Help Malachi & Jordan pursue the full legal custody and permanent adoption of 4 girls whose single mother is dying from cancer. This is her final wish. It will be a very heavy lift. But we've promised to do everything we can to help make it happen. And now we're going to need your help...

Here's how it happened. We met "Miss B" in late November, when some of our friends at Ascension [cancer treatment center] mentioned a single mother in her mid 30s suffering from late stage 4 cancer. The cancer was not responding. She was sick and unable to work. Worse, she was behind on rent, and in danger of being evicted.

Could we help? Absolutely!

So our friends made the introduction, and Jordan was able to visit Miss B in her home to learn where else she might need help. That's when we met her four daughters: E (18), L (13), D (7), and G (3). The oldest two girls have been functioning as Miss B's primary caregivers for the past year; there is no one else to care for her.

So our little church pitched in to help. Jordan's sister took the girls skating; they asked to come to church. One thing led to another. Jordan was able to sit with Miss B when she met with hospice in late December. And on Christmas Day, the whole family made it to our house for dinner (it took 3 of us to carry Miss B up our steps in her wheelchair). Three days later, Miss B was admitted to ICU.

That raised the question: What would happen to the girls?

As we anxiously prayed about how best to offer (and how best to ask), we got an unexpected phone call from one of Miss B's oldest family friends. He had spoken to Miss B - she wanted her girls to go to Malachi & Jordan; she had no one else who could take them. So now as their "uncle" he was calling to ask on her behalf: would Malachi & Jordan consider raising Miss B's girls?

It didn't take long for them to say yes...

That "Yes" has resulted in a whirlwind of activity. Miss B is still in the hospital; at this point it appears unlikely she will leave. We don't know if she has days, weeks, or months. But her time is short. We had multiple meetings with attorneys, to document her wishes and map out a strategy. Miss B has signed a formal statement to confer standing, granting Malachi & Jordon the right to pursue full legal custody on her behalf, and ultimately to adopt her kids as their own.

So their family of four just became a family of eight. We couldn't be more excited. The girls are thrilled too.

But now things are about to get expensive. A typical custody case can easily cost $20-30K, even if everything is uncontested. This case could be complicated, since it involves four girls with three fathers spanning two continents. And those fathers will need to be located and informed so they can consent to (or oppose) Miss B's wishes.

We are seeking to raise funds to help pay for legal fees that will be incurred on behalf of these four girls, as Malachi & Jordan seek to gain full custody, to give them an education, to keep them together, to raise them in a stable family. Those are Miss B's wishes. We intend to keep them. We would humbly as for your help. All donors will receive a full account of where the funds are spent. Excess donations (if any) will be used to establish education funds for the girls.

Please share this fundraiser with your networks, but please keep all names confidential. If you have any questions, please contact me. (Full Disclosure: I'm Malachi's dad, and the pastor of our little church.)