Steven and Carrie Rhodes

are adopting a child from Bulgaria

Zdraveĭte i blagodarya… which means “Hello and thank you” in Bulgarian! Thank you for taking time out of your life to hear how God is working in our family’s lives and how we hope to honor Him as we are blessed to be a small part of His story.

We are Carrie and Steven Rhodes, Delana (Carrie’s mother), and Vincent our German Shepherd dog, and our family is in the process of adopting internationally. The theme of adoption has resonated with us throughout our lives. As we have matured in our faith, we have been profoundly impacted by the great love our Heavenly Father has for us as God adopts His children through Jesus Christ into His family! God has a heart for adoption, and the Bible is filled with supporting scripture. One of our favorite passages Galatians 4:4-7 says “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” Wow, what intimate love God has for us to provide for us, create a home for us, and give us an identity that is so personal in relationship with Him that we can call Him “daddy.” The Holy Spirit has overwhelmed us with that love to the point we want to share that love with the lost, lonely, and the orphaned. He lit that fire ablaze in the summer of 2022, and after much prayer, discussion, research, and more prayer we officially began our journey trying to adopt from Bulgaria in December 2022.

Thus far, our pathway through international adoption has been a roller coaster ride of emotions and anything but easy. After months of completing paperwork for 2 countries’ governments, home study obligations, educational requirements, and all the waiting that occurs every step of the way, our dossier is in the final stages of being registered in Bulgaria and then we wait to be considered for a match. The wait for Bulgaria could be a few months to a few years. We also are open to and prayerfully considering “waiting children,” that Bulgaria hasn’t been able to match to a family. We don’t know when we are going to get matched or who we are going to get matched with, but that’s okay because God knows, and we have faith He is orchestrating everything for the best in His timing. Still, we have to be ready as that call could come any day.

The biggest way that we would love for you to come alongside side of us through this journey is through prayer. Specifically, please pray that God’s will be done and that He get the glory every step of the way. Also, please pray that the Holy Spirit will provide our family with the strength and patience to endure waiting to get matched as well as the courage to step out in faith in the unknowns that lie ahead. Most of all, please pray for our child/children that is waiting to get matched with us and their biological families-that God’s love and hedge of protection will surround them and they will ultimately come to accept the salvation and new life that Jesus Christ provides.

There is absolutely no pressure, but for those of you who feel called to help financially that is possible too. To adopt 1 child from Bulgaria is about $40,000 and each sibling is an additional estimated $18, 325. We are interested in a sibling set, so it is quite possible we could be adopting multiple children. These costs do not include travel expenses, and there are 2 trips to Bulgaria that are required for the adoption process. These are big expenses for us but not for our God! Through savings He has blessed us with, grants, and loved ones who generously feel called to bless us in this way, we know He will provide.

The old saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child,” which is so true. These are God’s children that He entrusts to us, and we do need the prayers, love, and support of our brothers and sisters in Christ as we strive to share the love of Jesus Christ with them and provide them a loving family. We can’t do it alone, so thank you for being a part of our story and on a grander scale a part of the amazing work God is doing. James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” To be clear, we are only saved through Jesus Christ and His perfect sacrifice, not by works; however, those who claim the beautiful title “child of God” are called to do good works out of love and obedience they have for the Father. Thank you for taking time to read our story, pray for us, and partner alongside us. Obichame te i Bog da te blagoslovi…“We love you and God bless” in Bulgarian!

Adoption Status

Waiting To Be Matched

Adoption Agency

All God's Children International

Updates

  • Update 8

    He's Home

    November 28, 2025

    Dear Loved Ones,
    We hope you are having a blessed and meaningful Thanksgiving weekend! We thought it would be special on this weekend to write our last AdoptTogether post and finally share a picture of our son that you have been praying for! We thank you again for all of your prayers, love, and support over the years.
    We had our Gotcha Day on Monday November 10, 2025 and we arrived back home from Bulgaria on Monday November 17, 2025. Since coming home, our son Velcho Joshua Rhodes has had his first Sunday in church Sunday school, haircut, doctor's appointment, and Thanksgiving holiday where he got to meet several family members. We thank Jesus, he seems to feel God and all of our love as well as safety in our family, and that transition has gone much smoother than we imagined...truly answered prayer! He's a very joyful, curious, and loving child.
    We appreciate continued prayers as we ask God to be the best family for him and best share God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit with him. Though he is a wonderful child, the language barrier, medical/developmental issues, and the fact we are not used to being around a two year old much of the day presents challenges we will continue to have to trust God with and persevere. God is good though, and we see where he is growing all of us through this family journey and even bigger journey in the body of Christ. Thank you for being a part of this with us, and may you know we thank God for you and pray for his provision and abundant joy in your lives this season and always!

