From Volunteering to Fostering
Justin and Amanda thought God was leading them to volunteer to support an ABCH foster family through our BRACE program. Little did they know God was taking them on a journey that would forever change their lives and their hearts. Amanda shares* how God led her and her husband to become foster parents below:
Our story of fostering is not something awe-inspiring. Instead, it's the simple story of faith and obedience that led us to God's call to care for vulnerable children.
It all began when God placed a desire in the hearts of my husband and me for our church, Westmeade Baptist, to have greater involvement in our local Alabama Baptist Children's Homes campus in Decatur.
At that time, we did not have any foster parents in our congregation. We were giving our money as ministry partners, but not our time or our hearts. It's impossible to be the hands and feet of Jesus without the latter two.
We decided to participate in the BRACE Program. Our church took the next step and provided physical, emotional, and spiritual support to the Burch family. They recently moved to the ABCH Decatur campus to foster up to six foster children at a time, in addition to their own biological children.
Beautiful friendships developed, as well as a deeper understanding and awareness of foster care. I, myself, am a product of the impact the Burch family and their willingness to help foster children makes on a person.
Our family also volunteered at Camp of Champions, a 3-day, 2-night camp for foster families hosted by ABCH. We were both blown away by the level of excellence ABCH executed camp and were shocked to find out that it was completely free to all foster families. It was at camp that I knew God intended for me and my family to be involved with foster care, I just didn't know then the extent of what He had planned.
I began earnestly praying about God’s plan for our family. One afternoon, I told my husband, Justin, what the Lord had put in my heart. We both agreed to pray about it together and separately. It wasn't very long before he came to me and said, "I believe God is calling us to foster care." I had also come to the same realization.
We knew opening our home and hearts to children and their families from hard places was not going to be easy. Instead, we knew it would be difficult and uncomfortable. But Jesus didn't live in the easy and comfortable and neither should we. We were being called for this great need, and we were going to be obedient no matter the cost it placed on us.
At the conclusion of the 10-week foster parent training class we attended, Justin and I became licensed foster and/or respite parents. Just a few short months later, Justin and I answered the call to foster a tiny two-week-old baby boy.
Carrie, the Burch family foster mom, has been an amazing mentor and cheerleader as I've been learning my new role as a foster mom. Our church has been an incredible support system with not only their prayers and encouragement but for their love for the little baby we said “yes” to. Speaking of love, our home has been filled with more than ever before. What I first experienced at Camp of Champions I am now experiencing in my own home between my children and foster child—pure and undefiled love.
Just like all things in faith, we do not know what will happen next in our foster care journey. But what we can say is this: our Heavenly Father is using foster care to teach us more of His great love, mercy, and grace for us. He has allowed us the joy of using what He has given us to invest in the lives of others for His Kingdom through our family, our church, and through ABCH. What a beautiful testimony God has graced us with through foster care.
We are grateful to families like the McAlpins, who answered the call to care for hurting foster kids. They show that it takes a village to care for kids and that although not everyone is called to foster, everyone can help. To learn about how you can make a difference for kids in foster care, visit here.