0:00

Let's move forward with this as a way to

0:02

continue to build our family . Me

0:04

, this is what I want to do to

0:06

build my family . Once we

0:08

knew that this child was going to come to our home

0:11

and we began to learn his story

0:13

and read his case notes and see his struggles

0:16

, I remember the moment that

0:18

my motivation changed . This

0:21

isn't about me One in another son

0:23

, one in another child in my home . This

0:26

is because a child needs a home

0:28

.

0:29

Welcome back to Parenting 2 Impressed , your go-to

0:31

podcast to learn practical ways to

0:33

love God and love others and impress

0:35

this on the hearts of your children . I

0:37

am your host , heidi Franz , a mom

0:39

who has made a lot of mistakes but has

0:41

found grace and truth along the way . Today

0:44

I'm joined by a special friend

0:47

of mine , holly , and she's going to be

0:49

talking about fostering and

0:51

adopting . Holly , when I think

0:54

about fostering and

0:56

adoption and doing it well , you

0:58

immediately come to my mind . You

1:01

have done this beautifully

1:03

and I think your story

1:05

can really help other

1:07

parents who are thinking about

1:09

fostering , thinking about adopting

1:12

or trying to figure out how

1:14

do I love on somebody else who is

1:16

fostering or adopting . Holly , thank

1:18

you so much for joining me today . Thank

1:21

you , that's nothing but humbling to hear

1:23

. Well , it has been a joy

1:25

walking through this journey with

1:28

you from afar , because

1:30

we don't live near each other but being

1:32

able to watch you love

1:34

on this little boy so

1:37

well . Bring him into

1:39

your home in such a way

1:41

that I don't think this

1:43

child ever is concerned

1:46

about where do I fit in ? So

1:48

, holly , tell me about your story .

1:51

It is a long time thing that has

1:53

been my heart to do . I have a lot

1:55

of adoption in my family . My husband

1:57

has adoption in his family . I

1:59

have friends who are adopted

2:01

. I've always been around it

2:04

. It's not something that's been foreign to me .

2:06

Do you think that was a help or a hindrance ? I think

2:09

it was a help .

2:10

I think it was something that always in the back of

2:12

my mind , it was almost a

2:14

goal , something that I just wanted to do

2:16

in this life . My

2:18

husband went to seminary . One

2:21

of his seminary professors spoke

2:23

one time about fostering adopting

2:25

and he said if anybody needs to be

2:27

fostering adopting , it's Christian

2:29

families .

2:31

So at that point .

2:32

That's really when he started to think about it . You

2:34

know , when I have family of my own before we even

2:36

met , is this something that

2:38

I want to do ? And he felt like it did

2:40

. After those years of wanting

2:42

to do that , I became a teacher and

2:45

it didn't take long to see that

2:47

some kids just simply

2:49

need to be in a different home

2:52

to thrive Really

2:54

. That's just always been there . When we were dating

2:57

, we talked about all the things you

2:59

talk about before you get married . How many

3:01

kids do you want ? what's your vision and

3:03

both of us we would like to adopt

3:05

at some point whether we have our kids

3:07

of our own or not , we would still

3:09

like adoption to be part of our story

3:11

.

3:12

I love that . So you chose

3:15

faster adoption . Tell

3:17

me how you came to that decision ?

3:20

Mostly because we

3:22

became aware of the need . The

3:24

need is huge . You can go a

3:26

lot of directions with fostering , adopting

3:28

. You can do it locally , you

3:31

can do it internationally . Having taught , I think

3:33

, I saw the need was so big

3:36

locally . That's

3:38

just where my heart went . I was

3:40

in agreement with that , that fostering

3:42

and adopting was what we wanted to do

3:44

. There's also the obvious

3:46

practical monetary look

3:49

at that . Fostering to adopt

3:51

, while it comes with some risk , that does

3:53

not cost a lot . That's something

3:56

that you can just do and it's

3:58

not a financial burden to

4:00

you . To do the straight

4:02

adoption process , that's where

4:05

a lot of people get a misconception

4:07

of . Well , it costs a lot of money . If

4:10

you just do that , that is something

4:12

where you see families raising money to

4:15

be able to adopt . But to do the process

4:17

of fostering to adopt , that's

4:19

not something that would have cost us a lot

4:21

.

