Help us with the final costs of bringing Zurich home. Simply make a $20 donation here and we will bring you one of these beautiful necklaces handmade by local Ethiopian women.
Thank you for the continued support and encouragement throughout these past two years of our adoption journey. We can’t wait for Zurich to meet everyone!!
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Zurich did not clear the US Embassy and our case has been forwarded to the main embassy in Nairobi for further investigation. Our case is solid, so we are not nervous about being declined, but there were some recent changes at the embassy that likely made this happen. We are not certain how long this will take. Some cases can get cleared quickly while others have to jump through hoops that can take months.
We did not expect this at all. Out of the hundreds of cases our agency has submitted there have only been three families forwarded to Nairobi.
To make matters worse I’ve been very sick and dehydrated after picking up a parasite from something we ate and wasn’t able to keep fluids down. It got so bad that we went to a hospital. The Ethiopian hospital was not as scary as I had imagined, but it was definitely different. The staff was kind, and I am doing better now. We had just come out of a sleepless night and a day in an Ethiopian hospital when we got the bad news from the embassy.
Needless to say, we have felt broken and confused. Haven’t the Marshall’s been through enough? What else could possibly go wrong?!
We have decided to stop asking those kinds of questions. They are useless, and apparently things can always get worse! In spite of the hardship we are in, we feel incredibly blessed and fortunate. Its in these moments that the gospel becomes very real, and we cling to the truth that the ultimate hardship was already taken from us, we are given strength for our daily hardships, and our future hardships will be conquered for us…
The truth is God loves us deeply and he is weaving something beautiful into our lives. Don’t pity us, instead celebrate with us as we get to tangibly experience God’s presence.
It is well with our souls.
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With great pleasure we would like to introduce all of you to the newest member of the Marshall family, Zurich Abraham Marshall!!! We passed court today, which means we are officially his, and he is officially ours!
In case you were wondering, Nichole is still in Ethiopia with him now. We are now waiting to be submitted to the US Embassy and cleared to bring him back to the states. Only 4-8 weeks to go!
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We have decided that Nichole should stay until we can bring Zurich home. Nichole will get to be with Zurich the whole time. She is even able to take him from the transition home and keep him at the guest house. There are no guarantees, but she should only be here for 4-8 weeks, upon which I will return and take them both home. The guest house is very safe, and America World has encouraged us that this is a common decision by families, and that they will more than take care of her and Zurich. Nichole has a nice room with wifi and three meals served every day. She will rarely be alone because there is a constant flow of adoptive families coming through the guest house. Though Ethiopia has little or no violent crime, security guards stand watch 24/7.
Once we pass court (which is expected to happen in the next couple of days) the last milestone that we need to cross is the approval from the US Embassy. We do not expect any delays here, but it never hurts to have one of us in country to deal with any hiccups.
Making new noises, pretending to talk, laughing deeper and longer, responding to kisses and tickles, smiling and crawling to us when we show up at the transition home… Everyday he does something new. The thought of missing out on ANY of that was the largest contributor to us making this decsion. Though the transition homes are nicer than orphanages, they are not proper homes. Zurich has been sick nearly the whole time that he has been there. We also figured out that he gets very little uninterrupted sleep.
We didn’t think this was an option at first so this is still a fresh decision for us. We are so grateful for your continued prayers and support. Please feel free to contact either of us if you have any questions! If you want to keep Nichole company you can skype her at nicholemarshall, also be sure to send her notes of encouragement! It is a brave thing she is doing, and if you have some left over prayers throw them to this messy dude who will miss his better two/thirds dearly.
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The memorial for Figi was far beyond what we could have imagined. One of the most beautiful moments we have ever witnessed. We are so grateful for the friends and family that showed up and celebrated with us. For those of you who could not make it, we are so grateful for your encouraging notes of love, prayers, and support.
If you weren’t able to make it to the memorial or would just like to share what was said you can get the transcript here. You can also read the backstory over the following several blog posts.
Thank you all and thank you Lord… It is well.
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