a judge 48 hours later.  Other than that, you could think and pray for a myriad of things (our health, well-being, unity, joy, good weather, lots of fun and laughter, or whatever comes to mind).  We know that our lives are immensely rich because of friends and family who care greatly about us, like you do.  We are humbled and grateful.  

Some of you have asked if you could help financially with the cost of bringing our son home.  If you feel led to do that, you can certainly do so.

Our church has an adoption fund set up for families who are in the final stages of adopting an child.  We have applied for and were accepted to receive funds to help us cover the costs or flights and housing while we are in Uganda.  You can write them a check, in the memo line write 'Adoption Fund' and mail it to:

Church Of The Redeemer

920 Caldwell Lane  

Nashville, TN 37204

Please note that funds can not be specifically designated for our adoption but we are next in line to receive funds from our church, so... 

Anything over what the church would grant us would be used in the same way for the next family in line (and there are several!  :)  

No matter what, your donation would help give an orphan a home.

Bonus: It's tax deductible!

And that's all for tonight.  We've set up a blog where we intend to post updates as we travel, meet our little man and move through this process in Uganda.  If you want to follow along, go here:

http://20hourflight.blogspot.com

Thanks for reading and know that we are grateful for you.  

All our love, 

Mark and Molly