4:22

Tell me , how did you get started in foster

4:24

? What did you have to do

4:26

? And I assume this varies

4:29

by states .

4:31

This varies by states . Anything that

4:33

I say will be based on our

4:35

story in our state

4:37

, in our county . Even from county to county

4:40

in your own state can be different . Really

4:42

Okay , Things can vary quite a lot

4:44

and they can vary from year to year . Laws

4:47

, regulations are always changing . Anything

4:49

that I say would be what

4:51

happened in our county , in our

4:53

state , during the time period that we did

4:55

it . The way we got started

4:58

on the journey was we

5:00

chose an agency that we wanted to

5:03

do our process through and

5:05

they randomly throughout

5:07

the year , have informational meetings

5:10

. We had been talking about it for

5:12

a while and finally just thought let's

5:14

just go to a meeting , let's just go listen

5:16

, see what they say , see

5:18

if we feel like it's time . And

5:21

so we went to an informational meeting and

5:23

I mean it just spoke to both of our hearts

5:25

let's just start , let's

5:28

just start the trainings , let's just

5:30

go and see where it leads .

5:32

Feel like the trainings that you went through prepared

5:34

you for what

5:36

was to come .

5:39

You know , the training that we went through was

5:41

a Christian organization and really

5:44

I would say of them that they trained us

5:46

the best that they could . They

5:48

told us scenarios , they

5:50

prepared us on . What questions do

5:52

you ask when you get those placement calls

5:54

? What information do you ask

5:57

? Don't just accept the first call . Find

5:59

out some things . They prepared us

6:01

the best they could on . You know your child

6:04

that you bring it to your home could deal

6:06

with this . How are you going to

6:08

help them if they're struggling with

6:10

this area and that area ? Do

6:12

you want to be in contact with

6:14

bio family ? When we came away from

6:16

it and looking back at it now , I

6:18

feel like they prepared us the best they could . You

6:21

know , never know what's gonna happen .

6:24

That's great . Let's dive a little bit deeper

6:26

into your story . So you have a biological

6:28

son . How old was he when

6:30

you started the , the foster adoption ?

6:32

We started our training when he

6:34

was four and the training took in

6:37

10 or 11 Monday evenings , I believe

6:39

is what it was . By the time we

6:41

actually had our foster child in

6:43

our home .

6:45

He was five . Yeah , he was pretty

6:47

young . So tell me , how did you prepare him

6:49

? What did you do ? Because

6:51

you're not just bringing a child

6:54

into your life , you're bringing

6:56

a child into his life .

6:59

Right . Well , he

7:01

had wanted a sibling for a

7:03

while and had been talking about it , and

7:06

once we decided we were gonna start this

7:08

path , we just explained things to him the

7:10

best that we could . You know , every time

7:12

we go to a meeting , my parents would

7:15

keep him at home with them and

7:17

we would tell him you know , this is what we're gonna go do , in

7:19

language that he could understand

7:21

. We just kind of always kept an

7:23

open dialogue about it to where he could ask

7:25

questions . And then , of course , once

7:28

we got to the point where we're gonna actually meet

7:30

the child going to foster

7:32

, he went with us . He was part of

7:34

the meeting and played with them and was around

7:36

him and was around the family

7:38

that our now son was currently with

7:40

. Once we got on the path of knowing

7:43

he was going to come to our home , he

7:45

helped prepare the room , he helped daddy

7:47

put the crib back together and just talking

7:50

to him , answering any questions that came

7:52

up in his mind . Letting his teacher

7:54

know at school was a big thing

7:56

, because sometimes they'll go

7:58

away from us and they'll think of things that they're

8:00

maybe even more comfortable asking their teacher

8:02

about . Right and so we made her

8:05

aware and said anything that he asks

8:07

, answer it . If you don't know how to answer

8:09

it , let me know . We'll talk about it at home .

