"The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight." 

~ O Little Town of Bethlehem~

Christmas is over and the New Year is upon us. Nathan and I went to a Christmas celebration with his brother and our sister-in-law recently, and the words of this familiar song really stood out to me. What truth is found in these words. All of our hopes and deepest fears find rest in the person of Jesus Christ! This little child was born to bring peace through His life, death and resurrection. 

"For a child will be born to us, a Son will be given;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, 

Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

(Isaiah 9:6)

It is with this hope and peace, Nathan and I enter into the New Year. Although we have been silent on our blog, we have been diligently working to gather all of the necessary paperwork for our home study. A home study is a compilation of documents ranging from our birth certificates, criminal background checks, detailed information about our personal family history and plenty of education. There were moments where we felt like we were flying through this portion of the process and other days where it seemed like nothing was happening. However, we are happy to report all of our documents are in, and we are just waiting for our home study to be finalized! Once we receive our finalized home study, we can apply for immigration with the USCIS, and begin the process of registering with the Indian government. 

There will be many long days and weeks of waiting from this point forward, and this process has already shown me how bad I am at waiting. However, I am reminded of the truth that my hopes and fears have already been met in the person of Jesus. I find comfort in knowing He is in control. I find comfort in the reminder that so many, including the prophet Isaiah, spent their whole lives waiting for the One who is now my Savior. I am not looking for His coming. He has already come to be my peace!

Please continue to join Nathan and I in prayer as we continue along this journey. We could not have made it this far without all of your prayers and support. We love all of you and look forward to sharing more in the future! 

Why adoption? Why India?

Dear friends and family,

We are excited to announce that we are in the process of adopting from India!

Why Adoption?

Adoption has been something Nathan and I have talked and prayed about since the beginning of our marriage. As many of you know, I (Jessica ) worked for Lifeline Children’s Services for years prior to Nathan and I’s marriage, so orphan care/ adoption has a huge place in my heart. However, God in His faithfulness was also stirring a desire for adoption/orphan care in Nathan’s heart even before we had met! It is so encouraging to look back on those years and know that God’s hand was at work in all of those details to bring us to the current day!

We have loved the last two years of marriage as we have learned to grow as a couple and are continuing to learn how to love another person as Christ loved the church. Over the last six months or so, God began giving us both the desire to have children, and we began to earnestly pray how to begin this journey. We were open to biological children or adoption. The more we talked, prayed and sought the Lord, the more we realized that adoption was how God was calling us to grow our little family.

Why India?

As many of you know, international missions is also a huge part of Nathan and I’s heart, so we also knew we wanted to pursue an international adoption. We knew Lifeline would be the agency we would use, so we began looking into the different international programs. The need for adoption is huge all over the world, but the Lord kept bringing us to India. At 20 million orphans, India has the largest population of orphans in the world today. India is made up of 2,554 people groups, of which 2,289 are considered unreached with the gospel. (joshuaproject.net) Realizing the need for the gospel and orphan care, God continued to point us to India. Our ultimate desire is that Christ will be proclaimed and glorified through every step of this process.

Adoption is not an easy process. There is a lot of waiting, uncertainties and many financial hurdles to overcome. We know that God has called us to this process, and He will continue to sustain us throughout the journey. However, we also need the prayer and support of all our friends and family. Will you consider joining us along the way? We will give you updates as we move along in the process, and we want to thank you in advance for your prayers and support!

Blessings,

Jessica and Nathan

#townsonadoption #lifelinechild