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Thank you for your generous gift of life and love! |
When Gary and Carrie got married in 2003, they would have never dreamed their lives would look like this 20 years later. But God laid adoption on their hearts, so after having daughters Constance and Callie, they brought home their third daughter, Presley, from Eastern Europe in 2017. They thought their family was complete….until God planted that seed in their hearts again. A year and a half after bringing Presley home, Gary and Carrie started casually looking through Reece’s Rainbow children. As soon as “Mikah” was listed they knew he was their son! They began the process in June 2019 and passed court in March 2020 just two days before Covid shutdowns. They would have to wait 4 more months to bring Milko home. Then, only 17 days after bringing Milko home, they gave birth to their 5th child, Rhett. Adding Milko and Rhett at the same time was incredibly difficult. If you asked Gary and Carrie if they would add any more children to their family, they would have again answered that their family was complete.
However, on their first trip to meet Milko in January 2020, they both noticed this other little girl with spina bifida in the same orphanage. She always was sat in a little blue chair and was given a toy. She had the best personality and would talk to anyone who was in the room. She was the sweetest little girl and Gary and Carrie fell in love with her. The following month she was listed on Reece’s Rainbow and they prayed for her and advocated for her for the next three years, even signing up to be her MACC warrior. Many times they would say things like “I wish we could have just adopted her when we were there last time” or “we will definitely bring her home before she ages out”. Eventually that just became “let’s go get her now”. Even though most people think they’re crazy, they are so excited to finally bring home that little girl that touched their hearts three years ago. To read more about the Mitchell family, please visit Reece’s Rainbow Report featuring their family.
5/31/2023 — HOMESTUDY COMPLETE & OFFICIALLY MATCHED!
Shelby has always loved working with children. From a very early age, she knew she wanted nothing more than to be a mom. When she was a preteen, there was a little girl with special needs in her church, and every once in a while Shelby would be asked to hold her while her grandmother sang a special. That’s when she grew a special place in her heart for kids with special needs. Though that particular child did not have Down syndrome, Shelby felt a strong tug on her heart to one day adopt a child with Down syndrome from around that age.
A dear friend, who Shelby only knew via the internet, had posted the Reece’s Rainbow profile page of a little girl with Down syndrome. Once Shelby clicked the link, she knew she was brought there for a reason. Shelby could not adopt at the time, but she discovered a deep love for advocating for these children and for the families adopting them. She continued to advocate for many years, hoping that one day, she would be on that journey to bring her own child home. She nannied and worked in a PRTF, researched and reached out to families to learn from their experiences. She did anything to take steps to prepare for the child who would one day come into her home.
Gaining strength from God through an ectopic pregnancy and a messy divorce, she picked herself back up and continued to work towards that goal. On Christmas day, 2021, covid struck hard. Shelby was in the hospital being rushed to ICU to be put on a vent, and wondered if that was the end for her. God saw her through, and she truly believes she’s still here for a reason. The calling that God laid on her heart a long time ago was more pressing than ever, and she asked herself, “Why not now?” With her supportive nanny job boss/friend, she took the first baby-step, and just kept stepping away. With your help (thanks, so much, by the way), she is baby-stepping all the way to bringing her baby home. She can’t help but feel that that dear friend who shared Reece’s Rainbow with her, all those years ago, and has since passed on to be with the Lord in Heaven, would be loving watching this all unfold. If you can’t adopt, advocate…it really does make a difference.
5/24/2023 — AWAITING USCIS APPROVAL
Well, here we are again! We are the Miller Family— Christian, Megan, Bentley, Sawyer, Flynn, Charleston, Lottie, Elsie, Portman, and Gaines. We are a large family, blended with bio and adopted children. Lottie (Perla) and Elsie (Rae Ann) were adopted from Ukraine in 2021 and advocated for here on Reese’s Rainbow. Our girls have been home for almost a year and a half, and we are going back to Eastern Europe to bring home our sweet little boy!!
We have been married for 14 years, and have built a live on the foundation of being parents. Christian is the bread and butter— as a paramedic and serves in the South Carolina National Guard. I (Megan) stay at home with all of our kids, homeschool, and shuttle kids to therapy and sports, while feeding my jars of sourdough bread! We love to go camping in our camper, play on our farm, homestead, woodwork, and spend every minute that we can together as a family. We have enjoyed watching Lottie and Elsie grow in new experiences, and our bio children’s hearts grow with love for their sisters.