8:12

So it sounds to me , Holly , what

8:14

you did was very similar to what

8:16

a family would do in

8:18

a situation where

8:21

they were bringing home a

8:23

biological child . I mean , you're

8:25

having conversations , you

8:28

are involving the child

8:30

in the preparation , you're

8:32

available for questions and

8:34

you lay that foundation that questions

8:36

are welcomed and are okay

8:39

.

8:39

Yes , I think you have to because

8:41

, especially at his age , you never

8:43

know how they're processing things . You

8:45

know you don't know what they understand and what

8:48

they don't , and he had no frame of reference for

8:50

a sibling , so really just just

8:52

talking about it , trying to prepare him the best

8:54

we could .

8:55

Going from a single child

8:58

home to having two

9:00

children that's a big change for

9:02

any child for sure . Tell

9:06

me , how did you protect

9:08

him in this and

9:11

again , this is going to fall in with a biological

9:13

child as well as with fosterer

9:16

adoption but how did you protect

9:18

his space , how did you protect his

9:20

things so he didn't feel like

9:22

he was losing all of himself

9:25

in this ?

9:26

I think protecting his space was

9:28

something we learned . You know , when you bring

9:30

home a newborn baby , they're

9:32

pretty much just laying there

9:34

.

9:35

You know they're not in a whole .

9:36

Yes , what we brought into our

9:38

home was a 20-month-old that

9:40

wanted to play with his toys . So

9:43

, he had a lot of things that came with him

9:45

that he had been playing with in a previous

9:47

foster home , but then we also

9:50

had our son's toys . So we just

9:52

kind of had it all together and , you know

9:54

, we allowed our older son to play

9:56

with our foster child's toys and we kind of

9:58

kept it in the mix . But when we

10:00

pretty quickly realized that our son

10:02

really needs some time to be able to just do his

10:04

thing without the new guy

10:06

in the middle of all of it

10:08

, so I think we learned to protect his

10:11

space .

10:12

Yeah , and I think that's so important , especially

10:15

for a child is going well . Where do I

10:17

fit into this situation now ? Because

10:20

I did have mom and dad's full

10:22

attention and now

10:24

in certain situations

10:27

, it can be that this child is going to

10:29

need a lot of attention

10:31

and a lot of focus , which I

10:33

know just in talking to you

10:35

. That's kind of part of your story .

10:37

Yes , definitely learning a

10:39

balance . I would say we're doing

10:42

that to this day . It's a little more even

10:44

now , because they both have their separate needs

10:46

.

10:46

Well and , knowing you and your

10:48

husband , I have a feeling

10:51

that you guys did a great job about dividing

10:53

and conquer .

10:54

We have a rhythm . We've had to

10:56

had routines of

10:58

. This is what I do .

11:00

Which I think hits on a very

11:02

important topic that before you decide

11:05

To foster

11:07

, adopter , even to have a biological

11:09

child , you have to be

11:11

on the same team and be ready , because

11:14

it is not a one-sided situation . You

11:17

have to be 100% in on this

11:19

.

11:20

Yes , definitely . There definitely needs to be

11:22

agreement between the two of you . You know

11:24

, especially when you bring a child into your home

11:26

, that is more than likely going

11:28

to have needs and going to

11:30

need some attention in some areas and

11:33

it's going to have setbacks or

11:35

trauma or Needs

11:37

for therapies that you had nothing

11:39

to do with . You're not the cause

11:41

of it , you weren't there for it , we

11:43

should hadn't happened . But now here you are

11:45

trying to help this child overcome these

11:47

things . So it definitely

11:49

needs to be something you're both on board

11:51

with , because there's gonna be some work .

11:54

Speaking of work , holly , what were you

11:56

not prepared for ? What surprised

11:59

you ? What do you wish you would have known

12:01

? What would you tell another

12:03

mom who's sitting there going ? Hey , I'm

12:05

thinking about this .

