| I thank my God every time I remember you……Philippians 1:3
 As we are preparing to celebrate our precious Maggie’s first birthday, I can’t help but think about two very special gifts we were given almost one year ago. The first gift we were given was our birth mom. I hope one day that she will come to understand just what a gift she is to us. She made such unselfish decisions -- the first being not to terminate the pregnancy, and the second to place her precious child in our home. The second gift we were given is our precious little girl. She is the joy of our lives. Every one that meets her is taken by her. All of our friends and family know what a special gift she is too. Our daughter’s birth mother will always be honored, respected and cherished in our home. I especially think of our birth mom when I am rocking Maggie back to sleep in the middle of the night after she has had her bottle. I look into my baby girl’s face and I pray for her birth mother. If it wasn’t for our birth mother’s unselfish decision to place her baby in our home, I would not have the privilege of this special moment. After years of infertility, miscarriages, our biological son being gravely ill, and a failed adoption, I wasn’t sure if our dream to have another child would ever be realized. Then we met our birth mom. She made our dream a reality. Yes, we received two gifts almost a year ago, and we do thank God every time we remember our birth mom.
Sincerely, Craig and Barb and family |
A GIFT FROM GOD
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…” James 1:17 NKJV
 The adoption process was a lesson in patience and trust. Gary and I were excited at the prospect of becoming parents and overjoyed with the opportunity to adopt. We never knew how much work it would take to prepare but, it was worth it all.
We each had an open heart for adopting prior to our marriage. So, it was exciting when a visiting pastor confirmed that he saw children, a daughter becoming a part of our family. Many adoption opportunities came our way yet, we believed that God would reveal His perfect will for us. This is where patience and trust came in. There were family and friends with questions as to why it was taking so long as well as the two of us working hard to remain positive. It was important to us to have God in the driver’s seat.
God gave us a sign.
Our homestudy was approved April 1, 2009, my birthday. We had been told not to purchase baby things until after we were selected and it was a sure thing. However, while going through the homestudy process, I began searching the internet for a crib. I found one I liked and had it delivered. The box sat in the garage for months. When Gary decided to set up the crib, it gave us something tangible to hold on to. I can’t tell you how many times I walked into the nursery envisioning our much anticipated daughter lying in that crib and thanking God in advance for her.
A year had past since our homestudy approval and we remained unwaivered. On April 26, 2010 Gary received a call from Christa, with SOFA, advising that we had been selected. In fact we had been selected months earlier but, contact had been lost with the birth mother. Gary was told that the birth mother wanted to know if we were still available and she was pleased to learn that we were. SOFA stated that the baby was expected in early May however, current circumstances indicated an early birth. Just before Gary came to share the news with me, God impressed upon my heart to thank him for our daughter.
Decision Time
While Gary shared the news from SOFA, I felt a peace come over me. This is when I learned the expected baby was a girl. I asked him how he felt and thought. He said we should go for it and I agreed.
On April 30, 2010 we received a call at 8:00 a.m. I answered the phone and Christa surprised us with “Happy Mother’s Day!” I was stunned. We found ourselves driving three hours that afternoon to meet our daughter, who was just born that morning, and the birth mother for the first time. It felt like a dream. All those months looking at an empty crib and now, holding a newborn in my arms. What a precious gift from God. We can never say enough about the love of the birth mother who entrusted her baby to us. It was a blessing to be able to ask her questions and to provide her with answers as well.
Gary and I were able to bring our daughter home within sixty hours of her birth. It has been a love fest since that day. Every day has been and still is a joy. We look forward to the new discoveries through her eyes and experiencing her sweet and happy personality. Our family and friends can not get enough of her.
We thank God for answering our prayers and placing us in the hands of SOFA. Phill, Stacy and Christa add a personal touch in an area that’s greatly needed. Clearly they love what they do while fulfilling our heavenly Father’s mission of love and exhibiting joy each time a baby is placed with their forever family. Our prayer is that more couples and families would hear God and open their hearts and homes to His precious little gifts. God bless the many birth parents that choose life and the gift of adoption.
