We thought our family was complete BUT God surprised us in the BEST way possible! We are adding another set of twins to our family, two little girls and we could not be more excited! We now have 3 sets of twins! Here is how it all began. On July 28th, Tuesday we were contacted by our adoption agency that we have worked with for our last 2 adoptions. They told us about twin girls who were born at 23 weeks and have a very similar story as the rest of our kids (Intended parents from China, all born through surgency in CA and all micro preemies). They asked us if we would be willing to mentor the couple that initially said yes and we happily agreed. We wanted to support this couple and these sweet little girls in whatever way we could. Throughout the week we prayed for them, that they would have the best possible parents, parents who would love and care for them well, and point them to Jesus. We checked in a few times that week to see how the girls were doing and on Friday we were told the other couple decided not move forward and that Adah and Elora were looking for a family.
Tom and I took the weekend to pray and to be honest we didn’t know if we had the capacity for two more but we also believe when God calls us to something he sustains us and provides for all of our needs. We have seen him do it in the past so we knew he could do it again but we needed a firm YES if we were to move forward. The weekend before the girls were born, Tom had been praying about Corinthians 12, and asking the Lord to show him how he is and wants to use our family. It seems the Lord is saying that He is continuing to use adoption as our ministry and has more to do in and through our family. Getting a call from our previous adoption agency whom we haven’t spoken to in over three years is no coincidence. There are no coincidences when pursuing the Lord’s will. Welcoming two more high risk/high need children is not something we can do if we rely only on our own flesh and abilities. There was a lot of fear and selfishness that we wrestled with over the weekend before we said yes. Fear of not being able to provide for 6 children the way we felt we needed to. Letting go of selfish desires and futures that were focused on our wants and our plans. But the Lord is good and able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. When the flesh is week, He is strong. The Sunday we said yes, we went to church and during our bible study class both of us believed the Lord confirmed His will for our family. When the Lord calls, there is no other choice, but to answer YES. We believe the Lord called us to be the parents of our sweet little girls. We are praying and believing that the Lord is going to use this journey to strengthen our relationship with Him, and the relationship our children have and will have with Him. We chose the names Adah Amari Kowatch and Elora Cienna Kowatch. Adah’s name means beautiful, protected by God, miracle. Elora’s name means God is my light, God is gracious.
When we said yes we began the adoption process again. We then traveled as a family to California to be with our girls. This has been a hard transition but the Lord has been near to us. Thankfully our kids have done well and are so excited to be big brothers and sisters. We will continue to be here while they are in the NICU. We did not plan on adopting again so we did not have time to prepare our home or our finances. Thankfully we have had friends step in and offer to take care of many things we were unable to do before leaving. We will be forever thankful for them. We have also had friends step in to care for our home and dog River. The list goes on and on how we have been supported during this time and it is a confirmation that the Lord provides when He calls. It has been a beautiful example of what the body of Christ looks like and we are so incredibly thankful. We recently found out that we have received a $9,000 matching grant from the Tim Tebow Foundation! That means that every amount given up to $9,000 will be matched, so if we raise $9,000 the Tim Tebow foundation will give us $9,000! We humbly ask if you would prayerfully consider giving towards our adoption and partner with us so we can bring Adah & Elora home once they are discharged from the NICU. The cost of adoption is high but we know we serve a God who provides and uses his people to support families who have said yes to adoption. Thank you for your prayers, following our journey and for considering to give towards our adoption. We will be forever grateful!
Tom & Casey Kowatch
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STRIPE charges an online processing fee (2.2% +.30 USD per transaction)*. Your donations will be decreased by this amount. You may also send a check payable to “Lifesong for Orphans”. In the memo line please write “Kowatch 12307”, to ensure it is credited to our account. Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 9, Gridley, IL 61744.
Lifesong has been blessed with partners who underwrite all U.S. administrative and fundraising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners). That means 100% of your donation will go directly to the adoption.
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<li>In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to Lifesong for Orphans. This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use.</li>
<li>Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. Individual donations of $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.</li>
<li>*3.5% fee for donations given with an American Express card</li>
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