He is Risen...He is Risen indeed!

We woke up to a rainy, foggy, grey Easter morning...welcome to Londontown!! But it didn't seem to dampen the spirits of our friends at South West London Vineyard church. All of our PCCC family will enjoy the fact that we arrived about 20 minutes late for service :) As we approached the school in the cool, damp morning air - the worship service was in full swing and our hearts jumped as we recognized the song - Paul Baloche's - Hosanna, we both got a little teary as we made our way into the auditorium that was packed with people with hands lifted high and swinging back and forth - did I mention it was a Vineyard church?! It was awesome! Both of us - not just me but both of us were teary throughout as we sang familiar songs, and favourite hymns!

And to top it off it was baptism Sunday - they had 8 people enter into the waters of baptism! Each one came up and told their stories - all varied, and powerful, and beautiful! The church family cheered for each one and then one by one they were baptized. And as we do at home, when they came out of the water the place erupted with screams, whistles and cheers! It was a huge party.

Then they did something a little different - after each person came out of the water, they stepped to the side and anyone who knew them was invited to gather around them and pray over them and bless them as they take the next step on their journey with Christ. It was so simply and beautiful and honest and like family! I loved it...more tears! And then we worshiped some more, met a ton of new friends and finished up the service with coffee and tea! It was, as the Brits would say, BRILLIANT!!

As we worshiped together I found my heart longing for my Powers Creek family! I so wish we could have been home to celebrate with you! I know that God has been doing amazing things and I so wish we could have been there to see the worship centre filled with light, and white cloth draped everywhere, and candles lit, and fresh flowers and all the rocks that came in on Good Friday - GONE!!! Because the tomb is empty and that changes everything! Man! I miss our PCCC family! Please know that you have been in our thoughts and prayers today! We are praying that you would all know the presence, power, and peace of the risen Christ today! That you would know his immeasurable love and grace lavished on you! That you would know the delight of your heavenly Father who smiles on you today! May you live in light of the fact that the tomb is empty, the rock is gone, and you are free!!

Ok - enough of the pastoral thing - just know we love you and miss you and we want to wish you an amazing Easter! We have two more days in London and then...finally we are coming home! So, we will see you - literally see you on Wednesday! Woohoo for coming home! In the meantime remember - Lent is over! So, party like it is 1999 my friends! Eat chocolate! Drink wine! Have two helpings at dinner! Take a nap! Hug your kids! Laugh with friends! Drink in the beauty that surrounds you!!! Because Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ is coming again!!!

We love you all! We miss you much!! We will see you on Wednesday! And that my friends is the McKnight Report!!

London-town

We have made it to London safely. All pretty tired. Liam slept OK - Zoe not so much. We spent the day in London trying to stay awake!! Saw "Big Ben" and Westminster Abbey and the London Eye and spent many, many hours on transit! The tube is down for repairs so we spent lots of time on buses-Zoe is quite in awe of mass transit!

We are planning on heading to church for Easter Service in the morning then if the weather is nice Roz has planned a picnic and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. So a fairly mellow day, which I think we all need-we are pretty much spent. Getting on the plane in Jo-Burg was a huge relief-2 years of waiting for our family to be complete and we were leaving Africa as 4!! What an amazing thing!

We are so thankful for a couple days here before we get on another night flight home. Continue to pray for us-especially for transitions with Zoe-she is doing famously here, after a couple hours of being shy she has warmed up and is having fun playing with her cousin Skyla. Pray for the transition to home, pray for sleep for all of us as we change 8 hours on our flight home. Pray for the flight that Zoe would be able to sleep-sleep is her hardest thing!

I know this is disjointed and I am not sure if I have made a complete sentence but this is a very tired McKnight Report...

It's in our hot little hands!

After a fantastic nights sleep for all (praise god! thank you all for praying!) we had a lovely cup of coffee with our new friends Mike and Laura and Khotso (the FIRST family to adopt from Lesotho-they head home this weekend as well!).  Mike took Troy to the High Commission around 11:00am to pick up the visa.  Good to their word it was ready and waiting.  It is real and true we get to come home!  

We spent the rest of the afternoon at a play park with the other canadian families.  This afternoon after a rest we are spending the evening together.  Very low key day-much needed though.  

We are so thankful that all this has come together and we are looking forward to getting on the first leg of our journey home tomorrow night at 8:15pm.  

Please continue to pray for rest for all of us, for myself as I fight a cold and seem to be sharing with Troy-I am so giving aren't I!!  Pray for safe travels and that Zoe would be OK with her first 11 hour journey on a plane.  

To our Powers Creek family we will be thinking of you over this Good Friday and through to Easter Sunday.  We look forward to hearing about all that God has done at home over this lenten and Easter season!

We love you all and miss you much...and that's the McKnight Report!

We serve the God of the one elephant...a.k.a. Praise Jesus we are coming home!

The sun was up and the breeze was cool as I walked the 12 blocks from our apartment to the High Commission early this morning. As of yet, there was not word at all about our medical visa and we were starting to lose hope. To add to the pressure, we found out yesterday that if we miss our Friday flights this week, the next available flight out of Jo-Burg is on April the 23rd!!! 

My gut was turning as I scurried through the ever busier sidewalks that run like grey rail road tracks along a long line of embassy after embassy. The Hungarian Embassy is quiet as usual while the Algerian Embassy is bustling with robed dignitaries and black Mercedes Benz going in an out! As the Canadian High Commission looms in the distance I begin to pray...again...asking God to calm my heart, to give me wisdom and to prepare the way for me to be able to meet with the Immigration office in charge so plead my case. 

I show my passport, fill out the log book, chat with my new friend the gate guard [he asks how things are going and I tell him we will see], I clear the metal detector and make my way into the High Commission. There a few people in front of me but within 5 minutes it's my turn. I smile, chat with the lady at the front desk and she remembers me - "Your the one who needs to leave by Friday right?!" I say, "Yes!". I hand in Zoe's passport and ask how things are going with her case. She doesn't have any information for me so I swallow hard and as kindly ask if perhaps the officer in charge would have a moment to speak with me. She smiles...this is new from my Monday experience...and says let me see. A minute later and pretty lady with short cropped hair, black rimmed glasses and a warm smile is standing at the window introducing herself to me. It is Diane the immigration officer in charge! What happens next was the most amazing thing - we had a warm, kind, caring, helpful conversation!

She is a wonderful lady who showed real empathy for our situation! She heard me out, encouraged me along the way and assured me that she was doing everything she could to get us home. Just this morning she and her supervisor had sent urgent requests for our medical from Nairobi! Amazing!! But she wasn't done! She then went on to tell me that she has Zoe's file completed and that we are ready to go as soon as the medical arrives - which means if it comes overnight on Wednesday we will get our visa before they close for the Easter weekend on Thursday at noon. She was done! She had expedited our case and was ready and waiting. 

She talked to me for 20 minutes, answered all my questions, apologized for any difficulties I had experienced on Monday and explained the process clearly to me! I walked out the door with a new friend and a renewed belief in the Canadian government! My High Commission did care, they were working, they were listening and they were doing their best to serve me during this difficult time! I was blown away! 

I met up with the other Canadian couple who arrived a little after me. They were given the same news and then we drove back to the McKnight apartment together! I ran in the door and tried to explain to T what had happened! It was, well, a miracle!! Our hope was renewed and we decided to celebrate with Dutch Bacon Pannekeoks [sp?] - which by the way are delicious. If ever in Pretoria you must go to Harries Pannekeok house and have some! We did a quick shop at Woolworth's and came home to put the kids down for nap. 

