Testimonies | Testimonios 

These are some of the many testimonies shared by  people in our diocese! We thank the Lord for the gift of community. May we continue to give thanks and pray for one another, so that we may be witnesses of God's love to others.

Estos son algunos de los muchos testimonios de personas en nuestra diocesis. Le damos gracias a Dios por el don de comunidad. Continuemos dando gracias y orando unos por otros, para ser testigos del amor de Dios hacia los demas.

National Marriage Week

 

An Adoption Story

 Riley's mom, Debbie (left) embraces his birth mom, Michelle (right).

A wedding many times evokes tears of joy over the love shared between a couple and the commitment they make to each other on that special day. During one particular wedding, the tears came during an unexpected wedding toast from the mother of the bride. She called forth two moms and thanked them for the life of the groom. She thanked one for making the difficult decision as a young, vulnerable woman, to give birth to a baby she wasn’t prepared for. She thanked the other for raising that baby into the man who fulfilled her daughter’s dreams and prayers. Since I was the bride, I remember seeing the tears flowing in that moment, not just from me, but from many in attendance at the wedding. What a beautiful testament to choosing life.  What a humbling reminder to respect and value each person’s worth and the great sacrifice it can take for some to be here with us.
November is national adoption month, and my husband and I serve on the advisory committee for the office of Matrimony, Family Life, and Natural Family Planning. In a recent meeting, we discussed the importance of adoption and how to better highlight the blessings of adoption in a culture where abortion in unfortunately widely accepted and even celebrated. How do we help mothers overcome the fears of unexpected pregnancy? How do we help couples who may be struggling to conceive? How can we open hearts to adoption as a life-giving choice? Hopefully by sharing personal experiences, we can help others struggling with tough decisions. Adoption can come with obstacles, heartache, and sacrifice, but as Catholics, we know that sacrifice translates to love and sacrificial love can bring about great joy.
My husband’s birth mother, Michelle, found herself pregnant at the age of 18 early in her freshman year of college. Her boyfriend was still in high school and their relationship did not survive the distance between schools or the stress of an unexpected pregnancy. Michelle was from a rural, Catholic community and it never crossed her mind to consider abortion, but fearful of the disappointment from her family, she hid her pregnancy for the first five months. After revealing the pregnancy to her family, the news spread quickly and Michelle heard everyone’s opinions about how she would not be mentally or financially prepared to raise a child. She remembers thinking that her only two options were to give the baby up for adoption so she could finish college and do something with her life, or raise the baby accepting life as a single mom always struggling financially.
Michelle began her second semester at college feeling scared, alone, and five months pregnant. The encouragement and support she needed came in the form of a gift in the mail. A former CCD teacher sent her a journal and a note encouraging her to seek counseling with someone to guide her and the decisions she needed to make. She suggested contacting Catholic Charities. Michelle described her social worker through Catholic Charities as a “Godsend” saying, “She first helped me emotionally overcome the devastation of carrying an illegitimate child, then taught me how to be more secure, independent, and how to start loving myself.”  She supported Michelle into becoming a woman capable of raising a child, whether she decided to or not. Michelle very much wanted to keep her baby, fearful that she would place it with a family and never know if her child would be loved and well-cared for. However, she knew she would hardly be able to support herself and a baby financially. That’s when she was introduced to open adoption. Michelle’s social worker helped her and the birth father read through case files and portfolios of hopeful adoptive parents.
Meanwhile, Larry and Debbie Schmidt had struggled for years in their marriage to conceive, so after finally giving birth to a baby girl, they decided to pursue adoption rather than endure any more years of heartache and medical expenses struggling with infertility issues.  They contacted Catholic Social Services, were accepted, and began four months of preparation classes. They compiled a photo album of their life and home and described their jobs and involvements within their community. They completed a home study eliminating concerns about health and safety issues and began the wait to be matched with a birthmother.
Michelle gave birth to a healthy baby boy in April of 1989. She immediately fell in love and while the baby was placed in a temporary home while she finished school and finals, she decided she wanted to move home with the baby that summer. She quickly realized being a parent was much harder than babysitting someone else’s child. Michelle describes an emotional moment of clarity: “Exhausted from nighttime feedings and feeling physically and emotionally drained from fighting between my family and the birth father, I went out one day for a walk. We lived in the country and on this particular day I was crying very hard, was all alone, and was a mile from the house. I cried for God to help me figure out my life. Out of nowhere, I felt a hand on my shoulder and a peaceful male voice quietly telling me to give the baby up for adoption. I was very startled and looked around, but no one was there. As I walked the rest of the way home, I immediately felt a calmness come over me and I knew the Holy Spirit was present and guiding me.”
At six weeks old, the baby was handed over to Larry and Debbie by Michelle and the birth father, with other family present at a beautiful adoption ceremony in the Catholic Church. Larry and Debbie named the boy Riley Dean, never even knowing that the birth father's name was Dean. God intervened in this baby’s life and ensured that all were blessed in the giving and receiving of this gift. An open adoption allowed for communication and loving visits with his birth parents. Debbie reflects that, “The open adoption was the best thing for all of us because it allowed Riley to know his background and be loved by his extended birth family.” Riley was able to serve the mass at Michelle’s wedding to her husband, Curtis in 2001. Michelle and Dean were both able to celebrate Riley’s big life events, attending his high school graduation in 2007 and our wedding in 2011, where those many tears of thankfulness flowed over glasses of champagne.
Adoption, if handled with the love and care that the church teaches, does not seek to rob a woman of motherhood, but gives her the dignity of bringing a baby into the world, and blessing a family with that life. It takes great sacrifice and love to make a choice that values a life over your own. I pray that if given the opportunity, we can all be the support a woman might need to find worth in her own life and the life she can bring to the world.

