SEARCH RESULT
Hello, we are John and Alisa Rachan.
We met in Spanish class in college at Olivet Nazarene University. We were acquaintances at first, but reconnected after graduation. John reached out to Alisa to get together since he worked at an engineering company close to where she lived. During college, she had a crush on him from afar, so instantly accepted the invitation to dinner. We spent 3 hours talking that evening and felt as if we had known each other for years. Alisa then went to live in Mexico City to do missions work with her nursing degree for a year. God was always working during this time, however, and we reconnected once again after she returned. We started dating a few months later, were engaged after 6 months of dating and married 9 months later.
We have 2 children: Eliana, who was adopted, is 4 years old, and Ava, who is biological, is 3 years old. We have always desired to have a large family and first considered building it through biological means and later through adoption. However, when we struggled getting pregnant and were diagnosed with unexplained infertility early in our marriage, we decided to pursue adoption instead of extensive medical treatments. Eliana’s name means God has provided, and we truly feel that her life was an answer to our prayers in many ways. We have an open adoption with her birth family, and we are so blessed by this relationship. Ava was a surprise gift from the Lord as well, when we did not think that we could conceive. She was born to us about 6 months after Eliana was born. Her name means breath of life, and we are thankful for her life and for the friendship that our two daughters have with one another. They are truly best friends. We have been trying to grow our family for a few years now and are feeling led to pursue adoption once again because of secondary infertility and because of the joy that adoption has brought to us already.
Together as a family, we enjoy playing in our backyard, going to parks and meeting other young families, going on walks/bike rides, exploring the outdoors, doing bonfires, playing board games, and hosting friends and family in our home regularly.
In our lives, there have been both trials and joys. Through it all, we have seen God's faithfulness to provide for us and give us His peace. We are eager to participate once again in the beautiful gift of adoption because we also have been adopted as children into God's family. We hope to provide the best possible loving and caring home for another child, and will strive to teach our children to love the Lord, to be kind and compassionate to others, and to cherish every moment that God gives us.
A ping pong table in a small Bible college in Pennsylvania is where it all began. Our friendship in the beginning laid the foundation for our relationship later and we got to know each other over games of ping pong. When we started studying together and spending more time with each other, we realized we had a strong connection. Rob thought Jessica was beautiful and fun to be around. Jessica admired how much Rob cared for his friends and family. It didn't take us long to see that we were meant to be together and have been inseparable ever since.
Each day is a blessing as we spend time together doing the activities we love. Walking around local theme parks, visiting the beach, and meeting up with Rob's family are some of our favorite things. Jessica enjoys cooking healthy meals, and Rob helps out around the house. An evening walk around the neighborhood is a nice way to catch up and enjoy nature. We plan weekly outings and look forward to our annual summer vacations. It will be a joy to have our little one in our lives!
We have know each other since the late 90's through mutual friends. We started dating in 2005, were engaged in 2007, and got married in 2008. We are active and enjoying the great outdoors. We especially enjoy getting out to do some fishing and atving when we get a chance.
We adopted our son in 2020 and have an open adoption with his birth family. This includes in person visits, video chats, and messaging back and forth with pictures/videos and updates.
We are truly honored and humbled that you are considering our family in your adoption plan. The strength, and sheer courage that it takes to walk through, and stand in this adoption journey is inspiring and remarkable.
We are Paul and Stacie. We were high school sweethearts, that met in church youth group. We married in 2004. Stacie miscarried in 2008 and was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure that eventually lead to a full hysterectomy. We never thought that adoption would be part of our story, but the Lord has blessed us with this beautiful path. We adopted our son, Samuel, in 2017, when he was four months old. We would not change one minute of our loss and hardships, knowing now that Jesus was piecing together His rich and glorious plan for our lives.
Samuel is so excited to be a big brother!! He prompts us to pray almost daily over his future sibling and asks where they are. We are ready to love and cherish a new little one. Our plan is for Stacie to stay home with our newest child. Paul owns his own business, and mainly works from home. We have a lot of flexibility and time to devote to our children. Samuel attends a Christian private school and so will his future sibling. He will be thrilled to teach his sibling all about “his” school!
