Testimonies - Page 2 of 39 - Moms in the Making

Earlier this year, my husband and I were overjoyed to find out that we were expecting a baby boy, who is set to arrive any day now. Everything seemed to be going well at first. I was very sick, but I was so happy and grateful for my baby that I barely minded. At our 12-week ultrasound, I brought my husband and my mom so they could both see the baby. A few moments into our appointment, I could tell something was off. The provider asked my husband to please have a seat and proceeded to say, “The good news is that you definitely have a baby growing inside your uterus; however…” I couldn’t fully process everything at that moment other than hearing phrases like “compatibility with life” and “we’re so sorry.”

It turns out that our son had something called a cystic hygroma, which is an abnormal buildup of fluid at the back of his neck. We were referred to maternal-fetal medicine in the city, where one doctor told us that our baby had Down syndrome and immediately offered an abortion. When we refused, the doctor became condescending and told us we didn’t understand what we were getting into. We decided to get a new doctor. Our high-risk doctor has been a blessing from God. After seeing so many specialists who insisted on referring to our baby as “the fetus” and pushing invasive testing, it was a breath of fresh air to have a doctor who saw my baby as a patient, not just a specimen.

Even well into my second trimester and beyond, every new doctor would ask if I was still committed to the pregnancy and made sure to let me know that abortion was still an option. Our doctor informed us that while our baby didn’t have a chromosomal disorder, the cystic hygroma was so large that they were very concerned it would begin to suffocate him as he grew. They respected our decision to continue the pregnancy but began preparing us for the possibility that we might not be leaving the hospital with him. Despite this, God gave us such peace. I’m thrilled to share that after much prayer, his last ultrasound showed a completely miraculous healing! Thank you Lord!
After 5 years of infertility, we welcomed our first child in September of 2022 following IVF. Before our treatments, our fertility doctor said we’d have a 0.001% chance of conceiving without IVF. We rejoiced when our second transfer resulted in our daughter.

Fast forward to October 2023. I attended the Moms in the Making conference again. I didn’t know if we’d try to have any more children, as we didn’t have more embryos and were apprehensive about doing IVF again. God used that weekend to change my heart – to tell me to believe that He could do abundantly more than I could ask or think. To believe that He could bring us another child.

I had no idea then how He would do it – but He did! Just a few weeks later, I found out on Thanksgiving morning that we were pregnant! No treatments. Just God blessing us abundantly more than we ever imagined.

9 months later I gave birth to our surprise miracle baby: Carissa Joy. God didn’t have to but He is just that good!!!!
My husband and I have been believing for our babies for over 11 years now. Throughout 2022, I wrestled with the Lord about pursuing IVF, something I had never wanted to do. By the end of that year, the Lord softened my heart and provided the means to take that step, as my insurance began covering it.

We entered 2023 filled with hope, believing that soon our babies would be in our arms, not just our hearts. The doctor discovered a uterine abnormality and performed surgery to correct it, which caused a delay. We weren’t able to do an egg retrieval until July 2023. Praise God, we had 5 embryos.

We did two transfers, but neither resulted in pregnancy. I was devastated—how could this be? With the clinic pausing procedures in December, we were forced to wait again before we could transfer our last embryo. The early months of 2024 gave me time to heal and process all that had, and hadn’t, happened.

We later did a natural egg retrieval and transferred a fresh embryo, but again, it did not result in pregnancy. Finally, we were prepared to transfer our last frozen embryo. Sadly, it did not survive the thaw, and we couldn’t proceed.

While this journey sounds heartbreaking, my testimony is that I’m still here. I’m still standing firm on God’s Word and His promises for children. Those 18 months were rocky, but the Moms in the Making community lifted me up with prayer, listening ears, and shoulders to cry on.

I wouldn’t be filled with hope without Jesus. I KNOW this is not the end of our story. I KNOW children are coming for us. I will continue running this race with perseverance, as it says in Hebrews 12:1, and I will not give up.
God is good!

I felt in my heart that I needed to attend the 2024 Moms in the Making conference in Dallas. I’ve been before, but a few years have passed, and I knew it was time to go again.

I mentioned the conference to my friend Steph, and she said, “Let’s do it!”

Not knowing how we would cover the costs, we started brainstorming. We came up with several ideas, but a “Tea & Comedy” fundraiser made the most sense for us, and it was a success!

Steph Bragiel and I hosted our very first “Tea & Comedy” Moms in the Making fundraiser. Our goal was $1,500, and we raised $1,196, with more funds still coming in!

We served soup and salad, hot tea, punch, and desserts. It was sweet and simple! We started the event by explaining what Moms in the Making is about and our desire to attend the conference. I then handed the mic to my mom and sister. My sister, who adopted my nephew, shared her story of growing her family. I wanted the entire day to be about hope. We concluded with The Cephas and Connie Show, a husband and wife duo who even included their baby girl Teddi in some of their comedy bits. It was clean, pure, and real!