12:07

You can only prepare so far

12:09

. For fostering and adoption

12:11

. You go to the trainings , you

12:14

listen to everything they say and you take

12:16

it to heart . You do your best

12:18

to become , you know , mentally

12:20

knowledgeable about what you need to

12:22

do . As far as preparing

12:25

for the child's arrival , that's

12:27

very different than bringing a baby home

12:29

from the hospital , because you have nine

12:32

months to think and prepare

12:34

and get the right size of clothes , the

12:36

right gender of clothes , prepare the room

12:38

, have the baby showers . As far

12:41

as preparing for who's

12:43

gonna come to your home , I mean

12:45

, most times you really can't someone's just

12:47

gonna call you one day and say I have

12:51

a such-and-such age little

12:53

boy . He's got these issues

12:55

. Can we bring him to your home today

12:58

? And you mean likely don't

13:00

have those size of clothes or

13:02

a high chair or you know they need . There's

13:05

a lot of preparation that you can't do

13:07

, so you mostly just kind of have to

13:09

prepare your mind and your heart to

13:12

be open and Just

13:14

be ready to move , be ready to take a man

13:16

and deal with what should they come with

13:18

and then Gather what else

13:20

you can ask friends , anybody

13:22

have that support group .

13:25

Were you ever called and asked to

13:27

take a child that you did not feel would

13:29

be a good fit for your family ? Yes

13:31

tell me about that .

13:34

The phone calls always went to my husband because

13:36

that was just the name that was on file . Okay

13:38

, there were a handful of times

13:40

that my husband got a call and said , okay

13:42

, I need to call my wife and I will

13:44

get back to you , and

13:47

he would call me . And I

13:49

mean it was agreement every time

13:51

, for different situations , for different

13:53

reasons . Pretty quickly , in talking

13:55

back and forth , we would agree that's

13:57

not a fit for us . Of course

13:59

, you always want to be open to what God

14:02

has for you . First it's you cannot

14:04

plan your life and you cannot plan

14:06

what's going to come into your home . But

14:09

you do also have to have some

14:11

common sense on what is practical

14:13

or your current

14:15

situation , because they are going to come

14:17

into your life . You have

14:20

to think of things . What's feasible ? Do

14:22

we have a bed for this child ? How many

14:24

beds do we have ? What age do we

14:26

want ? What situations are we willing

14:28

to deal with ? What do we want our son

14:30

to not be exposed ? You

14:33

really have to think it through and , yes , there

14:35

were a number of phone calls that

14:37

we said no to . That

14:39

is not easy , because

14:41

you know they would come and be safe with you right

14:44

by saying you know you don't know where they go . So

14:47

you cry the rest of the

14:50

day and I remember those

14:52

phone calls to this day and

14:54

hope the best . But , and

14:56

again , we never regretted

14:59

any of the no's because

15:01

it just wasn't the fit . Just

15:04

wasn't the fit for our family .

15:06

So I think maybe one of the things from

15:09

hearing your heart that you would prepare

15:11

somebody with is just the freedom

15:13

to say no , this isn't

15:15

a good fit , and the

15:17

understanding that not every

15:20

child that potentially

15:23

could come in your home means

15:25

that's God's will or God's

15:27

desire for your family , and

15:29

I so appreciate how you said

15:32

is this a good fit for our son

15:34

Holly ? I'm sure

15:36

you know this as well , but I know so many

15:38

families who have lost

15:41

relationships with their biological

15:43

children through the process

15:45

of adoption and

15:47

I can't say why that happened . But

15:50

that is so wise , I think

15:52

, on your part to take into consideration

15:55

what is going to be best

15:57

for my son right

15:59

now .

16:01

Having a biological child and

16:03

bringing an adopted son into the situation

16:06

. I can see how you would do that

16:08

, especially if you feel like you've got a well adjusted

16:11

, smart , thriving child

16:13

, a child in that's super needy . Well

16:16

, of course , do kind of have to mentally

16:19

remind yourself keep them all

16:21

in check , right ?

16:23

I'm going to ask a tough question , oh

16:27

boy . Do you feel that

16:29

everyone is called by God

16:32

to either faster

16:34

or adopt ?

