God - his way is perfect

“God - his way is perfect;

The word of the Lord is pure.

He is a shield to all who take refuge in him. 

For who is God beside the Lord?

And who is a rock? Only our God.

God - clothes me with strength.”

Psalm 18: 30-32

We apologize for the silence on our blog. We confess this has been a long, hard season as COVID-19 has brought our adoption process to a standstill. Our paperwork is currently sitting on a judge’s desk waiting to be processed. Our daughter’s orphanage submitted our adoption petition March 7, 2020, and the Indian government initiated a country wide lock-down which began on March 24 and extended to June 30, 2020. India is now in the process of reopening, but it is a slow, gradual and cautious process, and it looks different in each state and city. Based on the information we have received from our agency, the courts are not currently processing adoption cases, and our wait will continue to be extended for an unknown amount of time. 

We believe, as David did, that God’s way is perfect and his Word is pure, but at times it is hard to remember. The wait and uncertainty have caused pain, grief and anger. We are encouraged by the psalms, like the one mentioned above, because while David is proclaiming God’s perfection, he is also acknowledging his own weakness. Psalm 18 was pinned as a praise to God who rescued him from the hand of Saul. David was powerless to defend himself, and it was God himself who protected him (a refuge), sustained him (a rock) and ultimately gave him the strength to continue. The uncertainty of our process has forced us to recognize and acknowledge our own weaknesses. We cannot complete this process on our own. However, we take comfort in knowing that the God who sustained David is the same God who sustains us. He has clothed us with strength to wait another day. He daily protects us, and our daughter, and he remains our rock on which we place our hope. We can trust that “his way is perfect.”

We long for the day she is home with us, but until that day please continue to pray with us. 

• Pray we will find hope and rest in Jesus Christ.
• Pray for our daughter that she will continue to be well, and that God will be preparing her heart for our family and ultimately to know him.
• Pray for our daughter’s caregivers as they are working longer hours. 
• Pray the judge who is reviewing our petition will have an urgency to process adoption cases, and we will see many children with their forever families.
• Pray for the American and Indian governments as they are seeking ways to finalize adoptions in the midst of a pandemic.
• Pray for our agency as they seek to advocate for our family and many others.

We received NOC!!!

We are happy to announce that after five months of waiting, we received our No Objection Certificate (NOC) on January 2, 2020! This certificate marks a significant milestone in the Indian adoption process. Once our daughter’s orphanage (SAA) receives this certificate in the mail, they will be able to submit it and our dossier (paperwork we have prepared) to the local courts for an “adoption petition.”

The most common question we have received over the last three days has been, “What’s next?” Our answer is typically, “We now move on to the court process”. This is followed by the question of “How long will the court process take?” Which is always the million dollar question of adoption. “It could be six weeks or up to eight months. We simply continue to wait.” This will be the first time our adoption agency has worked in our daughter's city, so we will both be learning how the local courts operate and if there are pro-adoption judges within the city. Each family’s court case is unique, and it is hard to estimate a time of finalization.

Adoption is tough. We reach new milestones and celebrate each, but the celebration is soon quieted as we consider the next period of waiting we have to enter. We humbly admit that the waiting is getting harder, and it seems each step opens the way for more waiting. Please pray that God will give us patience as we wait. Pray we will look to Him for our strength and hope.

Specific ways to pray:
Pray the rest of our process will go smoothly and that we will be able to welcome our daughter home soon.
Pray God will bless us with a judge who is pro-adoption and seeks to place children into homes quickly.
Pray for our daughter’s caregivers.
Pray for our daughter’s health and that God will be preparing her heart for adoption.
Pray for our caseworker and the other Lifeline staff who have worked tirelessly to advocate for our family.

Waiting

We were able to share many new updates during our most recent update, but our time since then has been filled with waiting. When you last heard from us, we had applied for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to be issued by CARA in order for our paperwork to be presented in court. We are still at this point in the process. Today (Tuesday, November 5, 2019) marks three months of anticipating the receipt of this certification.

We wish we could say we have endured this silence with complete grace and patience, but that has not always been the case. This type of waiting feels similar to mourning. We spend days longing for, and missing, someone we have not yet met. When we allow ourselves to dwell on these thoughts, our responses often range from tears, to anger and frustration over the situation. We have not always handled this well, and this season of quiet anticipation has shown us over and over again our need for Christ.

“ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” 

~Lamentations 3:25

Who are we waiting for? Who is responsible for the delays? We know that we are waiting for our little girl to come home, and it would seem that the delays are coming from various government entities. However, as followers of Christ, we know that ultimately God is sovereign and in complete control of our adoption journey. He is not caught by surprise in our waiting or seemingly pointless delays. We remind ourselves, sometimes moment by moment, that we are waiting on the Lord. He is the one who has called us to this process, and He is the one who will sustain us through it. We know Him personally. He is good, faithful, steadfast and merciful. It is good for us to wait for Him and His newfound mercies we receive every day.

Please join us in prayer:

• Pray for our daughter that she will continue to grow and stay healthy. 
• Pray for those who care for her on a daily basis that they may know how to best care for her. 
• Pray for us in the waiting that we will truly trust Christ.
• Pray for CARA and all the others involved in the decision to issue our family the NOC. 
• Pray that our process will move forward and we will be able to bring our daughter home soon!
• Finally, pray for Lifeline as they seek to determine the best way to advocate for the children of India and their adoptive families. 

Checkmarks

We are happy to report that we have been busy with paperwork and we have seen great progress on our adoption At the beginning of our adoption, we received a checklist from Lifeline that highlights every step of the journey and keeps us focused on the next step. There are 25 milestones throughout the process, and the opportunity to check off even one is a celebration! Since our last update on the blog, we have added six checkmarks to our list!

After officially accepting our little girl’s file, we began applying for her immigration approval and ultimately the approval of the Indian Adoption Authority. Approval for her immigration takes several different steps and the issuing of various documents. We were able to  work through those, and we have now officially applied for a NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the Indian Adoption Authority. The wait time for this document can be three or more months, but it is a big point in the Indian adoption process. Once this document is issued, her orphanage will submit the NOC, along with her dossier (home study and additional documents), for an Adoption Petition in court. The court appointment and approval can also take several months to finalize, but we are humbled to be this far along in the journey! 

God has blessed us with the ability to check off many of the boxes on our checklist, but none of it is possible without the love, prayers and support of our community! Adoption is not something you do alone. Since the first day we announced our adoption, we have had family, friends and many more support us in unimaginable ways. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this, and we ask that you continue to pray with us as we wait. 

Prayer specifics:

1.Please pray for our little one that God will protect her and also be preparing her heart for adoption.

2. Pray for documents to be processed quickly and for the court approval to run smoothly. 

3. Pray we will wait with patience.

4. Pray for wisdom to know how to parent well.

5. Pray that God will be glorified through our entire adoption process. 

Dossier paperwork
 Just a small sample of what
we have been working on. 

Chosen for Adoption

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace.” ~Ephesians 1:3-5a~

We have always heard, and known, that adoption is a picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but our understanding of this truth continues to grow with each day and step of our adoption journey. The beginning of the process was arduous as we waded through paperwork, counseling sessions, meetings, fundraising and waiting. We were working for a little one whom we loved, did not know and who was not aware of us. We were reminded daily of Christ’s pursuit of us while we were unknowing of Him. This stage was humbling as we remembered again and again the love of our Saviour. This first stage in the journey was just a small glimpse into the sacrificial love God offered us through His Son, Jesus Christ. On April 29th, 2019 we received approval to begin reviewing files for CARA (India’s Adoption Governing Authority). This was a blessing, but proved to be one of the most challenging things we have ever walked through. We received our first referral soon after approval, and we listened in anticipation as our case worker began to review specifics. It became clear early on that this child was not the one Christ had for our family, but saying, “No” to an actual child is hard and excruciating. We prayed and cried as we considered this file, then another with the same response. One evening, Jessica was talking with a friend about the difficulty of the situation. She explained to her the guilt associated with the decision. She talked about the pain of reviewing an additional file with fear of another, “no,” and she expressed her fear of never knowing clearly who our child would be. Our wise friend was so gracious to remind us that even this challenging decision is a picture of the Gospel of God’s grace. Just as Christ “chose us in Him… for adoption as sons,” (Eph. 1) we would choose our child and be able to share this great truth with them someday! We are so thankful for the wisdom of others and the great truth of His Word, and we are also excited to announce that our fears did not become reality. On June 19th, 2019, we officially said, “Yes!” to a beautiful two year-old little girl! We could not be not be more excited! This journey has been challenging and humbling all at the same time. Our trust in Christ and understanding of the Gospel continues to grow each day with each new step. We still have a lot of paperwork and waiting ahead as we prepare for our daughters arrival. We ask that you join us in praying for wisdom, perseverance, trust and grace as we work and wait. We also ask that you pray for our little girl. Pray for safety, her health and even now that God will be preparing her heart to know us and Him.

