Our Last Days

Right now we are staying in Lilongwe until our flight home on September 4.  The past few weeks have been quite busy and hectic so I’ll try to write a brief update.  Last Saturday our staff gave us a going away party which was a happy yet sad time.  Leaving the nursery, our babies and staff, is difficult but we know that God has another plan for us and them. The thought of going home and seeing our family and friends again makes our leaving bearable. Our caregivers put on a skit that re-enacted what we go through when we take in a child.  Prisca, the first nanny I hired, stole the show by dressing up as an old man who needed a home for his grandchild.  She was quite believable and had us in stitches.  It ended with singing which is always a delight and something we will miss.

Tuesday, the 28^th was the nursery’s one year anniversary so we had a party to celebrate.  One year ago we received Mphatso into our care and now we have 11 babies that are currently at the nursery.  This was our way of thanking our staff for all their hard work in making our vision a reality.  I couldn’t hold back the tears as we all knew that it was the last time we would see one another for quite some time.  As I looked at the babies I realized that most of them would be gone before we came back again. 

We also finished up all of Bridget’s paperwork that allows her to leave with us.  Again we saw God’s hand in all the workings.  She will be coming home with us on a tourist visa as she is still a Malawi citizen.  Before we leave Malawi, we needed to submit citizenship papers to the US Embassy in Lilongwe which would make her a US citizen.  This process takes anywhere from 2-6 months and requires Andy, Bridget and me to return to Malawi once it’s approved to finalize the paperwork.  We arrived in Lilongwe on Thursday to submit her application and were unaware that we couldn’t just walk in and hand the documents to them.  We had been trying to contact the embassy as we also needed to be fingerprinted but we were having no success in getting them to call us back.  They finally called us Thursday afternoon as we were driving into Lilongwe to tell us that the person that does the fingerprints was on vacation and wouldn’t be back until Tuesday.  That was a big problem because we are flying out on Tuesday.  We went to the embassy anyway and asked if the man could come in on Monday to fingerprint us.  Well, Monday is Labor Day in the states so since this is the US Embassy they observe US holidays.  Arghhhhhh!!!  The head of security said she would call him and see if he could come in Friday but apparently he was supposed to be going to his village during his holiday so it looked doubtful.  God was definitely working as the man had changed his plans and didn’t go away and would come in to fingerprint us.  Thank you Lord!  We also needed to have all the documents notarized before we could file them and the person who needed to do that was at a meeting and they didn’t know when he’d be back.  Andy returned to the embassy at 1 pm, the man was there, and he was completed by 1:10.  Since the embassy closes at 1:30 on Fridays we had plenty of time to spare J

Our flight leaves Lilongwe on Tuesday, the 4^th, and we will arrive in Seattle on the 5^th.  We are planning to stay in Tacoma until the following week to visit my family and catch up on the last 15 months.  It is amazing to think that we’re going home when it feels like we just left.  Continue to keep the nursery staff and babies in your prayers as this will be a difficult transition for them.  We still have no director but have received word that a couple from the states is also interested in coming and working in our stead.  We can only trust God for their future as He alone is responsible for the opening of the nursery and He will see it through.  Lisa

 

To God be the glory great things he has done