Naturalization certificate problems

We've had quite a few problems figuring out what we need as dh lost his original Naturalization Certificate.   We received a letter from the District Court certifying they have it on file and the dates, file #'s etc.    I have been going round and round trying to figure out who should certify this document and I have had multiple conversations with a DC courier (who spoke to the State dept), the USCIS, and our adoption agency.   SO, if you ever lose your naturalization certificate and you don't want to spend $400 getting a new one (plus months of waiting), you may be able to get a letter from the place you were naturalized.   If it is from a District Court, you have to send it to the US Dept of Justice for certification, THEN State Dept for certification, THEN you can have it authenticated at the Chinese embassy in Washington.   In the meantime, we spent extra money sending it to the Secretary of State for certification which we didn't need to do.

Still waiting for the draft of our home study.