And so begins a new phase

Kris and I are about to embark on an exciting journey into the world of foster parenting. I know that to some this may seem sudden, but I want to assure you that this is something Kris and I have #1. Always been open two and #2. Talked about over and over again during the last ten years. Two weeks ago I wouldn't have been able to tell you that I could see us starting the process so soon. But two weeks ago, God wasn't moving and working in my heart as He is now. Let me rephrase that. I WASN'T LISTENING TO GOD SPEAKING TO ME, AND ALLOWING MYSELF TO BE MOVED!! To really understand our certainty that this is God's leading for our lives, read the following two posts from my personal blog, in this order:

http://love2cook05.blogspot.com/2009/06/joy.html

http://love2cook05.blogspot.com/2009/06/complacency.html

That being said, Kris and I have ALWAYS talked about foster parenting/adoption. From before we got married, throughout the last ten years, and recently. When Crossroads (our previous church until about 3 years ago) decided that it was time for everyone to go their own ways and find other places to serve, Kris and I sort of got lost. We wandered from church to church, never really feeling at home anywhere. Never feeling as if we belonged. Two of the last churches we tried about a year ago seemed to have fliers for Christian Foster Care/Adoption posted everywhere. And every time we went and I saw one of the fliers, I would point them out to Kris. When I saw them, I just felt this pulling in my heart. But I was too far away from God's heart that I didn't realize the pulling for what it was.

And then we found Cross Keys Baptist Church. A friend that I work with attended there, and she invited us to come. My first Sunday there, I knew it was right for us. I knew it was where God wanted us to be. Kris was less convinced than I was, but by the end of the second week, he too began to feel like maybe that was where God wanted us. Within a month, we were convinced that we would 'settle in' there and finally give ourselves and our children a church 'home'. It was time to stop wandering around and settle in. And everyone was so kind and sincere, including the pastor, that Kris and I couldn't help but stay.

Remember those fliers I told you I would see and tell Kris about? Well, I didn't see any fliers at this church. What I did see instead was a couple who currently had two foster children (and have helped many others), another couple who was in the process of adopting twins, and then later, the pastor and his wife beginning the process of adopting a child. In the beginning I thought, "That's interesting..." I didn't really carry the thought out to completion, or dwell on it much, because as my posts about JOY and COMPLACENCY clearly expressed, I was not listening to God's voice; however, I did take note of it. I came to see later that it was no coincidence that we settled into a church where children were extremely important and people were willing to sacrifice themselves and their time to give a child in need love and a home.

I had talked very briefly about foster parenting to the couple with the foster children, but never anything serious. And then about a month ago, I mentioned something to Tim, the foster father, about getting more information on foster care. While Kris and I were on vacation in Miami, Cindy (Kris' mom) took the kids to a meeting/gathering where foster parents and children who had been in foster care gave testimonies. The kids were eager to tell us all about this meeting and all the children that were there, even telling us which ones we needed to take in.

A week ago, we got into a lengthier conversation about the ins and outs of foster parenting, and I found out there was an opportunity to attend an informational meeting regarding foster parenting through the Missouri Baptist Children's Home. I was able to secure a babysitter at the last minute (Kris had a meeting for work so he couldn't come), and I attended the meeting. I walked away from the meeting knowing that this was the next step for us. Kris and I talked about it and went over the details and decided that we would begin training to become foster parents on September 15th, 2009.

There are still a lot of things to decide, but we have narrowed down our preferences (based on taking our children into consideration) and we will begin the training and home study in the fall. Between now and the time we begin the training, we will be praying about this decision and that God will use us to share the love of Christ, as well as our own love for children, with someone who is in desperate need. We hope that you will join us in prayer regarding this.

I know this is getting long but I wanted to just share one last thing that confirmed this decision in my heart. Since I was in high school, God instilled in me a love for foreign missionary work. I've been blessed to go on many mission trips and I think that the love is always going to be there. Recently, I was able to reconnect with a missionary from India that I met at my church in high school. It was in that reconnecting that God rekindled the flame and my love of missions. He was stirring my heart and I was longing to be involved in missions, but with a family, solid job and four kids, God wasn't calling us to uproot our family and move to a foreign field. At this same time, I found out about that foster parenting meeting. Upon leaving that meeting, I made the connection that, though it is not on a foreign (overseas) field, foster parenting IS a mission field. It is a fulfillment of the Great Commission and Kris and I are going to do our part to honor God's command to share Christ with others. A lot of people have asked me how I will 'handle' having to send a child back to his/her home. My friend Gayle said it best (I'm going to paraphrase) when she said that when it comes time for them to say goodbye to the children, they remind themselves that it is a mission field and all missionaries have to say goodbye at some point; God sometimes calls missionaries to different areas. So, with the support of Kris and our family and friends, and most importantly the deep love and comfort of God, we will be able to do what God is calling us to do.