In my last post, I referred to the Wait No More event I attended regarding foster care and adoption. You see, I've been involved on a volunteer basis with foster care since 2009.
It all started with Foster Care awareness month. The founders of Anna's House, Greg & Beth Harkins, gave a presentation on foster care and their foundation. What I learned that night changed my heart. I had no idea the staggering number of children in foster care, just in our state(10,000+). And I had no idea how many times these children and newborn babies were shuffled from shelter to foster home to foster home to shelter. If my memory serves me right, it was upwards of 9 times in a single year. How is that possible? How scary must that be for a small child who has been taken away from their parents and possibly separated from their siblings? It's heartbreaking. My husband and I talked about fostering, but the timing wasn't right; so I spent the next few years volunteering.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I'm apart of our foster care team at church, and we're growing our ministry. Last night, we had a meeting for those that want to get more involved, in whatever capacity, and for those who have a heart to foster or adopt. At the end of the meeting, the program director for Anna's House, Angela Parsons, mentioned she had a new class getting ready to start. I felt that internal nudge telling me, it's time. So, I asked when the class was starting, to which she replied Friday. I thought of 100 reasons why that was too soon and then I thought of 10,000 more why the timing was perfect. Tomorrow night, our foster care adventure begins. I'm excited and scared and hopeful.
I'd like to use this blog to document our journey. Hopefully, I'll inspire one of you to join me too.
No comments:
Post a Comment