“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” - James 1:27 

On Dec 26th, 2017, Uche Amudipe became a widow. On the same day she also became a mother. 

2013
After about a decade of marriage, Dapo and Uche Amudipe accepted the fact that they would be unable to have their own children naturally. Being Nigerian, they wanted to adopt from their home country so they began the grueling process of international adoption.

Soon after, it was discovered that Dapo had stomach cancer.  It was discovered early, so they put the adoption process on hold for Dapo to receive treatment.

2015
In the Fall, Dapo was given a clean bill of health, and the couple picked up where they left off with the adoption process.

2016
In the Spring, the adoption application was complete, and by the Summer they were in Nigeria, interviewing with the Department of Social Welfare. They were informed the first available child would be theirs and they were elated.

In December of 2016 they got the call that a 6-month-old baby girl was waiting for them. They made plans to pick her up as soon as they could – the next month.

2017
In January they traveled back to Nigeria to meet their daughter.  Upon their arrival they found out that plans had changed, no longer were they to be given a baby girl, but an almost 3-year-old boy they named Josiah, who immediately called them “Mommy” and “Daddy”.

On January 27, 2017 Dapo and Uche formally adopted Josiah under Nigerian law. Now they had to wait for the US adoption process to be completed, and the timeline was unclear.  Due to the uncertainty and the need for income, Dapo and Uche returned to the US to work. Wonderful family friends in Lagos took Josiah in while they awaited the finalization of the adoption. More trips back to Nigeria and almost daily FaceTime calls were some of the ways they stayed close to Josiah throughout the Spring and Summer of 2017.

On August 11, 2017, Dapo’s stomach cancer had returned.  This time, it was aggressive and relentless.

Four months later, on December 26th, Dapo went home to be with God. That same day, Uche learned that her and Dapo's prayers were answered and Josiah’s immigration application was approved - and he could finally come to be with them. Truly bittersweet. 

Uche is now in Nigeria picking up Josiah, bringing him home to a life very different from what she had originally imagined. She is faithful, certain that God will provide. This has been a long journey, but in many ways, a new one is just beginning.

2018
One major way Uche needs provision is for paid maternity/adoption leave from her job in order to mourn Dapo’s passing and bond with Josiah. Unfortunately, she used her allowable leave in caring for Dapo and there is no paid leave available for adoption in the state of Delaware. As a result, Uche had to take unpaid leave to go to Nigeria, so she could go to the US Embassy in Nigeria to get Josiah's visa which would allow him to return to the US with her.  The process has taken much longer than anyone imagined and she has been in Nigeria for four months.  The last four months together have allowed Uche and Josiah to deepen their connection and begin to bond, but the length of time she has had to be away from home and work waiting for the visa to be processed, has left her in a tight financial situation.

Our goal is to raise $25,000 to contribute to Uche's lost wages, medical expenses and support her as a new single mom.

Let us come together, to take this opportunity to look after an orphan and a widow who are in particular need in our church family, and support Uche to be with Josiah to bond and establish themselves as a family. 

Any amount makes a difference. Thank you and God bless you!