Meet Larry and Carey Stanteen

In 2006, after going through many infertility treatments with no success, we began to pursue adoption.  At that time, it was purely a way to grow our family – there was no thought of ministry being attached to it. We never could have imagined the journey God had for us; it was just the beginning!

When we began the adoption process, we learned that our agency required a level of openness in the adoptions. We were terrified of this at first. Our fear quickly subsided once we met our daughter’s birth mom and dad a month before she was born. We saw how God had woven the story together as we learned that the doctor that would deliver our daughter was a friend of ours! Only God!

Over the next 9 years, God blessed us with not one, but four children though the gift of adoption. We grew in our faith as we embraced openness. We learned to love the birth families that chose us to raise these precious blessings. We are blessed to have relationships with 4 birth moms, 4 birth dads, and numerous birth grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  As these relationships grew, it became clear that this was a mission field God had given us. It wasn’t just about building a family anymore. As we have lived out our faith, God has given us the opportunity to share grace and truth with people we would have never known otherwise.

We have seen some birth family members come to know Christ and be baptized. We know, and our kids know, that they were not “given away.” They were placed for adoption out of sacrificial love. We love our birth families. We honor them and the brave choice they made.

 One of our family verses is Ephesians 3:20-21 - “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen”

God has certainly done more than we ever could have asked or imagine in our family – and we know it is impacting generations!