Bringing our girls home was the greatest experience, especially given all that Ukraine is currently going through. We thought we could be content, but boy were we wrong! Our hearts were in Ukraine, and we were called to adopt again. Months have gone by following one adoption route, only to be halted by a senseless war that has no end in sight. We figured we would hold out for Ukraine to open up adoptions, but God had other plans.
Just as the girls were sent to us in a facebook message, so was this sweet little boy. We immediately felt such a connection, as we did with our daughters. After reaching out, and waiting to see if we were the family the organization would choose, we were the chosen family! We could not have been more elated!
We were not expecting it to be this soon, but we also knew that we have so much more to give this child joining our family. A completely different country to experience, and a sweet little boy with Down Syndrome needing the unconditional love of our family. Not only are we going to bring this sweet boy home, but he is so similar to our girls they will grow together in so many ways! They say adoption takes a village and after our last two years that is the absolute truth!
I always tell people we are the ‘step out on faith type of people’ and we hold that near to my heart. Adoption was something that Christian and I were never on the same page about. Over the course of one summer, God broke him, and he told me he wanted to adopt. We sought to adopt a special needs child domestically, but soon found out that our hearts would be captured overseas, and still continue to this day. Thank you so much for your prayers, your advocating, your emotional and financial support! Without wonderful donors, none of these children would be in loving families thriving today!
The Miller family has met their MATCHING GRANT!!
4/26/2023 — USCIS APPROVED
Hello we are Kurt and Cyndi Petrich. We have been married six years. We have seven beautiful children, four biological children and three children God gave us through His glorious plan of adoption. We were both widowed late in life. The Lord brought us together when we both said, “yes” to a mission trip to serve special needs orphans in Eastern Europe. We met on the mission field. We fell in love with each other and the precious forgotten children. We came home from our missions’ trip, were married and have been serving these children ever since.
While on an extended missions’ trip we met a beautiful brown eyed little girl, who stole our hearts. God placed our sweet Dasha in our family in 2018. Upon our arrival home, our daughter started to pray every night in her native language, “Praise God, My God, please bring my best friend home.” Night after night she would pray the same prayer over and over again. We knew immediately God was calling us to grow our family once again. During this time, we learned about a sibling to this child. We were thrilled to find both girls on the Reece’s Rainbow list of available children. We prayed again fervently. Once again, God lead us to say, “Yes” to both children. He is mighty and He brought the girls home in October 2020. Dasha has been home for three years and her new sisters Tanya and Veronica almost a year and the transformation we have witnessed has been nothing short of a miracle. They are loved and they know how to love.
Recently we saw a beautiful little girl who moved our hearts to pray once again, “God can we be her parents?” We believe the Lord has given us a resounding yes! We wholeheartedly believe God’s Word that says, Psalm 68: 5-6 “God sets the lonely in families.” We openly admit and profess adoption has deepened our faith and understanding of God’s deep love and affection for his children. We watched God do the miraculous during the journey of adoption with Dasha, Tanya and Veronica.
He shows us again, and again that He is faithful. Our prayer is that hearts would be moved to help us bring these girls home. Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for HE who promised is faithful.
3/2/2023 — MATCHED w/a GIRL in EASTERN EUROPE
Alo! We are the Reyes family and here is our story of how we stepped foot on the road to adopting from North America’s Caribbean location.
Timothy and Lanie met in the 2012 when both were in enlisted in the United States Army. Tim and Lanie were stationed in Fort, Lewis WA serving in the 66th MP Co. During their time of service they would deploy and grow to become the best of friends for roughly two years. They decided to step out in faith that the friendship established would not be ruined and became husband and wife in November of 2014. Tim and Lanie welcomed our first biological child Peyton (female) in July of 2015. Once their time of service was completed they would make the 2 day drive from WA to their current residence in TN. During the drive Timothy and Lanie had nothing but time to reflect and discuss the future. The topic presented being adoption!
