The Brannan Brief

December marks some huge events in our lives!
December 15th - Randy Duck (my dad) was born
December 18th - My parents were married
December 22nd - Sherma Duck (my mom) was born
December 24th... months of waiting for Zane!
December 25th - Jesus was born!

It has been a wonderful month!  Mark and I have enjoyed the Christmas season in New Orleans!  From dining at Restaurant August to caroling in Jackson Square, New Orleans is a great place to be during the Holidays.

The best thing about Christmas this year has been imagining little Zane with us at this time next year.  We think about what our family traditions will be, how he will love Christmas lights, opening his first Christmas gift...
It's magical to see Christmas through the eyes of a child.  We have been on the waiting list with AWAA for 3 months.  They have given us a 4-6 month window to receive a referral (a match with our child), so we're almost there!  After recieveing our referral we will get a court date within 6-8 weeks and an embassy date 6-8 weeks after that.  In total, we're looking at about 5-7 months more until baby Zane is home!

With that said...we have several prayer requests:
1.  Pray for families to be cleared on the first try by the Ethiopian courts. Our agency's court dates are backed up, and some are now getting them for March.  This is stressful because it will prolong our getting a court date and getting Zane home.
2.  Pray for embassy clearance for families who want to bring their children home as soon as possible.
3.  Pray that God would speed up paperwork coming from villages, orphanages, etc. to AWAA, court, embassy, whomever!
4.  Pray for referrals to be given out to families!  We have been particularly discouraged the last month as very few referrals for baby boys have gone out.  We are stagnant on the wait list, and it can be daunting at times.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

This morning I read Mark 9:35-37
And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷“Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”


Children have a special place in God's heart and He is passionate about them in His word.  It reminds me of what Christmas is all about...God's Son, Emmanuel, sent from Heaven as my payment for my sins.  He didn't die at the hands of man, He came for that very purpose knowingly and zealously to vindicate me before God. 


I know that Emmanuel is with us and with Zane.  His timing is perfect, and His love for us is abundant.   


Merry Christmas!