We are committed and excited about all ethnicities, and backgrounds. We value honoring each other in our family. We celebrate our differences, and family backgrounds that make life so rich and enjoyable. We are looking forward to exploring another open adoption. We have been so blessed with Samuel’s birth family. We are excited to explore what this will look like with you.
Hosea 2:14-16 says, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give back her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of Egypt.” The desert often represents unsafety and uncertainty in the Bible. The “Valley of Achor”, translates to the Valley of Trouble. The Lord promises as we walk and trust Him through our hardships, and uncertainties, that He will make a way and a path of hope, of restoration, and joy for us. You are deeply loved, and fully known by the Creator and Lover of your soul.
Sincerely, Paul and Stacie
We met while we were both in college. There was an immediate connection. On our first date, we danced to country music for hours. We both love to laugh and be silly and watch funny sitcoms like The Office and Schitts Creek. We share a passion for reading and like to discuss books. We also are huge foodies and love to try new restaurants and cuisines. It quickly became evident that we were meant for each other and got married. Growing our family was not as easy as we expected, and we were faced with many losses and pregnancy complications along the way. However, we have been blessed with two great kids. Fast forward a few years and we feel led to complete our family through adoption. We both have strong faith and raise our children to follow God. We try every day to set the example for them of love and compassion and model a healthy marriage.
We’re Andrea and Nelson! We’ve been together for twelve years and married for eight (this March), and about five years ago we were blessed to adopt our amazing son, Oliver. Andrea is fascinated by a lot of things, ranging from shark biology to crazy celebrity beef. Nelson enjoys working with his hands and BBQing on our smoker. As a family, we love going on adventures together, spending quality time, and exploring whatever is making us curious at that moment (like animals at the zoo, the jellyfish at low tide, or what we can build with Legos or cardboard boxes). Our family believes in open communication, unconditional love, and asking questions. No topic will ever be off limits in our home. Oliver is very excited about welcoming a sibling home and has been praying for it to happen “tomorrow.” We, too, are excited for another little one to join our family. Thank you for considering us!
One of the greatest things we can share as parents is access to our friends and family. We are unconditionally loved and supported by so many people whether they be biological or adopted relatives, or dear friends. We have strong relationships with some special people – some who have been in our lives for 30+ years. Several of our friends live minutes from us, and a few have recently started their own families so are itching for play dates. Both sets of our parents are still married and are wonderful grandparents. Andrea has an older brother and sister-in-law, and Nelson has 2 sisters, 3 brothers and 2 sets of in-laws. We are aunt and uncle to 13 nieces and nephews and combined, we have 10 aunts, 10 uncles and over 60 cousins. Simply put, we have a lot of family and friends! And everyone is beyond excited to welcome home a new member!
Along with our extended human family, we have two fuzzy members of our family - our adopted animals Indy and Obi. We rescued Indy as a 3 month old puppy. And 2 year old Obi chose Oliver. Really! He came right up and head nuzzled him. It's been love every since! These two pets are characters who love us, but most especially they love kids.
We met in 2013 at a birthday party for a mutual friend. After a brief introduction, I went home and “stalked” Brendon on Facebook. After looking through his profile and thinking he was the cutest guy I had ever seen, I quickly added him as a friend. A week later he sent me a message and asked me on a date. The rest is history! We dated for two and a half years before we got engaged. Brendon surprised me by having our entire family waiting for us at dinner after he proposed and then surprised me again after dinner by having an engagement party with all of our friends waiting to celebrate. Brendon always goes above and beyond to make me feel special and he pulled out all of the stops for our engagement. We were married on February 6, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. Our wedding was the most memorable day of our lives. We celebrated our love for each other surrounded by all of the love of our family and friends. It was truly unforgettable! Since our big day, we have been through some highs and lows, but through it all, we have become stronger. We live each day together as a team and as best friends. We work to encourage one another daily, we respect and value each other’s opinions, and we do and we do a lot of laughing which helps to make our days bright!
We are high school sweet hearts that met through mutual friends over 16 years ago. Our married life, 7 years ago, began in Salt lake City, where we first became parents when we adopted our cat, Cora. Living in Salt Lake City taught us a lot about working together as a teamby leaning on on another for support. After 5 years together in Salt Lake, we returned to the St. Louis area. This is where we met, and we are elated to be surrounded by friends and family that inspire and motivate us everyday.