    Sincerely,
    Carrie, Steven, and Family

  • Update 7

    He's Home

    November 28, 2025

    Dear Loved Ones,
    We hope you are having a blessed and meaningful Thanksgiving weekend! We thought it would be special on this weekend to write our last AdoptTogether post and finally share a picture of our son that you have been praying for! We thank you again for all of your prayers, love, and support over the years.
    We had our Gotcha Day on Monday November 10, 2025 and we arrived back home from Bulgaria on Monday November 17, 2025. Since coming home, our son Velcho Joshua Rhodes has had his first Sunday in church Sunday school, haircut, doctor's appointment, and Thanksgiving holiday where he got to meet several family members. We thank Jesus, he seems to feel God and all of our love as well as safety in our family, and that transition has gone much smoother than we imagined...truly answered prayer! He's a very joyful, curious, and loving child.
    We appreciate continued prayers as we ask God to be the best family for him and best share God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit with him. Though he is a wonderful child, the language barrier, medical/developmental issues, and the fact we are not used to being around a two year old much of the day presents challenges we will continue to have to trust God with and persevere. God is good though, and we see where he is growing all of us through this family journey and even bigger journey in the body of Christ. Thank you for being a part of this with us, and may you know we thank God for you and pray for his provision and abundant joy in your lives this season and always!

