MI – Reece's Rainbow

ZALYNN & CATTLEYA for the Obenauf family — MI

Ever since she was a young girl, Stephani has wanted a big family with a lot of kids, several of whom she hoped would arrive via adoption. She learned about the plight of orphans with special needs 10 years ago when an online friend adopted a little boy with Down syndrome from Ukraine and that’s when she realized she would someday pursue international special needs adoption.

That someday came a few years later when Stephani saw a newly listed little girl with Down syndrome from Armenia that led her to start her first adoption. Another family accepted the referral for that little girl soon after Stephani submitted her dossier but she knew she was meant to continue her journey and in 2015, Octavia joined the family. Stephani was happy with her small family but knew it wasn’t complete.

In 2018, a newly listed little girl with Down syndrome from the country of Georgia called Lola caught Stephani’s attention but she didn’t think it was the right time to adopt so she advocated for her, hoping Lola’s family would see her. Her famil

y did see her! A year later, Stephani started the adoption process once again and brought Lola, now Coralie, home in 2021.

Stephani, Octavia, and Coralie are excited for two more girls to join the family, this time from a different Eastern European country. Your financial, emotional, and prayerful support is appreciated.

The Obenauf family has met their $2500 MATCHING GRANT!!

11/3/2023 –AWAITING COURT

A BOY for the Noll family — MI

Ryan and Jamie Noll have been married for 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 children, except for their eldest who recently graduated from their home school. She is now enrolled in a local college, taking Spanish (because she serves on a yearly mission trip in Honduras) and calculus. 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 lizard 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, Ryan and Jamie learned that children like their new daughter were sometimes abandoned in the local hospital due to complex medical needs. Jamie 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 in Ukraine 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, in India, 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 the child in India. Jamie was delighted, again, at God’s provision, and they 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. For approximately one and a half years (and $16,000), the Noll family worked to adopt a teenage girl in India. Just before the child’s 16^th birthday, they were rejected because they had too many biological children, Jamie was a victim of abuse as a child, and the child they intended to adopt was “already very old.” Their agency suggested looking at Bulgaria…

On August 14, they were matched with a tiny Bulgarian boy!

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. Their home study is nearing completion of its update, and their dossier will be sent off very soon! Due to the severe medical needs of the child they have been matched with, both countries are working to expedite this child’s case! They can hardly wait to hold their tiny Bulgarian boy!

10/20/2023 — COMPILING DOSSIER

Already Home - 2022

A GIRL for the Zars family — MI

India

Almost There

A CHILD for the Nealey family — MI

Charsie and Micheal have been married 8 years and together for over 11. They have dedicated their life to serving others. Micheal works child welfare for the State of Michigan and Charsie is a Family Nurse Practitioner currently working in Hospice. They have always been open to the idea of a family through adoption and have answered the calling to become mom and dad.

A couple years ago Charsie came across Reece’s Rainbow on Facebook and identified so many children she could pray for. One day, a child “spoke” to her heart, and she began praying this child would receive a family. Over time, she felt a pull to this child and decided to just causally mention this to Micheal. Of course, the response was “let’s pray about it” and go from there. Throughout this time, they both prayed and left it at that. After nine months, God spoke to them, knowing this was his plan, they took a step-in obedience and started the adoption process.

Charsie and Micheal are committed to welcoming a child into their family with love and understanding. We don’t know all the how’s and why’s but know God has been faithful. If he has called us to be parents, he will equip us for the work. Charsie and Micheal are aware of the many miracles that will occur to bring home their child and are thankful for your prayers and financial support.

5/16/2022 — USCIS APPROVED

Homestudy In Process

2 CHILDREN for the Ampe family — MI

The Ampe family is returning to Eastern Europe to adopt two more children. They will have a “Baker’s Dozen”! Joe and Tiffany currently have eleven children ages 2-20. Two of their children are amazing preschoolers that they adopted from Ukraine, who just happen to have Down Syndrome.

The Ampe family lives on a homestead in Michigan with plenty of animals and children. They learned of Reece’s Rainbow through the Down Syndrome community that their biological niece was a part of. While she is a treasured member of the extended family, they discovered that disabled children in other countries aren’t as fortunate. In 2018 Joe and Tiffany traveled to Ukraine expecting to adopt a sweet baby boy. Instead, they returned home with two (and gave birth to a biological baby the next day). This time, they are setting out to adopt two children. The entire family is ecstatic, hoping to be adding a five year old girl and eight year old boy. This time neither child has Down Syndrome, but instead have other significant health issues and disabilities, including hydrocephalus.

The Ampe family knows the miracles that are required to travel across the world to bring home a child. They have experienced the community that is necessary to support families financially, emotionally, and physically. There’s no way to do it alone and they are extremely grateful for those that walk beside them. Thank you for your generous prayers and financial support.

