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ROBERT & LOLLIE for the Sellers Family — NM

Matt and Christy had talked about adoption being a part of their family from early in their dating relationship.  They have been married for 26 years and have 8 (and counting) children.  Three children are biological and 5 through the beautiful road of adoption.  They could have never imagined how that would have encompassed the legacy of their family.  International adoption was never on their radar.  It was not something they had ever thought they would embark on.  More than 10 years ago, they fell in love with a little boy with Down Syndrome in Ethiopia.  It was the biggest and scariest “yes” that they had ever made.  What they didn’t know is the adoption of their son would change the legacy of their family.  They couldn’t “unsee” what they had seen.  They had seen what God had done in their faithfulness.

Shortly after bringing home their son, they decided to adopt “just one more”.  They fell in love with an Asian beauty with Down Syndrome on the Reece’s Rainbow page and started the journey to bring her home.  During the process, they learned about another little boy with Down Syndrome at the same orphanage.  In a few short months after mounds of paperwork, jumping through hoops and fundraising, they brought 2 kiddos home from China.  Surely, now their family was complete….

While scrolling through the Reece’s Rainbow several years later, Christy saw a perfect baby girl with Down Syndrome that needed a forever family.  She was in Bulgaria.  After prayer and a bit of laughing since they thought they were “done”, they started the paper trail to bring home their Bulgarian princess.  After arriving home with her, they found out that along with Down Syndrome, she was in heart failure and was profoundly deaf.  She has been home 4 years now.

At this point, Matt and Christy realized this was their calling.  God has given them a unique and purposeful life to live.  They realized that rather than try to put a “complete” check mark on their family that they would just be AVAILABLE.  Looking to the Lord for wisdom and guidance, they would in faith step forward again in adoption if and whenever He called.  That availability gave way to a domestic adoption of a little boy with Down Syndrome in the last year.  He needed a family to love him forever and they knew just the one!

Currently, they are in the process to adopt a boy and a girl from Haiti.  These children have significant special needs and are in their teens.  They have waited a long time for a family.  Matt and Christy knew they would be a perfect fit within their family.  Now, they are working hard to raise the funds to bring these two children home to give them a mom and dad and a house full of siblings!  Every child deserves a family and they can’t wait to give these two children a life where they will love and be loved for the rest of their lives.

1/18/2026 — OFFICIALLY MATCHED & DOSSIER SUBMITTED

The Sellers family has met their $5000 Matching Grant from Reece’s Rainbow! 

$14,721.49 has been donated towards the cost of our adoption!

Make the most of your gift, consider sending a check! Online donations to children with committed families incur a 3% PayPal transaction fee.

OLENA for the Puderbaugh Family — NM

olenajune2008-3matteaandmommyUKRAINE

With nineteen children between us, we had thought our family was complete, but Heavenly Father knew differently. Last summer I was drawn to all of the beautiful children on the Reece’s Rainbow website and inquired about a few of the older boys. For one reason or another, none of them worked out. Finally one day in August, Andrea emailed me, “How about Olena?” This was a very tiny six-year-old girl in Ukraine with an unrepaired heart condition as well as Down Syndrome and no one knew, with her serious medical condition, just what her prognosis would be. After I consulted with a pediatric cardiologist, I hesitantly presented her profile to my husband. Both of us knew with a certainty that this little girl needed a family and that family was us.

 

We fast-tracked our paperwork, and with a very pro-active social worker and USCIS officer, a few months later our dossier was submitted. We traveled for the first time before Christmas to meet the little girl we would name Mattea and my heart broke to see her even smaller than my 2-year-old son, and only 23 pounds.. Since my husband was over the age limit, I was adopting her as a “married individual” and we worried that this would complicate the case, but our wonderful facilitators got us through court without a hitch. I traveled back in January to bring our new little daughter home. When we first met her she was not walking independently and needed to be fed chopped food from a spoon. She had no idea how to put food in her own mouth. She had spent six years of her life in a playpen. After only three months at home, she is blossoming like a little flower. She is now walking on her own and is able to finger-feed with soft foods. She is social and seeks out affection. She now weighs 31 pounds, and today she had her very first haircut. Her health is much better and we are hoping to be able to have her heart fixed. We are so blessed to have her in our family. We believe the words of Jeremiah— “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)