In 2011, Samantha, who was in her early 30s, was looking for a man who would help her grow in holiness. Her first marriage, declared null, had given her two beautiful daughters, but it had not led her to a closer relationship with God.
An ad in the bulletin caught Samantha's eye...
Samantha kept seeing
When she received Agustin's message, she noticed that he was from Los Angeles, California, far from her home in Loredo, Texas.
"But distance is not an obstacle for people that really want to love," Samantha says. "I let him come into my life by answering [his message], and that was the first step and the beginning of something wonderful."
Not long after talking online, Agustin, also in his early 30s, called Samantha.
From the moment he heard her voice, he knew he would travel to meet her.
But they would have to wait almost four months—when Agustin had vacation time—to see one another in person. During the intervening time, they often talked on the phone and via video calls. By the time they finally met up, they felt like they'd known each for a long time.
They both felt like the other brought them to a deeper love for God and the Church.
One of the things that both Samantha and Agustin desired was to have a Catholic family that practiced the faith. Before meeting online, both of them were nominally Catholic. They didn't attend Mass regularly, and they didn't follow all of the teachings of the Church. Agustin, who has a son from a previous relationship, and Samantha, both hoped that they would have a spouse who would encourage holiness and dedication.
They felt like together they could walk the path of holiness.
In September of 2011, Agustin proposed marriage on the spot where he first met Samantha at Texas A&M International University. Less than a year later, the couple was married August 18th, 2012, in Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Encino, California.
After getting married, they experienced multiple miscarriages.
Samantha says that God has helped transform them through their marriage. "As a couple, we've been very blessed to grow in faith together. There is no Sunday that we miss Mass, and we are involved in ministry. We follow all of the teachings of the Church. We also go on retreats, and so do our older kids."
Their strong faith has helped them through the tragedy of struggling to have more children.
After two miscarriages, Samantha discovered that she was pregnant again. This time doctors were telling her that her baby had some serious genetic problems. Thirty-four weeks into the pregnancy, on November 12th, 2014, Alejandra Maria "Allie" was born.
"She wouldn't open her eyes or cry, swallow on her own, and she was having hundreds of seizures," Samantha recalls.
Samantha and Agustin were able to spend 23 days with their baby girl before she died.
Inspired by their daughter, the couple founded a ministry that focused on NICU babies and their families.
Wh
ile on a retreat, Samantha heard the priest say something that struck a chord with her. He said, "When somebody dies—whom you love so much—you have to make music out of that life that's passed away."
Samantha ran with the idea and, in March 2015, she began a ministry that delivers handmade garments, blankets, and more to two Texas hospitals. The goal of the ministry, called Allie's Bird Project, is to support families that have a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
"Turning into music that pain became a challenge that was reflected in this project. It's a wonderful tool that has kept me busy and at the same time helping me heal my heart," she shares.
Their Catholic faith helped them to stay together and strong in the face of such sorrow.
Samantha's third miscarriage occurred ten months after Allie died. At the beginning of her second trimester, Samantha's doctor told her that her baby no longer had a heartbeat. "I was sad and didn't want to try for another baby for at least a year. I was tired of losing and losing."
God had other plans. A few months after losing her fourth baby, Samantha felt off, so she took a pregnancy test. There was only a faint line, but sure enough, she was again expecting. It was a stressful pregnancy because the couple worried that they would lose a fifth baby.
Happily, the pregnancy went well and a baby boy, whom they named Matías, was born.
A lot of couples have marriage difficulties with the death of a child because of the stress it causes. In Samantha and Agustin's case, she says each loss has made them and their marriage stronger. She credits this to her Catholic faith and Agustin for being loving, understanding, forgiving, and patient husband.
She shares, "I wouldn't change anything I have suffered because I have Agustin. I am blessed."
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