A Super Team of House Parents
Relief house parents Larry and Priscilla Miles and house parents Kevin and Jennifer McDuffie
Your support equips our house parents to point children to the ultimate superhero — Jesus Christ.
At our Campus Care home in Dothan, our children and ministry have been wonderfully blessed with a super team of house parents! Our full-time house parents, Kevin and Jennifer McDuffie, serve for six days and then are off three days. On those three days off, Larry and Priscilla Miles come on board and serve as our relief house parents.
We were able to talk recently with each couple about their experiences and ways we can be praying for them and the children in their care.
Please share a little about life before ABCH and what you enjoy doing for fun.
JENNIFER: Before ABCH, Kevin worked 28 years as a diesel mechanic, and I was a nurse practitioner at Children’s Hospital. We lived in St. Clair County with our three girls and were active in our home church. For fun, we love to eat out, take vacations and watch movies together as a family. We also enjoy karaoke and time with friends and family.
PRISCILLA: Larry and I both worked for and are now retired from the State of Alabama. Since retiring we have enjoyed traveling, priceless times with family, and leading and coaching small groups in our church. I am a game show fanatic. I love watching and participating in games. Larry enjoys cooking and fishing. He will watch a cooking show on television or YouTube and go right to the kitchen and make the dish. With my lack of willpower, I am right behind him consuming it all!
What led you to the ministry of foster care?
PRISCILLA: Years ago, I dreamt of owning a children’s home. I had it all planned out. I imagined having systems, structure and disciplines in place, with a whole lot of love, along with Larry who would teach them gardening, cooking, and anything outdoors. We would partner with local universities and churches for mentoring and tutoring and involve the elderly community to serve as Grandparents/Godparents. That never materialized. We considered fostering earlier in our marriage but realized it was not yet the time. Post retirement for each of us turned out to be the best time to foster. We began serving and still serve as respite foster parents for ABCH in Montgomery County.
JENNIFER: For as long as I can remember, there has been a special place in my heart for children’s homes. Early on in our marriage we knew we wanted to be involved as a couple with a children’s home ministry. In 2015, we had three young girls and had just moved into a new house. We still had that passion to serve in a children’s home, but felt God calling us towards foster care. We knew of ABCH and learned they had foster care. We signed up for the training classes and went from there! We fostered for four years before moving to Dothan to become house parents in 2019.
Serving as house parents now, what is the biggest thing you’ve learned so far?
JENNIFER: Just learning to parent teenagers in today’s culture has been a huge learning curve for us. The children in the home now range in age from 12 to 17. We are learning how trauma affects kids and their behavior, and particularly how it looks different in teens than in younger children. We’ve learned how much we need the help of others to make sure each child’s needs are met (social workers, volunteers, teachers, etc). We’ve definitely learned that God gives us what we need to handle what’s in front of us in that moment.
KEVIN: Prayer time is the most important, being in communication with the Lord; we couldn’t do it without Him.
PRISCILLA: Thinking on Colossians 3:12, I have learned that I have to intentionally remind myself to be tenderhearted and merciful, kind, walk in humility, and be gentle and patient. Even when it does not seem warranted, because after all, that is what mercy is. This verse is a constant reminder of that. I have also learned to lower my expectations and increase my compassion. Remembering although a child may be 16 years old chronologically does not mean their developmental age coincides
LARRY: The biggest thing I have learned is patience.
What have been some of your favorite times or memories at the house so far?
LARRY: One of my favorite memories was watching documentaries with the children for school credit during the pandemic and trying to make the best of those unprecedented times. We watched one of my favorite international cooking shows one day. They demonstrated how to make churros. I decided to make some. The children were so surprised and excited. They loved them and requested we have them again for Sunday dinner.
PRISCILLA: Larry and I both come from large families. Sunday dinners were special dinners in our homes. Since we have started serving as relief parents, we’ve decided to make Sunday dinners special when we are at the home. We sit down for a kind of semi-formal dinner, and at the same time, use it as an opportunity to teach a little etiquette. The kids enjoy them and are always curious about the menu and critiquing each other’s manners.
Of course, with reunification being the goal, I love the excitement when a child gets to go home to family. The packing process, the anticipation—it all blesses and brings great joy.
