Hi friends, my name is Brittany McCrory and I am organizing this Go Fund Me on behalf of one of my very best friends and her family.

The Marburger’s. Mandy & her husband Jeff have been foster parents for many years. I have watched them so lovingly and graciously open their home to many children over the years. Some overnight, some days, weeks, months, years, and some forever-through adoption.

Mandy and Jeff have 6 beautiful children. 1 biological son, 4 adopted children through foster care, and 1 precious new baby that you’re about to hear the story of. They love these children in a way that brings tears to my eyes as I type this. It’s truly awe inspiring and tear jerking. This past December, The Marburger’s got a different call.

As Mandy tells it-

On December 8, 2024 Mandy received a message on Facebook from a birth mom. She was struggling and needed someone to talk to and for some reason, Mandy came to her mind. They had been Facebook friends for years but didn’t know each other.

This birth mom shared that she had just had a baby and that her baby was premature & currently in the NICU. She knew she couldn’t care for this baby and was looking for someone to adopt him.

The Marburger’s - as they always do, said YES to a child from God. They weren’t sure what the future would look like, but they immediately went to the hospital to love this baby boy as he was not getting visitors and was alone. They went to ask questions and to pray. They stepped in where they were being called, not knowing what any of this would look like. For the last 8 months, this baby boy- Elias William - no last name, has been loved by the Marburger’s. They are all he knows. Mandy and Jeff are his mom and dad.

(Birth mom allowed the Marburger’s to name him)

Jeff and Mandy started visiting this precious baby and met him for the first time on December 11, 2024 (3 days after the conversation with birth mom). He was 3 pounds, had a feeding tube and was being given oxygen but overall, seemed to be doing well! He was having some withdrawals but the nurses were doing a good job taking care of him!

Jeff and Mandy visited many times the month of December and into January as well!

Birth mom had communicated with her local DSS that she had a “safety plan” in place (which was Jeff and Mandy) so DSS didn’t take custody of Elias. Because of this, Jeff and Mandy had to hire an attorney and get an emergency custody order put in place so they would be allowed to bring Elias home.

While Jeff and Mandy are licensed foster parents, this situation is different. Everything has to be done privately which means each step costs money.

Last week I asked Mandy to update me on the progress of Elias officially becoming a Marburger, she gave me the break down of that process and what was holding their progress back and when she mentioned finances being a large part of that, I immediately knew I had to help. However I could. I asked her if I could organize a Go fund me and she immediately responded with a no. She said that she and her husband were working to make it work, and that they did NOT want to burden others with this financial situation. However, after praying about it, Jeff and Mandy came back to me and said they wanted me to do what I felt led to do and that if others wanted to help make Elias a Marburger, why not let others be blessed by this process like they have been? Jeff and Mandy would never ask for this! And they haven’t asked! I want to do this! Not just for them, but for Elias too!

There are details to this story that for Elias’ sake I wish to keep private. But I am asking, if you are able to give anything monetary to assist this family in the legal costs (lawyers and paperwork) of helping Elias become a Marburger, this will be a huge blessing on this child’s life and his future. Mandy and Jeff are the most selfless people I know, they are not asking for anything and would do whatever it took to make this happen without help.

In a world that is so dark, it’s an honor to be the light when we can be. This is a situation where God is moving and you can be a huge part of that. For those who are reading this and can’t offer a monetary donation, I’m asking that you pray for this child and his future and share this post.