“When we got married we had many projects. And one of these was the great desire to have a child. It was a great disappointment to discover that there were problems hindering this conception. It was hard to accept and I was convinced that there had to be a medical solution, which made us hope for the best. I was 22 and therefore, they did not immediately suggest in vitro fertilization techniques (FIVET), but started with less invasive treatments. In the meantime, while waiting for something to happen, I turned to a priest of my parish for help and advice, and he encouraged me to consider the true value of life, the precious gift that God has entrusted to the responsibility of man. The suffering I was undergoing was caused by my strong desire for motherhood, to be achieved as soon as possible. I was torn  as to the path to follow. Some doctors proposed the FIVET as the right solution. The other path was to put our trust in God. So, with great difficulty we decided to stop and not do anything anymore. It appeared to us that assisted conception itself refutes some important aspects of man. We believe that life is a gift of God and not a “product” to be manufactured in a laboratory, without the donation of love between spouses. In fact, with this technique the child is not conceived in their flesh but in a test tube. I had always considered adoption as a beautiful thing, a great act of love, but my desire to bear a child led me not to take this path into consideration. Our suffering had opened my eyes to go further and realise, as St. John Paul II said in his  Familiaris Consortio, that “ married life does not lose its value but can be fertile beyond one’s capacity to procreate, and that fatherhood and motherhood can be fulfilled in a marvellous way in the many forms of relationships and solidarity towards those in need.” And so I started to consider the possibility of adopting a child, and when my husband listened to my wish and agreed too, it was then that we “conceived” in an emotional bond, the child that God wanted to give us. In the autumn of 2004 we submitted to the Court for minors, our declaration of willingness for a national and international adoption.  So we waited. Our child still had not been born but was already in our hearts and thoughts. He still did not exist but we were already praying for him. Samuel was born in Vietnam and on 19 April 2007, the association we had addressed told us that a child had been assigned to us. It was the start of great, indescribable emotions. We shared this joy with our relatives and friends; we were so happy we wanted to shout it out to the whole world. We only had a photo which for us, adoptive parents, is like the first scan in which you see your son but still cannot cuddle him. After having undertaken a journey within the world of our emotions, we now had to take a real journey, get on a plane that would take us to the other end of the world to reach our son. On 29 May 2007 we held him in our arms for the first time, and it was an overflowing joy. Each year, we shall always remember this day as a second birthday because God has blessed our family with the gift of Samuel. We want to thank the Lord for all the gifts he has given us:  Dorotea, adopted in 2012, and Michele, who was entrusted to our care.” (G. and G. – Italy)