LANCASTER − Samuel Rauch went from living in an Ethiopian orphanage as a child to becoming an adult and working as an electrician in Fairfield County now.
X Church Care and Outreach Pastor Steve Rauch and his wife, Stacey, adopted Samuel Rauch when he was 3 in February 2009. He’s now 21 and enjoys working out, hanging out with friends and playing pickleball. He will also be part of two upcoming wedding parties.
“My dad’s a pillar of my life,” Samuel Rauch said. “I love him and he’s been through a lot and helped me get through some big things. He’s always there, so he’s a big part of my life.”
He said the Rauch family celebrates Mother’s Day more than Father’s Day.
“My life has been significantly enhanced by having Samuel in my life,” Steve Rauch said. “We’ve done lots of cool things together and continue to. We actually won a pickleball tournament not too long ago together. To have a son in my life is something that completes me as a human being.”
International adoption
He said he and his wife felt like God called upon them to adopt a child internationally.
“My wife and I have been on a lot of international mission trips,” Steve Rauch said. “We love when anybody adopts a child. It is awesome, whether domestically or international. It doesn’t matter to us. We think it’s awesome. But we felt like our call was through international.”
The Rauchs had looked at Haiti and Guatemala to adopt a child, but there were some complications with that. So they decided on Ethiopia after working with All God’s Children International in Portland, Oregon. The next step was to go through the long adoption process, which had several steps.
The process is also expensive, but Steve Rauch said, “It is 1,000% worth it.”
“We believe that God gave us the son that we needed to complete our family,” Steve Rauch said. “We have three biological daughters and it was time to add a fourth member to our family.”
It was Stacey Rauch’s decision to adopt a boy instead of a girl. The family then went to Ethiopia to meet Samuel, whose name was then Haftom. Steve Rauch said he prayed the boy would run to his new adoptive parents when they met, which he did.
‘I wouldn’t change it’
Samuel Rauch, who was the youngest of five children in his birth family, said he doesn’t remember much of his life in Ethiopia.
“But from what I’ve heard, I had some medical problems and one of my sisters had just passed away,” he said. “It was just my mom and three other siblings. She just couldn’t take care of me medically and health-wise. She didn’t want another child to pass, so that’s why she put me up for adoption.”
While he has been in contact with his birth family, he said the Rauch family is his family now. Samuel Rauch said he has two families now.
“I wouldn’t change it,” he said. “I’ve got a great family here that has helped me support my family over there recently. So that’s been a great step forward.”
Samuel Rauch last saw his family in Africa in 2023 during spring break of his senior year of high school.
“Meeting Samuel’s biological mother and brother was the greatest thing that happened to me in 2023,” Steve Rauch said. “It was an incredible, incredible time. It was so special to be able to connect.”
jbarron@gannett.com
740-681-4340
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This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Adopted son finds his path from Ethiopia to Fairfield County
Reporting by Jeff Barron, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette / Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Barron, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