T and I began to talk about what would happen if the visa didn't come through? What would our plan be? What are our options...we just didn't know! We were getting ready to write our travel agent about options when all of a sudden the cell phone rang. I looked at the number and didn't recognize it. I picked up and a voice on the other end said, "Hello Troy, it's Diane. I just wanted you to know that we've just heard back from Nairobi. Your medical for Zoe is complete and clear and they will be sending it to us overnight tonight. So, please come by tomorrow at 11 am to pick up Zoe's visa. Troy you are going home!!" Well needless to say I was barely able to speak as I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I made her repeat it three times until it settled in! I asked what I could bring by the High Commission tomorrow as a way of saying thank you to everybody and she said, "No need to bring anything! It is our pleasure to serve you and get you home!!!" This is not what I expected! However, we have been served well and we can't believe that we are coming home...so it does look like we serve the God of the one elephant...who knows, maybe God is still trying to teach me something about trusting him!!

So, let me say - Praise be to God our Father who is faithful and true! He has kept us safe, and sane, and relatively healthy! He has given us the strength we needed, even when we thought we couldn't go on for one more day! To him be all honour and glory and praise!!

And to you - our friends, our family, our Powers Creek family - we couldn't have done this without you! Your prayers, your comments, your emails, your phone calls, your skype calls...you will never know how much it has all meant to us! Thank you for carrying us through!

Finally, a huge thank you to Stockwell Day and his assistant Barbara who responded in such an amazing way to our urgent request. Barbara has been in contact everyday and has been an incredible support. Though they didn't have to launch any further action on our behalf - just to know that they were there and ready to support has meant more then they will ever know! We feel so blessed to have Stockwell and Barbara serving us in the Okanagan! May God continue to bless them as they serve us and all Canadians!!

Well - there you have it!!! Please pray with us that the visa medical will arrive without delay or problems overnight, that the visa will be issued tomorrow morning and that we will be able to make our flights on Friday - if not before! Also, please pray for T who has picked up a stomach flew that she is battling with right now. Not able to eat much and seems to be producing a migraine as well. Lastly, pray for the kids. They have not slept for 4 nights now - both of them up with bad dreams and last night Liam had night terrors through much of the night. Please pray that God will protect us, protect them, give us all rest, health and some sleep over the next two days.

Woohoo!!! We are coming home!! Someone needs to bring a big honkin' rock in on Good Friday night for me! Someone please lay one down at the cross on behalf of the McKnights! We love you all and miss you much! We will write more tomorrow when it all shakes out...and that my friends is the McKnight Report!

Hippos, Rhinos, Giraffes...Oh My!!

Well - today we took a mental health day! We promised Liam that we would take him to a game park to see elephants and so today we awoke at 5:30 am, rallied the troops, gulped down some Cheerios, introduced ourselves to our driver and guide for the day "Pete", jumped in his mini bus and headed two hours north to Pilanesberg National Park for the day...I know - I've been studying Paul for so long that my sentences are starting to look like his....they just go on and on and on and on :)!

Anywho - It was amazing! We were only metres away from giraffe, rhinos, Zebras, wildabeast, springbok, waterbok, hippos, warthogs, more wildabeast, impala, more wildabeast...let's just say there were tons of wildabeast, and lots of elephant pooh!  Liam loved the pooh! However, there were no elephants...anywhere! We spent from 9 am until 4 pm driving around the 52000 hectare park and no elephants. All Liam wanted to see was an elephant! I began to wonder - seriously God! We are in S.A. in a game park known for it's elephants and all my 4 year old wants - besides be able to go home and see grandma and grandpa - is an elephant! Please God let the boy see an elephant...just one elephant...please God just one elephant! 

But all we saw were...you guessed it Wildabeast!!! Tons and tons of Wildabeast! We were literally within a km of the gate, the gate was actually in sight as we were getting ready to leave the park for the day when all of a sudden T spied something moving on the hillside up to our right. Pete stopped the mini bus, pulled his binoculars and sure enough - it was a honkin' huge Wildabeast disguised as an elephant...kidding...it was a monstrous elephant, lumbering his way along with his huge trunk swinging rhythmically like a scene from Dumbo. He was quite a ways  away but he was an elephant, and Liam saw him, and he was soooo pumped! I was a little teary behind the old sunglasses as I thanked God for just one elephant!

As we made the two hour trip home I was reminded that our God is the God of the one elephant! And so, I turned my thoughts and prayers to our pending visa. He knows the desires of our heart, he loves to give good gifts to his children, and even though it might be at the last minute - in his time, and his way, I believe he will come through! And so, as we blog tonight with still no answers about when our visa will come through, we are comforted that our God is the God of the one elephant!

We spoke to the other Canadian couple who are with us here and they checked in at the High Commission today. Apparently our medical visas have not arrived yet and no medical visa means no permanent resident visa. We also found out from our travel agent that there are no tickets available to fly out of Jo-burg until after the 20th of April!!! Which means if the visa does not come through by Thursday - we will be stuck in S.A. until the end of the month! This is heartbreaking news but we are hanging in there - praying for a miracle and hoping that the High Commission will come through! 

Please pray for me as I go and try to meet with the officer in charge of our case tomorrow morning at 10 am S.A. time. Pray that she would look upon us with favour and would choose to expedite the process so that we can get home. Please also pray for Stockwell Day and his assistant Barbara that God would give them wisdom as they work with us to try and get us home! Thanks again to all those who are walking with us through this incredibly challenging journey! There is no way we could do this without you! You will never know how much your prayers and support mean to us! We love you all and miss you much...and that's the McKnight Report!

Stockwell Day Rocks!!!

Just wanted to let you know what the day looked like.  We contacted Stockwell Day's office and have already received a reply.  We are so grateful that someone in our government is caring for and concerned for us.  He has contacted our agency and we are working together to sort things out.  

Thank you to those of you who contacted him-you are movers and shakers at the Creek!  Now please leave him alone-he he!  He is engaged and helping!

Loves to you all-we are off to bed-enjoy the rest of your day!! That's the McKnight Report (I love that you all can tell the difference in who is writing!)

The papers are in

Just wanted to fill you all in on where we are.  We handed our paperwork in to the High Commission this morning and the only word that comes to mind is DISCOURAGING.  We were basically told that we had no hope of getting out of here before Easter.  We were also informed that our visa medical has not yet arrived from Nairobi.  Our agency has been requesting that that they be expidited but Diane (the officer who gives the permanent resident visa) is the only one who can make that happen and she has been VERY uncooperative. Please pray for us we are very low today.  The exhaustion of the last month is starting to wear on all of us.  We need a miracle for Diane to look kindly upon us and get us our visa by Thurs.  The offices are closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter holiday.  So if it doesn't happen on Thursday we will have to change both our flight to London and our flight from London to home.  

We will be contacting Stockwell Day (our MP) today to request his help in expiditing (sp?)  Zoe Jane's Permanent Resident Visa by Thursday.  Feel free to contact him or your MP if you would like to help us get out of South Africa!  The more phone call, emails, etc. the better chance we have of him helping us.  If you know him personally please contact him on our behalf!

Tomorrow we are taking a mental health day and going on Safari.  We are told the park we are going to has all 5 of the big 5.  Liam is over the moon!!  Hopefully this puts us in better spirits.  Troy is heading back to the High Commission on Wednesday morning to check progress.

KEEP PRAYING!!  This is the McKnight Report...

