Our adoption journey began as an idea at least 14 years ago during our dating years. God calls us to care for the orphans and widows, and that’s what we wanted to do. We fostered children for 2 years, alongside a few other families in our church. We loved our time as foster parents, and continue to spend time with our three former foster children (now ages 15, 12, and 10!) but it was obvious that season was over. God blessed us with two children and continued to give us a desire for adoption. We prayed for months as a family, and God began to clearly open the door for international adoption. That door has remained wide open! We are so excited to meet our future child from Nigeria.
Why Nigeria? We were initially open to any country, and the case worker laughed when we asked if we could submit an application to all countries that allow international adoption and see which one responds first, but we landed on Nigeria since Bryan and I both have ties to sub-Saharan Africa and a heart for racial reconciliation in our community in Atlanta. In undergrad, my honors thesis was on Kenyan women’s educational and economic empowerment, and I spent 8 weeks living with a local family in Kenya conducting research. It was a life-changing experience; I fell in love with the people and culture. My second undergrad major was in Sub-Saharan African studies – I learned so much, and even published my honors thesis as a book. When Bryan was in the Marines, he had 1 year and 4 months of sea time, deployed off of the coast of Somalia and Kenya. Thus, Africa is near and dear to both of us.
More than 3 years since we applied, we finally received the green light on June 24, 2024 to come to Nigeria to meet "Baby J." He's currently 1 1/2 years old. We'll eventually share his name and photo, but holding off for now for safety reasons. We’re extremely grateful for this new addition to our family and can’t wait to meet him! We're planning to depart for Nigeria on July 26, bringing our two children for the first 2 weeks, then it's back to school.
Adoption has definitely taught us patience: the application, home study, dossier, USCIS (immigration) approval, and Nigeria approval together took over a year! We then waited about a year for a child referral due to various factors, including a change in staff, our preference for a child age 0-3, and the method that Nigeria uses to process children in “batches.” Our official match from the court came about 3 years into the process. Our first trip to Nigeria will last approx. 12 weeks for bonding time and court sessions. We then travel back to the U.S. to complete the I-600 form and obtain Baby J’s passport and new birth certificate, which could take anywhere from 6-12 months. Our second trip to Nigeria is then to bring Baby J home.
The fees associated with adoption are enormous, close to $50K in agency fees, home study fees, immigration & visa fees, legal fees, and travel. If you feel called to give financially, we appreciate every little bit. You can give a tax-deductible donation via the link on this page. We’re overwhelmingly grateful to have received a $7,000 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans, so anything you donate up to that amount will be matched. Thank you all for your love and support!
– Aislynn & Bryan
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 “Turner 10077”, 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- *3.5% fee for donations given with an American Express card