Adoption is a huge part of our family’s story. Our youngest, Zoe, was adopted. Adoption is very near and dear to our hearts. It’s something that has changed me and shaped me in ways that I could never have imagined. 

We have a lot of friends who have adopted and a lot of friends who have walked the road of foster care. You know those topics that make you choke up and you feel a pit in your stomach, adoption and foster care is one of those for me.

Today, I am talking to my sweet friend, Anna Koon. We have been friends for a long time. She and her husband have opened their home up multiple times to foster care. Her wisdom, vulnerability, and strength to share their story has encouraged me in so many ways.

We talk a lot about walking boldly in everything you do and Anna encompasses this so much and why I wanted to chat with her. She is going to share a bit about her journey with foster care, what prompted them to open their home to children, what the Lord has taught in this journey, the joys and the hard moments, and more!

I asked her many questions so if you’ve thought about adoption or foster care, you’ll want to keep reading!

What was the process like for you to become a foster family?

Anna said, on paper it’s intimidating! She and her husband had talked about foster care for a long time before they decided to become foster parents. They worked through a local agency that works alongside DCS. After an initial interest meeting that was 2-3 hours on zoom, they waited a few months. Then they started 6-8 weeks of classes. During the time they took classes, they were also being interviewed and having home inspections for their home study. Anna said it sounds more intimidating than it is. It was a long process and there was a lot of paperwork for the initial license.

What are some challenges you have experienced the past few years?

Anna said she started off doing short term respite and emergency placements. Respite is giving the full time foster parents a break, and emergency placements is when you take in children for the first few days when they first enter foster care until DCS finds them a full time placement. 

She said many challenges come with doing foster care. As much as a worker can tell you information about the child, you really don’t know who is walking through your door. They have had to be the burden bearers of children who were literally just removed from their homes that day and have a lot of questions. 

They have had to navigate difficult behaviors from children they just met and try to find a balance of saying yes when they can and saying no when they really can’t. Anna and her husband also dealt with difficult case workers who don’t communicate clearly or just don’t communicate at all.

What has the Lord taught you in the midst of your fostering journey?

Anna said that the Lord taught her that control is an illusion. She is such a planner – a bit of a control freak. But foster care is the most unpredictable rollercoaster ever. 

But more than that, God wants us to be in situations where we aren’t able to “manage it on our own” and we NEED to rely on Him – His sovereignty, his grace, his provision. She said she has never been more aware of her need for a Savior and Counselor than as a foster parent.

For a couple who is praying through foster care but scared to take that next step, what would your encouragement be to them?

Anna said you can do it because God will help you. If you’re nervous that’s good cause that’s the first step to understanding that you will have major gaps that you will need God to fill through his provision.

She would encourage you to educate yourself on the impacts of trauma and ask God to prepare your heart for what this journey will bring. If you’re a couple – you need to be on the same page that this is what your family wants to do. 

Not everyone is supposed to be a foster parent but everyone can do something.

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If you liked this blog, here’s more for you!

GET TO KNOW US MORE Q&A WITH NATHAN MCDIVITT: HERE

3 THINGS MY KIDS HAVE TAUGHT ME: HERE