Santiago Adoption Fund
Donation protected
A life long heart for adoption, a changed perspective on how God grows a family, a dedication to financial independence and trusting in the Lord's perfect plan...this is our story.
God has given me (Briana) a heart for adoption that's been on my heart since a very very young age. Long before our miscarriages, long before our two precious little girls, long before I married Daniel, long before I even started looking for a husband. From childhood, as my family fostered newborn babies moving toward adoption, I adored watching how God knit together these families. It was always in His perfect timing and he left no detail overlooked. I fell in love with the idea of giving a home of love and stability to a baby who would have otherwise been forgotten. As I became an adult, found the love of my life and had two beautiful daughters this pull did not lessen, God leaned on my heart more and more.
After an intense experience with a friend's crisis pregnancy, Daniel heard the whispers of the Lord as well. He confided in me that through that experience, God had opened his heart toward adoption and together we began to pray asking for guidance and wisdom in this decision. We prayed for what age this little one should be, what agency we should go through and what country they should come from and whether our girls were ready to accept a new brother or sister. And without hesitation, without reservation, God was telling us to move.
Despite our hearts being ready, despite hearing the call from the Lord, we knew this was going to be a dramatic change in our lives. And in the forefront of our practical minds was the issue of finances. We have been diligently working towards getting out of debt. We have celebrated some very significant financial successes this year and are closer to being financially free than ever before.
But, all that extra towards paying off our debt has left us with little to put towards welcoming home a new baby. We have completed Home Study visits, filled out reams of paperwork and have almost received our certification. Our next step is being matched with a birth mom, and we are working with an agency that has 15 mothers waiting for families. Our chances of being matched, right away, are very high. And we could have a baby in our arms as quickly as March. In total our adoption will cost us $25,000 with half of that due right at the time of match. A daunting figure no matter who you are... At this time we fall short of this number by $12,000.
But God is greater than our fear. Asking for this kind of help pushes us so far out of our comfort zone that we get paralyzed. Of course, God knew we needed some encouragement so in our recent bible study He had us read this: "Take a step of faith when God gives you a vision because you trust that the One who gave you the vision is going to make provision. And for the record, if the vision is from God, it will most definitely be beyond your means."
As we prayed and rested in the Word, we kept returning again and again to Philippians 4:19- "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." We know He has given us a vision of the future of our family and we believe that it comes in the bundle of a little adopted baby. And we KNOW we can NOT do it alone. Which leads us to this email... and to you.
First and foremost, we love and desire your prayer. We believe Matthew 18:19 - "if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.", your prayers are felt already! This journey ahead, into adopting, is not an easy road. We know we are going to have challenges, some we expect and others we have no idea are coming.
If God leads you to financially support us and you can donate just $10, $50 or $100 we are eternally grateful for supporting a part of our little family's story. We are looking forward to putting your name in the book of people who helped us bring them home... even the littlest amount helps. $10 is $10 closer to $12,500. We are appreciative of every little amount.
If God places it on your heart to do more, I would love to thank you the best way I know how, which is through photography... It is my passion and nothing means more to me than families having wonderful photos of THEIR most precious gifts. I would love to gift YOU for gifting to our little family.
This is so much bigger than us, and we are nervous, anxious and excited to see God move in a mighty way. In His timing we will welcome home the little baby that He has chosen for us. We have a lot of love to give in this house and we cant wait to extend that to our newest family member.
Thank you so much for reading our story. Thank you for your love and support over the 10+ years of our relationship, helping our family heal, grow and thrive. A new chapter is just beginning... and we are so so very excited about it.
Love you all so very much! And Merry Merry Christmas!
Briana & Daniel Santiago
God has given me (Briana) a heart for adoption that's been on my heart since a very very young age. Long before our miscarriages, long before our two precious little girls, long before I married Daniel, long before I even started looking for a husband. From childhood, as my family fostered newborn babies moving toward adoption, I adored watching how God knit together these families. It was always in His perfect timing and he left no detail overlooked. I fell in love with the idea of giving a home of love and stability to a baby who would have otherwise been forgotten. As I became an adult, found the love of my life and had two beautiful daughters this pull did not lessen, God leaned on my heart more and more.
After an intense experience with a friend's crisis pregnancy, Daniel heard the whispers of the Lord as well. He confided in me that through that experience, God had opened his heart toward adoption and together we began to pray asking for guidance and wisdom in this decision. We prayed for what age this little one should be, what agency we should go through and what country they should come from and whether our girls were ready to accept a new brother or sister. And without hesitation, without reservation, God was telling us to move.
Despite our hearts being ready, despite hearing the call from the Lord, we knew this was going to be a dramatic change in our lives. And in the forefront of our practical minds was the issue of finances. We have been diligently working towards getting out of debt. We have celebrated some very significant financial successes this year and are closer to being financially free than ever before.
But, all that extra towards paying off our debt has left us with little to put towards welcoming home a new baby. We have completed Home Study visits, filled out reams of paperwork and have almost received our certification. Our next step is being matched with a birth mom, and we are working with an agency that has 15 mothers waiting for families. Our chances of being matched, right away, are very high. And we could have a baby in our arms as quickly as March. In total our adoption will cost us $25,000 with half of that due right at the time of match. A daunting figure no matter who you are... At this time we fall short of this number by $12,000.
But God is greater than our fear. Asking for this kind of help pushes us so far out of our comfort zone that we get paralyzed. Of course, God knew we needed some encouragement so in our recent bible study He had us read this: "Take a step of faith when God gives you a vision because you trust that the One who gave you the vision is going to make provision. And for the record, if the vision is from God, it will most definitely be beyond your means."
As we prayed and rested in the Word, we kept returning again and again to Philippians 4:19- "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." We know He has given us a vision of the future of our family and we believe that it comes in the bundle of a little adopted baby. And we KNOW we can NOT do it alone. Which leads us to this email... and to you.
First and foremost, we love and desire your prayer. We believe Matthew 18:19 - "if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.", your prayers are felt already! This journey ahead, into adopting, is not an easy road. We know we are going to have challenges, some we expect and others we have no idea are coming.
If God leads you to financially support us and you can donate just $10, $50 or $100 we are eternally grateful for supporting a part of our little family's story. We are looking forward to putting your name in the book of people who helped us bring them home... even the littlest amount helps. $10 is $10 closer to $12,500. We are appreciative of every little amount.
If God places it on your heart to do more, I would love to thank you the best way I know how, which is through photography... It is my passion and nothing means more to me than families having wonderful photos of THEIR most precious gifts. I would love to gift YOU for gifting to our little family.
This is so much bigger than us, and we are nervous, anxious and excited to see God move in a mighty way. In His timing we will welcome home the little baby that He has chosen for us. We have a lot of love to give in this house and we cant wait to extend that to our newest family member.
Thank you so much for reading our story. Thank you for your love and support over the 10+ years of our relationship, helping our family heal, grow and thrive. A new chapter is just beginning... and we are so so very excited about it.
Love you all so very much! And Merry Merry Christmas!
Briana & Daniel Santiago
Organizer
Briana Santiago
Organizer
Scottsdale, AZ
