Answering His Call

There are big changes happening in our family. Five years ago, when I replaced my role as Case Worker with the role of Mommy, I always hoped that one day I would add another role of foster or adoptive mom as well. I hoped for it, but I never imagined that God would have brought us to this place, here and now. But He is faithful and His plan is far greater than we could ever have for ourselves. He has been working in our hearts and in a million different ways in our lives to prepare us and lead us in this way.
Back in December, it was Graham who heard God's call. He came to me and said that he knew God was calling us to care for orphans. And this was coming from the same man who just months before had told me "no, I don't think I'm confident enough in my parenting to adopt", when I had asked if he would ever think of adopting. Once I had a little bit of time to digest this gigantic turn of events, we began searching into what exactly this meant for our family. Because today's modern day orphan can be found in many different ways around this world. Of course I was very familiar with our local foster care system through my education and career and this was a natural path for us to look into. However at the same time, God opened up our eyes to the horrific plight of orphans around the world and our hearts broke again. In our research, it seemed at first that the foster care door was closing for our family and that International Adoptions was where God was calling us. We began the application process and were approved. However, back in my research regarding foster care, I came across an agency called FaithBridge. And suddenly it became very apparent to me what has been lacking in my faith and in my church. FaithBridge looks at the problem of foster care and sees the solution in the church. As Christians, it is our responsibility to care for widows and orphans and God makes this clear throughout His Word. So as we began our personal road toward International Adoption, I began reaching out to the church to find out how we can begin a foster care and orphan ministry within the church. And it is through this process that it became clear that in fact God was calling our family to foster care as well.
We have taken this leap and have begun our training and could not be more excited about this plan and purpose for our family. During the span of these two weeks, we have had four life changing, new events. Nicholas started Kindergarten, Graham and I started and will complete all of our foster parent training, I started teaching at the preschool, and Nolan will start going to preschool for the first time. Throw in church meetings and school meetings every single night and end the two weeks with Graham's birthday and you've got a recipe for complete stress and chaos! But despite all of that, each day has gone by filled with nothing but God's perfect peace.
The wonderful thing about this ministry is that we can not and should not do this alone. Foster care is not easy. In fact it is down right hard and messy and heartbreaking. FaithBridge has a wonderful model that they call the Community of Care. This is essentially a team of volunteers that comes around the foster family to raise them up and support them and the children. These volunteers help with meals, clothing and supplies, transportation, babysitting, tutoring, respite care, pastoral support, and prayer support. They become an extended family for these children who so desperately need the loving influence of others. They are the hands and feet of Christ to these kids. We are in the process of trying to find these volunteers and support for our family. If you have ever wondered how you could touch the life of a child in need but didn't know where to begin, please contact me and I can give you more information on how you can become involved.