Wade & Estelle’s Story

God’s Masterpiece

A Place We Call Home

Our story started 10 years ago when God led us to Dubai, and within our second weekend of relocating, we walked through the doors of Warehouse 5 into a place known as City Lights. We felt right at home…

Fast forward four years: we had built up friendships, a church community surrounded us, and Dubai truly became our home. Life felt like it was going according to plan. Our family grew from two to four, and we were expecting our third little one.

A New Reality

On 12 October 2020, we walked into our long-awaited 12-week scan. The sonographer measured our baby’s neck, and it was thicker than expected. She didn’t elaborate and mumbled something about it being a concern and possibly inflammation. We were then handed a report stating that we had a 1-in-4 chance of having a baby with chromosomal abnormalities. Before I could process anything, I was sent for an NIPT test - a more accurate test. My hands shook as they took the sample. Wade held my hand, and we stepped into a whole new reality.

Feeling lost, we started praying and waited. Friends and family prayed and carried us through the uncertainty. After about two weeks, our doctor called. She confirmed what we never expected: “Your baby has a 99% confirmed diagnosis of Trisomy 21.” The doctor offered one more test, a CVS, which involved taking a sample from the placenta. We agreed, praying for a miracle… for our story to go back to our original plan.

Faithful

Longing for answers and peace, we attended a worship night at City Lights. That evening, Starla messaged me: while worshipping, she saw the word Faithful over us. But we were still drowning in questions. God, will You come through for us? Surely You will be FAITHFUL to Your promises and heal our baby? This baby is Your masterpiece.

Surrounded

During this wait, Wade and I found ourselves in the desert early one morning. I looked around and saw that we were surrounded - people who loved us, standing in prayer with us. Family and friends abroad were praying alongside us. We took communion together, and in front of our friends, I prayed my most vulnerable prayer…

But before I share that prayer, I want to tell you the rest of the story.

Why Us?

A wait that consumed our thoughts for days ended in a phone call - confirmation of our little boy’s diagnosis: “Your male fetus has a confirmed diagnosis of Trisomy 21. Please see your doctor to advise on further steps.”

Further steps? What further steps…?

We were advised on flights, timelines, termination, all the things that can go wrong by having a family member with Down Syndrome or any chromosome abnormality. Fear crept in. We knew nothing about Down syndrome. Why us?

Stopping the Noise

We arranged a meeting with Dan and Starla. We prayed and talked it through - a morning filled with tears, prayer, and a small glimpse of hope. We spoke about families who had walked a similar journey. We were searching for “unreasonable hope.”

Slowly, the heaviness lifted. Our baby boy received his first prophetic word that morning, and we walked out with a sense of newness. I got into the car and touched my bump as if for the first time, allowing myself to bond with the precious little body inside me.

We connected with families who had walked a similar journey, and we were filled with new hope.

Why Us… But Why Not Us?

Our prayers changed. We began praying for our little boy’s health and thanking God for trusting us with this journey. We prayed that our baby would overcome any medical challenges spoken over him and not be defined by his diagnosis.

Wade was encouraged by a group of men who began praying together in the desert. Friends showed up in the middle of the night just to pray with us. Meals were delivered, and our other two children were loved and cared for so we could focus on processing everything and attending doctor’s appointments. Our doctor supported and encouraged us through it all.

We were surrounded by an entire community.

7 April 2021

As the due date approached, our little boy was still breech. Against the odds, with a short umbilical cord, doctors were able to turn him through an ECV procedure - calling it nothing short of a miracle. Later that evening, our son was born. We surrendered and lifted this beautiful boy to God, and welcomed our Eli into the world.

My Answered Prayer

Going back to my prayer in the desert that morning:

Dear Father God,

Today we pray for this perfect little body, declaring over this baby one of the pictures we received - that a worldly destroyed wing is transformed into a beautiful butterfly. Perfect in every way, every curve, every detail formed and shaped as it should be.

Your Word declares that we are formed in Your image, and this baby is no different. We know You are forming and shaping this baby perfectly, that no medical concerns are present - that his hands, feet, mouth, nose, and body are as they should be.

You knit us together in the womb, and this baby is being knit perfectly according to what You intended, not what any medical report has declared. Just like the story of Hannah, we have prayed in anguish, asking for Your favour. We stand against these reports and declare Your perfect Word over our perfect baby.

Thank You that in everything we go through, we can apply Your promises. We pray that You bless this baby to be the faith warrior he was created to be. No diagnosis can define him because he is covered by the blood of Jesus. May our story form part of the 1% we were told is unlikely.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

You see, I prayed that prayer with a different perspective. But God answered my prayer and He is still answering it. We just didn’t want to see it.

Eli was not packaged according to what the world would see as favourable, nor according to what we had planned. Instead, he was gifted to us as a beautiful package that transformed our lives into a metamorphosis of little miracles, lessons, and so much joy.

Much More Than a Diagnosis

Our journey was never about his diagnosis, but about the longing our family had for him, without us even knowing it. Our plan was different, but God had so much more in store for us, and He still does. This journey connected us with people we never imagined building relationships with. It strengthened friendships and initiated monthly prayers in the desert among men praying not only for Eli, but for big things in their own families and lives. It made us realise the value of community and deepened our love for our church.

Eli came into this world with immense purpose for our family and has received prophetic words far greater than we ever could have imagined. Luca and Amelie are completely in love with their little brother, and they are all learning from one another. God was there all along, writing His version of our story - His masterpiece.

I initially applied Starla’s word faithful in a way that suited us. But we learned that we needed to be faithful to God’s story, His plan, and trust Him.

The Start of Included

God was not done with us yet....

On 9 October 2022, while listening to Pete Portal preach at City Lights, Wade and I both felt an overwhelming nudge from God to start something for families with children with additional needs. That nudge grew into a deep longing to build what we had experienced throughout our journey with Eli - COMMUNITY.  What began as a stirring in our hearts soon became a reality and gave birth to a community called Included and Perfectly

Different

It is a growing community where friendships have formed with families from all over the world, supporting and learning from one another. None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of our church community, speaking life, offering practical help and business advice, and intentionally creating space for dreams to grow.

Ten years ago, we never would have imagined that walking into Warehouse 5 would become the foundation of our testimony and the place where we learned to dream big. Our family is nothing out of the ordinary…Just like anything in this world, when things don’t turn out the way you planned, and you put both feet in the water and step forward in faith, there is a beautiful promise that comes with trust - “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

We are thankful for our journey and the undeniable dependence on God as we navigate life as parents, parents of a child with additional needs and raising our family in this beautiful country and church community we call home.