Growing up Lanie knew adoption was always something she wanted to do and surprisingly Timothy had the same outlook, it was a win! The couple decided they would pursue adoption once they owned their own home and had finished having their own biological children both took place between 2019 and 2021. During those years they were faced with medical trials that would test their faith but also be the guide to them wanting to adopt a special needs child. In 2019 at 4 wks old their middle child (female) Valor was diagnosed with LSG, a rare form of Epilepsy that is hard to control. For two years they would watch their tiny baby face life head on with the strongest medical team guiding her. They would spend countless weeks in the hospital as well as time in the Pediatric ICU . All to repeat it again in 2022 with their final child (male) Emmanuel at two months old. Due to Covid complications Emmanuel sadly was diagnosed with Sever Gastroparesis. He is currently fed through a G/J tube. Since the placement of his tube he has been thriving! When many families would have said no the medical needs they have are enough Timothy and Lanie instead felt an even stronger calling from God to adopt a child with special needs.
August 26th 2022 Lanie joined a FB group because the family wanted to start gathering info on adoption. This is when God would place an angel in their path but also the child they would begin pursuing. This individual went out on a limb asking Lanie to view Reece’s Rainbow and the children in the Caribbean location. During the moments of scrolling there was a child Lanie kept returning to, she could not stop looking at her profile. The more Lanie looked the louder she could heard God calling her towards this child. Lanie presented this child to Timothy as their special needs are more than their current two and told him, “something in me is saying she is the one, a momma knows!” Not even 72 hours later God began opening doors calling the couple to run! Timothy and Lanie had originally planned on starting in May 2023 but God opened a door calling them to start September 2022 and the couple walked through it placing all their faith in Him following His lead. He has guided them spiritually, emotionally and financially proving this is His child for the Reyes family all they need to do is follow Him!
Update, Feb 2023: The Reyes family has been approved to bring TWO children home to their family!
The Reyes family has met their $2500 MATCHING GRANT!!
3/21/2023 — DOSSIER in TRANSLATION; AWAITING USCIS APPROVAL
Mike and Amber Lally have been married for 15 years. They and their 5 children – Grace (14), Keira (14), Finnegan (10), Levi (9) and Gabriella (4) – are very excited to grow their family even more through international special needs adoption. They have been very active in the Delaware foster and adoption community for many years. The Lallys have fostered over 15 children for various lengths of time, and were blessed to adopt three of their kids through foster care. Each adoption required stepping out in faith and reliance on the Lord, but each has been an abundant blessing. Mike is a solutions architect for Amazon Web Services. Amber is a homeschool mom and actively involved in the local homeschool community.
Adoption and foster care were an important point of focus for Mike and Amber before they were even married. During their dating years, they both knew it was a calling, but trusted that the Lord would guide the specific path. After having Grace and Finnegan, the call to foster and adoption grew increasingly strong. While international adoption felt overwhelming at that time, they sought to help as many children as possible through the domestic foster care system. Yet, there was always a yearning to help the most vulnerable children in need abroad, and the Lallys frequently visited Reece’s Rainbow and a number of international special needs adoption Facebook groups to pray for the children in need and the families seeking to adopt them.
In November of 2021, now blessed with six children and after having loved and a number of special needs foster children in their home, Amber approached Mike about a specific child that God had placed on her heart. The 10 year old girl was in India and had been on Reece’s Rainbow for a number of years without a match. The Lallys talked and prayed about it, and in December of 2021 decided to reach out in faith toward that child. It has been almost a year since that day, and the Lally family is nearly complete with CARA registration. They just completed the apostille process, and are finalizing the I800A. The entire family is now focused on fundraising for the next steps of the process, and praying daily with their family and friends for God’s love and guidance.
The Lally family has met their $2500 MATCHING GRANT!!
3/13/2023 — AWAITING USCIS APPROVAL; OFFICIALLY MATCHED
Richard and Sharon reside in Washington State with their 3 children. They started praying about adoption in 2011, and have known it would be part of how God grows their family.
In 2017, Richard and Sharon had their beautiful twin daughters. They were born very prematurely, and suffered multiple medical complications for years following their birth. It was in this season of hardship that the idea of “Team Stone” was born. Richard and Sharon knew that God knit our family together for a reason, and each of their children has a purpose.
In 2019, their youngest daughter was also born early. She came after a life threatening pregnancy. She was a miracle blessing after surviving severe Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Sharon became so ill during her pregnancy that she required 6 months of Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), a Zofran pump, and multiple emergency hospitalizations.
Needless to say, growing their family has never been “easy.” God called Richard and Sharon away from the place of comfort and into the wilderness a long time ago. He has met them in those hard places every time, and His mercy has overwhelmed them.
By God’s grace alone, Richard and Sharon are matched with a precious waiting child in Bulgaria. Their son is 2 years old, and they are eager to bring him home! He has significant medical needs, but more importantly, he is made in the image of God.
