Calvary Life CalvaryLife-Fall2017-FINAL-web | Page 5

Heather Huisman Foster families need help from the church family. When someone says something like, “Hey, Kristin, would it be all right if I help you by,” I do not even let them finish their thought before I interrupt and say, “OH MY WORD, YES. Please do that thing that I did not let you finish saying that will help us. And while you’re at it, could you pick up some medical tape on your way over? And do you happen to have any knowledge on how to fix a pediatric wheelchair brake that keeps sticking?” If you see a foster family like us rolling up to church with our sometimes-changing lineup of kids, assume that we need a little bit of care from our church family. You want to make a foster parent delirious with joy? Identify those in your circles of influence who are involved in fostering. Drop off a meal for their dinner and include a jumbo package of paper plates. Do the paperwork to become a respite provid- er and go sit at their house and read while the kids sleep at night so that the foster parents can go to the all-night burg- er place and just talk without 10 little ears listening. Share your own struggles in your marriage and loan them books or point them to counselors that helped you. Have a foster family over for dinner and load them up with leftovers when they leave. Ask questions at appropriate times about their journey to fostering. Do not ask questions about their kids in front of their kids. Open yourself to the possibility of be- coming licensed to foster. Be hospitable. These are the types of priceless gifts we receive from our church community and hope other fostering families at Calvary also receive. To our small group and Momentum, it might not seem like they are individually doing much, but their hospitality means so much to us. It enables us to keep doing this hard work. When we say goodbye to a sibling set on Thursday and the agency calls on Friday asking if we are ready for another child I can confidently say, “Sure, we’d be happy to have them. We can definitely do that.” And I know we can do it. Not because we are super-parents, but because God has enabled us to do this crucial hospi- tality work and because our small community within the church supports us. James 1:27 calls each of us to care for orphans, but this call looks different for each person. At Calvary Church we recognize that some are called to bring children into their homes, while others are called to find ways to serve and support them. We are not all called to do the same thing, but everyone is called to do something – we are the Body of Christ. Forever Hope is developing a care ministry for adoptive and foster families within Calvary. We need volunteers who are willing to provide “wrap around care” for adoptive and foster families by making meals, providing transportation to appointments, babysitting, cleaning, doing laundry and providing overnight respite care. We currently have eight foster families within our congregation that need this wrap around care. If you would like to express practical love in acts of service to those who are welcoming orphans and vulnerable children into their family, contact Sheri ([email protected]) at ext. 5524. 5