*All donations to the Marenya family are tax deductible.
Susan: I’ve always had a desire to adopt. I always thought I would adopt after having biological children. I couldn’t wait to become a mother. When I met Sylvester, I was so excited to see him become a father.
Sylvester: My dream has always been to be a father like the father I grew up with. My father was loving, caring, and protective. When I met Susan, I told my family that I knew that she was the one and that I looked forward to raising a family with her.
What Brought You Together?
Susan: We met playing pick-up soccer. After a year of playing with a group on Saturdays, I saw Sylvester and knew I needed to meet him. Not only was I impressed with how well he played, I was impressed with his positive attitude and friendly nature. We ended up talking at a housewarming party of a mutual friend. Within days, I learned that even though we were from such diverse backgrounds, we had much in common. We had similar goals and beliefs.
Sylvester: Our journey started playing soccer. We spent a lot of time together. Susan’s sense of humor and warmth won me over immediately. I knew she was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
Why Adopt Now?
Susan: Sylvester and I always wanted to start a family. We struggled with infertility for many years. We spent lots of time praying and hoping each month that the treatments would work or we would have a miracle. One evening while grieving another loss, I prayed for adoption to be in Sylvester’s heart. That evening he said that he would love to find out more about adoption. He asked me to start finding out about the process. The next day, a dear friend called to check on me. She then asked us if we would consider adopting a family member’s baby. It was everything we prayed about. Sylvester left a couple days later for training for his job. When he returned I gave him lots of information and stories and he said he was ready to start the adoption process.
Sylvester: After years of struggling with infertility, we spent a lot of time in prayer. We both felt led to adopting.
I am an elementary school teacher. My whole life has been working with children. I babysat throughout high school, volunteered in the church nursery, worked in daycares, and worked as a nanny while in college. I love to travel, learn about other cultures, play soccer, read, and swim.
Sylvester
I served active duty in the United States Army. I am currently in the National Guard. I also work in Law Enforcement.
I love playing and watching soccer. I enjoy traveling, playing the guitar, leading worship, and volunteering with the high school group.
Jan
14
Waiting
Sometimes the adoption process is very discouraging. Other times, like this weekend, we feel even more encouraged. All around us are pregnancy announcements and people adopting. The process is long and the cost is high. A couple days ago, as I was writing another check, I wondered if this was supposed to be our plan. We had to pay another $500 to attend a 2 day adoption class. We are hoping to hear back soon about a grant we applied for. Luckily I had some birthday money from the week before. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the class.
We woke up Friday morning to a cold and snowy day. Our drive to the church where it was held took a lot longer to get to because of the snow. We walked in a room with 3 other couples. 2 had already brought home babies and were close to finalizing their adoptions, the other couple was in the home study process. The first day of the class seemed to go slow. By the second day, we both felt even more prepared and excited to adopt. Listening to a panel of families that had already adopted gave us more assurance.
Today we attended church. The sermon was based on Ephesians 1:5-6 In lovehe predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. These words are so encouraging to us, knowing that we have been adopted into God’s family. This is even with our faults, and our past he has loved us and adopted us into his family. He gave us his name. This has motivated and encouraged us even though the process is hard, and there are some many unknowns. One thing we know is that at the right time, we will have the opportunity to welcome a child/ children into our family. As we continue to persevere in this process, please continue to pray for us, the grant we are hoping for, and our future expectant mother and child.
Nov
15
November updates
The baby we hoped to adopt was born three weeks ago. He is still in the NICU and there are situations beyond our control. As much as we hope to be able to bring him home to Colorado, right now we are praying that he will continue to grow stronger. We are still ready and willing if it is possible to bring him here. Will you continue to pray for this birth mother and her son? In the meantime, we are starting the self matching process and are on the waiting list for our agency.
Sep
29
Almost home study approved!
We finished our last home visit a couple weeks ago. We meet with the social worker/ adoption counselor on Thursday to sign the home study. Wow, do they ask a lot of questions. She even met with each of us individually for over 2 hours. On the last visit we talked about some of the answers. I know that we are ready!
We found out a couple days ago that the baby we hope to adopt is a boy. So exciting to be able refer to the baby as a he or with the name we would like to give him. It is getting so close. The baby is due in December. So much to do before then.
A friend ask what will we do if we can’t bring home this baby. This is the question that so many families have. Adoption is a heartbreaking process. We pray every night for the expectant mother, the baby, and the extended family. Will you continue to pray for us and this baby boy?
Sep
20
1st fundraiser a success!
We had our first yard sale fundraiser in Colorado Springs on 9/1/2018. Thanks to so many wonderful friends, we were able to raise $600.00 toward adoption expenses. The best part was that so many people took time out of a busy weekend to help or stop by to say hi! We felt so much love from our community!