Richard and Sharon have sold off many of their items, they have organized and held garage sales and auction fundraisers. Sharon staying home to raise and school their children is a top priority for them. Thank you for being an instrument of the Lord’s provision by helping the Stone family bring their son HOME!
4/28/2023 — DOSSIER EN ROUTE
Ryan and Jamie Noll have been married for nearly 20 years! They grew up in the same neighborhood, and dated for three years before a year-long engagement; he proposed on the infamous covered bridge in Frankenmuth, Michigan. They home school their five daughters and one son – Jadyn (16), Evalynn (14), Raieyn (11), Loushyn (9), Gwendelyn (5), and Gaebrielle (3). Ryan is the field supervisor for a pump company, and Jamie coaches roller skating. The family all pitches in with their small hobby “farm” of chickens, ducks, turkeys, peacocks, rabbits, cats, dogs, and horses, as well as a couple guinea pigs and lizards, and some turtles and fish.
The pregnancy of their sixth child was used to radically change the family’s life. After the baby cried and took her first breath, proving the expectations of most wrong, the family continued to be challenged. During one of the baby’s many hospitalizations, Jamie learned that children like her new daughter were sometimes abandoned in the local hospital due to complex medical needs. She knew then that special needs adoption would be a part of her family’s future; Ryan was not so sure.
Months after that particular hospitalization, a seven-week critical care stay for Gaebrielle, when the special needs adoption seed was planted for the Noll family, an orphan was placed on Jamie’s heart through one of her online support groups for moms of children with arthrogryposis. Since Ryan still was not ready, he agreed to pray for the child with Jamie. She appeared to age out of eligibility, which caused Jamie to grieve heavily. The grieving was used to connect her with people in the Reece’s Rainbow community, where she discovered another family who was ready to adopt the child who had appeared to age out. Then, another child was placed on her heart. Ryan still was not ready so they prayed.
In December 2021, Ryan finally said they could take the next step toward a child in India. Jamie was delighted, again, at God’s provision, and started the process immediately. Because the Noll’s have a “large” family, their agency suggested they wait until another family with similar familial circumstances get to the next step before the Noll’s officially started. Four weeks later, they were given the go ahead. They wasted no time during those four weeks, having already begun the paperwork for their home study, which is nearing completion. They also submitted the first set of documents for their international agency, as well the first fee to accompany it. They are currently working toward CARA registration.
The entire Noll family has been involved in the adoption, as well as their loved ones and community — fundraisers, donations, notarizations, flexibility in appointments, and PRAYERS. They are looking forward to bringing home a new daughter who will make their only son the official middle child.
12/10/2022 — AWAITING OFFICIAL MATCH!
Isabella knew that one day she would grow her family through adoption, when she was a young girl watching Adoption Stories on TV. Though she never imagined ever going the route of international special needs adoption, until she was introduced to Reece’s Rainbow.
She saw a social media post of a single mom adopting a little girl with Down syndrome from Bulgaria. At the time many things went against her being able to start the process. So she spent the next 5 years researching, donating, and supporting other families in process and waiting for the moment to be able to start the process herself. The day she has been praying for has finally come and she is so excited. She is hoping to adopt a little girl from Armenia that was once listed on RR before advocating stopped for that country. Knowing that the little girl she first saw and fell in love with is possibly still waiting for a family, she is going full speed and doing everything she can to raise the money needed.
All donations and prayers are appreciated!!!
4/19/2022 — AWAITING USCIS APPROVAL
Michelle was a single mother for over 22 years. She has four adult biological children, four adopted children and eight grandchildren. She adopted two special needs children from US Foster Care in 2012 prior to her international adoptions. She adopted a little boy from China in 2014 and an older girl (11 years old) from China in 2016 with Cerebral Palsy. Both China adoptions were with the amazing help of Reece’s Rainbow as a single mom.
Michelle met Steven and he immediately fell in love with the children. He fell in love with the big family and how close knit and family oriented they were. He became an instant dad and granddad. They married and are now in process to add two more children from Bulgaria to their family!
Michelle is able to stay home and school the children. Family is very important to everyone in the family. On Friday nights they all make sure they do not miss the Family Movie night. They order pizza and they all take turns picking the movie each week. They all gather around and enjoy the night together.