16:36

No , no , I

16:38

don't . When people think about fostered

16:40

adoption , especially from the

16:42

Christian perspective , there's

16:45

the verse James 127, . Religion

16:47

that God , our Father , accepts as pure and

16:49

faultless , is this to look after

16:51

orphans and widows in their distress and

16:54

to keep oneself from being polluted by the world

16:56

. Now , obviously , god

16:58

absolutely means what he says and

17:01

there are a number of times through scripture we see

17:04

that God sees the

17:06

orphans and he sees the widows

17:08

. What I read was the new

17:10

international version and it says that

17:12

we are to look after orphans . I

17:15

was just curious yesterday and looked

17:17

that verse up . In different translations

17:20

it said different things , like we are to visit

17:22

the orphans , we are to take care

17:24

of the orphans , we are to reach out

17:26

to the orphans . I didn't find any

17:29

evidence that it says that everyone

17:31

is to take them into your home . I

17:34

think you need to be open to that , because

17:36

the numbers of kids that need homes is

17:38

very high . But that's not

17:40

to say that if

17:43

you don't feel God leading you to do that

17:45

, god doesn't have a plan for you in it . You

17:47

can give to agencies that support

17:49

these children , you can support the family

17:52

that adopted them , you can offer respite

17:54

, you can be their friend , you can listen . There

17:56

are lots of ways that you can look after , visit

17:59

, take care of , reach out to orphans

18:01

, without going through the whole big

18:03

process that my family has

18:05

and I feel like God still sees and honors

18:07

that ?

18:08

Yeah , absolutely . I would say the same

18:10

thing , looking at the verse go you

18:12

into all the world . That

18:14

doesn't mean that all of us moved to Africa

18:17

. We are to be missionaries wherever

18:19

we are . We are to love

18:21

the widows , we are to love the orphans

18:24

in whatever manner God calls

18:27

us , but I believe

18:30

firmly that not

18:32

everyone is called to bring

18:34

these kiddos into their homes

18:36

. On the moral side , I

18:39

would love to foster . I could give

18:41

them the love and

18:43

support that they need , but

18:45

I know it would not be

18:48

a good situation for

18:50

one child in particular in my

18:52

home . Bringing in foster

18:54

kids would not provide

18:56

him what he needs , and

18:59

so that is something that we have to , I

19:01

believe , take into consideration . What

19:04

would you add to that ?

19:05

Oh , that's absolutely true . I

19:07

wouldn't let lack of

19:09

a background keep you

19:12

from fostering or adopting , because

19:14

through fostering and adopting we have built

19:16

a village . Exactly , you

19:19

build a circle . Our son he

19:21

was 20 months old when he came to

19:23

our home . He still was not walking , he

19:25

still was not talking and , just

19:27

naturally , those things were

19:29

not going to happen . He needed speech

19:32

therapy , he needed physical therapy . I

19:34

did not know how to do that . Now

19:36

his previous foster home already had

19:38

some things in place for him that

19:41

we continued , and it was a situation

19:43

where those therapists came to our home

19:46

and they taught us how to help him . Yes

19:48

, that's very important that

19:50

you find out what your resources are around

19:52

you , decide what you're

19:54

willing to take on

19:57

their worst scenarios

19:59

my husband and I were not comfortable with . But

20:01

a child who needed speech therapy and physical

20:03

therapy , I can do that . Learn

20:05

how to talk , I can help . He came to us with leg

20:07

braces . If he needs them his whole life

20:09

, I'm okay with that . I can help him with that

20:12

. You just have to decide what

20:14

you're feel capable of or what you're feel capable

20:17

of learning .

20:18

I love that you have to be willing

20:20

to become a student . You

20:23

do of that child and that

20:25

child's needs , and I would say that as a parent

20:27

as well . But I love

20:29

what you said , that you don't have

20:31

to have the background , but

20:33

you have to be willing to pull

20:35

the people around you , like the therapist

20:38

who can help you in that . Yes

20:40

, yes definitely , Holly

20:43

. I think you have given some Fantastic

20:45

suggestions . What else would

20:47

you suggest to those who are thinking

20:49

about adoption or foster

20:52

?