    Sincerely,
    Carrie, Steven, and Family

  • Update 6

    Pre-Travel Trip 2 Update

    September 29, 2025

    Dear Loved Ones,
    Thank you so much for the continued prayers, love, support, and encouragement you are showing our family! God is good all the time and truly working all things for the good, even when we don't understand it.
    We wanted to give you an update on where we are at, where we are heading, and specific ways you can journey alongside of us in prayer and support in the comings days and months. Within 1.5 weeks of returning from our first trip to Bulgaria, we were blessed to get all of the U.S. documents completed that Bulgaria would need to hold court for us and continue our adoption process. Unfortunately, despite how hard we worked to get our tasks completed there were delays in Bulgaria; however, we are happy to report that our adoption case was held in Bulgarian court last Friday September 26th and it went well! Per Bulgaria's rules, approximately 10 days have to pass for anyone to contest the adoption before they can continue processing and finalizing the paperwork. The hope and goal is that they will have all their paperwork completed in the next 4 weeks; however, delays have been known to happen. Thus, our first specific prayer request is that God will guide the paperwork to be correctly completed in the next 1 month so that we can go on our 2nd trip to Bulgaria that we scheduled November 7-November 17th.
    Now, we will share specific prayer requests for the days we are traveling and in Bulgaria so that those of you who want to partner with us in prayer can know specifics! We leave Indianapolis Friday November 7th in the early afternoon and are set to land in Sofia Bulgaria in the evening Saturday November 8th. Last time we booked 4+ hours into our layers, but due to unforeseen issues with the plane, FFA, etc. we incurred delays that almost resulted in us missing our flight to Bulgaria and it did result in our luggage not making it on time which was an extra element of stress we had to contend with. In response, we are leaving a day earlier with even longer layovers to try to prevent this stress, but we would still appreciate prayers that God will allow us as well as all of our luggage to arrive on time. Sunday, we hopefully will enjoy a day of solitude with God and togetherness in Sofia in preparation for the arrival of our son. Now, this is the news you have all been waiting for (drumroll)...Monday November 10th is our GOTCHA DAY; so, Monday we will be driven to and from our son's hometown of Plovdiv Bulgaria where we will meet him and his foster parents at a child service center. This will be a very emotional day for everyone-his foster parents having to physically say good-bye after caring for him for 2 years, our son as he will most likely be confused with his foster parents handing him over to us, and for us as we are joyful that our long awaited prayers have been answered yet respectful and sad for the tremendous loss our son will be experiencing. Please just pray for everybody involved as that will truly be a milestone day in all of our lives. Tuesday we get a free day with our son in Bulgaria. Wednesday will be our son's mandatory medical exam/testing/evaluation day in Bulgaria. Thursday will be our Visa interview appointment in Bulgaria. Friday will be the day we acquire the final paperwork for our son including his Visa to allow him into our country and become an automatic U.S. citizen the moment we land on U.S. soil. Saturday will be a free day in Bulgaria. Now Sunday November 16th...oh Sunday November 16th-this is the day where we will get our 2 year old son up in the middle of the night to take him to his first airport, fly on his first plane out of Bulgaria at 6am for a few hours, land in another European country for several hours, take about a 9 hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean to the U.S., immediately get off the plane and go to the Visa center to process his paperwork at the airport, go through customs, be at the airport for several hours, fly a few more hours back to Indianapolis where we land in the middle of the night, to drive him home very early Monday November 17th. To say the least, we would love prayers for this trip as it will most likely be very challenging for him, for us, and for the passengers on the flights with us as he will most likely be very emotional regardless of what toys and snacks we have for him. Our adoption agency and those families who have come before us that we've talked to who've adopted internationally call this the "survive trip" as that is the singular goal.
    All that to be said, we are filled with joy that the time to adopt our son is soon approaching! God gave us an extra gift by hopefully having him here right before the holidays get more underway as well. We look forward to finally being able to share a picture of our son with you as well as an update from trip 2 once we get home, but we ask that you show us mercy and grace as it may be a little while after we've had a chance to settle in a bit. Our son has some medical conditions, so those first few weeks home we'll be getting him in to see the doctors he needs to see, start therapies he'll need at home, as well as most importantly just spend quality time bonding together and enjoying the holidays. Feel free to check in on us at a personal level, but know we do look forward to providing a final update on our crowdfunding page when able.
    In conclusion, our biggest praise prayer goes to Jesus who made this adoption possible and gets all the glory! We know we have a lot to learn as our journey as parents is only beginning, but we trust the Holy Spirit will give us what we need when we need it. We thank God for loved ones like you that he uses to support us, encourage, and love on us well. Now, I will end as I began our initial post-Bog da te blagoslavi...God Bless You!

    Love,
    Carrie and Steven Rhodes & Family

  • Update 5

    Update from Travel Trip 1 to Bulgaria

    July 28, 2025

    Dear loved ones, thank you so much for your prayers, love, support, and words of encouragement many of you have offered to our family over the years since beginning this adoption journey! Last week, meeting our son for the first time and getting to spend time together, was so special! For five days, we were blessed to get to spend several hours with him as well as his foster family. We had some short gatherings at a child service center, many hours playing at various parks, some lunches together, some stroller rides around his home time, and a little time playing in our hotel room. His foster family is so loving and absolutely wonderful. They provided lots of helpful information about our son and provided very helpful education to us. Our adoption representative in Bulgaria was amazing to work with too as she translated for us, orchestrated our appointments, helped us with the chaos of getting necessities and getting our luggage delivered as we didn't get it until a few days after we landed, and had us achieve all the requirements needed that trip to keep the adoption process moving along in Bulgaria. Truly God blessed us with an amazing week with wonderful people, safe travels despite flight delays and other inconveniences, good health, sunny weather, and many special moments with our little boy!
    It will probably be a few months before we get invited to go back to Bulgaria for our second trip to complete the adoption in Bulgaria and bring our son home. We have been and continue to be in the process of getting more documents completed from our government granting us permission to legally adopt our son, then Bulgaria will have a court session to grant us access from their government, and then we get to travel and complete the adoption in Bulgaria. I say complete, but we will still have a re-adoption process to go through once we bring our son home to fully adopt him in the U.S. as well.
    Ways you can be praying for us continue to be asking God to give us wisdom on how we can be the best Christian, loving family for our son, preparing him to be receptive to our family, and that Jesus gets glorified in everything. We also continue to pray that his biological family, foster family, adoption representatives, etc. will come to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and find healing and peace in their part of this journey as well. Though it will be filled with much joy, we fully anticipate this upcoming second trip, plane ride home, and first several weeks at our home will be very challenging. Our son has made secure attachments with his foster family, which is a great thing, but he will most likely be very sad, upset, and confused when they leave him in our care as he is too young to understand what is going on. It truly will be a season of grief, frustration, and confusion for him for quite some time. Please be praying that Jesus will speak so much love into him and us that and that our son will feel that love and security from us. We pray that transition will go better than expected, and we'll honor God and give him and our son our best regardless. We know the Holy Spirit will give us exactly what we need when we need it, and we trust in His provision. We are first time parents to a human, so we have a lot to learn, but we are humbled that God has blessed us in this miraculous way and eager to depend on God every step of the way. We are so grateful for all of our prayer partners, and we thank you for your continued prayers, love, and support. This is a part of God's great story, and we are grateful you have chosen to be a part of it too!