Ahhh South Africa...

We wanted to let you know that we have arrived in Pretoria.  We had a fantastically short flight (we had a bigger plane than our arrival) so we were quick.  As usual Liam is stellar at flying and apparently Zoe also likes to take to the skies!  She was laughing and smiling and kept saying "up and down"  plus they gave her juice and fed her so she was happy happy!

Martie (the travel agent here we have been working with) met us at the airport and we headed for Pretoria-very pretty here-lots of beautiful trees.  Very different from Swaziland in that there are no mountains here!  She showed us around some, got us to the grocery store, took us by the High Commission so we know where to go on Monday, and brought us to our lovely abode.  It is quite beautiful and it has 2 bedrooms-thank Jesus! Troy also wants me to note it has a flat screen tv-very important as there is lots of soccer on right now.  We are in a house that was built in the 1800's that has been converted into apartments.  It has a small pool-Liam is beside himself-wanted to swim the second we got here. We are also in walking distance to a lovely park and shops.  

We are very excited to be at the next stage in our journey.  By the way it has wireless internet so hopefully we have better opportunity to stay on touch.

We love reading your comments-we pretty much bawl as we read- lifts our spirits!  Keep praying for us, as much as we are happy to be here we are longing for home.  And that's Teresa's version of the McKnight Report!  

Ladies and gentlemen, Get ready to call your MP!!

Hey! I know that this is blog #2 for the day but I thought I would give all our friends and family a quick heads up. Our friends chose to drive to Pretoria early this morning and arrived there at 11:30 am to submit their paperwork. Their experience at the high commission was less then friendly as they were told that neither of our medicals were there yet...SHOCKER I KNOW...and that it would most likely be after Easter holidays before they could get our visas for us.

So, we are just giving you a heads up to please be praying for us - that God would soften hearts and prepare the way for us to get our visa by Thursday. We have flights booked out on Friday but the High Commission is closed on Friday and on Easter Monday. So, if we are going to get out, things will have to be wrapped up in 4 business days.

We are also asking you to please research the number of your local MP and then check out blog in the morning on Monday morning. By then we should know what they are saying is possible and if it will be necessary to mount a huge campaign with our MP's to get the McKnight's home for Easter. All our friends on the East Coast can feel free to do the same. The more people we have calling their MP's the more likely we are to get some pressure applied to "our" High Commission to get us out by Friday. Please wait to hear from us on Monday but we figure that it is best to be prepared and ready to go.

Thanks so much for all your prayers and support and thanks in advance for lobbying with us as we work to finally get home...and that's the latest on the McKnight Report!

we are done!!!!!!!!..............smoke em if you got em...

Ok - I know it's been a couple of days but I hope you've all be praying away - actually I know you've all be praying away!!! I know it! I know it! I know it...because we are - as my daughter would say "feenished!!!" But let's take a walk through the last couple of days so you can appreciate the journey...

Wednesday April 1st

We awoke to yet another sunny day - which by the way I hear you are not getting a lot of in West Kelowna these days - sorry about that ;) - had breakfast in the lodge, pulled ourselves together and prepared to head into Mbabane to meet with our social worker Vierah [who by the way is the Queen of all things in Swaziland! We owe her a debt that we will never be able to repay - we could never have done this without her - so blessings on Vierah].

Just before we left Robert - the son of the owners of the Willows where we are staying - came by and asked if Liam could go to school with him? We checked in with Ally his mum and she said that this was fine and that she would watch him for the day - which was a huge blessing as this meant Liam didn't have to wait in cues with us as we were working on birth certificates and passports.

So, Zoe, T and I headed in and met up with Vierah and the other Canadians and started the "process"and what a process it was. We picked up passport paperwork and with Vierah's help filled it out - would never have been able to do it without her as we needed a Swazi sponsor which she happily did for us. Then we moved up stairs into a clautrophobic hallway crowded with close to a hundered people waiting in line for a birth certificate. However, Vierah led us past the line and into an office further down where a lady helped us get our birth certficate forms filled out - it was now 2:30 pm in the afternoon [we started at 10 am]. I learned alot about the culture and the way things work here in Swaziland as every 3 minutes someone else just sort of randomly wandered into the office [even though the door was closed] and asked a question, or chatted, or wondered why we hadn't cued like everyone else - which only lengthened the process. We finished our two one page forms at 3:30 pm and headed down the hall to another office where another lady took the information from our written forms and typed them into a computer program so they could be printed. This was the last step we needed in order to submit our passport applications - which we needed to do by the end of the day so we had a hope of making our fligths that were booked for Thursday evening at 5:30 pm...so things were a little stressful.

Our friend - who was incredibly helpful and sweet - typed in our one page birth certificates [between multiple conversations, phone calls and random journeys out of the office from time to time] and finished up around 4:30 pm - an hour later. We were still feeling hopeful until went to print and discovered that the people who work where the printer is located - which apparently is in another room - were gone for the day and there was no one around who had a key. She called about 58 people to try to get in but could not. We were informed we were done for the day and that we should come back on Thursday morning at 9 am to pick up our birth certificates and begin the process of applying for passports that we needed for a flight the same day!

Now, the big question I had for God at this point in the day was why there was a brand new laser jet printer sitting on the ladies desk who was trying to print for us? A brand new laser jet printer that apparently wasn't hooked up to anything at all...just a big paper weight, staring me in the face, mocking me...as my friend who was with me later said, "It was like it had arms and legs and was dancing on the desk saying , 'Nah nah nah nah boo boo!" Yeah! I just want you to know that I had fantasies about picking up my chair and beating the laser jet printer to pieces and then lighting it on fire!!! Seriously - I had a hate on for that printer!

So we thanked our friend who had gone above and beyond for us and we headed home...sweaty, exhausted and not knowing what Thursday would bring.

Thursday - April 2

After breakfast we made the decision that T would stay home with Liam who wasn't feeling well and I would make the days journey through the halls of the government building on my own - with my 2 year daughter Zoe of course! Woohoo - didn't someone say this was a holiday....HA! Anywho, we weaved our way through the morning traffic on the MR3, had a 30 minute delay at construction as a Matatu [taxi van crammed full of people] ran out of gas on the one lane road and had to be pushed around the barrier so it could glide down the hill to the nearest gas station - and then we finally parked out side the already bustling gov't building at 8:45 am. I met up with the other Canadian couple and headed up to pick up our birth certificates. Our friend was true to her word - God bless her! She not only had certificates ready but had certified copies for us so that we could go right to the passport office! The day was looking up!

We raced down 3 flights of stairs in the dark unlit stairwell that led to the passport office - we were second in line. We entered, explained who we were, that Vierah had called ahead, that we needed passports for a flight today and when could we pick up...and they said, no problem - come back at noon right?! Ahhhhh...no! They looked at us and said, "Impossible! It cannot happen! It will take at least 3 days if not 2 weeks. Now get out!" Hmmmmmm...this isn't going well at all...did I mention Vierah wasn't with us because she was called away on conference? Apparently life is better when Vierah is with you. So, we called our lifelong heroine and after 16 calls she finally called back. She said not to leave, she would make some calls and let us know. It was not 10:30 am.

So, Zoe and I sat on a narrow wooden bench in a dark hallway, with 50 some other people for the next 5.5 hours...not knowing what was going on or how it was going to turn out, or if we were going to make our flights, or if we were ever coming home, or if Jeff was going to be the next lead pastor of Powers Creek...we just sat, and played, and of course went to the bathroom to - as Zoe puts it "Ka ka" about 36 000 times - ok, I am exagerrating a little but we went alot!!!

