- By Rev. Don Schink © 2006

In the spring of 2005, my mom showed Kathy and I an article in the Albuquerque Sunday newspaper that caught her eye regarding siblings who were up for adoption. They were sisters. Their pictures accompanied a short write-up about them. She thought that we might be interested in possibly adopting these girls. She didn't know that we had already discussed the possibility of either foster care or adoption.

We had discussed our interest amongst ourselves a few years earlier, as a result of visiting with workers at The State of New Mexico's Children, Youth and Families Department [CYFD] booth at the New Mexico State Fair. However, we weren't in a position to follow-up at that time, commenting that if the Lord provided the opportunity in the future that we'd be open to it.

Kathy was adopted as a baby. Also, her Mom who raised her was also adopted. Shortly before Kathy and I met one another, she had been contacted by a social worker from the state of Minnesota, asking her permission to allow siblings to contact her. She had been unaware of her birth family's information and so it came as quite a shock. Needless to say, as she got over the shock, she gave her permission and it wasn't long after that that the siblings got together. Her parents who raised her had a daughter of their own and adopted Kathy as well as a boy named Steve. Suddenly, she now had two more brothers! You can imagine the excitement that this event generated as they discovered and met one another.

My own interest in foster care and adoption began as a result of meeting a man who worked with my dad in a machine shop in Elmira, New York. Suddenly, the Wheelock family made an impact in my own heart and life as a fairly young boy. Meredith and Shirley Wheelock had three natural sons and three foster girls when I met them. Meredith had extended an invitation to dad for our family to spend a Sunday with them, which we did. It was a very impressive meeting. We went to church with them that morning, shared Sunday dinner together and then went back to church that evening, where we were included in a taffy pull after the evening service.

What really impressed me was when I discovered that the girls were in foster care, yet seemed to have blended so nicely with the Wheelocks that I wouldn't have known they weren't their natural daughters if they had not related this to us. Over the years, they both fostered and adopted a number of children. As the years went by, Shirley became ill and eventually went to be with the Lord. In time, Meredith remarried. I met his 2^nd wife, who struck me as being a very nice lady and an answer to prayer for that family. As I'm writing this, my mind goes back to an obituary in the Elmira Star-Gazette that I read over the Internet. It was Meredith's. It glowed with his greatest achievement, which was that of reaching out and trusting the Lord to enable and equip him with the gift of loving and caring for a large number of children that his life and heart had touched and rescued over the years. The last time that I saw Meredith was when he and his wife came to attend a Sunday service while I was pastoring at Watkins Glen, New York. He and his family's impact would continue to speak to my heart from childhood to adulthood. And I knew that if the Lord ever allowed me to be in the position to do so, that I, too, would become involved in foster care and adoption.

So when Mom showed us the article about the siblings, it stimulated renewed interest in both Kathy and myself. So we contacted CYFD and began the process of applying to them so that we, too, could reach out to help needy kids, as such.

The process is a long one that takes a lot of patience. There are training classes, an extensive home study, background checks, etc. In fact, by the time that they were through, they knew more about us than we know about ourselves! We are glad to see that they are so thorough throughout the whole process. Finally, after several months, we received our foster home license, becoming approved for various types of foster care and candidates for adopting.

The process was interesting and we met several workers who clearly share a love and concern for displaced children. At one point, while being fingerprinted by a man named Don, he mentioned that it was interesting that in this day and time, at my age, that I'd never been fingerprinted before. He wondered how that came to be. I said, "Oh, that's simple, Don! I've never been caught" We laughed about it. But, in reality, I'm thankful for parents who raised us with a moral sense of discerning right from wrong, and the need to be people of integrity. As a young boy, I sensed God's hand upon my life, realizing that He would need to be first in my heart and life if I was to survive this life and make a decent contribution. As kids, we were not perfect. We were involved in various types of mischief and pranks, but knew better than to cross lines that would lead to trouble and serious consequences. So I am thankful to have been raised in such a family by parents who wanted their kids to live decent and upright lives.

Another time, Gloria, our first social worker, and I were discussing the extent of the length of the process and the patience needed, knowing Kathy and my involvement in sheltie rescue, she commented, "This isn't an easy process. You guys can't just take kids in like you do your rescue dogs." I said, "Awe, shucks! You mean that we can't just throw a collar and hook a leash on their necks and haul them around? I'm crushed!" We had a good laugh over that one, too, but I knew what she meant. Not everyone can do this. It takes a special calling, so to speak. It takes a special, sincere, loving heart with a deep commitment to be willing to make that commitment on a long-term, permanent basis. Having been involved in years of pastoral counseling, I am well-aware of the multiple problems that are involved in this type of situation.

UPDATE: We have had the privilege of fostering three sets of siblings. We had expressed our concern and interest in kids who are considered harder to adopt, such as siblings, teens or preteens. We have done so with no grand delusions. Kids in the foster care system come with a large variety of 'baggage,' as a result of past and present experiences. It's a challenge that many people could not handleAll have been positive experiences.

Then we were approached with the possibility of adopting 3 children. As I write this, they have been officially a part of our family since August 14th, 2006. They are truly a blessing and we are extremely thankful for each of them. We have a 13-year-old daughter, Samantha, who celebrated her 13th birthday on the 23rd of this month. She is a sweetie. We had fun celebrating and did our best to make it a special occasion. We have two new sons, Jesus, 10 years old [pronounced "Hey-soos], and Cypress, 9. Jesus likes to help with cooking and various projects. Cypress is our "shy guy" in public. He loves to play various video games. All three enjoy our various pets. Each of these kids are proving to be uniquely special, as we expected. The adoption process should take about six (6) months to complete. Once we are allowed to do so, we will post pictures of each of them.