  • Update 4

    Travel Trip #1 to Bulgaria

    July 7, 2025

    Hey loved ones, we wanted to take a moment to share with you some details about our upcoming travel trip to Bulgaria and how you can specifically be praying for us and our family. Thank you SO much for all of your prayers, love, and support. We truly see God's handprint all over this journey and feel the Holy Spirit giving us exactly what we need when we need it!

    We leave Saturday July 19th and return late Saturday July 26th for our first travel trip to Bulgaria. The main goal in this trip is to meet our son and spend some quality time with him! It's also our limited opportunity to meet his foster parents and ask any other questions about him. We actually will travel from Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, to his home town on Monday. We should meet him Monday July 21st and see him each day through Thursday July 24th for at least 1 hour and potentially longer depending on how he is doing. There is the potential we will get to see him Friday July 25th, but that depends on the schedule as we travel back to Sofia to sign adoption-related documents in front of a Bulgarian notary to continue to the adoption process in the Bulgarian courts.

    Ways you could be specifically praying for us include all of us (our son, us, his foster family, our Bulgarian adoption representative, and the social worker) feeling the love of the Holy Spirit fill this place and our hearts as we prepare to become his forever family. Despite the language barrier, we want everyone to feel the love we have for the Lord and for our son and to enjoy playing and bonding these first few hours together. Secondly, please pray for clear minds and that we will learn what we need to learn about our son while we have the limited time with his foster family. Third, please pray for health and safety along with smoothness as we travel so no roadblocks the devil tries to send our ways stops us from spending time with our son and moving this adoption journey along. This is Jesus's story and we know He will keep providing in beautiful ways as we step out in faith.

    We are excited, but also nervous because we care so much and are first time parents to a human, so everything is new in a land where we don't fluently speak the language and know anybody. Though it's a bit scary at times, we have lived in the goodness of God and have experienced His unique nearness and blessings you feel when you get out of your comfort zone for Him. We know He is in this and orchestrating this, and we appreciate our loved ones bathing us in prayer, which continues to help provide the strength and courage we need. We are excited for this unique adventure, want to make the best of it, and want to keep glorifying our Heavenly Father through it all as He deserves all praise! Thank you for walking alongside us and God Bless!

$10,360 raised of $35,000 goal
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Donations 24

  • Anonymous gave an undisclosed amount
    We continue to pray for you and your precious family!
  • Anonymous gave an undisclosed amount
    What a wonderful blessing this is for both you and the child/children you will be adopting. May the Good Lord be with you every step of the way. It's a privilege to help you along on your journey. I will be praying that the Lord provide.
  • Gray Family gave an undisclosed amount
    Praying for God’s provision of ALL you need on this journey. He is good! Ps. 34:10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
  • Steve and Brandy Angus gave $100
    Praying for you and excited for you!
  • Anonymous gave an undisclosed amount
    We are so happy for you two and the child(ren) to come! Cody & Kelsie Guernsey
  • The New Hope Christian Church gave $5,000
  • Linda Lashbrook gave $40
  • Anonymous gave an undisclosed amount
  • Natalie and JP gave an undisclosed amount
    Carrie and Steve, you both will be great parents. We continue to pray for your family and future children.
  • Darrell, Shana, Kyle, & Ali gave an undisclosed amount
    We have been praying and continue to pray for you during this journey. We know God has a plan, and it is good! We chose today, one of your favorite days of the year, to publicly support you. Looking forward to spoiling your child(ren)!