Anneke’s Bio: 
Anneke has a heart for vulnerable children and their families in her city and around the globe. She has worked together with local ministries and her church community to pour into families facing isolation and crisis situation to prevent family separation. The same heart for vulnerable children also goes out for the nations, the millions of children that are affected by family separation and find themselves as orphans. Anneke is passionate about ethical orphan care, caring for the least of these, and sharing that passion with families pursuing adoptions. After walking through the process of an international adoption twice, she has an understanding of both the beauty and challenges that come with the journey, and is excited to support Liz and her families offering encouragement, prayer, care, and everything in between. Anneke lives in Wisconsin with her husband Joey, their two kids from Liberia, and her lively crew of cats and chickens.
Anneke’s Story:
Growing up on a family owned dairy farm in rural northern Germany, in a multi-generational home and a tight-knit village where everyone would lend a hand to their neighbors, it wasn’t until I moved away that I realized the vulnerability of families facing isolation or crisis.
Filled with excitement and curiosity, I had the opportunity to move to the outskirts of Milwaukee, WI in my early 20s for a one-year nanny position. Little did I know that I would meet my husband during that year, and I have now called Milwaukee home for over a decade. In our first year of marriage, we started volunteering with a ministry serving vulnerable families in crisis in our city. I quickly learned that my experience of family structures and community support is far from the norm, and my heart was torn wide open for the children that did not get to be blind to hardship but lived it as their everyday life. Over the years, our ministry work has opened our hearts and home to many children for a day to a few months, brought beautiful friendships into our lives walking together through valleys and over mountaintops, and has led us to share the importance of strengthening families.
Our commitment and conviction to care for the vulnerable didn’t stop at the borders of our city, but also opened our eyes to the millions of children worldwide that have been affected and impacted by the brokenness within families, poverty, war, and lack of support, and now find themselves as orphans. I believe wholeheartedly that every child belongs in a family, and walking alongside families growing and blossoming through the journey of ethical international adoptions, making a child a son or daughter again, is such an honor to be part of.
