He Rescued our Family ~ A foster parent’s story

I had always loved children. I knew even as a youngster that I was going to have children and I was going to enjoy them and I did. But my children eventually grew old and went their own way and my once warm nest grew cold again. Around the same time, things were not easy in my marriage. I had found out that my husband had not always been faithful to me and had even fathered children outside our marriage. That created tension with my own children as well, who ended up taking sides. I had no problem with my husband’s children although I did not like how they had come about. I still wanted them to be a part of a family but I did not know how to bridge the gap. To make matters worse, in 2002 I lost my child and grandchild and that left a huge hole in my heart. I heard about this place for children. I thought they need love and I need to love so let me go check it out. My husband and I agreed and after the whole process with the screenings and visits, we received our child. It was a day of big celebration at our home. My child is such a loving person – hugs and kisses all day. I could tell he really needed it and so did I. Since then we have become one big comfort source of love to each other. I know even now that receiving our child was not us giving a blessing, but us getting one. He brought the whole family together. Even my husband’s children who had had nothing to do with the family before now became regular visitors because of this delightful child who just has a way of stealing everyone’s heart. Through that, we were also able to build relationships with each other and are now a real family. My nest is never empty because although his older siblings are always wanting him over at their own houses for visits, they now also visit a whole lot more than they ever did. To think he did so much for our family and he was only 3 at the time. If you had told me we were getting a miracle child I would not have believed you. If you had told me a child could bring such a change into a family I would not have believed you. We are very happy. He is not perfect, this child of ours. He is very mischievous and gets away with it a lot because his older siblings dote on him and try constantly to protect him. I would preach the gospel of opening your home up to children who need it. Honestly, it is more of a blessing for you. It is not easy though, these children have seen things that others have not seen and sometimes they struggle to cope with normal life. The most important thing is to know that you will grow together and learn with your child. And there are always support groups and people like Monica Nomlala to help advise if you do not understand because they know these children well. He likes to draw, he’s a little artist and we try to encourage him. He reckons he wants to be an engineer. I always pray that he sticks to his course as he is incredibly smart. I have been so blessed and I thank God for giving me a chance to love this boy. *written by us as told by the foster mother