Also, while researching on the Internet, I discovered that the state of Texas has an active faith-based outreach ministry through the churches where they search for Christian families who are willing to take in kids. It is a fascinating program. I asked our social worker, Gloria, if she was aware of any such thing here in New Mexico. She said that she thought that we already have a program. I said, "No you don't." She said, "We don't?" No. I had studied their web site and knew that no such program was listed. As a result of that conversation, she talked to a co-worker, named Jason, who in turn contacted me to inquire as to my level of interest in such a program. So Jason and I met and began discussing a basic strategy for launching such an outreach as this.

Currently, I am in the process of contacting pastors and churches in the Albuquerque area, requesting the opportunity to speak to their congregations regarding this important need of finding foster and adoptive homes for kids in New Mexico. I do not officially represent any one organization. I am simply supportive of this urgent need and the importance of getting these kids into Christian homes and am incorprating it as part of my evangelism outreach. As I travel to various churches, I am prepared to share challenging and inspirational messages or devotionals that I am trusting the Lord to inspire and motivate people to reach out joyfully to share with what I like to refer as 'an attitude of gratitude!"

As Christians, we have a lot to share. We have opportunities that come our way to make a difference in various individuals' hearts and lives that have eternal results! If we are unable or unwilling to help individuals, what are their alternatives? Many will go to homes with lifestyles and influences that go against what we Christians have learned to be so important regarding one's eternal destiny. So, our hearts are touched and as we become aware of so many needy ones all around us, we are inspired and motivated to make a difference. We see so many needs that we can make a difference in, such as reaching out to the youth, the elderly, those who are ill, the imprisoned, and so on.

Only 54% earn a high school diploma
Only 10% of those go on to college
Only 2% of those obtain a Bachelor's degree or higher
84% become parents prior to marriage
51% will experience unemployment due to lack of skills
30% have no health insurance
25% will be homeless at least once
30% receive some type of public assistance
37% become incarcerated
Over 40% will become involved with drugs or are alcohalics

So, obviusly, kids aging out of the system without "a forever family" are at high-risk for failure. That's tragic! We can prevent that from happening! How? By opening up our hearts and our homes.... or by being prayerfully supportive of those who are able to do so if we simply cannot!

As such, from the spiritual standpoint, what is our motivating factor? I believe that the sincere Christian does so out of an ever-increasing attitude of gratitude. When we really discover Who Christ is in our hearts and lives and we begin to get a glimpse of how great of a sacrifice that He did for our salvation. As such, we are deeply humbled and inspired to share His great love and concern for others around us in a wide variety of ways. We are deeply touched in sincere gratitude as it dawns on us the extent of His great love for mankind.

Obviously, mere belief is not enough. Even demons believe and they tremble with fear, knowing their destiny awaits them in a place of horror and absolute agony." So knowledge is insufficient. Faith not accompanied with action doesn't get it. So what does constitute acceptable faith? It is that faith that is so inspired by an attitude of gratitude that it compels us to reach out and to do that which we know to do for others. We don't have to do it. We want to do it. We are so awestruck by God. We are intimately touched by the Savior's love that motivated Him to give His life on Calvary's Cross-for our redemption. It becomes a joy to reach out to others.

The bottom line is this. We are involved in what is most meaningful to each of us. For the alcoholic, it is inviting others to drink and party with him. For those who are motivated by sexual improprieties, they seek others who are interested as they are, and look for others to become involved with. For those addicted to drugs, their life is consumed with doing whatever it takes to support their drug habits, often to the point of becoming involved in robberies, and even murder, in their obsession to buy more drugs. To the Christian, it is sharing what is the most important to us out of an attitude of gratitude.

The reality and results of our goals:

The goal in reaching out to share the need for families to open up their homes and hearts is to find a few good homes out of each congregation. In many churches, there may be only one family who feels the calling to get involved. In larger congregations, there are probably many more. Our goal is to share the need. As a pastor and evangelist, my personal goal is to inspire those who are willing to share out of attitudes of gratitude to step out and do it. Not everyone will, however, everyone can be involved.

Some will step up to the challenge of the life-long commitment of foster care and/or adoption. Others will get involved by encouraging those who do, praying, and supporting those families in any number of practical ways. This is true in any type of outreach ministry that a church decides to be involved in. But whatever we do, we do so out of attitudes of gratitude that motivates us to simply step out and to do the right thing. It is this type of heart and spirit that God blesses! It is this type of heart and spirit that God is able to utilize to accomplish great and mighty deeds as we step out in faith, believing and trusting Him for His best in our hearts and lives, as well as with fruitful results toward those whom we feel inspired to share with.

I'm challenging you to dare to let God do great and mighty things in you and through each of you. I know that a percentage of the people that I speak to will rise to the challenge, opening hearts and homes to kids for foster care and/or adoption. I know that many others will get behind these ones in loving support. There are others who may not feel inclined to do so. That's OK. It takes a special heart to do so. Many of these, however, will be challenged to reach out to others in other types of ministry-related activities.

Please feel free to contact Kathy and I at any time that we can help or encourage you as you yearn to do the right thing, whether it is helping in this desperate need for foster and/or adoptive families or other forms of outreach. We need to walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit as He empowers each of us for life and for service as only He can do.