I was recently asked by a friend to tell her a little about BigHouse for a magazine article she is writing. I thought I would share my thoughts with you all as well...
In January of 2007 my parents became foster parents. I was a junior in college and even though I wasn't living at home, it really impacted me as well. They took in 5 children total, a group of siblings, and they were all completely overwhelmed. My parents had a lot of friends and family that were able to help meet the needs of the kids in their home. They had friends that would pass on their daughter's hand-me-downs, they had girls who volunteered to babysit, people willing to help tutor and their Sunday school built them a huge playground in their backyard. I was able to see that when the body of Christ knew the needs of foster children and the family caring for them, they were willing and able to help. During the spring of 2008, God really began to give me a passion for children in foster care. I had grown to know and love the kids in my parents home, and realized that they were just regular kids who wanted to be loved and cherished. I was also challenged at a college worship service to begin to pray that God would reveal whose feet I should wash with my life. Who was my "people-group" that I should serve with my life? I have a distinct memory of walking across campus and calling my mom to tell her I knew who my people group was - it was foster children. It is the invisible, forgotten and often tossed aside children that are truly America's orphans. I began to pray that God would show me how to serve these children and the families that care for them. While talking with a close friend a couple months later, I shared with her some of the startling statistics about children and their experience in foster care, and how I knew there had to be something we could do. She said "Foster children need an organization like Make a Wish" and that was when God really gave me a vision for BigHouse. Foster children needed the opportunity to experience childhood like other children. They needed to have opportunities and experiences that many of us took for granted growing up. Going to camp or on vacations, picking out your school clothes or birthday present, taking art, dance classes or playing sports, etc. However, I knew from personal experience with my family it is hard for their foster families to provide these opportunities on their own.They need help. And our community needs to be responding. So BigHouse was born to meet the needs and improve the quality of life for children in foster care through support from the community. Our mission statement is "Connecting the needs of foster families with the generosity of the community through the love of Jesus Christ." At the end of the day, we just want our kids, parents, and volunteers to know that Jesus knows them, loves them, cares for them, and has a plan for them.
To say I did anything special to make BigHouse go from a dream to a reality would be incorrect- God has taken care of BigHouse EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. Even when I make human mistakes and wrong decisions, He has worked it out for His good and glory. He has opened every door, even doors that we weren't aware needed to be opened. He has allowed other people's hearts to be moved by the reality of foster care and what these children face and they in turn have supported BigHouse. The last three years have truly been a testament to God's grace and faithfulness. He has taken BigHouse from a big dream to a big reality.
We have a lot of different programs at BigHouse and we are always trying to find ways to serve our families better. Right now, we are knee deep in towels for our 2012 Statewide Swimsuit and Towel Drive. We have collected new swimsuits and new towels for 3000 foster children in our state and we have each towel embroidered with the child's name. This drive is a huge undertaking, we will probably embroider about 1500 towels ourselves, but it is so important to our kids. Many of the children we serve have very little they can call their own, much less something with their name on it - made especially for them. In each bag, we include the swimsuit, towel, and a card from BigHouse. The card says that not only is that child loved by their community, they are loved unconditionally by a Heavenly Father and He has a plan for their life.
During the year, we also have a fully-stocked clothes closet for children to come and shop in for free. It takes up the 2nd floor of our building, and we have everything from preemie onesies to teen clothes. We want our kids to feel comfortable in what they wear and proud to wear their clothes to school or church. We also have a birthday club for our kids, we send each child a card the month of their birthday with a certificate to come to our birthday closet and pick out a gift. We have tons of new toys, games and gift cards for the kids to choose from.
We also try to meet the needs of our foster parents with our Kids' Night Out program. Each month we have a respite night for our families, we provide dinner and entertainment for the kids while the parents get the evening off, for free. This is a very popular event for our families because many of our parents just need a little time off to reconnect with each other. We also have day camps during the Summer, a beach trip in the Fall, and other special events throughout the year.
We have found that many people are excited to help a foster family when they know how. We understand that not every family is called to be foster parents, but we have ALL been called to care for the orphan (James 1:27). The 400,000 foster children in America are America's orphans, with over 120,000 waiting to be adopted by a forever family. Instead of turning a blind eye to foster children, we need to be embracing them, loving them, and showing them the love of Christ. We often get asked how someone can help foster children. The best answer is support their foster family. Love on those who are sacrificing their lives to care for these kids. IT IS NOT EASY. Take them meals, cut their grass, offer to babysit (for free!), pass on nice hand-me-downs, and include the family and kids in activities. Invite them to the lake or over to cook-out. Give them your passes to a football game or offer the parents a weekend at your condo. Or, if you have an organization like BigHouse in your community, volunteer there or support them financially. Just don't sit back and do nothing. We have been called to this! :)
Here is a note from Saddleback church's orphan care ministry that has some good stats!
org https://www.facebook.
www.ourbighouse.org
org https://www.facebook.
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