Where Do I Belong? A Story of Adoption and FaithWhere Do I Belong? A Story of Adoption and Faith
The Call with Nancy Sabato
Adoptee Donna Aust shares how she found her biological family years after a loving childhood, and how that journey deepened her Christian faith. Her story touches on grief, reunion, and what she calls being "adopted twice"—into a family on earth and into God’s family through Jesus.
15:54•9 Nov 2026
Adopted Twice: Donna Aust on Family, Faith and Finding Where You Belong
Episode Overview
- Feeling loved in an adoptive family can coexist with deep questions about roots and identity.
- Legal changes and small steps of curiosity can open unexpected doors to biological family connections.
- Reunion can bring both joy and grief, especially when a birth parent has died but new siblings are found.
- Donna describes being "adopted twice" and says acceptance into God’s family comes by grace, not good works.
- For those struggling with family pain or distance from God, Donna says it is never too late to return because "his arms are wide open."
“I’ve been adopted twice… first as a child, and then when I came to Christ, I was adopted again.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against adoption, identity, and faith? This conversation between host Nancy Sabato and guest Donna Aust offers a gentle yet powerful story for anyone who’s ever wondered where they truly belong. Donna shares that she “always knew” she was adopted and even celebrated an annual adoption day with her parents, feeling deeply loved and secure.
She walks through the slow-burning process of curiosity, from joining an adoptee organisation in college to eventually tracking down her original birth certificate in New York and learning her birth name, Stella Sestero. Years later, a chance chat with another adoptee, a new law in New York, and a determined search lead Donna to her biological mother’s name, Jean Sestero. That path brings both heartbreak and joy: Jean has died, but Donna finds an entire extended family, including three half-siblings.
When she finally meets them, about 20 relatives gather at the door and stare in amazement, telling her, “We’re staring at you because you look so much like mom.” As relationships grow, Donna’s faith naturally becomes part of the story. She says, “God allowed me to find you so you would find him,” and shares how two of her brothers come to Christ, with one brother and his family getting baptised and settling into a church.
Donna also talks about what she calls being “adopted twice” — first into her earthly family, then into God’s family through Jesus. She stresses that acceptance into that family isn’t earned by good works but received by grace: “It was nothing I could do other than receive that.” For anyone wrestling with family pain, estrangement, or questions of identity, this story points toward a deeper belonging that can’t be taken away.
Could that be the next step you’re ready to think about?
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