20:52

Well , I know , for me personally , my

20:56

motivation was

20:59

to add another child

21:01

to her family , and Fostering

21:03

, adopting , was the way that we wanted to do

21:05

it . It was just the route that

21:08

we had always wanted to go , something

21:10

we always wanted to do and without

21:12

timing was right . Let's move forward

21:14

with this as a way . Continue

21:16

to build our family . Me , this

21:19

is what I want to do to build

21:21

my family . Well

21:23

, once we actually had the child

21:25

in view and we knew

21:28

that this child was going to come to our home

21:30

and we began to learn his story

21:32

and read his case notes and see his struggles

21:35

, I remember the moment that

21:37

my motivation changed . This

21:40

isn't about me . It's not

21:42

about me . This is not about me

21:44

one in another son or

21:47

one in another child in my home . This is

21:49

because a child needs a home . Wow

21:51

, you really want to go at

21:54

fostering , especially

21:56

adopting , from the perspective of

21:58

I Want to give a

22:00

child a home that needs a home

22:02

. Bring the child to me that needs my

22:05

home .

22:05

Yes .

22:06

I think God puts it in your heart to do

22:08

it or you wouldn't do it Right . But

22:10

the motivation really needs to be from

22:13

the perspective of the child .

22:15

Kids need homes , lots and lots

22:17

of kids need homes and

22:19

someone may need your home , and

22:21

isn't that just the Christian life as a

22:23

whole ? Our focus is on

22:25

what does God desire for

22:27

us to do , not what we want . Yes

22:30

, and how is this going to fit into our plan

22:32

and our desires

22:35

? It's god . What do you want

22:37

from me In this vapor

22:39

of a life ? To quote Ecclesiastes

22:42

Exactly ? One of the

22:44

things that I want to also talk

22:46

about is the relationship

22:49

between your

22:51

biological son and your adopted

22:53

son . Then , all the conversations

22:56

I have had with you , holly , I have never

22:58

felt this divide

23:01

In your voice . They

23:03

are your Boys . You

23:05

don't call him one your biological

23:08

and one you're adopted . I think

23:10

if the situation wasn't right

23:12

.

23:13

I think it could feel that way . I think

23:15

you could feel the separation . But

23:17

when you get a child that really

23:19

is a fit for your home , they

23:21

fit . I think there was a period

23:23

of time where we still Kind

23:26

of explained it that way to people , but

23:28

it was more because we were just . We

23:31

just really thought it was cool what had happened to

23:34

our family . You know , we just adopted him

23:36

, we were happy about it and we

23:38

shared it that way like you would present

23:40

to . You know , we had a baby and you want to show the

23:42

world . But then we just kind of dropped that

23:45

, kind of decided we don't need to say that

23:47

anymore . And then you get to the point

23:49

where you don't even think it anymore . He's

23:51

not our adopted son , he's

23:53

our son . You don't even feel

23:55

the separation of it anymore .

23:58

That's a great explanation . It's

24:00

the same way that I don't

24:02

call my 13 year old the baby

24:04

anymore . If that would happen

24:07

, in my mind he would

24:09

still stay my baby

24:11

. We have to , with

24:14

our words , exemplify

24:17

what we want our heart to believe

24:19

and what we want our heart to feel , and

24:21

I know you feel that way . Listen to

24:23

you , talk about it . He

24:25

is your child that God

24:27

gave you , just like your biological

24:29

is the child that God gave you , and

24:32

you guys have done an amazing job at

24:35

just showing what

24:37

faster and adoption can

24:39

be , should be . Every time

24:42

you text , you won't believe what he just

24:44

did and how far he's

24:46

come , and it just thrills

24:48

my soul . This is what . This

24:51

is what faster and adoption is all about .