Our marriage is strong, built on a foundation of trust, communication, and teamwork. These are the core values we will use to guide us as we transition into parenthood. We have known about our fertility struggles long before we were married, so adpotion has been on our hearts for a large portion of our relationship.
We first met at a Salsa Dancing Social. After months of dancing and getting to know each other, we had our first date. As we learned more about each other, we realized how we felt at home with one another. It was the Halloween season, so we enjoyed getting dressed up and attending Halloween salsa socials and family friend Halloween parties. We were falling in Love.
At Thanksgiving time, Reena began talking about Joel with her other family members with so much excitement. Reena introduced Joel to her brother, and they hit it off immediately. When Reena invited Joel to meet her parents, Mom gave Reena the Thumbs up. It was Christmas time and there is a cute little ornament with Reena’s picture that Reena had made at school in the first grade. We were decorating our Christmas tree, and Joel took that ornament and placed it at the very top of the tree. Reena’s heart melted and her family invited Joel to our larger family Christmas party where he was immediately welcomed with open arms.
That same Christmas, Joel had invited Reena to his family’s church for their annual Simbang Gabi Mass. This is a Christmas tradition within the Filipino community where Joel’s whole family was present. It was so wonderful to meet Joel’s family in such a beautiful setting. Shortly after, Joel and Reena would attend Joel’s family church on Sunday’s after Dance class, and then meet at his parent’s home for Sunday Dinners.
The following Easter, Joel took Reena to the Easter Vigil, which is the Saturday before Easter Sunday. She learned about the RCIA process where she could learn about the Catholic Faith and be confirmed as a Catholic. That fall, she enrolled in the program and Joel sponsored her. As they went through this beautiful journey together, Joel proposed that following Fall. The following Easter, Reena was confirmed as a Catholic, and Reena and Joel were married that Summer.
We are a family focused and church orientated couple. We are mostly home-bodies, but don't let that mistake you for our sense of adventure too!
We have two cats, Bailey and Lilly and a brood of silly chickens. We love camping, playing music and debating on if we love sunsets or sunrises more.
We met in 2007 in Alaska when Kelly was a brand new flight attendant. Robert had already been a flight attendant for 5 years and Kelly did not have it in her adventurous spirit to spend time with Robert but he was persistent. In 2009 Kelly said yes to dating instead of just being friends.
Fast forward through many adventures (Alaska, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Hawaii) and on September 6th, 2014 we got married in Washington state at our local beach park. We have made this sleepy little marina town our home ever since.
The Adoption Council steers, guides, and directs the adoption education, standards, and practices of the Christian Adoptions Alliance. It is a collective effort to stand for and promote adoption from a Biblical perspective.
Are you looking for an accredited Christian adoption agency?
The Adoption Council is comprised of professionals across the pro-life and adoption spectrum directly connected with adoption education and support services.
The council is in a state of development. Current members include the following representatives.
Angela Boblitt is the Founder and Executive Director of Choosing Hope Adoptions, which was founded in 2014. She was born and raised in rural Minnesota. She graduated with a Bachelor of Art in Music from Winona State University in 2002. In 2003 She accepted a job as the Director of Children and Youth Ministries in Springfield, OH, where she served in that role for nearly a decade.
Angela and her husband Brett have 4 children; Noah, GeorgiAnne, Xander, and Lucy. Their oldest two children are biologically theirs, while their youngest two joined their family through adoption. Angela is committed to seeing adoption practiced with Biblical definitions and Christian practices.
Melissa is the Adoption Director at Catholic Charities Diocese of La Crosse, WI. She has been with the agency since 2003, when she was hired as an Adoption and Pregnancy Support Social Worker. Prior to coming to Catholic Charities, she worked with homeless families for over 9 years. She oversees the Family Services Program, which includes the Pregnancy Support and Adoption Program, as well as the Wisconsin Adoption and Permanency Support Program. She has a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Sociology. She also serves on the Children, Family, and Youth Services Committee for CCUSA, as well as the Adoption Steering Committee.
