So the details are: Her name is Marleigh Baredu McWhorter! She is 4 or 5 yrs old and she's ours! Stuart and I traveled to Ethiopia a few weeks ago and met her. The orphanage let us take her back to our hotel in Addis and spend a week getting to know our daughter. It was sooo amazing! It is obvious that she has been loved. She walked right up to us and gave us the biggest hug. The translator explained that we were her new "Mommy and Daddy" and we were in a puddle of tears. She doesn't understand any English so it was a week of charades but she understood that we love her and she loves us. It could not have gone any better. We took her to the Dr while we were there and she is perfectly healthy. We were hoping for a clearer understanding of her age but we are still not sure. She has tiny little hands and feet but she is really smart and well coordinated. Her paperwork says that she is "Abandoned" with no family listed or birthdate. I'm so sad for her but I have no doubt that GOD chose us and now she has family and we will celebrate her 5th birthday when she gets home. The hardest thing to do was leave her and fly home but I know that she is in good hands and we will be together again soon. We will travel again (hopefully) in December for her court date and then (hopefully) bring her home by February. Please pray for her process to go quickly!
Stuart and I have a hole in our hearts that won't be full until we get her home but we are overjoyed with the blessing that GOD has given us.
Lovingly,