We thank SOFA for their help and support during some of the challenging aspects of the adoption process. Also, we wish SOFA much success in their new role of a custodial agency as they endeavor to make a difference and bring much happiness to our communities.
Nat, Gary and Rayah
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 We were so excited to hear that Spirit of Faith Adoptions is being led to become a custodial agency. We aren't excited for ourselves - we're excited for you! Our family is complete now, but we want you to know just what a blessing it will be for your family when Spirit of Faith is able to handle all aspects of the process for you from start to finish. We found these wonderful people at Spirit of Faith after our home-study had already been completed. We went through Orientation with them, and they distributed our profile. One of the most wonderful things about this agency is that they care about you, and your family, and they care about the birthmothers so much. Their goal is for these babies and children to be with their forever families. I believe they feel privileged to be able to help with that in any way that God directs. As it turned out in our situation, we were chosen by our son’s birthmother through a different agency that Spirit of Faith had worked with in the past. Even though Spirit of Faith was not the agency that facilitated our actual placement, that was fine with them. They honestly let God lead. Due to an issue with the court system and the county our son was born in, Spirit of Faith was not able to do our post placement visits. Even during that time, we were still receiving support and helpful literature from them. We were just blown away that we were still important to them, even though they weren't officially part of the process. What a journey it has been to get to this place! Every adoption story is amazing. Every single one is so cool to listen to, and it's awesome to hear how God works in each situation. Spirit of Faith is different from any other agency you may find. These people really do care. This is not just a paycheck to them, it is a ministry. Spirit of Faith has been such a blessing to us, and we know you'll be blessed by them as well. That's why we are so excited for you, and Spirit of Faith, to be able to make this new step. You are already working with wonderful people, who want nothing but the best out of this process for you. This is going to make such a big difference because now they will be able to accept relinquishments from birth parents and the whole legal process will be easier. We pray that you will experience God's perfect timing, and awesome love through this journey. It's amazing how well God takes care of his children, and believe me, he will work it out in ways that you would never have even imagined, or thought to ask Him for.
Blessings,
Craig, Adrienne, Gabe, and Cooper
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The power of prayer is very real and is available to all who choose to use it. When two of you gather… in prayer, my Father in heaven goes into action. When two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I will be there. Matthew 18:19-20
Every day, we ask God to guide and direct our steps, honoring Him in service and Christian love.
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How do you put into words the feeling we had when we received the call that we had been chosen as the adoptive parents of a healthy, beautiful & perfect little 8 lb 4 oz baby boy born just 12 hours earlier? Trying to find those words seems impossible, but after holding him in our arms and feeling the rush of love and happiness surge through us, we first said Thank You to God for blessing us with a gift like no other & then we wanted to tell everyone our story of the events that led up to this incredible time in our lives & about those that helped to make it possible!
Our initial adoption path started with calls to agencies we located on the Internet and also through word of month. After speaking with several agencies, Spirit of Faith stood out above and beyond any other because they showed an interest in us as individuals, versus just another couple. When we would call or inquire about anything, their staff was very quick to respond and make sure we were all on the same page. Our first in-person meeting with the agency was a real eye-opener and it further solidified our decision that Spirit of Faith was definitely the agency for us. At that meeting, we had the opportunity to meet a birth mom that had placed two children for adoption. Listening to her story of the differences between that two and also learning more about adoption in general helped us to understand the emotional side of things versus the legalities.
After our home study was complete, we had prepared ourselves for the “long wait” that is often talked about in adoption, but within the 1st month, we received a call that we were one of three couples chosen to speak with a birth mom. We were cautiously optimistic, but learned a few days after our meeting that another couple had been chosen. Although we were disappointed, we were happy for the chosen couple and knew that if it was not meant to be for us, then there was a reason for that.
Then a month later, another call!! The following day, we met Levi’s birth mom. What an incredible woman! The love that she had for Levi was pouring out and it made us want to reassure her that he will be loved, cared for and spoiled like no other. We all decided that we would remain in touch via mail and email so that she can see him growing up. Just 4 days after he was born, we were able to bring him home to the open arms of family and friends, all super excited to meet the newest addition the family. Levi is now an active, strong little guy, cute as a button!
