THE MANNCHENS ARE ADOPTING- AGAIN!
We are adopting our second child from the UNITED STATES (we've been matched!) and our third child from INDIA (not yet matched)!
We are Uli, Liz and Bo Bei Mannchen- an international family of dreamers hailing from the three great nations of Germany, America, and China! We posture our lives and work around looking after orphans and widows. Loving them. Accepting them. Fighting for them to know that they have been named by God as "chosen" and "wanted." After years of working with children around the world, we were beyond excited to finally welcome home our daughter Bo Bei in December of 2019 from China!
And now we're ready for round two… and THREE!
Here is our story:
Our journey began with seven years of unwavering dedication to parenthood when the Lord gave us a vision of a "rainbow family." In 2019, while working in missions in Germany, we overcame significant challenges to adopt our daughter Bo Bei through a US agency. Her adoption was finalized in China, and she became both a Mannchen and a US citizen. Yet, returning to Germany revealed an unexpected hurdle—Germany did not acknowledge her citizenship or adoption. Months of legal battles ensued, with victories and setbacks. Faced with the prospect of an extended bureaucratic process and an unyielding call for more adoptions, we made the difficult choice to uproot and move to the United States.
In 2021, we arrived on American soil, driven by an unshakable determination to grow our family and offer loving homes to more children in need.
These two years have been a whirlwind of emotions and experiences. Shortly after arriving, we began paperwork for our second China adoption. As we eagerly awaited China's adoption program to reopen, a dormant dream stirred—our desire to embrace an infant into our loving arms. We decided to pursue domestic adoption concurrently, and surprisingly, we were quickly matched. Our home and hearts were prepared for the arrival of this new little one. Tragically, as the due date drew near, we learned the devastating news of our child's stillbirth, shattering our hopes and dreams.
However, in the face of grief, we held fast to our faith in God's promise.
During this period, our agency introduced the possibility of changing our China adoption plans to an Indian adoption. China is still closed and recent changes in India's adoption program have opened new avenues for international families. With a decade of mission work in India, primarily focused on orphaned children, we felt a profound resonance with this new opportunity. Our familiarity with the staggering number of orphaned children—over 30 million—motivated us to embrace this open door and offer them a loving home.
Amidst this journey, a call from our agency introduced yet another surprise—an expectant birthmother considering us for adoption. After contemplation and prayer, we felt peace and joy to embark on both these adoption paths!
Isn't the journey adoption takes you on just amazing? Here we are today, welcoming two new members into our family.
Preparations are in full swing as we anticipate our children's homecomings. With rising inflation legal and birth mother costs, adoption is more expensive than ever! And yet, the orphan rate (of over 150 million worldwide) is not decreasing. It may surprise you that both adoptions' combined expenses amount to $90,000! To aid our adoption journey, we've initiated a crowdfunding campaign to offset the costs. Through personal savings and grant applications, we've made substantial progress. However, we're now seeking assistance for the remaining balance required to finalize the adoptions (all awarded grants have been directly transferred to our agency- if we receive more grants, the goal number will adjust accordingly).
We firmly believe that our call to adoption resonates within a greater community, a village bound together by the shared goal of providing loving homes for these children. By choosing to support us in this endeavor, you become an essential part of our journey, changing the lives of all five of us.
With heartfelt gratitude, we thank you for considering joining us on this exciting journey to bring our children home.