After all the laughs, they ministered to us with a word from God (Psalms 73) and closed with worship. Later, their pastor, Pastor Lapinski, also spoke and prayed over Steph and me. We had never met them before, but they were exactly what our hearts needed. I felt as though we were being ministered to all day long. It was so refreshing!

The fundraiser was a success, filled with laughter and ministry!

God provided and met our hearts’ desire. We can’t wait to see you all soon!
My testimony begins at 2023 conference. On the first night, we were asked to think of a word. Mine was surrender. I wanted to surrender my pain, expectations, and adoption journey to the Lord. I laid it all at His feet. Over the course of the weekend, the Lord poured out his storehouses.

As women I never knew prayed over me, they all said, “Your son is coming.” Women prophesied over me and said, “he’s coming.” A speaker gave me a beautiful powder blue diaper bag and said, “The Lord directed me to give you this for your son.” An intercessor prayed over me, “The Lord is so pleased with your faithfulness, and He wants you to know that your son is coming.” I left the conference with a word from the Lord; “your son has been conceived.”

Little did I know, a woman conceived a son that same weekend. We matched with a different expectant mother and we thought that was it. But it wasn’t. She chose to parent in the end. One month to the day, that woman who conceived a son the first weekend of October was crying in her midwife’s office. That midwife shared our story with her. That afternoon, I was on the phone with this woman looking to place her SON for adoption.

But the Lord wasn’t done asking us to trust Him. We asked this woman to contact an agency to support her. She did, and we ceased contact.

Fast forward to EXACTLY nine months after the conference. Joshua Robert was born, and his precious mother asked us to parent her son. Our son was here, and he came home to us.

Without Moms in the Making, I never would have learned true submission. I could never have praised the Lord through our failed match. I would have been drowning in the challenges of a three-year adoption journey. But by choosing to trust the Lord, my son came home.
After getting married and trying to have a baby for five years, we sought medical help. We were told we had LESS than 1% chance to get pregnant and needed IVF. It was a rocky start, but after our first transfer, I became pregnant with twins. It was a healthy and easy pregnancy that led to two perfect babies. Finally, my dreams had come true, and we soaked up every minute as a family of four.

Fast forward 3 1/2 years and we were ready to expand our family again. We had two embryos left from our IVF journey. This time around, we did one embryo transfer; I was sure it would work, but it was a chemical pregnancy. After a couple of months, we did our last transfer; it also was a chemical pregnancy. Within a few months, I began to look into adoption and fostering; I couldn’t give up.

Before I filled out the application, I felt that I shouldn’t do it and needed to stop. So I did. For the next 1 1/2 years, I pressed into my Bible, prayed, and came to a place where I felt like I was content with the life I was given and I was thankful for the family I had.

In January 2022, my church had a Seek Week, during which we asked for prayer for what you were believing for during the year. Mine was a baby. By February, I was taking a pregnancy test; I will never forget looking at that test and seeing those two pink lines!

I now have a healthy, beautiful one-year-old! A baby that doctors told me would be impossible to have. Our God is a healer and miracle worker! I know I went through those 12 hard years and two chemical pregnancies so that I could come out of the valley onto the mountaintop and know that God 100% provided for me, not doctors! Praise God!

To the couples that skip church on Mother’s Day, I see you. I see the look in your eyes as you hold back tears at the baby that sits in the row in front of you. I see you holding yourself together as you tell another friend congratulations on their pregnancy, to cry when they leave. God hears you and sees your tears. I don’t know what God’s plan for your life is, but believe that it is better than you could ever imagine!
I just turned 43 and our miracle son is 6 months old. He was born after 5 years of waiting.

We suffered two miscarriages and two years without pregnancy when I connected with Moms in the Making and began studying what God’s Word actually says about fertility, families and babies (try episode 100 on A Cup Full of Hope Podcast). Convicted by God’s Word, I repented of the lies I’d believed and ceased speaking death over myself (and stopped seeing doctors who spoke death, too!)

God led us to a fertility clinic and a doctor who spoke life. Although she is an observant Muslim, the Holy Spirit told me she carried the hope of Jesus within her. At age 40, we did our first egg retrieval, and though statistics said we would retrieve one, we retrieved 12 in our first of 4 attempts and more after that. It wasn’t the power of my eggs, it was God’s resurrection power.

We subsequently suffered two failed transfers, but we never stopped reciting God’s Word over us, and we never let go of the dozens of promises He had given us. My Moms in the Making group were warriors for us, helping me “strengthen my feeble arms and weak knees” (Hebrews 12).

Our Holy Thursday Easter weekend transfer took and we had a completely uneventful, perfect pregnancy that again belied numbers and statistics. Our son was named Lionel, which means “strong in faith,” and we are praying for this inheritance for him. We believe God has another child for us, and we will seek His voice to determine how and when.

I don’t believe IVF is everyone’s path, but I DO believe God has a particular path for everyone if you keep asking, seeking and knocking (Matthew 7). Honestly, the prize was not Lionel (though I love him unspeakably), the prize was encountering Jesus and being transformed by Him.

