Fostering Faithfully

In 1961, Kennedy’s Inaugural address made famous the line, “ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.” May I say that your country needs you to consider foster parenting in 2018? In SC last year, there were 18,000 reports of abuse and neglect, and we are about 1500 foster families short of what we need to care for these children who deserve a family (June, 2017). In case you didn't know yet, your state is currently fleshing out a federal lawsuit. Under the new Michelle H law, federal monitors are keeping SC Department of Social Services more accountable for a few improved outcomes for children in foster care, especially children over 6 years old. They could really use your help to do it! One of these outcomes is getting children in families where they belong, and out of hotels/group homes/institutions. When the lawsuit was filed, South Carolina placed a higher percentage of children age 12 and under in group facilities than an...

Birthdays in foster care can get BIG!   Two families recently wrote to us to thank us for birthday sponsorships for their foster children and explain that they had a beautiful day celebrating their children.     Birthdays can be an opportune time to show a child in foster care that they are loved by so many different people who are all on the same team FOR them!   One party consisted of a slumber party of all the biological children in foster care living in 4 different homes.  The foster mother wrote:   "There are six people from the biological family coming to bowl and have pizza and cake, and the cost of being hospitable added up quickly.  I am so thankful to Fostering Faithfully for helping us make it possible to invite her family to join ours to celebrate her special day."   Another foster mother wrote, " At our pizza party, w e had my family, my sister's family,  a group home coordinator ...

Faith involves more than just going to church and those idyllic motions to grow your own faith.  When many people desire to grow in their faith, they choose a mission trip as a next step.  Fostering might very well be the most affordable way to go on a mission trip, and revitalize your faith, while still getting some sleep in your own bed.  It is true that there are no real end dates for your trip, no clean-cut airplane rides home, no great sightseeing adventures to speak of, but you can certainly impact a life forever and share the gospel with a child from a different background right here in your own community!   Many forgo considering this type of mission work since fostering involves the kind of training and commitment of a marathon, not a sprint. These kinds of mission trips require the endurance that the Bible speaks about in Hebrews that you’ll have to depend on God for. Hebrews 10: 23-24, 36 (NLT)  23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hop...

This letter says it all!  We support foster parents as they change lives with the love they share! It really is this simple.   John 13: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

There is nothing like the wide-eyed wonder and sparkle in a child’s eyes and sweet smile at Christmas. All year long, some foster children come into care having lost their sparkle. I met a little boy last summer, placed in a family we serve, whose personality had disappeared due to neglect and trauma. Like many foster kids I’ve known, he was withdrawn (understandably so) when I tried to chat with him on the floor criss-cross applesauce while we enjoyed some birthday cake, and quite simply he had a flat affect. But this week, months later, I got to enjoy his giggle, shoulders bobbing up and down and nose-wrinkled as his foster father affectionately told a funny story about him that week. He was so delighted to re-laugh over it. I have seen it time and time again, that as foster kids experience the cherishing and unconditional love of a family, good nutrition, safety, regular sleep, structure, and new experiences their light comes back on! Foster parents make g...

Until  recently, I had never noticed the very first part of Mark 10:21. It says, “Jesus looked and loved him.” One simple thing Jesus did—he looked, and then he naturally loved.   The need for foster parents can overwhelm me sometimes since the numbers seem so daunting.  So, though you might not foster, can I ask you first to consider a first step to move into the life of a child in need and simply look him/her in the face this year? I thought I’d ask you if you are “looking” at any orphans…in your family, in your church, or in your community.  If you want to love struggling people to life, why not look with love on their children first?  Fostering provides this authentic testimony to the gospel we Christians are called to share.   If you are not yet looking at a child that needs someone to look and listen, would you consider helping Fostering Faithfully as we look and listen together to foster children in our community?  A child can never hav...

Foster parents need an entire team of people around them to keep going and make them brave enough to say the word, yes, when DSS calls again. Being intentional and proactive in finding, supporting, and sustaining foster placements in our county sure beats being reactive and frustrated with the overwhelming need for new foster families. Nationally, about half of all foster families quit fostering within one year of their first placement. New foster parents come into fostering thinking that their love will be enough and often it just isn’t.  The honeymoon stage of excitement and zeal over adding a new child can wane rather quickly as a host of new appointments at doctors, therapists, schools, or DSS can be a full-time job. Add to that, strangers coming into your home for visits, pleasing birth families, and the complex behaviors and health needs of traumatized children can start to pile up quickly considering that you are likely not sleeping too well at night. Foste...

There is not a more sobering day for a foster parent than the birthday of a foster child (only giving a beloved child to someone else compares). We have had two little fellas turn ages 5 and 6 during their stay with us. Every child deserves to be surrounded by the love, laughter, and comfort of friends and family on his special day. Instead, many children experience a day surrounded by strangers who are just trying to do their best to make a child feel cherished. It is a reminder that the world is exceptionally broken and it costs innocent victims dearly. It is bittersweet. This day both times has reminded me that his life is not what it should be, and I can’t fix that BIG loss, only God can. However, this day has reminded me of the huge responsibility and honor we have to ensure a child feels special, valued, and honored in his time with us. The very people who were given this precious gift from God, who should be there to wake him up on his special day and to tuck him in tha...