Meanwhile, Vierah would call and check in and assure us that her people were working on it. We later discovered that her people was actually the deptury Prime Minister - so thank you Vierah and many blessings on the Deputy PM! At 3 pm we were invited back into the office where the passports were sitting on the table! I could hardly speak when I saw them! We finger printed the kids, filled out the rest of the paperwork and there they were - within arms reach - when we were told the only problem was that the office who signs all passports was not in the office today. They were trying to reach her and would let us know when she arrived. Sooooo - we were sent back into the hallway to wait outside a different office as we watched the clock move ever closer to 4 pm and our flights at 5:30 pm out of Mastapha - 35 minutes away...I thought I was going to hurl!

I stayed busy with walks up and down the hall with Zoe who introduced herself to every single office - 23 in total - and when asked where she was going the answer was the same at every door - "I go to Canada" - oh the faith of a child eh?!" At 4:05 pm a lady came hurrying to the door - unlocked her office, apologized profusely and the hurried us in, signed our passoports and we were out the doow at 4:12 pm!!! Praise God!!

Quick aside - we discovered that there had been a death in the family and she had been at a funeral earlier in the day and was delivering family back to the airport. She had left a funeral and family to hurry back to sign our documents! Unbelievable!

As I held the passport in my hand the tears started to flow and as the other couple and Zoe and I hit the parking lot we lost it! We had a massive group hug and then quickly jumped in our seperate vehicles and the race was on to make our flights...there was just one problem - after talking with T we discovered that there had been an error in the booking of our flights and so we actually didn't have flights out which meant that we weren't going to make it to Pretoria for Friday and we weren't going to be able to submit our visas until Monday. The earliest flights we could get would be Saturday...I believe my words to T on the phone were "Shut up!!!!!" But she was telling the truth!

So, I slowed the Opel down from 140 kph, took a deep breath, stopped at the market, bought some bottled water, some soap and a treat for the kids and headed home...sweaty, exhausted, joyful, disappointed and wondering what's next!!!

We decided to make the best of it and enjoy our final day in Swaziland and take the Saturday flight...so we had steak and eggs at Malendela's, watched the sunset, came home, bathed the kids, and fell unconscious at 8:30 pm....that was our Thursday! Again, I am so thankful for all your prayers - I truly felt strengthened throughout the day and I know I couldn't have done it without you!!!!! Please continue to pray for Vierah! I can't wait to introduce her to many of you when she visits West Kelowna in June! She has been amazing! She is our Canadian sister and we would never have been able to do this without her!!! So, woohoo for Vierah!

Which by the way means - we are done!!!

Today our plan is to enjoy the day as family, pack up, change some money and get ready for the flight tomorrow - that's Saturday - at 2:15 pm. Our S.A. travel agent will pick us up in Jo-Burg and drive us to our place in Pretoria. We will settle in on Sunday and then present our papers on Monday morning.

So, please pray that we will be able to get everything in on Monday, that Diane and her team will look upon us with favour and turn the visa around early in the week and that we will be able to make our flights that are booked for this Friday evening!! Well, that's a long one but that's what we've been up too! We love all the comments and we can't wait to see you all! Thanks for joining us on the journery - for T, Liam and Zoe - this is Troy and that's the McKnight Report!!!

It's a girl!!!!

Well, the day started well with an enjoyable breakfast and a visit to our second home - the Swazi Candle factory where we enjoyed a capucinno and the kids played in the sand box as the gentle breeze whispered through the palm and banana trees in the early morning sun - then the phone call - it was our lawyer calling to say that we need to come to Manzini [30 minutes away] immediately to sign affidavits so that he could go to court sometime late in the day - if he could get our documents bound that is...we couldn't believe it! We thought we were all set and yet here we were driving 120 kph on twisty roads trying to make to the lawyers on time!! Luckily I am starting to drive like Mario Andretti - on the left hand side of the road of course - and we even remembered where his office was - behind the pizza parlor, next to the liquor store - and we made it on time. We signed the papers with the other Canadian couple and went back to Swazi candle and waited...and waited...and waited...

We decided to let the kids have supper in the pub here on the property while we sat on the deck and enjoyed the view - it really is a breathtakingly beautiful country! As we looked out over acres of sugar cane and pineapples - with the rosy red sun setting behind the mountains the phone rang, the display said it was Vierah...we took a deep breath and then I answered! She greeted me warmly, asked about our day and then congratulated us on having a daughter!!! That's right...you are not dreaming and I am not smoking crack right now...we've completed the court process and we now have a legal daughter named Zoe Jane Hlengiwe McKnight!!! Praise God!! Woohoo!!! Hallelujah and holy crap this has been a long time coming!! Thanks for all your prayers and support! We are celebrating with peanut butter sandwiches all around!!

However, tomorrw the real fun begins! We are to show up with all our paperwork at Vierah's office and begin the process of birth certificates and passport applications! Please pray that Vierah will look with favour upon us and that she will be able to use her influence to help us get our paperwork together in the next 24 hrs. We have a flight booked for Jo-Burg on Thursday evening and are praying that our paperwork will be complete and we will be able to make it! This will allow us to input our visa request on Friday and hopefully see us leaving South Africa by the next Friday at the latest! Please pray for patience, grace, and that God would make our path straight tomorrow! Wow! I can't believe we have a daughter!! Thanks again for all your prayers and support! I am heading off to help with bath and bedtime stories- after which we will watch soccer and celebrate together!! Take care! We will keep you posted...and that my friends is the McKnight Report!!! Woohoo!

God is full of surprises...and more waiting...part 2

March 28th -

So, it is another hot and muggy day...woohoo for hot and muggy! We received news today that all our paperwork is in to the lawyer and that he is working over the weekend to get us into court on  Monday...maybe...so we are hopeful.

Today was one of those days when God kind of sneaks up on you and surprises you...so often we've wrestled and prayed and wondered what God is up to as we wait, and wait and wait...and then Saturday came. After breakfast Liam disappeared and went on what the Aussie's call a "walk about" - without our permission or knowledge he apparently exited the gate to the property and went for a walk in the pineapple field that is adjacent to the property - I know, we are parents of the year are we not? He returned safe and sound and after threatening to put him in the fridge if he did that again T asked him what he was doing. And he said that he needed some time to think...specifically about Jesus. Who he was, where he was, what he did and how he could know him more. We answered his questions the best we could and went on with our day. We laid low, played games, hung out and tried to enjoy the day as a family as we, you guessed it, waited some more! And then it happened.

As I was watching Chelsea get hammered by Tottingham [ I know Chad was smiling about that] Liam pipes up and says to T - I've been doing some more thinking and I just want you to know that I asked Jesus into my heart to be my forever friend!!! We were stunned! After further discussions about what this meant we realized that he knew what he was doing and we prayed together with him, wept like babies and celebrated Liam's beginning of the journey to become more like Jesus! What an amazing thing! We come to Africa to find Zoe and Liam comes to Africa to find Jesus...or maybe we should say for Jesus to find him...either way, it was an amazing day! So, March 28, 2009 was quite a day in Swaziland for the McKnights!!! Thought you would all like to know! We will keep you posted on the court thing....

