On My Way Home + Adoption Update

I’m sitting in the airport in Johannesburg, South Africa waiting for my flight to Dulles to board and can’t help but think of the last 8 days in Uganda. In particular I can’t get my mind off a little boy. My son. My new son. My consolation right now is that my precious wife (and a dear friend) stayed behind with him and will bring him home, Lord willing, by the end of the month!

Here’s a brief scoop on our trip and where things are at for all those who have been praying and have asked. First, let me say thank you to everyone who is praying and helping us along the way! It has been amazing to us how many people have joined us in this adoption. Shawnda and I can’t thank you enough. You are all a part of this journey in a special way, a part of this little boys life in a big way!

I left for Uganda last Saturday, celebrating the 4th of July somewhere over the Atlantic!), while Shawnda and Kim (a friend of a friend from church who has a story all her own!) left on Sunday. The reason I flew separately was a dear friend called hours before we were going to book our flights together and said they would like to donate enough points for two round trip tickets to Uganda! Since Shawnda needed an open ended ticket she was not able to use points but I knew I was only going for a week so that was a huge blessing!

Because I flew through Johannesburg we ended up arriving in Entebbe, Uganda within an hour of one another. Godfrey, our driver, picked us up and we headed to our guesthouse at Sanyu Babies Home in Kampala.

It was so good to be back in Uganda. The smell of gasoline and oil and hot African air somehow felt so good! We couldn’t wait to see our son who we met for the first time a couple weeks ago. Because we got in late in the evening we had to wait until morning to see him.

We went in to wake him up first thing in the morning and he immediately clung to Shawnda, as though he was waiting for her. 8 days later he is still clinging to her. It is one of the most beautiful things to see. She is an incredible mom. We were so thankful to see that he had gained weight and was healthy. He still has a long way to go but the small improvements were very noticable.

On Wednesday we had our court hearing where the judge heard our case. He will give us our ruling in two weeks. So we wait and pray for the 22nd. Our lawyer said everything went well and was very hopeful. We are trusting it in the Lord’s hands. The next day Shawnda and I went in to the US Consulate and begin the immigration process. Once we have our ruling we will get his passport, birth certificate, and other documents to finish the visa process. We are praying and would ask you to pray with us for this to take the least amount of time as possible : ) I would love to have my wife and son home as soon as possible (the other kids would like their mommy to come home soon too!) Right now their flight is booked for July 28th. That would take a lot to have everything by then but we believe it is possible. We are trusting in the Lord’s timing.

There are so many more details that I can share and hope to share in the days to come. Along with the adoption process is the incredible experience of being in Uganda and getting to know this country and people that we have though of and prayed for so long. I hope to write more on that and what God is stirring in my heart soon.

Again, thank you for your prayers and love! I can’t say that enough. I will land in Charlotte at 9:50am tomorrow morning and cannot wait to hug our other four little ones. They can’t wait to meet their brother. Praying them home!