Trevor (14yrs) is working on learning how to be a sports commentator. Arianna (13yrs) has been participating in pageants. She is the current Pennsylvania Miss Amazing Pre-Teen Queen. She is also working toward opening her own non-profit to help others with disabilities heal with the power of animals. Brennan (11yrs) participates in dog shows. He is a top 15 Junior Showmanship Competitor in Collies in the US. Tynsleigh (18yrs) is working hard on life skills and soccer.
They can’t wait to see who will join their family next!
This family has a $2500 MATCHING GRANT!! When their grant reaches $2700, they’ll receive another $2500!
5/19/2023 — FIRST TRIP in JUNE
Hello! We are Paul and Hannah, and we are adopting a second time. We adopted Theo (Ravi on RR) from Ukraine last year and also have a 3 year-old son. We live in the DC area, which is almost exactly halfway between the two very different places we were born and raised! Paul grew up in a rural area of California, and Hannah was raised in Dorset, in the South of England. We’ve been married ten years and have lived in California, North Carolina, and Maryland. We share a love for music and traveling, and love spending time with our kids and two dogs.
It has been a year of challenges and miracles with our precious Theo. He has a rare, unknown genetic condition and lots of health issues, but he is resilient, thriving at school and adjusting to his new feeding tube. He has changed so much, in so many ways. He has the sweetest personality, is super laid back and often very silly. It’s been a really busy year, but we feel the time is right to adopt a boy from India.
We have always been drawn to the India program, particularly because Hannah is Indian. Over the past few years, we loved reading about a specific boy. Hannah had seen his RR profile shared on an India adoption Facebook group and thought he was the cutest little guy. We then felt a strong tug towards the Ukraine program and adopted Theo. A few months after returning from Ukraine, we saw that the little boy in the India program was still available for adoption and were excited to get the process started and grow our family again. We were recently matched with him and are preparing our dossier. To think that all these years later we are going to be his family is wonderful. Thank you for reading our story – perhaps we will connect along the way!
11/5/2022 — COMPILING DOSSIER & OFFICIALLY MATCHED
Meet the Bryant family! Jeremy (40), Patricia (39), Justice (16), Chance (15), Liberty (14), Journey (13), Victory (8). The Bryant family is at it again! Since Jeremy and Patricia were married 18yrs ago, they knew they were meant to adopt. They knew their lives were going to be used to care for orphans. Jeremy and Patricia served in Botswana, Africa as missionaries working in the village of Maun and surrounding areas, serving with the school, the orphan care, church, HIV/Aids ministry, etc. Shortly after arriving, they started their family. After three years there, they returned to the States with their three bio kids, where Jeremy would join the US Army as an active-duty Soldier, and is currently still serving on active duty.
Shortly after his first deployment, both Jeremy and Patricia knew the time had come for them to venture into adoption. Not knowing how, when, where, or anything else, they trusted the Lord would show them what needed to happen and when. The adoption road is a scary road full of ups and downs and twists and turns. But Jeremy and Patricia knew for certain one thing… the Lord had called them to go and adopt. They were saying yes to the Lord’s leading and not backing down. December of 2017, Jeremy and Patricia adopted their 8-year-old daughter, Victory. Then, shortly afterwards, December 2019, they finished their second adoption of their oldest son, Chance Zane. Over the last two years, even through Covid, they’ve watched all 5 of their children blossom into who the Lord wants them to be. They’ve grown in wisdom, knowledge and skill and have grown so deeply together through all the ups and downs.
When they finished that last adoption, they didn’t think they’d be adopting again, but obviously the Lord has different plans and the Bryants, as a family, are all emphatically saying yes one more time to adoption! The adoption of Finley! The really neat part of this is that Jeremy and Patricia Bryant met Finley the same day that they met Victory, 4.5 years ago. At that time, they were in the same baby house orphanage. Since then, they had advocated for him, prayed for him and shared his story with many people. But the time has come. No more waiting and advocating. Finley has been a part of the Bryants in their hearts since the day they met him and it’s time to make him a part of their lives for good. The Bryant family is so excited to gain another son.
1/27/2022 — HOMESTUDY COMPLETE
The Calo family is excited to be expanding their family again via adoption!
Three years ago we hosted two sisters over the Christmas holiday. The connection with the girls was instantaneous, like we had always known each other, so we continued to host them several more times until God allowed us to begin the adoption process to bring them home permanently.
