The Marquardt Family

On March 2, 2003, my husband Bill and I brought our son Wesley Julio Cano Marquardt home to Charlotte. As we landed at the Charlotte airport, I looked out the window and began to cry. After a year of waiting to bring our son home, he was finally here. I knew that the Lord had answered so many prayers and a great gift was quietly sleeping in my arms. It was an amazing experience and a journey that I love to share with others.

Almost three years ago, we had begun to pray about the desire both of us had to adopt. We had two small children and wanted to grow our family. Through numerous circumstances, the Lord placed on our heart the desire to adopt a child from Guatemala. After much prayer and research, we chose CWA to help us bring our child home. Things were going well and we were anticipating bringing our new baby home in 8 months or so.

On February 24th, 2002, we received news of a baby boy, our son, who had been born the month before. We accepted the referral quickly and soon shared our exciting news with others. We were “expecting” our third child! Neither Bill nor I had any idea that our adoption journey would be as difficult or as rewarding as it was. Not long after our referral, the government in Guatemala changed some of the adoption laws. There was a great deal of uncertainty about the status of adoptions in Guatemala and we were fearful of what the changes might mean for us and for our family. Our son was waiting for us in Guatemala and it was hard waiting to find out how long it would be to bring him home. I prayed and cried through many months of waiting.

Just when I thought I could not stand the waiting any longer, we learned that we had been approved and the courts in Guatemala were ready for us to come and get Wesley to bring him home. We quickly packed, bought airline tickets and were in Guatemala less than 48 hours of hearing about our final approval. As we held Wesley, played with him on the floor, watched him explore the hotel room, we were certain that the hard wait was worth it. It is amazing to see how the Lord forms families as only He can. In all the months of waiting, I could never have imagined how great it would be to parent Wesley. I am confident that the waiting was a very important part of the journey and that it prepared me to be the mother that God intended me to be. With a glad heart we were able to say, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” (James 1:17).

Bill & Charlie Marquardt