With the Wisconsin Adoption and Permanency Support Program, she is able to continue to support all members of the triad after the adoption is completed. Adoption is ever-changing, and she has enjoyed being a part of those changes over the years.
Robyn serves as the Executive director of Advocacy for Children, Focus on the Family. In this role, she oversees the following programs: Foster Care and Adoption, a program that exists to raise awareness for children in foster care needing forever families; our pro-life content and children communications, Sanctity of Human Life campaign, and all aspects of Option Ultrasound, which provides ultrasound machines and sonography training to qualified pro-life medical clinics.
She supports the Wait No More events, which are designed to recruit families to begin the journey of becoming foster parents and/or adopt from foster care. She has served at Focus on the Family for more than 25 years. Robyn and her husband are kinship adoptive parents for their two oldest grandchildren.
Jeannine Floores has been involved in maternity ministry since 1990, when she began the work of planting “Sarah’s House,” her first maternity home in southern California. She was ordained by the Christian Church into ministry in 1992 and continued her work in full-time church and maternity ministry. She moved to Austin, TX in 1996 with her husband Brian and two sons, where God continued to use her there to plant a second ministry, “Breath of Life Maternity Ministries, which includes the Loving Hearts Christian Adoption Agency.
She has two sons, Travis, 27, and Matthew 25 who have recently created her newest and favorite title to date, “Grandma.” As both a birth mother and an adoptive mom, as well as the sibling of an adopted child, Jeannine Floores has certainly experienced adoption from all angles.
Sharen is a nationally recognized child welfare consultant and the retired Manager for Permanency Services for the Colorado Department of Human Services in the Division of Child Welfare Services. She retired with 30 years of comprehensive work history with the department. She oversaw six programmatic areas, including the Foster Care and Adoption Program, and supervised a team of professional staff.
Dr. Ford is the former President of the National Association of State Adoption Programs (NASAP) and the Association of Administrators for the Interstate Compact on Adoption Medical Assistance (AAICAMA). She currently serves as the Director of Foster Care and Adoption at Focus on the Family and is as committed as ever to raising awareness regarding the need for every child to have a quality family.
Carol serves as the Executive director of Covenant Care Services, a nonprofit, pro-life ministry in Georgia. She earned a Bachelors in Sociology and her MAT from Georgia College & State University. As Executive Director, Carol is responsible for overseeing our home study-ready families, our expectant mothers, and post-placement services for birth mothers. She is deeply invested in all aspects of the adoption triad.
Carol has a strong desire to meet the needs of women in an unexpected pregnancy and is committed to placing children in two-parent Christian homes. Carol, and her husband Clay, have one son Hobson. She is an active member of the praise team at her church and is a Task Force for Life member. Carol brings a passion for seeing adoption in place of abortion.
Anna serves as the Chief Operating Officer at America World Adoption, a domestic and international child placing and humanitarian non-profit organization, headquartered in Washington, DC, with over 25 domestic state and international offices. Working in adoption since 2004, Anna has an extensive breadth and depth of experience in adoption, serving vulnerable children and parents in both the United States and overseas.
With personal experience in adoption as an older adoptee, adoption is an intricate part of Anna’s life. She lives in Northern Virginia along with her husband and three children.
Brad serves as the President of the Christian Adoptions Alliance, which is committed to advancing adoptions from a Christian perspective, standing on Biblical definitions and Christian practices. The Alliance does this by providing education, training, and aligning with agencies, attorneys, and ministries that serve the adoption community from a Christian perspective.
He has been serving the pro-life and adoption community for over 20 years. He is adopted and had the opportunity to meet his birth mother at the age of 20 and learn the journey she went through to choose life and adoption for him. His family grew through the blessings of two children through open adoptions.
Over the years, Brad has served the adoption community by providing home studies to prospective parents, post-adoption counseling to birth mothers, and education to those involved with the different aspects of adoption.
