An Outpouring of Support

Growing up, Joseph Langr helped his dad serve adults with special needs. When Joseph and his wife, Chloe, were engaged, he shared a calling to parent children with Down syndrome someday. Chloe tabled the conversation until after they were married and together decided that they wanted to pursue it if that was only specifically how the Lord wanted to build our family.

“I think the fact that Joseph didn’t bring up the topic of adopting a child with special needs actually gave me more freedom to explore the idea in prayer because there was no pressure from his end, just patience and gentleness,” Chloe said.

That was, until Chloe felt as if the Lord was asking something of their family.

“All winter it kept coming up in prayer,” Chloe said. “I felt like the Lord was asking something of us—like the Lord was asking us to surrender something big.”

It was then, through prayer during the quiet and stillness of a dentist appointment, that Chloe heard the call to adopt, specifically a child with Down syndrome.

“It made sense because while this was something big, it wasn’t something new,” Chloe said. “Joseph had been bringing this up for years, and this felt like confirmation.”

Chloe and Joseph began praying through what adoption would look like for their family, which now included their two daughters, Mauve and Ada. While they researched, they asked three specific questions. First, What resources do we need to love this child well? Next, Do we have those resources? And finally, Is this how God is asking us to use those resources?

The Langrs chose Lifeline Children’s Services (Lifeline) as their agency, and from there, they began to connect with other families who had adopted children with special needs. However, it wasn’t until they attended a conference hosted by Lifeline, where they saw different family summaries, that Chloe and Joseph knew for certain they were being called to adopt a child with special needs.

In the early summer of 2023, the Langrs were matched with a birth mother. They traveled to Mississippi in July for the birth; ultimately, though, the birth mother chose to parent.

“It was hard,” Chloe said. “But after we took the time to emotionally process and go back to prayer it became clear that the Lord was calling us to adopt a child [specifically] with Down syndrome.”

The Langrs put their names on the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network, and just one week later, they received the call that they had been matched with their son, William, who was 2 and a half years old.

In October 2023, Chloe and Joseph traveled to Florida to meet William and his family, and they described a feeling of “total peace” about the whole situation.

“We met him, and it just felt like, Of course,” Chloe said.

Through their adoption journey, the thing that has been the most surprising to the Langrs has been the amount of support they have seen come alongside them. From family and friends, to new connections they have made, and even people they don’t know, Joseph says their family has felt an “outpouring of support.”

“There are a lot of fears and unknowns that come with bringing home a child with special needs,” Chloe said. “There are a lot of challenges in our day-to-day life, but it is also so radically joyful. William is such a gift and blessing to our family. I would have hated to miss out on that because of fear.”

Chloe and Joseph learned of Show Hope and Adoption Aid grants through their agency when traveling to Mississippi, and they now credit those grants as being part of the village that supported their family on this journey. “We weren’t the only ones bringing William home,” Chloe shared.

“The [Show Hope Adoption Aid] grant was just such a blessing to our family,” Joseph said. “While we were going through the details and stresses of medical care, a lot of our energies were going to that. To not have the finances of the adoption weighing on us, it just lifted that stress and let us focus on caring for William and his needs.”

“We know that not everyone is called to adopt,” Chloe added. “But when donors, who do not have that call, come alongside families and accompany us in a financial way, that is such a gift and a blessing. That is the hard work of supporting families too.”

This story is part of our annual Summer Newsletter. To learn more about Show Hope Adoption Aid grants, we encourage you to visit showhope.org/adoptionaid.

Stories like this are not possible without the love, support, and generosity of faithful donors. We would be honored for you to join us in this work through a financial gift. You can give today at showhope.org/give.