March 30 -

It rained like crazy last night and we woke up to a cool cloudy morning - woohoo for cool cloudy mornings. We decided to go to Mbabane to get Zoe's passport pics done so we would be ahead of the game later in the week. We were assured that we were going to court today so we were waiting to here back from Vierah or Mr. M to let us know the good news. After pics we looked for Vierah but she was not in so we headed to our favourite family spot - Swazi candles for scones, cappcinos and some playtime on the swings. We were just wrapping things up when T got the call. It was a message through another couple here that Mary had called and wanted to let us know that there was a further problem with Zoe's paperwork and because of that the Lawyer was not able to go to court today. Vierah was currently on the road trying to get the paperwork ironed out - a 200km journey for her so that we can hopefully go to court tomorrow!!

Well, the mood was not festive but we've tried to stay positive and keep trusting God in the midst of it all - but it can be tough at times! However, we are going to stay calm and focused and trusting!

So, if you have a hankerin' to pray for the McKnights - please pray that the police reports will get sorted, that there will be no more missing paperwork and that we can go to court tomorrow! My time online is almost up so that will be it for today! We love and miss you all....this is the McKnight Report!

Actually, it's not because I ran out of time and had to buy another 30 minutes so here we are...but I really don't have more to say so I guess that is it! Please add to that patience for T and I in the process and a smooth birth certificate and passport process in the next couple of days so that we can make it to Pretoria before the weekend. We need to get there ASAP so that we can get the visa process going...which can take up to 7 days. Thanks again for all your support! I can't imagine doing this without you! Tons of love to you all...this really is the McKnight Report.

God is full of surprises...and more waiting...

Our last Saturday in Swaziland...maybe...

Well you guessed it, it is yet another hot and sunny day here in the Kingdom of Swaziland. As we look out across the sugar cane with the sprinklers gently squirting water into the air we can see the haze in the mountains and we know that it is going to be a hot one. So, we've slathered on the sun screen, doubled up on the deodorant and buckled up for the day.

Today is another day of waiting. No news as of yet in regards to where we stand in the process. I did find out from another couple last night that the Deputy Prime Minister- who was supposed to sign our paperwork on Thursday - had actually not yet signed it and they were hoping that he would sign it yesterday. This has to happen before we go to court...so we are waiting to hear whether he signed or if we have to wait for Monday...which of course will set everything back yet again.

But we remain hopeful that all of this will get tied up this week. Last night was our roughest night yet with Zoe. She just simply refused to sleep! We were up until 3 am with her and the Liam was up a 5:45 am for the day so neither of us is feeling to chipper this morning and patience is at a premium. Zoe also seems to be determined to test every boundary we set - pushing to see if we really mean what we say and this takes tons of energy - as all parents know. So, please pray for us today as we work hard to stay lovingly consistent with both of our kids and as we navigate another day of waiting and trying to figure out what to do to pass the time.

If I hear anymore today, I will write again. Right now I hear Zoe screaming from our chalet so I am off to spell mum before she loses her mind. Loves to all...this is the McKnight Report!

I thought this was the winter season...

Well we awoke to cloudy skies and cool air blowing in through our window! It was marvelous...of course it was 5:30 am because the birds were singing and Liam decided it was time for EVERYONE to be up as well so that's when we started our day! Have I mentioned that we are all living on top of one another in one room, one bed, with one table, two chairs and a hot plate...oh and that we've been doing that for going on 3 weeks!!!!! Calgone take me away...it's enough to drive you to drink...but I digress.

The cool crisp morning was short lived and has given away to a bright, sunshiny, burning hot morning! I asked Audrey, one of the staff that have become like family to us, if today was going to be cooler then yesterday - which was a scorcher - and she smiled and said, "Ah no - today will be much hotter according to the weather" - and I am like what the hey ding dong...I thought this was the fall!!!!! Don't get me wrong, winter was getting a little tiresome in the Okanagan but when you are living a one room brick chalet with a metal roof, two windows that open and a small fan for ventilation purposes - plus two sweaty kids who are getting to know one another and trying to figure out life together - well I think you get the picture...wow, I am a whiny butt! Enough about the heat already...sorry about that, I will move on.

We all slept well last night and Liam seems to be feeling better. Teresa was quite under the weather yesterday but also seems to have gained some strength today and was able to eat a good breakfast, so that should help too. Zoe is still a regular "snott factory" - going through boxes of cleanex and coughing a bit a night but not as much as she was. I am sure my good friend Dr. Morris would tell me it's viral and just needs to run its course - so that is the tact that we are taking with it. We are hoping that things dry up a bit more before Zoe's inaugural flight from Manzini to Jo-Burg next week.

There isn't much to add to yesterdays news. I spoke with our agency last night again and they assured me that they are encouraging Vierah to get our dossier to Mr. M - our lawyer - today so that he can make court on Monday. However, it looks as though she will not be doing that until Saturday so we are still unsure about what that means. What we are feeling confident about is that we will be finished up sometime next week. We are praying earlier rather then later so that we have a shot at getting our permanent residency visa for Zoe and making our flights out of Jo-Burg on the 6th of April. However, that is not looking so good at this point in time - but as many have reminded me, we serve an amazing God! So, we will keep trusting, praying and hoping. Worst case scenario is that we end up paying out to change flights and leave Jo-Burg a week later...not ideal by a long shot but we are trying to remain flexible.

On the family front - if the book on international adoption we are reading is worth anything at all - then we are coming along in the attachment process with lots of hugging, eye to eye contact, playing, laughing, wrestling, calling for family members when they are out of sight, Zoe playing on her own for short periods of time...all and all things seem to be going well. Although T would tell you that she is getting a little tired of being called Mum 50 000 times a day :)! It seems that she is willing the popularity contest at this point in time - with Dad and Liam a close second :)! Right now Zoe is standing at the door of the office calling for Liam who is hiding on her in the bushes nearby - she has called Liam 87 times as I have written this sentence...ahhhh the joys of parenthood!

Today is kind of up in the air - we've exhausted all tourist attractions in the area - seriously we've done it all! We've seen everything there is to see, we've attended everything that there is to attend, we've embraced every cultural event there is to embrace...the only thing left to do is to travel 3 hours to one of the other 3 game parks - which at this point we are not mentally prepared to do. So, today will be a day of running to the market, maybe a repeat visit to the Candle factory where they have jungle gym for the kids or maybe back to Malendella's to wander the gardens, play in the grassy field and hang out with the animal statues...who know...but nothing too crazy I guess.

Please continue to pray that we would go to court on Monday, that the birthcertificate and passports would get issued on Tuesday and that all our travel plans - which have to be last minute because of the process - would come together for later in the week [flights to Jo-Burg, a driver to Pretoria, a South African phone number, a place to stay, all paperwork into the High Commission...that sort of stuff]. Also, please continue to pray for T and my mental health - that we would stay positive and continue to create positive memories for Zoe and Liam. We know that many are praying and we feel strengthened day by day! So, thanks for that!

Oh, I forgot to mention that my crazy parents got up at 2:30 am N.B. time to call us at 7:30 am here in Swaziland. They finally got hold of our cell and didn't want to miss us! It was so great to hear their voices, to catch up, and then dad mcknight prayed for us - it was huge! it's an amazing thing how prayer crosses the miles and the cell towers to have an impact in our hearts! Dad assured me that there are tons of people in Fredericton who are journeying with us too! So, to all who are walking with us, praying for us, believing for us - we want to say thank you sooooo much! Only eternity will tell the difference you've made! We can't wait to bring Zoe back East so that you can meet her face to face - an opportunity to see your prayers answered! We are making plans for the summer of 2010 so we look forward to seeing you all then! We promise we will load Nanny and Grampy McKnight up with pictures to share upon our return.