24:53

I have never seen favor

24:55

like I have on

24:58

this child . God

25:00

really does see the orphan . I

25:04

cannot believe the way he is

25:06

loved everywhere he goes

25:08

, whether people know the story or not

25:10

. I see favor on him , it

25:13

follows him and our family has

25:15

been blessed as a result of

25:17

him being here , things

25:20

that we would not have received if

25:22

he weren't here .

25:23

I know , holly , this wasn't part of your story

25:25

, but let's say , adoption

25:29

was something that God

25:31

. You felt God laid on your heart , but

25:34

your husband was not on board at all

25:36

. What would you tell that wife ?

25:38

Your husband needs to be on board . It

25:41

really does need to be a team

25:43

.

25:44

Yeah , yeah , I agree 100%

25:47

. When we walk forward

25:49

in any big decision , I

25:52

think that there's a reason

25:55

why one

25:57

spouse or the other doesn't agree , and

26:00

we need to be patient

26:02

with our spouse . We also need to

26:05

accept that that is maybe

26:07

not something God has called us , as

26:09

a married couple , to .

26:11

I don't think God would call

26:13

one of you and not the

26:15

other . If it were truly something

26:18

that he wanted you to do , he wouldn't call

26:20

you to it and not your husband . Either

26:22

something that you needed to pray through that

26:24

God would work on him and change his heart

26:26

, or maybe it's not the right time

26:29

. Yeah , maybe it will come later

26:31

or change your heart . If it's

26:33

not something that God wants you

26:35

to do or the way he wants you to do it , he may

26:37

be showing you the

26:40

orphans because he wants you to do

26:42

this sort of thing . Instead

26:44

of bringing them into your home Now , that's something

26:47

that you could do on your own . Good volunteer

26:49

to take care of , reach out , visit

26:52

, look after orphans on your

26:54

own .

26:55

When the child came into your home , you

26:57

didn't have clothes because you didn't know

26:59

what age , and so I think one of

27:01

the ways that we can love

27:03

on fostering families

27:06

is sharing the extra

27:08

clothes that we have or extra toys we're not

27:11

using or different things

27:13

like that that are so practical

27:15

, don't cost money .

27:18

If you're looking for a place to give those clothes

27:20

that have been outgrown , shoes that have been outgrown

27:23

, toys that are still in good shape but

27:25

aren't used anymore , there are foster

27:27

adopt agencies that would take

27:29

them and give them out , probably

27:32

within the week .

27:33

I love that . Holly , this has

27:35

been a wonderful conversation

27:37

. I'm just blessed to be able to

27:39

talk with you about something

27:42

that you're passionate about , and

27:44

for very understandable reasons . I'd

27:47

like to just end in prayer , holly

27:49

, would you just pray for our listeners

27:52

, pray for these kiddos who

27:54

need homes that we would

27:56

know as Christian families

27:59

. Do we step up and open our

28:01

doors , or do we come alongside

28:03

, close us in prayer , please ?

28:06

Jesus , your word is true and

28:09

we believe that you see the orphan . We

28:11

believe that kids need homes and

28:13

I just pray that anything that I've

28:15

said today will fall

28:17

on ears that need to hear it

28:20

. We'll clear up any confusion or

28:22

hindrance or hang up that someone

28:25

might have that has kept them from going

28:27

forward . I pray for all those who

28:29

are listening . If it is your desire

28:31

for them to take a child into their

28:34

home , to foster , or to go as

28:36

far as adopt , I pray that you would give them wisdom

28:38

and peace and direction

28:40

. Families would just fall into place as

28:43

they did for us . I know the road can be hard

28:45

and the journey can be tough and hearts

28:47

can get broken along the way , but

28:50

I thank you for the journey that my

28:52

family has had and I thank you for the blessing

28:54

that you have placed in our home and

28:57

I just pray that even now

28:59

you will lay on someone's heart

29:02

to provide a home for

29:04

a child or a sibling group

29:06

that needs it and that they could

29:08

just be blessed by

29:10

experiencing a little of your heart . In

29:13

Jesus' name amen Amen

29:15

.

29:16

Thank you , Holly .

29:18

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29:21

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29:23

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29:25

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29:28

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