They are already teenagers and have waited their entire lives for a family and we feel like the lucky ones chosen to be theirs.
Our other children ask about their “sisters” daily and we cannot imagine our lives without them. Thank you for your help in bringing them home for good!
12/8/2021 — AWAITING USCIS APPROVAL
Taylor and Celia Marsh have embarked on a journey to bring their son home from Eastern Europe! They currently have 3 precious boys who are so excited to welcome another brother into the family. The Lord began to speak to them during the pandemic in regards to adoption, and led them through dreams and visions to a little boy who is soon to be their son. They have watched God’s affirmations unfold, as they have stepped out in faith. They are confident the Lord has big plans for this little guy!
In 2017, Celia came to know Christ from Atheism. It was an abrupt awakening in their lives and marriage and God continues to do a work in their hearts. It was a year or so later that they began to really feel called into fostering/adopting. While reading the book of James, the conviction remained: “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” This scripture resonated deep within their hearts, and ignited a calling.
As they continue to step out in faith, they are so excited to open their hearts and home to another child. Won’t you come alongside them to bring their son home? You can help by donating to their adoption. Thank you so much for your prayers and support!
12/8/2021 — HOMESTUDY COMPLETE
The Hopkins family has been in process for nearly two years to bring Knox home. As travel to his country is still on hold, due to the COVID pandemic, they pray nightly to bring him home. Because of participating in a recent hosting program, and while they are waiting, they have chosen to embark on a second adoption. They are working hard in anticipation of having both of their children home in 2022.
Roderick and Melissa have been happily married for over ten years and reside in a small town in Illinois with their five wonderful children Adeson (14), Emery (13), Jacob (11), Ella Grace (9) and Casey(7). Four of their five children were adopted internationally, two from China and two from Ethiopia. Rod and Melissa have been committed to adoption, and both they and their extended families have been foster parents, adoptive parents, and advocates for humanitarian and children’s rights. They are also parents to Melissa’s seven children from her first marriage of 17 years Brandon (36), Ryan (deceased), Alex (27), Matthew (26), Sara (22), Emily (19) and Antonio (19), Alex, and Antonio were also adopted, one at age eight and one at age four from Russia and Guatemala. They believe their family is their calling and feel blessed to have had the blessing of family and friends throughout their life journey.
The cost and process of international adoption, while intimidating they believe is far worth the journey. Rod and Melissa believe that completing their family through adoption is the right thing for them and are very excited about bringing home their new son from Asia who they found through Reece’s Rainbow, whom they will call Noah, as well as now a second child from Portugal. If you can help them support their adoption journey, their family would be grateful.
You can also follow their journey at https://www.facebook.com/rockwellhopkinsfamily/
9/29/2022 — AWAITING TRAVEL to CHINA
& AWAITING USCIS APPROVAL for PORTUGAL
In 2013, when Nick and Val said yes to adopting a young boy from Eastern Europe that was being hosted in the US, they never dreamed answering God’s call would impact their lives so much. What they didn’t know was that little boy already had a family pursuing him. After much prayer they decided to continue the adoption journey in Ethiopia. After three successful and life changing adoptions of four children from Ethiopia, they felt the tugging on their heart by the Holy Spirit to adopt again.
The tug they were feeling was to adopt a waiting child. They saw a little girl on Reece’s Rainbow that took their breath away. They started the process to adopt her. Then covid hit, the process with their sweet little girl in China is now on hold.
Val saw a little boy in March from Eastern Europe and her heart skipped a beat. She felt the Lord say to her, “this is your son.” Nick and Val called their agency and asked if they could do concurrent adoptions. Their agency said it was possible but would be hard. Months later God preformed a miracle. They are in the process to bring their sweet son home.
Val and Nick’s heart for adoption started with a sweet little boy from Eastern Europe and now they are heading to that same country to bring their son home. This is only a story God could write❤️!
2/10/2022 — HOMESTUDY COMPLETE
Our family has set out on the journey of adoption. We are so honored and blessed by this chapter in our lives.
We have watched as many families have said yes and have brought so many beautiful children out of orphanages into loving homes. We are so thankful we have the opportunity to provide a home for a waiting child. We are adopting from a non-Hague country and we understand we have no legal hold on the children there.
Please pray for our family as we continue through the adoption process. We are so thankful for those who donate to our adoption and will forever be thankful that your generosity was a precious gift that helped is bring a child home.
