During this journey, I am discovering that the longer these kids are in the system, the more issues they acquire. They generally have low social skills as they have not had anyone to model appropriate interactions. Simple things we have learned at young ages are not necessarily things these kids know. Every new child in my home brings a new realm of issues and a vast array of possibilities!

September 16, 2007 and on her 16th birthday, Nadean moved in. She, like Jessie, is available for adoption as her mother is deceased and her father’s rights were terminated about 7 years ago. She has two siblings, Robert (15) and Becky (13) who were in other foster homes as well. Becky moved in with us a few weeks ago, on June 4th and Robert on June 11th.

When Nadean moved in, I only planned to adopt Jessie and then foster many, many other kids (and at that time ONLY girls). Funny how God’s plan for us is often different. Nadean had asked me over and over again if I would adopt her and I kept telling her NO, that was not my plan. Well, over a course of time, God broke my heart and showed me that I had the power to make her dream come true and was being selfish! In Feb. I asked her if she wanted me to adopt her. A week later, we found out that Becky was going to be losing her current foster home so we talked to her about adoption too. She started coming to our house on weekends and moved in as soon as school was out. We had no plans to take in Robert, but God had a different plan again. Due to some circumstances beyond his control, he was given a 30 day notice at his foster home. They asked if I could take him for a 3-4 weeks while they found him a group home. He moved in and after 2 weeks, I asked him if he wanted to stay. He gave a resounding “YES”. We are proceeding with the adoption of Nadean and Becky in the fall and then we will see how things go with Robert and may proceed with adoption for him after the first of the year.

Look for my next update, when I share a very special miracle that has occurred in our home. Please pray for all these kids. I had 10 kids in my home this year and three have accepted Christ as well as a friend one of them brought to church. My goal is to see all these kids give their lives to Christ!

Let me continue by explaining the type of classifications of children in the system. There are two main classifications based on the goal for the child: 1) reunification with parents or 2) adoption.
When kids first enter the system, the goal is reunification. However, after the parent has had several chances to work a case plan and get their lives together the court can rule for a TPR or a Termination of Parental Rights and then the goal for the child is adoption. Children whose parent’s rights have been terminated can be filmed and pictures can be taken or posted of them. For these children, like Jessie, I can give you their first name. For the other kids, I will simply use initials or made up names to protect their identity. I have some of both, so you will know the difference as I explain each. Now, back to our story.
As I mentioned last time, Jessie is not with me right now, but we pray for her daily. I received an email from her today, which means she is starting to reach out again. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for this girl. She is so precious and so lost in life. Below are the words of a poem she wrote me last October . . . .

Who Will Cry?

Who will cry for the little girl,
Whom for so long has been so lost?
Who will cry for the little girl
Who just wants love at any cost?
Who will cry for the little girl,
Tears shed deep inside?
Who will cry for the little girl
Whose heart almost died?
Who will cry for the little girl
Only one woman could see.
I love you Keena because you
Had faith in me.

Jessie is the first girl in my home and one I had decided I would adopt. She has been in the system since she was seven, She has been running away since she was 11 and ends up in the ghetto and in places you and I cannot imagine. I love this girl with all my heart, but I cannot help her until she decides she is ready to be helped.

The next young girls to enter my home were JH (11) and MH (14). The moved in on July 31, 2007 so they have been with me almost 11 months. The are each a year older and have grown in so many ways. In late Aug of last year I took them and drove to Gatlinburg to see Deb, Lauren and Roger. I generally help out at their table and the girls got to see TN. In one of the evening services, JH accepted Christ. I was blown away, by how responsive these girls have been to God’s word and how quickly they have accepted Him while in my home. They also got the opportunity to meet the Talley’s and they felt so special spending time with these “stars”, at least in their minds. LOL. They also got to meet Triumphant and Clayton was awesome with the girls. They found him funny and very entertaining.

Well more later . . . .

The process to become a foster parent is not a quick one. The “system” moves at a very cumbersome pace due to all the different levels of authorization. Once I completed my training, I was told it would still take several months. My training was complete in March and I was able to meet Jessie on April 9th, but was still not licensed. They told me they still had to complete all the paperwork, a home study and then it had to go through 4 levels of approval. I began to pray and to ask everyone I knew to pray that things would move quickly. They told me once the first level signed off then it would still take about 8 weeks. I started visits with Jessie at the girls group home where she was staying. At the end of April, the home study was complete and I was allowed to talk her overnight on the weekends.

The first level signed off in early May and it moved on to level two. Once signed off at this level, it had to go to a committee for signature. They told me that it had to be scheduled on a Wed for the following Friday’s committee meeting. On a Thursday they told me it had been signed off by level one, and would be on it’s way to level two. We began to pray it would be signed off at level two by the next Wed. so it could be slated for the third level the week after. However, that following week I received a call on Friday telling me it had been signed off by not only at level two, but also by level three. This was the beginning of many miracles to come! The woman that called me said she could not understand how it could be on its way to Tampa for the final approval so quickly. The following Tuesday I received a call that it had arrived in Tampa, but making sure I understood that it generally took 4 weeks to be reviewed and that they might have questions before they approved it. Two days later, they called me and said I was approved! I picked up Jessie the next day! God is good. When the women called to tell me, she said everyone in the local office was shaking their heads, as this had never happened before. She said all the prayers must have worked. This began a great testimony for God within the local Safe Children Coalition.

The most incredible part is that Jessie accepted Christ the last week of June and was Baptized two weeks later. A victory for the kingdom! This did not erase all the problems this young girl struggled with as a result of her past abuse, but it gave her new hope. Unfortunately, Jessie is not in my home right now as she has been in and out of my home 14 times. Please pray for her. She is a run-a-way and is on the streets. I cannot share all the details of this child’s life, but God knows all of them. Just pray that God draws her back to him and to us.

When licensed I was approved for 2 children. In July they called me about two sisters, 11 and 14 years old. My first response was to say “no”, as the 11 year old was younger than I wanted to take. For two days, I wrestled with God over this situation. On July 31st, 2007 Jasmeen (11) and Miriam (14) moved in with Jessie and I. Two weeks later is when Jessie would leave to be gone for 9 weeks. They had to increase my Cap to three children to accommodate me taking in these two, but rather than do that, they raised my number to FOUR. Again, unheard of in this realm. They normally make you prove yourself for 6 months before they will increase the number. However, what the Coalition did not realize is that God was the one in control, not their people at the top of the ladder.

Are you goin for something knew. Well, if so i’m 100% supportive. G’day mate!!!!

Much Love,
Haley

Cameron is in my prayers and so is the family. I will pray that your family will come out of this strong and know where Paul is at. Keep in touch.

Much Love,
Haley