Mariama Melissen

It has been a while between entries!! Thank you all so much for your prayers, encouragement, and the many other kinds of support that we have felt over the last while.

I can’t really describe the process of going through the adoption because it’s just an unbelievably long story. I will just summarize it by saying it was like nothing we’ve ever experienced. The combination of becoming new parents in this setting, and going through all the paperwork and processes that needed to happen led to such an emotional roller coaster. There were times where we thought everything would pass through pretty easily, and other times where we thought things we grinding to a halt, and many other times where circumstances led to frustration and discouragement.

But as of Monday, June 15, on her first birthday, Mariama Conteh officially became part of our family. When we think about this, we’re left quite speechless except to say that we feel that God led us from the beginning to her, and her to us.

It’s interesting how in life when one challenge has been passed by, one’s mind turns automatically to the next one in line. For us, this means that now that she is our daughter, our task turns toward bringing our daughter home with us, preferably when we are scheduled to come home July 25. There are what feels like a million things that need to happen quickly and in the right order before we can come home with her. So far we’ve just been walking through doors as they open (in some cases we’ve been crawling through the window, however), so we’ll take that same mindset with the next steps.

Just today, Peacemaker came to Kabala with the adoption order, so everything is officially official – tell God ten key!

Thank you again so much for all your prayers and support.

Until next time,

Joe and Adrienne

Mariama Pictures

What a crazy experience, and it's amazing to think how life can twist and turn based on events that take place. This is the house that Mariama lived with her biological mother for 2 months before she died, and the place where she would be living if her mother were still alive. This house is in a tiny village called Kamasepe, which only has about 4 houses, all of which look like this.

The adoption order: Mariama is now not only officially our daughter, but we can prove it!

This is Mariama's biological father's village....VERY small and very remote - motorbike could not make it there, we had to walk an hour through the bush.

A little bit of palm wine