7/29/21 — HOMESTUDY COMPLETE
Hello, we are the McChesneys. We have jumped into our seats and buckled up for our next rollercoaster ride to Eastern Europe to adopt up to 3 children. God is Good!! He has kept us mostly humble and patient during these ups and downs or when they change tracks. We have been blessed to ride the special needs’ adoption coaster five times from 2010 to 2017. Looking back, I’m still in awe of how God provided for each adoption. We thought we were done then because our house was bursting at the seams with 3 bio children and 5 adopted. While some kids have reached adulthood (yes, it does happen!), God answered our prayers and provided a new place, a “mansion” the kids called it because it had more bathrooms.
In the adoption world, you never say “we’re done” because God uses just one picture or story to change your mind (maybe longer to change your spouse’s mind) but eventually, you’ll grab your tickets for the next thrill ride. You must have a sense of humor because these adventures will be at times exhausting, but the children are well worth it!!! And we can’t wait to see how God writes this story. We don’t want to miss this. Finding JOY in the Journey. Come be a part of our adventure and Praise God!!!
12/10/2022 — AWAITING USCIS APPROVAL
Meet the Boyer family! Shane (dad) works in the manufacturing industry. April (mom) stays at home and homeschools their five children. They live on a small homestead in Ohio. Shane and April began the process to foster-adopt early on in their marriage and soon found out they were expecting their second child, so they decided to put the process on hold until their children were older.
Fast forward to 2020 and Shane and April were blessed by the birth of their fifth child who also has Down syndrome. Aside from the pandemic, 2020 was a rough year for them as they navigated their daughter’s numerous medical needs. However, Shane and April believe God used 2020 to prepare them for even more.
Shane and April believe ALL children are a gift from The Lord and know God is leading them to international special needs adoption. These children are normally put in orphanages, group homes or institutions and do not have access to proper care. Shane and April have been busy planning and looking for ways to earn the funds needed, such as chopping and selling firewood and crocheting handmade items as well as applying for grants to help with the costs. They appreciate your prayers and support. You can follow their journey on their blog at www.boyerfamilyfarm.com. Thank you and may God bless you!
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – James 1:27 NIV
9/1/2021 — DOSSIER COMPLETE
Hi there! We are the Staley Family. Paul is a Software Developer and SharePoint Administrator and Elizabeth a stay at home mom. Why do we want to adopt? The short answer is that we love being parents and we have the time and love to pour into a couple more kiddos.
The long answer is more complicated and heartbreaking. I personally have always wanted to adopt as long as I can remember. I honestly cannot say how that seed was originally planted there. Our son in law called and asked if we would be interested in adopting a little girl from Ecuador. She was 4 and in a bad situation. We had a big house, time, great insurance and lots of love so of course we said yes. Fast forward a few weeks and many calls to attorneys in both Ecuador and here, this was not even an option. We realized then we had both been really excited about having a new little person and decided we would go forward and adopt anyway. We looked into several adoption programs and chose China. We fit the parameters, the program seemed stable and to be honest we also were dying to see China. I do believe when you choose a country, you should probably love the food and be interested in the culture because you will need to weave this into the rest of your life.
We started out to only adopt one child with an “easy” special need (Its ok to laugh here, we know better now). We signed for a little girl with albinism, but there was also little girl with a big scary special need that I thought about constantly, I stalked her advocacy page and watched as families said no to her file. I asked her advocate a million questions. Then I had dreams about her (until that moment I felt that statement “I just knew” was probably a bunch of crap), but I did just know.
Gabby had tetralogy of fallot and pulmonary atresia, she had significant lung damage from receiving the wrong surgery and poor oxygen saturation (She was in the 60’s). We adopted both girls in an expedited process and it was the trip of a lifetime. We joked that we had the best souvenirs ever. We made it through two open heart surgeries for Gabby and 3 other surgeries in very short order, we lived at the hospital for a month after the first surgery in 2015. Gabby’s vocal cords were damaged in that first surgery. She was placed on thickened liquids. The girls started therapy 6-8 appointments a week right away. We were really crazy busy. Isabella had many bonus special needs we were not expecting but we continued to try different things. Izzy had really endured such an awful time because her SN is seen as a curse. I wish those same people could see my stunningly beautiful girl now who exceeded every single evaluation thus far.