We Received a Matching Grant!!!

Hello everyone! 

We have exciting news! Lifesong offers financial assistance to adoptive families through partnership with local churches. One of the ways they utilize these partnership is by gifting families "matching grants." What this grant allows is for every donation through Lifesong to be matched dollar for dollar up to a certain amount. Along with the matching grant, Lifesong also offers a crowdfunding option to enable people to donate easily, and it also allows individuals to receive a tax deduction for their gift. 

We are overjoyed to announce that we have been awarded a Matching Grant of $4000.00! This grant was made possible through the generosity of Colonial Heights Baptist Church in Ridgeland, MS in partnership with Lifesong.  We are humbled by their generosity, and look forward to seeing how God uses their giving in our family and surrounding community.

We are including a link to our crowdfunding page along with additional information on how to give. You may give either through our crowdfunding page, or by sending a check directly to Lifesong with our family account number and name (#8271 - Townson Family) included on the check. 

We are so thankful for our community of family, friends and many more. This journey would be impossible without your support, prayers and love. 

Blessings,

Nathan and Jessica

myStory Crowdfunding Page:

https://mystory.lifesongfororphans.org/stories/townsons-adoption-journey-india/

Information on Giving: 

o   Please make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans. On the check memo line donors need to note “Preference: Account #8271 - Townson Family”

o  Please Mail Checks To:

    Lifesong for Orphans

    PO Box 40

    Gridley, IL 61744

o   NOTE: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the named non-profit organization.  This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use.

o   Individual donations $50 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt.  Receipts for donations under $50 will gladly be sent upon request.  Lifesong is a 501©3 tax exempt organization.

Where are we now?

Hello everyone!

We know it has been a little while since we have updated our blog, and we are sure many or you are wondering how things are going and where we are in the process. We will do our best to try to give you the specifics of what has happened, where we are currently, how you can be praying for us and how to get involved.

In our last post, we had just completed our home study, and we believe we were awaiting a finalized copy... We received our finalized home study at the end of January and were able to register with CARA in India. CARA is the Central Adoption Authority in India, and we must first receive their approval prior to being matched with a child. We officially registered with them on January 31, 2019. Upon registration, our caseworker said they have seen this particular step in the process take anywhere from 3-5 months. It could be shorter or longer than that depending on the number of applications sent to CARA and their ability to sort through them.

While preparing to register with India, we also applied for immigration with the USCIS in order to be approved to migrate a child into the US. This process began with an initial application and then we waited until we received an appointment time to appear at a USCIS location to have our biometric fingerprints done. We receive that letter last week, and we are scheduled to have our fingerprints done on Monday, March 11th!

Finishing our home study was a huge milestone in the process, and it opened up opportunities to be able to move forward in several different ways. CARA and USCIS were huge steps toward knowing who our little will be! However, we have also been able to begin applying for adoption grants because of our completed home study. There are many different granting agencies, and each one is very unique in their approach. Some agencies offer grants for specific points in the process. Other grants are matching grants, some offer crowd funding and so much more. We have been diligently working to complete as many applications as possible, and we are awaiting many responses at this time. We will be sharing more details about these as we know more.

Finally, we have been blessed over the last several months by the generosity of family members, friends and co-workers who have asked about, prayed for and donated toward our adoption. All of your generosity has been extremely humbling for both Nathan and I as we have seen a community of people come together to support us and celebrate our little one!

We have discussed several different fundraising options with different people, and there are a few we will launch in the coming months. However, we were able to do one fundraising event last weekend thanks to the kindness and generosity of our friends, Sam and Misty Merelien. These sweet friends opened their home last weekend and threw a "Mystery Dinner Party" with all proceeds going toward our adoption! This event provided a lot of laughs and a nice donation to put us one step closer to our financial goal and ultimately the adoption of our child.

The Mereliens' generosity is just one small picture of the many different people involved in this process. Nathan and I realize more and more every day just how much we need each one of you as we journey toward our little one. We cannot thank-you enough for your love, prayers and support!