It is amazing to see that God does have a plan and although we may not understand it at the time, everything happens for a reason. If your journey takes a few months or a few years, please know that it all part of a bigger plan, and in the end, it is worth the roller coaster ride to get there regardless of how long or short that ride may be.
We are truly blessed to have Levi in our lives, and that is in part due to the incredible staff members at Spirit of Faith who all show such a strong sense of genuine compassion, thoroughness and knowledge throughout out adoption process. We would be excited to recommend them to anyone considering the possibility of adoption in their future.
Levi, Erin & Kim
Praise God for uniting this precious baby with his forever family!
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Praise God! Max, his older brother and his sisters are
getting to know one another and bond as a family!
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 Alan and Julie united with their son through
the blessing of adoption in 2010. |
Faith makes miracles happen!
 My husband and I talked about growing a family through adoption even before we were married. On our 3rd anniversary, we put our faith in God's hands and began our adoption journey. We went to a few informational meetings and met with a couple of lawyers to explore our options.
After completing our homestudy and still not feeling sure of the agencies and lawyers we had spoken to, a friend gave us Christa's phone number. This was the beginning of a tremendous "leap of faith". After speaking to Christa and Phill, we filled out an application and received an email back requesting more information and inviting us to the August Orientation.
After going through the Orientation and completely reworking our profile with Christa's help, we felt God had led us in the right direction and we were at peace with our decision. In November, we received an email from Spirit of Faith about a birth mom who had recently found out she was pregnant and due at the end of December. The email explained that the baby had been exposed to some potentially dangerous situations including no prenatal care until the 3rd trimester. After speaking to our doctor and doing a lot of praying, we decided to once again, take a leap of faith, granting our permission to Christa to share our profile with the birth mother. A week later, we received the phone call that she selected us to be her baby’s parents.
 We met her a few weeks later. She was a wonderful, caring person with a very big heart. Less than a month after this meeting, a healthy 7 lb. 5 oz. baby girl was born. We were at the hospital when she was born and we were blessed to meet Izabel’s entire biological family. From the minute Izabel came into our lives, she has been a true blessing. She is now six months old with two teeth and a great smile. She loves the pool and playing with her cousins and other friends. We finalize her adoption next week and couldn’t be happier. Our "leap of faith" resulted in the greatest little miracle ever. We thank God everyday for Izabel and for her birth mom. We talk to Izzy everyday telling her what a caring and loving person her birth mom is and how much she loves her. |
A long, worthwhile wait
 We had been trying to adopt since November of 2004. After years of dealing with different agencies, we heard about Spirit of Faith through a friend last year. Spirit of Faith is different from everyone else we worked with because the staff there truly cares about the birth parents and adoptive families.
After five years of waiting, we had almost given up hope. Then, Spirit of Faith networked with another local agency on our behalf and connected us to an expectant parent, due to deliver a baby any day. At that time, we were in the process of updating our home study which needed to be done by Christmas Eve. With the holiday, there was no way our paperwork could get there in time. Phillip Wurster partnered with the other agency and devised a plan to work out all of the details on our behalf. At 6:04 p.m., we got the call that we were the proud family of a baby boy, born on December 24th . We couldn't believe it! Our wait to complete our family was finally done. We drove to Ohio to meet Miles for the first time on New Year's Eve; what a wonderful way to bring in the New Year.
Miles was released into foster care on December 28. We went to his foster family's house to meet him for the first time. When Ellen opened the door, we instantly fell in love with our new son. We had decided to let our son, Keegan be the first to hold Miles since he had waited so long to be a big brother. The smile and tears on Keegan's face when Ellen placed Miles into his arms was totally worth it. To this day, we are still very close with Miles' foster family. We truly believe that our story wouldn't have ended the same if Spirit of Faith and Ellen hadn't been part of it.
