Two Families Adopted Daughters From China And Had No Idea They Lived Three Miles Apart In Missouri Until A DNA Test Revealed A Completely Dumbfounding Truth

It is the responsibility of an adoptive parent to ensure their new child feels integrated into both the family and the wider community. This task can be particularly challenging when the child originates from a different country.

With this challenge in mind, two families from a small town in Missouri, who had adopted daughters from two separate cities in China, arranged a playdate for their children. They hoped this meeting would help both girls acclimate to their new American lives. However, as the girls played together, one of the mothers noticed an immediate, unusually deep bond between them. Driven by curiosity, she suggested a DNA test, hoping it would explain their instant connection. The results of that test would ultimately shock everyone involved.

That mother was Stacy Manage, who had felt a calling since the age of 19 to adopt from China. In 2010, she and her husband, Jim, fulfilled that dream by adopting Eliana, a four-year-old girl from Longzhang, China.

Although the Manage family lived in a small Missouri town of fewer than 6,000 residents, they were not the only locals looking overseas to expand their family. It turned out that Paige and Steve Galbiers, a couple living just three miles away, were also in the process of adopting a young girl from China. Stacy and Jim quickly befriended the Galbiers after connecting during an adoptive parents’ meeting at their local church, setting the stage for an unbelievable discovery.