Eternal Family Adoptions
Eternal Family Adoptions
Podcast Description
Eternal Family Adoptions explores the sacred journey of building forever families through faith-centered adoption. Host Donna Pope, Executive Director of Heart To Heart Adoptions, brings 25+ years of experience to every conversation, alongside co-host Nathan Gwilliam, founder and former CEO of Adoption.com. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share their stories of divine guidance, spiritual preparation, and eternal connections formed through adoption. Birth parents discuss how faith supported them through difficult decisions. Adoptive families reveal how prayer and spiritual discernment shaped their journey. Adoptees share both the challenges and joys of their unique stories. Faith leaders explore how congregations can better support adoption. Each episode honors the sacred nature of family creation while providing practical guidance for those called to grow their families through adoption. This podcast creates a space where spiritual principles meet real-world adoption experiences, helping listeners understand how faith can guide every step of the adoption process.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
This podcast focuses on the sacred journey of adoption, highlighting topics such as spiritual guidance, challenges faced by birth parents, and the joys experienced by adoptive families. Episodes like An Adoption Story that Traversed 8 Countries examine unvarnished truths about international adoption and the emotional realities therein, while other episodes explore barriers to adoption within the LDS community and ways to overcome them.
Eternal Family Adoptions explores the sacred journey of building forever families through faith-centered adoption. Host Donna Pope, Executive Director of Heart To Heart Adoptions, brings 25+ years of experience to every conversation, alongside co-host Nathan Gwilliam, founder and former CEO of Adoption.com. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share their stories of divine guidance, spiritual preparation, and eternal connections formed through adoption. Birth parents discuss how faith supported them through difficult decisions. Adoptive families reveal how prayer and spiritual discernment shaped their journey. Adoptees share both the challenges and joys of their unique stories. Faith leaders explore how congregations can better support adoption. Each episode honors the sacred nature of family creation while providing practical guidance for those called to grow their families through adoption. This podcast creates a space where spiritual principles meet real-world adoption experiences, helping listeners understand how faith can guide every step of the adoption process.
Jennifer and Alexander faced infertility with less than 5% chance of IVF success. After difficult experiences with foster care where they felt judged for their religious beliefs, they found Heart to Heart Adoptions. In this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions, host Donna Pope sits down with Jennifer and Alexander to explore how two devastating failed matches prepared them for the adoption that was always meant to be.
The Ohio Heartbreak
Months later, a birth mother in Ohio selected them for her baby girl. Jennifer was traveling when the mother went into early labor. They rerouted flights and drove to Dayton together. The social worker immediately told them the mother had changed her mind. Alexander felt prompted to leave their family book anyway. Thirty minutes later, she changed her mind again and wanted to place. Then changed it once more. They left devastated and drove to the Carmel temple, where they felt peace despite the pain.
The Call From the Temple
Driving back, they received a call about Irene, the first birth mother from months earlier. She was ready to place her baby. This time, the team flew to New Orleans first to sign paperwork. Jennifer and Alexander spent the day walking where Irene lived on the streets, understanding the sacrifice she was making. Today, they post weekly updates on Hearts Connect, keeping their word even without responses.
This episode offers hope for families facing failed adoption matches, showing that heartbreak can build the faith needed to recognize the child who was always meant to be yours.
This episode offers hope for families facing adoption disappointments, showing that covenant keeping and spiritual preparation matter more than perfect timing when we honor our word to birth mothers, seek revelation through uncertainty, and allow temple worship to anchor us through trials.
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Website: EternalFamilyAdoptions.org | YouTube: @EternalFamilyAdoptions | Twitter/X: @ef_Adoptions | Instagram: Eternal_Family_Adoptions | Facebook : Eternal Family Adoptions | LinkedIn: Eternal-Family-Adoptions
Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @nathangwilliam
Follow Donna Pope: LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652ba
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