I know that sometimes, the wait seems like forever, but stay focused and keep praying. It was amazing to see God's hand in our adoption. God blessed us with a handsome son and so many wonderful people to help us through the process. Thank you so much to everyone at Spirit of Faith. A very special thanks to Phillip for all of the countless hours he worked on our behalf on Christmas Eve. We highly recommend Spirit of Faith to both birth parents and adoptive families.
Dan, Michelle, Keegan, and Miles |
The Gift of a Father
 Often when I see Mark with Isaac I think the most wonderful gift Isaac's birthmother gave him was the gift of a father.
If she had not decided to make an adoption plan, but had chosen instead to raise her little one herself, Isaac would have had a mother. He even would have had wonderful grandparents who most likely would have been very involved in his life (we met them, and they are wonderful people). But he wouldn't have had a father.
The other night I listened through the baby monitor as Mark put Isaac to bed. Since I'm ready for a break by 6:30 or so, that task usually falls to Mark--and he does a much better job than I do. Mark talks the whole time while he's putting on a diaper, changing Isaac into his pajamas, as he gives him his evening bottle. That night I listened as Mark read Isaac a simple board book, but added his own commentary, pointing out details in the pictures. When they got to a picture of a baby in a "bouncy seat", Mark said, "Oh look, Isaac, that baby is in a bouncy seat--his mommy must be in the shower." :-) Then Mark rubs each of Isaac's fingers and each of his toes, as he counts them--One, two, three, four, five. Usually he will quietly sing Isaac a song just before he puts him down in his crib with his Mr. Elephant.
I absolutely love watching Mark be a dad--I'm sure every wife who is blessed to have children loves to watch the transformation of her husband into a loving father. It makes it a little more amazing to me that it is the miracle of adoption that not only gives me the opportunity to see Mark become a father, but that makes it possible for Isaac to even have a father in his life.
I am so grateful for the woman who made this choice. When Isaac's birthmother is thinking about him, I pray that God will comfort and bless her, and give her some sense of the wonderful gift she gave her child--the gift of a father. |
Thoughts from a Birth Mother about her son:
 If I stopped for one minute and thought about my emotions, I wouldn't have given my son up for adoption. He is my son - I love him - I am his mother! The decision was not about what I was feeling, but what my son deserved. My son deserved a 2 parent home. My son deserved parents that were ready to be parents. My son deserved to be raised by adults - not immature teenagers. My son deserved a stable home environment. My son deserved so many things, because he was my son; he deserved the best! I could not provide any of those things for him. The only reasons to keep my son were all selfish... they were all about my feelings, and what I felt I deserved or should be allowed to have or experience. Handing over my perfectly healthy baby after being with him for nine months, but only holding and seeing him for three days, was the hardest thing I have ever done. It has been 17 years, and even now thinking about that moment, I just started crying. I did not make that decision because I thought for one moment it would be easy for me; I did it for my son. I think about him... and sometimes, like on his birthday, I am sad... but most of the time when I think about him, I think about what a great life he has. He has a great family, good parents, a brother, a happy, stable life, a pet... all the things I would given him myself if I could have... and that is how I sleep good at night. I know he is happy, and has a solid foundation for a successful future. That is the most a parent could want for their child... and it is what I have given my son.
~Becky |
Our Journey to Grace
She doesn’t have my eyes, or my nose. She loves shoes and food just like me. I love her just as much as my other three kids. After waiting two years for our china adoption my husband Scott and I and our three biological children decided to switch to the special needs program. We switched on Tuesday and we were linked to Grace by Thursday. Her special need was, she had several birthmarks which were removed in china. The five of us traveled to China over this past summer to bring her home. I have a son Scott 15yrs, Madisen is 12yrs and Ella is 9yrs. We all adore her and it has been such a faith journey. If I was younger, I would do it all over again. Grace has adjusted so well to us. She sleeps and naps well, She is funny and happy and bonded with us each in her own way. She is so amazing and really completes our family.
Sincerely, Julie |
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We are Keith, Rachel, Henry, Ruth and David. The path leading us into the miracle of adoption is bound up in the mysteries of God but a key step in the process came when we contacted Spirit of Faith Adoptions.
Read our story. |
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Lisa and Todd and Aiden share their road to adoption with you. Read our story. |
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