Wow! This has been a long one! Zoe says it's time to stop what I am doing and pay her some attention so I will close! Thanks so much for journeying with us! Know that we love you all and miss you sooooo much...and that's the McKnight Report.

39 and still counting...

Did I mention that it was hot here...holy crap I am baking today!! All of us are sweaty messes!! T tried to get a little sleep when Zoe went down for a nap and Liam watched a little disney classic action on the mac. Both mum and daughter slept for an hour in their own sweat and woke up grumpy and not feeling any better for the adventure. I took the opportunity to dig out my Cycle Canada magazine and actually read it cover to cover...what do you know, a moment of solace in the turbulent journey that is international adoption in Swaziland! It made me miss my bike and my good friends and riding buddies Cam and Jeff! I caught myself dreaming of the twisty roads of the Okanagan and I promised myself that we would all go for a long ride upon my return - so if either of you is reading this, consider yourself warned and invited :)

I wanted to update you on my meeting with Vierah this morning. We had a very friendly meeting where under the coaching of my social worker I spent most of my time praising her for the excellent work which she is doing - which she is doing for us...tons of it really - I thanked her for working so hard to get us out of country by Wednesday so that we could make it to Pretoria and potentially make our Monday flights on the 6th and then I gave her the gifts we had brought her from Summerland Sweets. We finished our time together by my pulling out my "Pastor" card and I took the opportunity to encourage her and to pray for her - asking God to bless her and to help her as she carried the burden of this massive process! She assured me that the Deputry Prime Minister would be signing our paperwork today and that our dossier would be to our Lawyer by Saturday at the latest with a Monday court date for the adoption.

I have been here long enough to recognize that this probably means a Tuesday court date and that we probably won't make Pretoria before Thursday but I am hopeful that Mr. Maphalala will expedite our legal work and will be able to complete the adoption on Monday!

So to all of you who prayed - thanks so much and please continue to pray for Vierah and Mr. Maphalala by name - asking God to move their hearts, increase the work of their hands and that it would all come together on Monday as they have promised. Thanks again for all your support! We love you all and we miss you much. We will write again tomorrow! And that my friends is a very sweaty McKnight Report...

39 & Counting...

Well, it's a new day and guess what...it's sunny and hot again...I know that probably seems like I am rubbing that in but I could do with a little cool weather right now to be honest :)!

Yesterday was a good day together as a family! We celebrated my b-day by going to a local glass factory where they blow original works of glass - animals, vases, cups, glasses, candle holders...you name it! It was incredible! We enjoyed a light lunch there and there was a jungle gym so Liam was in heaven! We were joined by the other adopting families so it was great to have the kids all together again.

Then we came home and I feasted on a cup of parboiled rice and veggies - yummy!! What a b-day treat! The best gifts of all were the phone calls from home. Mum and Dad Fuller called and T and I had a good cry with them as we caught up and vented a bit about where we are at emotionally and how much we are longing for home! Then, the Wednesday morning prayer group from church all gathered around a speaker phone and called me for my b-day. It was so great to hear from Jeff, and Jim, and Laverne...not sure if John and Rube were in the background or not - but it was so good to hear familiar voices and to be reminded that we are not in this alone! I know you will all be shocked but I cried as we caught up and as they gathered around the phone and prayed for us! They will never know how much that meant to T and I! It was just huge!!!

We finished the day with stories and an early bed time for the kids - we are trying to get them to bed by 7 pm because the sun is up at 5 am and so are they...everyday...who said this was going to be a holiday...anyways...everyone settled and then T and I watched one of the worst movies ever made - some British murder mystery, the only thing that was on - we lasted an hour and then gave up on it and went to bed! That was my b-day!

Today is another day where I am 39 and counting in Swaziland. I am going to visit with Vierah this morning to talk about our plans so continued prayers would be much appreciated. But mostly we are in need of prayers that the court case will proceed quickly, the paperwork will be in order, and then that we can get the passports and birth certificates in order in time to travel. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Also please pray for T and she is now getting sick too! Her throat is killing her, her nose is filling up and she feeling overall under the weather. This makes life a little more challenging as Zoe is still a Niagara Falls of mucus, Liam is snuffy and a little off and now T isn't well either. So, all in all - it looks like we are all in for it! So, prayers for health and strength would be much appreciated as well. We love you all and miss you much...and that's the McKnight report!

Turning 39 in Africa

Well...here we are! I am turning 39 in Swaziland! Who would have thought eh?! Well, here's the skinny on the last few days.

It's been hot...really hot...really really hot...there's your weather update.

Monday - the 23rd

We spent the morning at the cultural village learning about Zoe's homeland. This inlcuded lots of singing, beautiful traditional dances - which Liam was invited to join and did! Some great picks of my very white son trying to do some funky African moves...I think the dancers got a huge kick out of him! Then we went on to tour a traditional Swazi village and learned about lodging, cooking, village life, traditional dress and celebrations. Overall, it was a good day where we learned as much as we could. Our guide Alfred left a little to be desired but we still learned lots. He plans on visiting us in Canada sometime soon...along with a couple of thousand of his friends - it seems everyone we meet is planning on coming to see us...I guess dad better add on to the house :)!

Tuesday the 24th

Yesterday was a whirlwind tour of the southern part of Swaziland. We joined Vierah and the other Canadian couple on a trip to meet the nurse who had rescued their baby when he was only a few hours old. The drive was long and the day was very hot! As usual, the trip didn't end there but consisted of 6 other stops to greet cousins, stop at old offices and greet fellow social workers, lunch at a casino - the kids were pretty wrestless by then so I took them to a park to play - and then we went on an hours drive to find a police station to get final reports on the other Canadian couples baby so that we could go to court. This took over an hour of waiting for the police to decide to see us and then we eneded up leaving without the paperwork!! Yikes...stress, stress, stress...

Then we enjoyed a 2.5 hour drive home with two sreaming children who were wondering how much longer they needed to be in the car - it was now 4 pm!!! Thankfully, the local pub - Malendella's - welcomed us an hour early for supper and the kitchen took mercy on two very tired parents with crying children. They made an amazing supper for us all and once the kids had eaten I gave T a mental health break and we wandered the beautiful tropical gardens and took pictures of the kids on the various animal statues [lions, crocs, elephants, rhinos and turtles]. We then hung out and sipped on cool drinks as a family until the sun went down and headed home...exhausted, sweaty but in a much better place mentally for sure! God was gracious too us and we had a chance to thank Peter - the proprietor of Malandella's personally for his hospitality. He is an Irish man his 70's who has lived in Swaziland for most of his adult life! Like every good Irishman he was full of stories of his one visit to Canada and was a welcome distraction from the stress of the day.

Zoe's cold is still persisting but she finally slept through last night for which we were all thankful. Liam is starting to get sick so we are whomping the meds to him too! T and I are on massive doses of vitamins and antioxidants daily so we are so far staying healthy though we are pretty tired!

As far as prayer requests go, here's the scoop!

Yesterday we were told that everything in our dossier is not actually in order as we were told it was - SHOCKER!!! - but that the police report for court is not in order as the names on her birth certificate and police report are not the same. They are hoping to correct this today and hope that we will be able to go to court on Monday...this was heartbreaking news! We were so discouraged...so, please pray with us that the report will come in today and that our file will be complete so that it can go to the lawyer and he can begin to build our brief for court.