During Gabby’s second open heart surgery (2017) she was diagnosed with a rare (only 64 other cases) case of fungal mediastinitis. I called every other infectious disease team I could find NO ONE had seen it or treated it. I gave her high dose antifungal meds through a picc line every day. Only 40% chance of survival and 0% if it came back, but Gabby is tough and had an unequalled zest for life, so she survived. The thing about Gabby is no matter what was going on she would make you laugh, she could be sick or tired, it didn’t matter. Gabby is a princess superhero with sparkle and sass to spare. She introduced herself to everyone saying “Hi my name is Gabby, what’s your name?” as she shoved out her hand. She never met a stranger. Her laugh is like magic, she is sweet and kind but also brave and fierce. Guess what? Gabby beat the odds and survived!
Izzy and Gabby have had a million adventures together. They are sisters, friends, playmates and partners in crime. Gabby had been asking for another sibling for some time, so Paul and I began to discuss it. We needed Izzy to go through the ABA class (she is autistic) first and hoped she would make some progress. She would begin ABA in October of 2018. We thought we would start another adoption in late summer. We began saving for our adoption in mid-summer of 2018. In late August Gabby got her usual little fever (she has had the same thing at least 100 times), never above 101 but she still wasn’t improving on day 3 so I called the pediatrician, the cardiologist but no one was worried “It’s going around” they said. I was still unsettled and took her to the ER (calling ahead to say I think something is wrong). They were not worried. We were never even triaged. No one was worried until they took her blood. She was admitted and after 4 days passed away on August 29 after having a stent and melody valve placed. She survived the operation but had a massive heart attack and bled out, she never left the OR. Gabby was the light of my life. The fungus had returned, she had been in severe sepsis.
When you lose a child, people say the craziest things to you: People ask “Did you know”, we knew she was sick yes and she deserved a family, the real tragedy would be if we had missed the opportunity to be her parents. It was a gift. Gabby was the sort of person who comes along once in a lifetime. She was worth it. I’m grateful we got to be her parents and grief is truly the price of love, and Gabby is worth every bit of that excruciating pain now.
People say “Be grateful you have other children” right, yes this is true, I do have other children, but I’d love for them to pick one of their children they could live without. It is impossible. They say “At least it wasn’t your biological child” as if somehow we loved Gabby any less because we didn’t share DNA. I loved her with my whole heart and I’d give anything for my Superhero Princess to be here and go on the adoption trip with us, unfortunately no one asked me. Being Gabby’s mom showed me that it is ok to be afraid but still do it anyway. Gabby touched so many lives in her 5 ½ years here on earth, she sure changed everything for our family. People say the adopted child is lucky, but they have absolutely no idea, we are really the lucky ones, we met so many wonderful people, saw amazing sites, celebrated holidays and ate foods we’d have never tried had it not been for adoption.
The best thing is coming in the door and hearing the thundering of little feet running toward you to hug you around the neck with giggles and sticky hands.
We are now matched with a little girl “Stella Mae” with Down Syndrome and hope we can bring her home soon. Izzy is so excited to be a big sister and can’t wait to show her sister the ropes, share the pink Unicorn room and the play area. We can’t wait to have all the family adventures with her!
8/2/2021 — COMPILING DOSSIER
Duncan and Kristen Wingard married in 2015 after graduating college and knew that adoption would be in their future. After having their two boys in 2019 and 2021, in November 2022 they decided to start the international adoption process to give a well deserving child a loving and caring home.
As you know, international adoption is a very extensive and expensive process. The Wingard’s started financially saving over a year ago with the plan that they would be able to fully fund this adoption themselves. With the extensive process international adoption is, the Wingard family also anticipated that they would be waiting years to be matched, but God had other plans.
They are thrilled to share that on May 19 they were matched with the sweetest little girl, “S”. “S” is 2. 5 years old with an infectious smile and a list of special needs.
While the Wingard family takes great pride in knowing that they have been chosen to be “S” family, they now find themselves without the time to save like they originally planned.
The Wingard family is eternally grateful for your generosity and financial support to bring “S” home. If you are not in a situation to support financially, they ask and appreciate your prayers for “S” and her future.
5/31/2023 — COMPILING DOSSIER
CONTACT
Reece's Rainbow
PO Box 146
Combined Locks, WI 54113
CLICK HERE to contact us.
Your questions will be directed to the appropriate team member.
PO Box 146
Combined Locks, WI 54113
CLICK HERE to contact us.
Your questions will be directed to the appropriate team member.