Kathy Jerman is the Executive Director of New Hope Family Services in Syracuse, NY. New Hope is a New York State certified adoption agency as well as a pregnancy resource center. Since 1965, they have placed over 1,000 children in forever homes. Kathy earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Arcadia University in PA. She has been at New Hope since 2016, when she began as a volunteer Client Advocate. She became the Executive Director in February 2019. She oversees the pregnancy center, adoption agency, and their newly launched mobile ultrasound ministry.
Kathy is passionate about empowering women to make life-affirming choices and helping them to see that abortion is not their only option and giving birth does not mean sacrificing their education or careers. She is committed to ensuring that New Hope provides ethical and Biblical adoption services that focus on all sides of the adoption triad. She and her husband Mike have four children.
Christie Mac Segars is the Vice President of Domestic Programs for Lifeline Children’s Services. She earned a Bachelors’s degree from Samford University and a Master’s in Social Work from The University of Alabama. She has been the Domestic Director at Lifeline since March of 2013.
Christie is committed to delivering adoption services from a Biblical and Christian perspective, and she is passionate about taking the gospel to hurting families and the ministry of reconciliation and redemption that exists in the various domestic programs. She and her husband Croft have three daughters, Ila, Elizabeth, and Harris.
Kevin is the Senior Director of Christian Adoptions Services, where he has served for the last five years. Prior to CAS, he served for twenty-two years as a pastor in North and South Carolina. Kevin received his Bachelor of Science from Gardner-Webb University in 1993 and his Masters of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1996.
Kevin has preached in over 100 churches since coming on board at CAS in 2016, raising awareness of orphan care. He is passionate about serving vulnerable children and pregnant moms in need, and he has a deep conviction from the Gospel to serve this population. He is married to Kim, and they have three children.
Robin Stephenson is the Founder and President of Lifetree Adoption Agency, a Christian-based adoption agency located in Dallas, Texas. For her, adoption is a ministry calling where she is committed to helping fulfill the dreams of birth parents and adoptive families while carrying out God’s will for our lives.
Jimbo Savley is President/CEO/Executive Director of Small World Inc., a Christian ministry offering services that are a positive alternative to abortion, domestic adoptions, international adoptions, and family support counseling. He has a BSW from Middle Tennessee State University and has been with Small World since 1991. He has worked pro-life and orphan ministry in numerous states and countries. He is an ordained minister and currently serves as College Ministry Director for his church, in addition to his work at Small World.
Jimbo and his wife Kristena have 2 adult children and look forward to being grandparents someday. Jimbo’s passion is to bring solutions through adoption to children who are orphaned, to help women in a crisis or unwanted pregnancy find real solutions which give a quality life to both her and the child, and to assist potential adoptive families as they follow God’s will in their lives to fulfill James 1:27 and take care of orphans.
Marlys Ubben is the founder and Executive Director of New Horizons Adoption Agency, Inc. Founded in 1987, New Horizons is a Christian adoption, foster care, and orphan care agency located in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Marlys has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, in Education, and is a licensed Social Worker and Certified Adoption Investigator. She has over 40 years of social work experience working in both international and domestic adoptions.
Marlys and her husband, Verlyn, are parents of six children, three of which are adopted. They have also parented three additional children who lived with them for many years. Marlys, with her family’s help, has committed her life to help families, birth parents, and children to a better life and future.
Tom Velie is the President of New Beginnings Adoptions & Family Services, where he has been serving since 2002. He earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work from the University of Mississippi and then a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Southern Mississippi. Tom served as a Master Trainer through the National Council for Adoption’s Infant Adoption Awareness training program, as an adoption agency accreditation evaluator for the Council on Accreditation, and is a member of the National Council for Adoption Hall of Fame.
Tom and his wife, Debbie, have two adopted daughters (international adoption) who have made him a grandfather with an abundance of grandchildren.
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Sociology from Gordon College and a Master’s in Social Work from The University of South Carolina. Tricia has been working in child welfare since graduating from college and she began her work in the field of adoption in 1992.
She has worked in foster care, domestic and international adoptions and pregnancy counseling while engaging churches and the community to support vulnerable children. She joined the Lifeline staff in June of 2021 and is grateful to be a part of an organization that seeks to share the Gospel of Jesus with a lost and hurting world. Tricia is committed to caring for women in unexpected pregnancies and providing adoption services with Biblical integrity.