Please pray that all other reports will be complete as well so that we can have our court date on Monday. Time is getting short and our tickets out of Jo-burg are booked for April 6th. So, it is imperative that we are in Pretoria by Wednesday so that all our paperwork can be turned in to the high commission and her visa can be issued in time for us to travel - at this point, to be honest - it will take a miracle for all this to happen! If it doesn't, we are looking at spending a ton of money to re-book tickets...which we don't have...so we are asking you to pray that miraculously this would all come together.

I am also going to meet with Vierah today and I need wisdom! I need wisdom on how to present our case in such a way that I do not offend but still communicate our timeline clearly and the urgency of getting our dossier to court ASAP. Your thoughts and prayers will be much appreciated.

On the personal front - please pray for T and I to stay strong for the kids! Liam is really starting to struggle with homesickness! He is crying often asking for Grandma and Grandpa and just repeating that it's time to go home! This is breaking our hearts as we feel that same but know that we have at least one more week here! Zoe isn't helping as she walks around holding one of Liam's planes repeating over and over again - "I go to Canada!" "I go to Canada...Daddy we go Canada...Mummy we go to Canada..." So, please pray that T and I will remain positive and create good memories for Liam and Zoe during this last stressful week!

Thanks to all for your love and prayers - and for the B-day wishes! They mean more then you will ever know! We long just to pick up the phone and hear a familiar voice or to just drop by for a cup of coffee with friends...soon enough...soon enough...until then my friends! Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! May you know the smile of your heavenly Father today and may you know how much we all love and miss you!! And that's the McKnight report.

Life...

Monday the 23rd.

Sorry it has been a while since we wrote! The weekend was full. An answer to prayer is that our medicals were sent to Nairobi early Friday morning.
We had lots of opportunities over the weekend to spend time with the other adopting families. Several outings and meals together.

On Sunday morning we went to Hilltop Church-very cool experience-didn't last the whole service with 4 children but heard some beautiful singing and troy had to give greetings from Powers Creek Church!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at SwaziCandles-had a fantastic lunch and the kids played at the playground.

Please pray for us as we continue to bond as a family. Zoe is very sick with a cold right now and that means we are not sleeping-Liam manages to sleep through it all! Makes the days that much more challenging when there is no sleep at night! we are definately ready to come home!
We are told that we will be going to court either Wed. or Thurs. then we will have to apply for birth certificate and passport-so possibility that we will be able to head to Pretoria early next week. Please pray that will be so-we feel like that puts us one step closer to home. Liam is just starting to ask for home-which to me is amazing-he has been very content here-made friends and having a great time.

We are heading to the Swazi Cultural Village this morning. Tomorrow heading to the southern part of the country with the other Canadian family and Vierah-they are to meet the nurse who found their son and Vierah wants us to go along for the journey. A great chance to see more of this beautiful country-a long journey though-so keep us in your prayers!

Will try to do better this week with more regular posts!

so we are 4...

We picked up Zoe on Tuesday! What a day! The drive itself is a nightmare-we left an hour and a half after we were supposed to, so time in Bulembo was short. We signed some papers then headed to the house where Zoe has been living (she was moved to the 2-3 year old house a short time ago-Talitha and her husband Johna are the caretakers). We met her friends, toured the house, and learned about her schedule. After a short time to play it was time to go. Then the screaming and crying began! Not by Zoe-she had a huge smile on her face and kept saying "I go to Canada!". The crying was all her friends and roommates-I (teresa) was a complete wreck as we said goodbye! We then had to say goodbye to Robyn (who runs the orphanage-so more crying by me!). We thankfully made it off the dirt road before the heavens opened and the rains came! It poured-to say the least! Then the fog came-can I just say that there is nothing so scary as driving these mountain roads in the fog and rain at 120km then coming to a complete stop for no apparent reason! To say it was a stressful 3 hours does not describe it! Anyways, thank the Lord we were able to pick Zoe up on Tuesday because the rains that came that night made the road impassable.

The night we came home was great-she had one little cry then went to bed with a smile on her face. She is a very happy little girl with an attitude allready! She has her own mind for sure! We are allready seeing some 2 year old behaviour! The transition is going very well! Suvi-we are not sleeping in the same bed-she is in a cot beside me cuz we are in twin beds-hopefully it will all be well! She loves to cuddle and wants to be held a lot! Is not one bit afraid of food-she can pack it away!

Yesterday was a down day-just a day to get to know each other better-it was lovely. Today (thursday the 19th) Liam went to school with the owner's son and we took Zoe to fetch her passport and get her Visa Medical done. After about an hour of drama the passports arrived and we were set for the dr. We spent a little bit of time at the halfway house here in Manzini-very stressful for Zoe-so did not spend long. We had a lovely afternoon at the SwaziCandles where we had lunch and all the adopted kids were able to play together at the playground. Been a very busy but nice day-we are all pooped and ready for showers and bed!

Please pray that the Dr. sends the Medical forms ASAP-the secretary told us they would be sent next week-not good enough! We are now in Vierah's hands as far as waiting for the adoption to be done-everything we have to do for the time being is done! Pray we can continue to have patience-we seem to trade bad days which is good. Continue to pray for us as we attach-the biggest obstacle seems to be that Zoe doesn't want much to do with Liam. Apparently the little boy at ABC was quite aggresive with her and she doesn't want much to do with white boys. Love you all-that's the McKnight Report!

Not what we expected...TIA [This is Africa]

Well we left you this morning full of hope and the promise of a birth certificate, Passport and visa medical being completed today. We come home late tonight with no birth certificate, no passport and no visa medical...as one person put it to us today - TIA my friends...TIA - this is Africa...so get used to it! To describe our 7 hour day in a clautrophobic hallway and stair well with Liam, Zoe-Jane, 4 month old Benjamin, Teresa, Gerry and Talitha [from the orphanage] and myself as a total "Gong Show!!!" would be the understatment of the year! We left with nothing except a request to come back next Monday for the passports...maybe! Feeling this was unacceptable, Gerry spoke with the powers that be and they told me to come back on Thursday instead! So, it looks like Zoe-Jane and I will be back on Thursday for another day in the hallway!

Please pray that the passport will be ready and that a medical can be done on Thursday so that the process can continue to move forward. We go to pick up Zoe-Jane tomorrow so that will be an awesome day for us! She is with us to stay from then on so we couldn't be more excited!

Well, that's a quick up date for now. We are getting ready for supper and then off to bed! We love you all and miss you much...and that's it for the McKnight report!

Ok - Here's the 411

Well - the internet is back up for the moment and we've had a ton of stuff happen since our last post so we will try to catch you up as quickly as we can and then hopefully we can keep more regular updates in the days ahead. So, here's the scoop on the last 3 days.

Friday the 13th [afternoon]

After my frantic blog in the am our day turned 180 degrees! It was miraculous to say the least! We drove into Mbabane - an adventure in itself- made our way to Vierah's office and then say for an hour in front of her desk while she worked on something else - did I mention we are learning a lot about the difference between time in Canada and time in Africa? Anywho - she finally turned her attention to us and within 20 minutes we had Zoe's passport figured out, a medical appointment for Monday morning, a meeting booked with the head of social welfare for the country and an intial meeting with our lawyer Mr. Maphalala. Then the fun really began!

We were whisked through the streets of Mbabane like we were part of some crazy formula one racing school - as I am figuring out how to drive on the left hand side of the road in my little black opel - did I mention it's a five speed? We meet with Eric - head of social welfare - a wonderful man who filled us in on the state of the country, the state of the Aids crisis, drout and a poverty level of 69% nationwide. It was heartbreaking to hear him talk about the plight of his people. He is working night and day to care for those in need and yet it is never enough! Please pray for Eric as he serves so tirelessly!