I am currently en route to the shower for the third miracle baby conceived among members of the Moms in the Making group I hosted — she is near 40, and the other attendee became a miracle mom at age 41 after 11 years of waiting. God is NOT limited to statistics or to doctors’ prognoses. It is imperative that we live by what His word says — it alone is life.
We had our daughter without any problems almost 9 years ago. 3 years ago, God revealed to me that He had a second child for us. My husband was on board with trying. Little did we know the hardships we would face.

It didn’t take long for me to get pregnant. I was so excited and immediately thanked God for His blessing. Not even 2 weeks later, the pregnancy ended in miscarriage. My whole world was turned upside down. My faith and trust in God was shaken. I still believed in God and knew without a doubt He could do the work and give me the child He promised, but my trust fell short. I fell down a downward spiral that I didn’t know how to get out of. I’d gotten so used to the dark I didn’t even know I was there anymore.

But God knew, and He knew what I needed to get out. At a lady’s conference through my church organization, He lifted me out of that dark place, and I began to hope again. I was finally in a good place again.

It had been 2 years since my loss, and I was finally ready to get some answers and scheduled my consultation at a fertility clinic. And then it happened again, and I lost that baby, too. My heart broke, and I didn’t think I could handle going through that again.

But God!! He is so good. Each time the pain was too great, I cried out to God for help, and He answered every time. He was with me through those hard days. There wasn’t a moment I didn’t feel His presence with me. I found so much peace and healing, I was just in awe of His goodness.

I had a consultation a week after my loss. I found out I have the MTHFR gene mutation, and my left tube was blocked. We have now done 5 IUIs without success but God! He gave me a promise, so I’m still hoping, still trusting, and still believing!
My husband, Jake, and I got married in October of 2014. We knew we wanted to have a family, but we also knew there might be some challenges due to my diagnosis of PCOS when I was a teenager. We started trying for babies a little over a year after being married, with no success. We changed our diets, started eating out less and working out more, switched out household products for less toxic ones, and I started seeing a naturopath to help regulate my hormones. All this went on in various stages for several years, all with no positive pregnancy test.

In 2017, we were convicted to find relationship with God again, and started attending Church regularly. However, the struggle of not getting pregnant really started weighing on me. The end of 2018, I was in the hardest part of our fertility journey, I felt so alone and lost. That’s when I came across Moms in the Making, and in early 2019, I decided that I wanted and needed to attend the only Ohio group which was almost an hour and a half away. I attended the Moms in the Making conference that October, and became a leader in January of 2020. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made! Moms in the Making has been one of the biggest blessings in my life!

At the end of 2020, we felt the Lord calling us to try something new. We did two rounds of medicated cycles at the end of 2020. We did our first IUI in mid-February, and by God’s grace, we became pregnant! Our daughter was born on Resurrection Day (October 31)!

Fast forward to March of 2023 when we had been trying to grow our family again for a little while and decided to talk with our fertility doctor about doing another IUI. We were on track to move forward pending blood work, to wean from breastfeeding and for my next cycle to start. Everything was done except for the start of my next cycle. A few weeks later I was surprised to find out we were expecting baby #2! Our son was born on Christmas Day!

Looking back, it’s amazing to see God’s hand woven throughout our journey and how He was in all the little details!

Brittany Mulinix – Ohio
Attending the Moms in the Making leader’s retreat in April was a challenge. I was on medical leave and not sure if I could travel; there was a financial component; and I had reoccurring nightmares about attending the retreat before it was even announced. The morning I was traveling with friends to the location, I seriously considered staying behind. I spent part of the drive in tears.

But, I am so thankful I went. Father God met every area of need I had at the retreat—every single one. I was surrounded by a community of dear friends who prayed for me, encouraged me, and held me when I cried. I experienced mental, physical, and emotional healing in many ways.

To back up, in 2018, I had been diagnosed with dairy and egg allergies, as well as connective tissue disease—otherwise unspecified. That is like being diagnosed with unexplained infertility, but for arthritis. My fingers would become stiff, and my knuckles frequently froze in place. As well, my toes would often become dislocated. A month before the retreat, I had failed the dairy ladder, and my attempt to try to eat dairy again had caused a worse flare-up of the connective tissue disease. I was so stressed going to the retreat that just sitting and listening to the teaching my body was in a flare-up and my toes were dislocating.

Father met me during the teachings and set me free from the hurt and the pain I was holding onto. My fear was replaced with joy. I could even take pictures with my sweet friends on the side of a mountain!

I also received prayer for physical healing and have been completely healed of the dairy and egg allergies. I have eaten dairy and eggs almost daily since coming home with no ill effects. My toes no longer become dislocated or my fingers frozen because of the connective tissue disease. When they have tried to, I have spoken to my body and reminded it that it is healed, and the symptoms pass without pain or issue.

Father God is so good! I went to the retreat with so much pain and left with so much joy!