From Heartbreak to Hope: A Journey of Faith, Adoption, and Homeschooling

Cover image: The Avendano family

Liana Avendano had dreamed of having a large family since she was a little girl. When she married her best friend, Manuel, the couple planned to have biological children and later adopt. But seven years of miscarriages, advanced endometriosis, and unsuccessful fertility treatments made their dream seem painfully out of reach.

The Avendanos were undeterred by these setbacks. The couple, who are Messianic Jews, believed that God would give them the chance to raise children. “We considered it joy and the plan of God Almighty to foster to adopt as many children as HaShem would give us opportunity. So we did!” Liana told us. (HaShem is a Hebrew word translated “The Name,” referring to God.)

Within the span of a year, Liana and Manuel adopted their oldest three children—two boys and a girl—who were toddlers and an infant at the time. But the couple never stopped praying and believing in God’s healing for Liana’s body.

Their prayers were answered six years later, when Liana gave birth to their first biological son. Two more biological sons soon followed. Their youngest is now a year old, and the couple look forward to welcoming any other children God may bless their family with, whether through adoption or biological means.

How the Avendanos discovered homeschooling

Although Liana is a dedicated homeschooling parent now, her story didn’t begin that way. Her two oldest children, Benjamin and Rachel, started off in public school. Before long, however, Liana realized that public school was not a good fit for either of the children, although for very different reasons.

Since he was academically advanced, Benjamin didn’t respond well to the teacher repeating a lesson for some students who were struggling to understand the concept she had just taught. He was bored.

“He cleared his table and his classmates’ items to the floor in complete frustration,” Liana recounted. “While it wasn’t the best thing for him to do, it led me to homeschool him.” Allowing Benjamin to learn at his own pace improved things dramatically.

Rachel on the other hand, was struggling academically. Soft-spoken and exhibiting signs of dyslexia, Rachel was in danger of being left behind. At home, Liana was able to create a supportive space where Rachel could learn in the way she needed.

When a major car accident set the family back, the three children returned to public school. Although Judah, Liana’s third son, thrived, Benjamin and Rachel did not. A little over a year later, the Avendanos welcomed their fourth—yet first biological—child in what they consider a miracle birth.

Then 2020 happened.

The family returned to homeschooling when everything shut down. The children again flourished academically, and the family was free to practice their Messianic Jewish faith unhindered by school calendars, something they still appreciate today.

“We are able to celebrate the Lord's Feasts and Sabbaths without a school dictating when to rise, when to work, and when to break,” Liana explained.

This freedom extended to their academic schedule and spirit of learning as well. “We love our freedom to make our own schedules and the ability to advance in our schoolwork, or to take more time to study and better understand a concept so that our children are fully equipped for their next steps as young adults and possibly college,” Liana said. “We also love the open-door policy of discussion and Socratic dialogues and the fact that our children are immersed in God's Word daily, building and strengthening their relationship with Yeshua, rather than being trained in the public system to have a spirit of fear.”

Rachel especially found healing through the family’s return to homeschooling.

“God made it possible for Rachel to thrive via homeschooling. She says so herself!” Liana shared. “Through homeschooling, our daughter finally was able to train her brain to read letters appropriately and overcome dyslexia! Doctors didn't help. Therapy was no help for us, even though it may help some. What helped was to specialize her education and give a softer approach to schooling.”

Big changes bring big challenges

In 2022, while the Avendanos were living in California, Manuel lost his job of nearly 20 years working for their city. Although the family was grateful when he found a new job in Texas, it meant taking a pay cut, selling their beloved home in California, and moving to a strange new land.

When the air conditioner in their new home died the same day they moved in, the 100-degree weather made studying in the house unbearable. Fixing the problem created financial strain on their limited budget.

Joining two new homeschool co-ops provided new friends and support, but didn’t help the financial strain. Soon after, the family welcomed another beautiful surprise: a baby boy. Along with the joy came thousands of dollars in medical bills. Life was full, but also overwhelming.

With their life and finances in chaos, the children needed the stability that homeschooling—and specifically their new co-ops—provided. A friend encouraged Liana to reach out to HSLDA and apply for a curriculum grant to help with educational expenses.

“We are super blessed by the HSLDA grant, because it helped us pay for one semester of their co-op,” Liana said. “To some, this may not be a lot of money, but for us it gave so much relief.”

“To the donors who helped us, thank you so dearly,” she continued. “This has helped my children not only educationally, but also emotionally. Keeping things consistent was key, as we already had so much change in the past two years. I look forward to soon being in a place where we can sponsor someone else's education.”

These days, the Avendanos are settling into their new rhythms and new communities. With their oldest children now teenagers, the family is learning how to manage homeschooling highschoolers with toddlers underfoot.

“What has helped remedy this situation is giving the littles fun tasks to do on the tile floor or kitchen table, as our teenagers do their studies outside in the yard, or as I do instruction at the kitchen table. As our family continues to grow, we learn along the way how to recalibrate and make the needed changes so that everyone thrives.”