The Norris Family + Campus Foster Care
Brandon and Mary Quince Norris have served as ABCH Foster Parents since 2015. In that time, they’ve provided a loving, Christ-centered home for 13 different foster children. Now along with their biological daughters, Scotlyn and Tommie, the Norrises have taken another step in their fostering journey in becoming our first ABCH Campus Foster Care parents.
Campus Foster Care is an exciting new foster care model that brings traditional foster care homes onto a larger campus setting. Campus Foster Care parents are able to foster anywhere from 4 to 6 children at a time, from birth to age 18, just as they would in their own home. On campus though, they are able to pay only $1 per month for the house, all utilities except cable, and the use of a 12-passenger van. In addition, these families get the full support of our on-campus resources, from events and recreation to on-site social workers and counselors.
Our Decatur campus was the first to convert a Campus Care home into a Campus Foster Care home in June of this year. We have already seen the Lord open doors for children in this area to find a safe and welcoming home in this season. The Norrises have been blessing children and families for six years as foster parents, and we are happy to share more with you here about their journey into Campus Foster Care and their hopes for the future.
Please share a little about what led you to begin fostering.
Brandon: Early in our marriage, we knew that having a hybrid family was what we wanted, some form of taking care of kids through adoption or foster care. We heard Michael Smith (ABCH Chief Operations Officer) speak at church on Orphan Sunday, and after, we went to an informational meeting about foster care. During the meeting, we glanced and nudged each other, both thinking the same thing, hoping the other wanted to do this. We thought it best to take a few days and pray about it, because we were just ready to sign up and get after it. We wanted to intentionally slow down and make sure though. And a good thing about the foster care process is you have a lot of time to figure it out.
What do you hope your foster children will experience while in your care?
Mary Quince: There’s a catchphrase around here in our home we’ve used for a lot of years—to provide a safe, healthy, happy home, in that order. Jesus healed the blind and gave water at the well, and we want to help these kids physically. Spiritually, Jesus says to go and sin no more. We want these children to go from here and take the Jesus they meet here with them. Sometimes they’ll go to tough places and sometimes they’ll need Him more there than here. Whether Comforter, Provider or another part of Him—we want them to get a full picture of Jesus and take a part of Him along.
What are one or two of your favorite memories with your foster children?
Mary Quince: I have never had an indoor camping day that went wrong. It’s a “yes” day. You can say yes to almost anything when you indoor camp—pancakes, movie marathon, etc. We usually have them on a weekend, and it’s been a tried and true, fun time with almost every kid in our care.
Brandon: Some of the meetings with kids during reunifications with family are among my favorite memories and too, seeing kids after they’ve left our care, seeing them thrive. It’s good to see these kids attach to their bio families. Though it’s a little bittersweet, it’s nice to know we are not needed any longer. When that happens, we know we did our job.
Please share about your journey to today, in becoming our first Campus Foster Care home.
Mary Quince: We love this story.
Brandon: I was working one day and got an email from Michael Smith, telling us about Campus Foster Care, sharing the basic information. I thought, that sounds fun, and cool but thought there’s no way we’ll do it. She (MQ) was teaching at the time, and I knew it would require her to quit her job and move. I thought, there’s no way she’ll go for this. But I forwarded the message to her and it was the last I thought about it.
Mary Quince: So we had been praying about this kind of opportunity to have a large foster home since we came to our first Open House here. We thought it (the large campus home/life) was great and had been praying since then to be group home parents. We weren’t ready yet though to make that move. We began drawing house plans, 7 to 10 years out, to have a ‘large foster home’. We had a plan and in the process God kind of dropped this, Campus Foster Care, into our lap. I knew this was a ‘yes’ but I was so afraid to leave my comfort zone. I realized though, it was not a leaving of comfort but a shifting of comfort.
When God makes dreams come true, it can be intimidating. It’s never really how you imagine it will be. He delivered it to us radically different that we expected. It was a bigger gift than we were expecting. And easier! But we almost said no to it. We thought we’d have to build our own house with our own money, and here we have one gifted! It’s impossible not to see God’s hand on it.
What has the Campus Foster Care experience been like so far?
Mary Quince: Good. There are some growing and figuring things out, but it really has been good. We love being on campus with the resources. Having a counselor right here is amazing. The kids have other kids on campus to connect with. There’s a pool, events to enjoy, and multiple adults on campus to help watch kids when needed. It’s a community. It’s nice to have all of that but also the autonomy of our own foster home. And, we get to experience years of benefit from other house parents on how to run a larger home because a larger home is different, and I have all this wisdom right across the yard.
Brandon: The biggest fear for me was how do we ‘live’ here/how do we fit in, to campus life in regard to boundaries. I was worried that some of the campus program would bleed too much into our home, but it’s not that way. There is a healthy boundary of understanding that this is our home. Having a social worker than can pop by is amazing, but she doesn’t come by unannounced. The staff has been very respectful of those boundaries.
How have you seen and/or how do you hope, fostering will impact your biological children?
Mary Quince: Because they are so young, we have seen first how our littles have impacted our foster kids, because we had foster kids before and after we had our biological girls. Our littles allow a bridge to us as parents. Siblings are easier to add into your heart. Also, I don’t have to hope too much, I pretty much know, they are going to be more empathetic and adaptable. I’m pretty certain that will happen. We’ve seen foster families where we see those kids that grow up and are like that.
How have you seen growth in your own life as a result of your decision to foster?
Brandon: Obviously, it’s really grown my faith, coming into situations where there is nothing we can fix—whether it’s a bio parent hooked on drugs or a kid with a history we feel can’t be overcome. Sometimes it feels like it’ll never get better. We’ve had those moments. But we continue to pray for those situations and watch God make a way for it to happen. There is nothing we can do, or anyone can physically do to make it happen, but God finds a way. Experiencing those losses and wins has grown my faith.
Mary Quince: For me, it’s a lot of the same in that you learn to trust the Lord. I’ve been so autonomous my whole life, but this is not something you can do by yourself or control. It has allowed me to see what Jesus talked about in Matthew—how he clothes the lilies and feeds the birds. When you need things, God will provide to the extent you need it . . . it honestly feels better when you don’t have to make every decision and feel responsible for every outcome. You’ve seen something that felt impossible turn out fine, so when it happens again, you can rest in that. It’s not always perfect, but it’s His.
What would you say to encourage someone who is thinking of taking their “next step” in caring for children from hard places?
Mary Quince: It’s just a step. Take the next step. You don’t have to dive in completely. When God gave us this dream, we were excited about it. There are so many baby steps you can take in this process. For us it started with a meeting, then classes, then getting certified.
There’s a little piece that anybody can play. We could have moved into respite care or babysat. We have a babysitter who is a huge resource for us. It may seem small, but it is a huge blessing to foster parents. And as you take small steps to do more, there’s a big ABCH community with tons of resources to help along the way.
Is there anything else you’d like to add or share?
Mary Quince: Moving to Campus Foster Care felt like a huge leap for us, quitting our jobs and moving cities, taking on up to six kids. Mrs. Dana, (long-serving Campus Care mom) said to me in the process, ‘I truly believe that God will honor the risk.’ And so far, yes, He is honoring this risk we’re taking. It’s great. There has been a lot of change, but it doesn’t feel like a risk today at all.
Learn more here about our Campus Foster Care ministry.