Then it was off to Manzini to meet Mr. M our lawyer. It is a 45 km drive at 140 km/h as I try to keep up with our driver - Jameson - in his white Isuzu truck which he apparently borrowed from the Nascar truck series!! It was insane! People everywhere! Walking along the highway, crossing the highway, selling things on the side of the highway, hanging out on the side of the highway...I think you get the point. Manzini is a much bigger, much busier city with the streets flooded with people. We made our way through the congested streets, avoiding pedestrians until we pass a Debonair pizza shop where we hang a right down a narrow, unpaved alley that twists it's way by crumbling businesses until we arrive at a door with people lining up outside. Apparently this is the place. We get out, and squeeze our way into the waiting room with 12 other people and we...wait...wait...wait...and then Liam decides he should go hang out outsdie for a while so we take turns with him and we wait... and finally we get to meet Mr. M. He is a large man who is welcoming enough but appears to be one part lawyer and one part Sopranos cast member - all rolled into one! We have a brief meeting with him and he decides he would like to see us again on Saturday morning to go over our paper work so we set an appointment - not sure why - for 10 am. With that he steps outside his office to say goodbye, grabs a cold Heineken from his legal assistant and sits down on a chair to finish off the day with his staff.

We invite our social worker Vierah and Jameson our driver out for dinner at Melandella's - a local internet cafe/restaurant just down the road from us - and we fall into bed exhausted, elated, and thanking God for his goodness and grace!

Saturday the 14th

Jameson picks us up at 9:45 am for our 10 am appointment with Mr. M - who's office is 35 km away. And you guessed it - the race is on again! Let's just say that T is not very comfortable with my driving but I figure that when in Swaziland do as the Swazi's! We arrive at 10:05 am to - you guessed it - a room full of people and we wait...and wait...and wait...and wait...at 11:15 am Mr. M shows up in his Mercedez and begins working his way through the clients in the room. We are last. Around 12:30 pm he sees us, works through our dossiers, explains the process, takes a few notes and sends us on. Vierah and Jameson are waiting for us and they whisk us off to International Women's day - a huge celebration and forum on women's rights and roles in Swaziland. This is our first culture outing - according to Vierah. We arrive at a massive field house complex full of Swazi women - all in their traditional dress with members of parliment at the guest table at the front. One by one different presenters come forward and passionately share their concerns, their questions, their dreams for women in Swaziland - some in English, most in Siswati. So, I want you to picture this field house full of mostly Swazi women, a few Swazi men and the 4 white Canadians and their small boy - who isn't at all impressed by this event and continues to wonder aloud "Where are the elephants?!" It was quite an experience! But we survived and by 2 pm we were heading home to rest for the remainder of the day - with the news that we will be heading to ABC to meet Zoe-Jane for the first time on Sunday - just out of the blue! So, we are to be ready to go by 9:30 am!

Side note: Liam is the king of all things! He is the greatest ambassador that Canada - or more importantly - we could have asked for! He and Vierah have already established a very special friendship. Everywhere we go, they are walking hand in hand! Vierah loves holding him, walking him around, introducing him to her friends and officials as her Canadian boy! And you all know how shy he is! He is loving every minute of it! We think that he is making a huge impact and helping us move forward in ways we never would have imagined! So, yeah God and go Liam!

Sunday - 15th

We are off at 9:45 am to Mbabane where we...you guessed it...wait for 2 hours for everyone else to arrive. Then we begin the 2.5 hr journey north through some of the most beautiful country we have ever seen to the town of Bulembo - where the orphanage is located. INSANE is not even beginnig to describe the roads as we run out of pavement 18 km before we get to the orphanage! The dirt logging road we are traveling on makes bear creek main look like the Coq! It is washed out, massive mounds, pot holes, huge rocks...and guess what- Jameson doesn't seem to know how to slow down - SHOCKER!!! - so we are flying like we are some sort of hair on fire off road rally through the mountains of Swaziland in my little two door black opel - think chevy sprint and you are close!

By God's grace we arrive safe and in one piece. We meet Robyn and Gerry - who run ABC - and before we know it we are sitting in the living room and the cutest little thing ever is brought in and we find ourselves balling as we are face to face for the first time with little Zoe-Jane! We spend the next 2 hours holding her and playing with her, and snuggling and celebrating with the other parents as one by one the children are brought in for first introductions. Then, all too soon, it is time for us to hit the rally circuit again and head back to the Willows. Leaving her behind was soooo hard but we know that we will see her tomorrow and then on Tuesday we will return to bring her home! We arrive home exhausted but so full of joy!

Monday -16

We are getting ready to leave for Zoe-Jane's medical. So, that's it in a nutshell - sort of...we will write more later! We love you and miss you all...and that's the McKnight Report!

We are here!

Ok, first off, sorry about not writing for so long but our internet has been down since we arrive. I have ventured out and found an internet cafe and voila! Here you have it! Our first blog from Swaziland. It is going to be short and sweet as we are paying by the minute at this point.

We are all exhausted, not sleeping and all out of whack - a 9 hour difference is wreaking havoc with schedules and systems. So, please pray that we will normalize and start sleeping instead of eating toast at 2 am as a family! Liam is doing great! He is loving all the different plants, all the geckos and he is making some new friends with kids who live at the lodge - Robert is 4 and is the owners son and Tadtho - is a 5 year old little Swazi girl who's family works and lives on sight.

We had our first meeting with the social worker yesterday and things are not as set as we would like so...here come the prayer requests:

1. The Medical is not done and we will have to try and get it done sometime next week after we bring Zoe home. This is a time crucial deal as it takes two weeks to process before we can get our visa in Pretoria.

2. It seems that our social worker is away for 4 days next week at conferences which means that she will not be able to start working on our cases until next week...not sure what that means either - so feel free to pray about that!

3. Also, apparently there has been a change in government and the man who used to sign adoption orders no longer does. So, they are trying to figure out who is going to do that...which needs to happen in order for the adoption to actually happen...go figure!

4. Please pray for us - we are physically, mentally and emotionally worn from the trip and all of this uncertain news so we need tons of prayers for peace, rest and faith to trust that this too will turn out for our deliverance - there's that pesky Paul again...:)!

Well, I know that might seem short and a bit of a downer but that's the real deal here in Swaziland and since we are all about being real...well there you have it! So, the next big thing is figuring out when we will go to pick up Zoe-Jane and when we can get the medical done. I will write again tomorrow! We love and miss you all very much...and that's the McKnight Report!

My first blog...ever!!

Woohoo!! Look at me go...I am officially a blogger! A big thank you to my friend, mentor and Sensi on all things technical - Mr. Jeff Falke for getting me set up and ready to go. Well, this is where you will find daily reports on the McKnight's African adventure as we head off to Swaziland to pick up our gorgeous, long awaited gift - our daughter Zoe! It is hard to believe that 2+ years of waiting have finally come to an end and this coming Tuesday we are actually leaving to go and meet her face to face!

To all of you who have been walking with us, hoping with us, crying with us, praying for us...we just want to say "Thank you" so much! We couldn't have made it through without you! 

Our goal is to write a brief update every couple of days to keep you up to speed on our journey, where we are at in the adoption process and how you can continue to pray for us in an informed way. So, that's the plan for now! 

We look forward to sharing the adventure with you. Grace and Peace to you all...this is the McKnight Report.