Committed to Caring
I can’t tell you how many times we’ve taken a break and we’ve said, okay, we’re done now, and then the Lord calls us back,” said James Wolfe. They laughed at this, remembering all of the times they thought they had “retired” from foster parenting, yet the Lord had a different plan. James and his wife, Ramona, are some of our longest serving foster parents, serving the majority of the past 14 years.
It was more than 25 years ago that Ramona first felt that tug toward fostering. “I was in church one day, and I just felt this strong, strong pull to foster care as our pastor was talking . . . I felt it really strong in my heart.” She discussed it with James, but with a full house of three children of their own, they weren’t ready at the time.
Little did they know, a decade later the Lord would speak to James while listening to the radio. “I was listening to WDJC one morning, and that’s when God put it on my heart . . . there was a story they were doing, and they were talking about fostering . . . that’s where I heard about ABCH.” He went on to share with Ramona how God was stirring in his heart, but that he wanted to foster through our ministry. “I told Ramona, you’ve got to go to that website, and I will do it there. Since that time it’s just been a blessing.”
THE BEST MISTAKE
After doing their research about fostering through ABCH, they signed up for the required 10-week training course to start the process. It was a lot to juggle, since James started a new job, that included times where he had to be on-call. They weren’t able to make it to the classes the first time around, so they asked their Sunday School class to pray that the Lord would help them make the classes the next time around. “And we made the classes . . . we don’t know how we did it; it had to be God. But we made it through, and we finished our home study interviews,” said Ramona.
When the Wolfes signed up to foster, they decided they would take in children from ages 2–10. It wasn’t too long after they became certified that Ramona got a call from Cathy McDaniel, one of our social workers, about a baby who just came into foster care named Isaiah. It caught her off guard, since she wasn’t expecting any calls about fostering a baby that young. Turns out, Cathy had misunderstood the age group they requested to foster, but Ramona and James decided to take little Isaiah in.
This little misunderstanding actually turned out to be one of the Wolfes’ biggest blessings. After two and a half years, James and Ramona were able to adopt Isaiah. “Actually, [before Isaiah came into our lives], I had been praying for another baby for 12 years,” shared Ramona. “But after 12 years, I just thought, well, this is not God’s plan. We’ll just foster, and we were fine with that.” The Lord answered her prayers, but in a completely different way than she had imagined.
Pictured: Isaiah's baptism
RESTORING FAMILIES
Fourteen years after receiving Isaiah, they have still continued to open up their home to children in need. In fact, they’ve had more than 30 children come through their home! One thing they always want kids to know is that they’re not replacing their parents, rather, they’re just helping their family out during a difficult time. “We have a lot [of kids] that want to call us mom and dad, which is fine; that’s an honor,” said James. “But I encourage them to call me Mr. James or something like that. Since a lot of the kids can’t say Ramona, they call her Mrs. Mo or Mo. We still respect that we’re not the parents, but we love that they think of us that way.”
“I think it helps with the children to keep in mind that we’re not trying to take them away or take the place of their parents,” Ramona said. And many times, with that mindset in place, the Wolfes have seen the Lord work to restore families.
James shares one of his favorite stories of a little girl who came into their care named Simone.* While in their home, she decided to accept Christ as her Savior and was baptized at their church! It was a special day, because Simone’s mother and grandfather were allowed to come and see
her baptism.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Reflecting over the years, the Wolfes are quick to add that they could not do it alone. Having support has been key in their experience. “We are blessed that we’ve had really good Sunday School classes that pray for us,” said James. “We’ll say, ‘hey, we have another child,’ and they get excited with us . . . and they keep us in their prayers.”
Also, respite care has been vital to helping them in their journey of foster parenting. Ramona shared specifically about one who had previously been a therapeutic foster parent for about 20 years, and the wonderful help she had been to them. Connecting with other foster parents, especially during events like our annual Camp of Champions has been a huge help too. “That support and being around other people . . . we’re all called to the same things, working together for one cause,” said James.
Pictured: James and Ramona with their children and grandchildren
With the support of their church, ABCH social workers, foster parents, and respite care, the Wolfes have been able to pour into the lives of children in their home. “James and Ramona are dedicated foster parents with a strong faith and an open heart,” said our social worker, Cathy. “They ensure that each child not only hears the gospel, but experiences God’s love as it is lived out in their home. James and Ramona also reach out whenever possible to each biological parent in an attempt to show them God’s love and help bring healing to their family.” We are so thankful for the Wolfes and the way they’ve loved and cared for so many children and families over the years!