 

Jenny Schmidt, Spearville

Marriage & Infertility | Matrimonio e Infertilidad

   Abraham's baptism Dec. 6, 2020

Veronica and I had been living together for 10 years. She had always dreamed of marrying in the Church, but I had this belief that couples who got married in the Church would end up separating. On February 20, 2018, we had an accident where the car turned over four times and was completely torn apart, but nothing happened to us. We felt that being alive was a gift from God, like a second chance and that made us feel the need to get closer to Christ. I went to a retreat called Curso Felipe which changed my life. I began the RCIA process and we started to attend Mass together. 

In September of that same year, we had our first appointment with Fr. Wesley to begin preparing to receive the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Marriage preparation classes helped us realize that we were living in sin and also helped us understand the importance of receiving the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. We received the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony on August 17, 2019 and it has been a great blessing to us. Do not believe what people say, what I thought before; that when couples receive the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, they end up separating or their relationship gets worse. Our invitation to you is; If you are not married, get married in the church, receive the Sacrament. We are witnesses of the sacrament’s blessings because God changed our life through it. 

During the 10 years we had been together, we had not achieved a pregnancy. In May of 2019, we began to use a natural family planning method called the Creighton Model FertilityCare System. This method helped us to grow in communication and respect as a couple and to receive infertility treatment. We attend a prayer service every Thursday with the Community Servants of the Living Christ. One Thursday, during adoration, someone came to me and said God had placed in their heart that I would have a son. A month later, we found out we were pregnant; something we had desired for so many years!

Our son Abraham was born on October 29, 2020. God is good and keeps his promises!

 

Veronica y yo vivimos juntos por 10 años. Ella siempre habia soñado con casarse por la Iglesia, pero yo tenia la creencia que las parejas que se casaban por la Iglesia terminaban separandose. El 20 de febrero del 2018, tuvimos un accidente donde el carro dio vuelta cuatro veces y quedo completamente destrozado, pero no nos paso nada. Sentimos que era un regalo de Dios estar vivos, como una segunda oportunidad y eso nos hizo sentir la necesidad de acercarnos a Jesus. Asisti a un Curso Felipe que cambio mi vida. Comenze el proceso de RICA y empezamos a asistir a Misa juntos.

En Septiembre de ese mismo año, tuvimos nuestra primera cita con Padre Wesley para comenzar preparandonos para recibir el Sacramento del Matrimonio. Las clases pre-matrimoniales nos ayudaron a darnos cuenta que estabamos viviendo en pecado y tambien nos ayudaron a entender la importancia de recibir el Sacramento del Matrimonio.  Recibimos el Sacramento del Matrimonio el 17 de Agosto del 2019 y ha diso de gran bendicion para nosotros. No crean lo que la gente dice, lo que yo pensaba antes; que las parejas que se casan por la Iglesia terminan separandose o que su relacion empeora. Nuestra invitacion para ti es; si no estan casados, casense por la Iglesia, reciban el sacramento. Somos testigos de la bendicion del Sacramento porque Dios cambio nuestra vida atravez de el.

En los diez años que llevabamos juntos, no habiamos logrado un embarazo. En Mayo del 2019 comenzamos a usar un metodo de planificación familiar natural llamado, Creighton Model FertilityCare System. Este metodo nos ayudo a crecer en comunicacion y respeto como pareja y a recibir tratamiento para infertilidad. Nosotros asistimos a una Asamblea de oracion de la Comunidad Siervos de Cristo Vivo todos los jueves. Un jueves durante la adoracion, se acerco a mi una persona a decirme que el Señor le habia puesto en su corazon que yo tendria un hijo varon. Un mes despues, nos enteramos que estabamos embarazados; algo que tanto habiamos anhelado!

Nuestro hijo Abraham nacio el 29 de Octubre del 2020. Dios es bueno y cumple sus promesas!

 

Alfredo Palma, Dodge City