Madonna will have to wait until the end of the week to find out whether she will be able to take home Mercy James -- a Malawian court has delayed a ruling on the adoption until Friday.
The singer flew to the African nation over the weekend with her 12-year-old daughter Lourdes and 3-year-old-David Banda, whom she adopted from the country in 2006.
And she has formalized her bid to make Mercy a part of her family, filing adoption papers at a courthouse in the capital Lilongwe on Monday morning.
But the judge presiding over the hearing has adjourned the proceedings until Friday -- meaning Madonna will have to wait four days to find out whether she will be able to make the girl an official member of her family.
The adoption bid has sparked outrage amongst the child's surviving relatives, with her grandmother, Lucy Chekechiwa, 61, vowing to fight to keep the tot in Malawi.
Children's charities have also criticized the star for adopting from abroad -- insisting orphaned kids need to remain in their native countries in the care of their extended families.
The controversy mirrors the furor that surrounded Madonna's adoption of David Banda in 2006 -- with some accusing the Malawian government of side-stepping the country's adoption laws because of the singer's fame and wealth. The adoption was subsequently finalized last year following two years of legal wrangling.
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