I just spent a weekend at Shocco Springs with an amazing group of people. I knew a few but most were complete strangers from every corner of Alabama. There were married couples with children, married couples with no children and some single women all of whom share one passion: they love and care for foster children.
This has been the mission of the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries for over a century. Across our state, hundreds of children have been placed in private established homes and become part of loving Christian families. They get a foster parent or two, they may get an instant sibling or several, but they all get safety, security and unconditional love.
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Many of these children have had a rough start in life; they come from hard places. Some have experienced more physical and emotional trauma firsthand than we have seen on the news. Some have seen more drugs than we have seen in the movies. Many were unwanted, unloved, uncared for. The state has removed them from an unsafe environment; they had no place to go.
‘Scared, scarred and suspicious’
Foster families open their homes and their lives to welcome children who are scared, scarred and suspicious.
The children may be hostile or too hurt to believe that anyone will treat them with kindness. For the first time in their short lives, many eat healthy food, sleep in a bed and receive medical care. Extraordinary foster parents are living ordinary lives, and are just as busy as the rest of us. They are living out James 1:27, caring for orphans, healing young damaged minds and bodies.
ABCH families care for more than 500 children, but there are more than 5,000 in our state who need care. ABCH always needs financial support, but the real need is for more foster families who will step up to the challenge.
If you feel a tug on your heart, become extraordinary. Open your heart and your home, love a kid for Jesus and change lives, including yours. To discover how you can be a part of God’s work through ABCH, visit http://www.alabamachild.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This letter was submitted by James Fisk, a supporter and volunteer with Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries.
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