Hi! We are Marcus & Kristina in San Francisco, California. We are both 33 years old, and after trying to start a family on our own for a few years we became the proud parents of our son Mateo who we adopted in 2014. We are ready and excited to grow our family through open adoption once again!

We hope this letter helps you learn more about us. We have also made a website with videos of our home and family to help you get to know us better. Feel free to visit www.hungfamilylife.com to watch them.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for considering adoption for your baby. We can only imagine what you are experiencing right now, and want you to know that if you decide that adoption is right for you and your baby, your love and sacrifice will never go unappreciated.

We are committed to open adoption. Kristina’s two siblings, Joel and Karla, were adopted as infants in Guatemala, where unfortunately there is rarely any contact between adoptive- and birth-families. Joel and Karla’s experience strengthened our belief that open adoption provides numerous benefits to a child. More recently, our connection with Mateo’s birth family has further solidified that open adoption is right for our family. We look forward to learning what that may look like for you.

HOW WE MET

We grew up in two very different places, Marcus in northern California and Kristina in Guatemala. In the summer of 2004, we ended up on the same trip to Bangkok, Thailand which was hosted by a Christian college-student organization. Through our experience in Bangkok, we were able to see that we both had the same heart to live and serve in an urban community.

Upon returning to the US, Marcus courageously asked Kristina for her phone number and thus began our long-distance relationship. As Kristina finished her studies at Indiana University and Marcus at University of California, Davis, our love for one another grew through many calls, plane rides, letters, cards, and emails. Needless to say, 18 months later it was an easy “YES!” for Kristina when Marcus proposed to her on a sandy beach in Guatemala surrounded by her family.

MEETING TEO

Fast forward past 2010 after we became first-time homebuyers and spent several years trying to conceive a child on our own. We started to sense God leading us to grow our family through adoption. That’s when we first learned about open adoption and after a couple of years our dream came true when we got to know Mateo’s birth parents, first over email and then by hanging out together.

Mateo’s birth parents came to our home to meet us and we spent the day exploring San Francisco together. The next day they called to ask if we would consider becoming Mateo’s adoptive parents — which of course we said yes to! We enjoyed spending more time with Mateo’s birth family (including his three beautiful sisters) over the next few months. Finally the long-awaited day came — Mateo (who we like to call Teo) was born and we got to bring him home!

OUR LIFE TODAY

Since getting married in 2006, we love the life that we have built together in San Francisco, and find a lot of joy in the work that we do. Marcus is a high school math teacher at a public school in San Francisco. He especially enjoys the opportunity to work with young people who struggle with math, helping them discover the many ways that they are mathematically smart. Kristina is a nurse and works as a lactation consultant at a nearby hospital. She especially enjoys having the honor of being with women during such a transformative time in their lives and helping them through the joys and challenges of breastfeeding. We love that our day-jobs allow us to impact our community, and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve the next generation of children.

Marcus loves having the summers off so that he can chase after Teo on his scooter and play with Teo and his cousins in the pool. Kristina is thankful that she only works part-time and can do fun things on her days off with Mateo, like going to the zoo or just putting on music and dancing around the house.

ENJOYING BEING TOGETHER OUTDOORS

We love spending quality time together as a family. Often this means taking quick trips around San Francisco to visit all the awesome parks as well as longer planned vacations — most recently to the Cayman Islands! Mateo is such an active boy who loves to dance, run (especially if someone will give him the thrill of chasing after him), blow bubbles, swing and slide, play in the sand, and pretty much do anything full speed. Many times when we are out and about, you can easily spot Marcus taking pictures or video while Kristina and Teo search for butterflies and soak up the fresh air. Marcus can’t wait to capture more memories of our growing family as we explore more of the outdoors together!

ENJOYING BEING TOGETHER AT HOME

Mateo loves to do just as he sees his mommy and daddy doing — whether it’s playing along with Daddy on his guitar, picking lemons in our yard and making lemonade alongside Mommy, or sounding out the story to some of his favorite books from his massive book collection. We find so much joy in watching our son grow and learn — we can’t wait to have another child join our family to add to that joy! Kristina is looking forward to involving our kids in activities that she enjoys like baking, arts and crafts, and gardening. Marcus can’t wait to start a family band as Mateo and his younger sibling bang on his hand drum, and sing while he jams on his guitar. And we are very much looking forward to seeing Mateo grow as a big brother, taking good care of his new sibling and playmate— he absolutely loves babies and gives them lots of sweet kisses! He likes to remind us to pray for his future “baby” brother or sister in our nightly family prayer-time.

A NOTE FROM JOYE (Mateo's Birthmom)

Marcus and Kristina are everything I never knew I wanted in adoptive parents and more.  When faced with an unplanned pregnancy, I explored all options. While researching adoption I came across Marcus and Kristina's profile. I reached out to find out some more information and that was the beginning of our amazing journey. Having never had any experience with adoption, I learned so much from Kristina and gained a lot of insight from her own personal experiences. She was open and honest about the struggles she's encountered and asked me to consider open adoption. Up until that time, I didn't know that existed and certainly wasn't sure I wanted that type of relationship or for my daughters to have that relationship with their half brother. What I did know is my baby deserved a nuclear family, parents who not only loved him/her but had the time and attention to give and were financially stable to provide every opportunity he/she dreamed of. Which brings me to what we got. We have been blessed with such an amazing family. Not only are Marcus and Kristina wonderful parents to Mateo, their families are wonderful grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. They have not only welcomed Mateo into their hearts but have extended that warmth to my girls and myself. I feel like we are family and that is something I never would have imagined when I was considering adoption.

Being a part of Mateo's life has been truly amazing. Being able to watch him grow and spend time with him is such a gift. Marcus and Kristina make that possible and frankly easy. Together they bring such balance to parenting. Both are patient, warm, kind, and hardworking. They discipline when needed, but never harshly. Anyone who meets Mateo can tell he's well adjusted, secure, and confident, which speaks volumes to the kind of parents Marcus and Kristina are.  As an added bonus, Marcus is an amazing photographer and videographer, the things he produces makes us feel like we are right there with them. I have no regrets in placing Mateo with the Hungs, he is a very lucky little boy. This is where he belongs and each passing day provides additional comfort knowing he is with such a strong family built on love, integrity, and trust. I can't wait for them to grow their family and for Mateo to welcome his new baby brother or sister!

LA FAMILIA

Family has always been important to us. Marcus is the fourth of five children and Kristina is the third of four children. We are grateful for the strong example of a loving marriage and wonderful parenting that both our parents have shown us—and continue to show us now into their 60‘s.

Marcus loves that most of his family is within driving distance, which affords us the chance to have spontaneous meals and outings together and to celebrate his Chinese-American heritage. Since most of Kristina’s family now lives in North Carolina (after moving from Guatemala ten years ago), we look forward to the happy occasions that bring us all together (mostly during holidays and summer vacation). Mateo loves to see his family and daily asks to “phone” his two grandmas “Mormor” and “Mama.” Kristina cherishes the fact that her older brother and sister, grandma, and three cousins are adopted, and together we’re glad that they will have that special bond with our children.

OUR PROMISE

We look forward to growing our family and are excited to continue the journey of open adoption. As parents, we will always seek to provide our children with unconditional love, and help our children build a strong personal identity and understanding of their unique story. We will also strive to be an example to our children of what it means to love God and to love others.

We are open to any questions you may have about us, so please feel free to contact us any time.