7/21/2023 — HOMESTUDY UPDATE in PROCESS

Already Home - 2022

A GIRL for the Myers family — MI

Colombia

Already Home - 2021

2 CHILDREN for the Quick family — MI

Ukraine

Almost There

ALISA for the Lee family — MI

Susan knew that one day she would build her family through adoption after watching a 20/20 episode on an orphanage in Romania back when was she was 11 years old. Susan grew up with a sister that is 13 years older than her and always longed to have a large family. Grant was raised in a larger family and knew that he wanted a large family of his own. Susan shared her passion for adoption when she first started dating Grant. When Grant and Susan got married they came into the relationship with two biological children each making them a blended family.

They have now been through the international adoption process twice. Their first adoption was their son Soo Min who was adopted from South Korea in 2008 when he was 3 ½ years old. Soo Min has a form of primordial dwarfism, failure to thrive, and PDA. He is doing amazingly well, thriving, and bringing our family so much joy. Grant and Susan started their last adoption in 2014 with hopes to bring home their daughter, Eden, from Ghana. They traveled there, had her in their care for two weeks and even passed court. What they did not know was that everything was falsified information and she was never legally adoptable. To say they were all heartbroken was an understatement. One month after losing Eden, Susan became pregnant with their son Hudson. It is amazing the way God works.

This decision to adopt again wasn’t taken lightly. The decision this time around had many things to consider and time needing to heal from the failed adoption in 2015. Knowing and understanding the permanence of adoption is why the last time was so painful: Eden is still somewhat part of the family, and the reason the Lee children always say there’s eight children in the family. The Lee family started to pray about adoption again and researched programs that have a long history of success. This is what led them to Asia this time. Susan would lay in bed for hours scrolling through Reese’s rainbow looking at children waiting to be adopted. When Susan saw Alisa, she knew she was her daughter. She went back and forth between many kids and something was calling the Lee family to Alisa. They have a current Home-Study, have submitted their I-800A, and are compiling their dossier paperwork.

9/28/2020 — AWAITING LOA

Already Home - 2021

YVETTE for the Calkins family — MI

Ukraine

Already Home - 2020

HARMONEE for the Hamlet family — MI

Ukraine

Almost There

KRISTI for the Horst family — MI

We are Galen & Yalonda Horst. We have been married 21 blessed years and God has touched our hearts and lives with 7 children; 4 biological children and 3 through the miracle of adoption. Our first 2 adoptions were from Guatemala and the last one was from China.

Adoption has touched our hearts and lives in a way that has changed us tremendously. We never dreamed, when we did our first 2 adoptions from Guatemala, that God would lead us to adopt a child from China who has Down Syndrome, but it has been another beautiful experience!

The transformation that Kyla has made in the past 2 years is nothing short of amazing! It was beautiful to see her personality unfold and come alive after coming to us as an unresponsive, shutdown, infant-like 2 year old. Now 2 years later she is hardly recognizable as the same child! She is so full of love, mischief, and humor!

So when another sweet little girl with Down Syndrome jumped off an advocacy page at us, we prayed fervently for an answer as to whether or not this was truly God calling us again. After much prayer, we felt God was telling us to step forward. So… we’re on our way to Asia again!

Our prayer for Kristi: “I pray that God would hold you in His arms until I can hold you in mine own!”

10/13/2021 — AWAITING TRAVEL APPROVAL SINCE 2020

Almost There

NORA for the Rice family – MI

Kathy will be adding another aging out child to her family! She returned home in May of 2018 with an almost 16-year-old with Down syndrome from Armenia. She is now working to bring home another daughter with DS from East Asia. This precious one has been on the hearts and minds of a lot of people who love her and have prayed for her. She was hosted in the US in the summer of 2016 by a family who hoped to adopt her but were unfortunately denied due to rules changing in the country. Kathy is grateful for the knowledge, experience, and love the family provided to her while she was here, and continue to provide.

Kathy’s first hands-on experience with international adoption was when her daughter and granddaughter, also with DS, returned home in December 2015 from Armenia. Her daughter is also in the process of adding another little one with DS to the family! While following her daughter’s first adoption and the years since, Kathy has helped as many families as she could, financially and prayerfully. She has also advocated for many children in need of families. Reading story after story about the life altering effects of adoption – for the child and parents – has been an inspiration to her.

After reading about the conditions children who have aged out face, and knowing those children would never know the love of a family, she knew she needed to do more. For the last few months Kathy has been contemplating and praying on what more she could do to help these children. So she is excited to announce that she is once again crossing the ocean to adopt again before this girl ages out and loses the chance to live happily ever after knowing the love and joy of having a family!

Any prayers and support, financially or emotionally, are greatly appreciated during her adoption process!

10/13/2021 — LOA RECEIVED in MAY 2020; AWAITING TRAVEL