Leila Update

"It’s only by amazing grace you are born where you are — to be abundant, amazing grace for someone born somewhere else." -Ann Voskamp

Is God calling you? Pause and listen. What or who is in front of you that you haven't noticed?

Well, there's never a dull moment with adoption. We received news yesterday afternoon after a recent meeting with Dankarami and Leila's birthmother. Her birthmother said she wants nothing to do with this and that Poihn has full control to choose whether or not Leila is adopted. For Leila, this makes me sad, but I understand from a mother's point of view it probably feels easier to let someone else make the decision. I can only imagine the heartache and pain Leila's birthmother has experienced in her life.

Under Nigerien law, Poihn has legal guardianship of Leila, so as long as Poihn is willing to sign this is very good news for us and Leila. Leila's birthmother also admitted that she has no idea who the birth father is, so we don't have to travel down that road. Poihn told Dankarami he WILL sign the papers for Leila and wants to do it before he heads to the Ivory Coast in the coming weeks. Awesome!!! This also means Geoff will have to go over there to sign the guardianship paper on our behalf in front of the Nigerien notary, which over there is like a high up clerk of court. We are exploring if this is our only option since a plane ticket to Niger is a hefty sum of money.

If Poihn is true to his word, and he signs discharge papers, he will be terminating his rights completely, which means after this we would only have to do the government stuff to complete the adoption. God has opened this door when before Poihn said he would never let her go, so we are incredibly thankful for this new news. Please keep praying for God's favor in all of this and for our sweet Leila to get what she needs while she's still there - food, clean water, affection and love, a safe place to sleep and a glimpse of her heavenly Father.