KEVIN: When one of the children wanted to lead in prayer—it was a child I never would have thought would have wanted to do that, and it floored me. It was great.
JENNIFER: We got to take the kids on vacation this summer to Six Flags and White Water, and it just felt like we were a big family! The kids had a great time. Getting to witness first time experiences like getting their driver’s permit, getting all A’s and B’s on their report card, going to a college football game, eating new foods, or even going to church.
Larry making churros for the kids in our care
What is the most fulfilling part of what you get to do?
KEVIN: Seeing the kids getting know the Lord a little better; being an example to them and hopefully we’re doing it right. That’s why we’re here.
JENNIFER: Being able to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of the kids. We recently had the opportunity to witness one of the girls surrender her life to Christ, and then watch her be baptized. I think others are searching and it’s neat to watch them really listen in church and have them want to be a part of nightly devotions.
LARRY: Providing a sense of family for the children. Standing in as a father figure. Having the man-to man talks with the boys and witnessing them take it in. Encouraging the young ladies to be the princesses God created them to be. Reminding them they are fearfully and wonderfully made, and God has a plan and a purpose for their lives.
PRISCILLA: It is fulfilling to me that together Larry and I get to demonstrate a Christian lifestyle as a married couple with the children. I think it is important for our children to witness that. Prayerful it will impact their future relationships in a positive manner, as we aspire to point them to Jesus.
How have you seen children grow while in care?
PRISCILLA: We have seen instances where children were unbelievers and they take an interest in God’s Word, ask for prayer, and read their Bible. One young man who came in very negative, complaining about almost everything, was encouraged to work on being and saying positive things, and he has been intentional to do that, to the point of asking for prayer and saying he has started reading his Bible.
JENNIFER: We’ve seen them grow in responsibility and independence. They learn a lot of skills in the home. They have nightly chores that rotate every two weeks. They are responsible for doing their own laundry and cleaning their own bathrooms each week. They often ask to help us with cooking dinner. They are learning how to do these things and do them well.
KEVIN: I’ve seen some of them become successful in school when maybe they hadn’t been before. With assistance and tutors, it’s really helped them. And to know they have someone paying attention to what they’re doing, looking at their grades and getting rewards for good grades or consequences for bad grades. In the first 9 weeks of the semester, we had three kids with D’s, but by the second 9 weeks, all their grades had been brought up and there were no D’s on their report cards! We got to celebrate with them, and that was special.
Jennifer with her daughters outside our campus home in Dothan
How has God worked in your hearts through serving?
KEVIN: Being aware of the kids’ disobedience and how that relates to my own relationship with God and my obedience or disobedience to Him. I’ve felt God say to me, “They treat you how you treat me.” It’s been sanctifying. God has opened my eyes, and I try to reflect that to the kids and let them know we are here to love them and remind them how God loves me even when I disobey.
JENNIFER: He’s taught us how much we need Him and how little we can do without Him.
LARRY: Through serving at the Children’s Home, God has worked in my heart by filling it with much gratitude. It is an honor to be able to serve in a Christian environment, sharing your faith on a daily basis without ridicule.
PRISCILLA: He has allowed me to self-evaluate in dealing with the kids. When the children do things that may seem offensive to me, I question how I may be doing the same thing with the Lord, unknowingly. I am constantly asking the Lord to shed light on those things that are unpleasing to Him and would keep us from being the light of Jesus in providing a safe and loving place for the children.
How can our readers pray for you and the kids in our care?
JENNIFER: Pray that the kids’ hearts would be open to what they learn in the home and in church. And for us, that we would have patience and wisdom.
KEVIN: Pray for me to be a better father figure to them. A lot of them have moms and grandmothers but no real male role models in their lives. Sometimes they see me as an enemy because of how they were treated by their dads. Hopefully I can be that light of Christ to them.
PRISCILLA & LARRY: Pray that we will have the grace, strength, and compassion to do what is needed in being a representative of the Kingdom of God. That the children will see Jesus in us and that their hearts will be drawn to Him. That they will have a victor’s mentality and not a victim mentality. That they will understand that whatever happened to them that brought them to us does not define who they are. That they will embrace how much God loves them and He has a plan for their lives.