[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 24043-24044]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE 2008 ANGELS IN ADOPTION

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                          HON. NANCY E. BOYDA

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 3, 2008

  Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas. Madam Speaker, This year, I have the great 
pleasure of seeing one of the finest constituents of Second District of 
Kansas honored as an Angel in Adoption. This award was given by the 
Congressional Coalition on Adoption, of which I am proud to be a 
member. The story of the Second District's Angel in Adoption, Michelle 
Reed, is a story of hard work, commitment, and humility. It is a story 
that I am proud to share today.
  In addition to adopting two children from Kazakhstan, Michelle has 
become an advocate for international adoption by facilitating support 
groups and by serving on the board of Two Hearts for Hope. Michelle is 
truly an Angel in Adoption.
  Michelle's story begins in 2004 when a cousin and a friend announced 
that they were adopting children from Korea and China. To support her 
loved ones, she began looking into the process. As Michelle says, ``My 
husband and I had not discussed adopting. We had two children. My son, 
Jonas, was just starting high school in the fall and our daughter, 
Libby, was in middle school. The pictures of the children available for 
adoption were endless on the Internet. I began to think that we could 
give a home--a family--to one of these children.''

[[Page 24044]]

  In March of 2004, the Reeds signed an agency contract to adopt their 
son Jess, who was 3 at the time, from Kazakhstan. They traveled to 
Kazakhstan in November 2004 and lived there for 6\1/2\ weeks. In May 
2005, they signed a contract to return for a little girl that they met 
on their first trip who was also 3 years old. They left in October, 
2005 and returned home in December with a new daughter, Jsera.
  When Michelle returned from her adoption journey in Kazakhstan, she 
started working to help other families. ``After our first adoption, we 
both became passionate about helping those that were thinking of 
adoption.'' She is now the moderator of three Internet groups that 
provide support for families that are in the process of adopting 
internationally or integration assistance for those that have already 
adopted. They try to facilitate heritage knowledge, for example, by 
teaching parents to cook their child's native foods. Michelle and her 
family also hosted an exchange student from Kazakhstan this year who 
taught them so much about their children's heritage.
  Michelle is also a board member of the newly formed organization, Two 
Hearts for Hope, which raises donations to send supplies to orphanages 
in Kazakhstan. Most of the supplies she works so hard to find are those 
that many of us take for granted, like shoes and warm clothing. ``The 
facilities aren't perfect--there are broken windows and sometimes 
there's no heat. Because it's just south of Siberia, the need for warm 
clothing is magnified.''
  When speaking about her visits to Kazakhstan she said, ``Once you 
leave those other children behind, you are not allowed to forget 
them.'' The love, warmth, faith and passion for helping others that 
Michelle posses shines through when you meet her. I am pleased to say 
that once you meet Michelle, you are not allowed to forget her or the 
joy she has brought to others.

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