I hope this story blesses you today!

Eleven-year-old Mindy came to the home of her Olive Crest foster mother after being neglected by a relative caregiver. Mindy was very up front with her foster mom in the beginning, asking her if she was going to keep her. She told Mindy that was her plan. And so began the fantastic story of Mindy’s heart beginning to heal. ??Because she is an older child, Mindy has had contact with her birth parents since she was taken from them around age five. Mindy has a brilliant, energetic personality and is very intelligent and perceptive for a child her age. However, visits with her birth parents made her upset and she often worried about their well-being in between visits. Mindy expressed that she is angry at her birth parents for not being able to take care of her, even though she recognizes that they can hardly take care of themselves. Thus, Mindy has chosen to be adopted by her foster mom because “it is the right choice” for her.

Recently, Mindy and her foster mom were asked to share their story at one of Olive Crest’s foster family pre-certification trainings. Mindy eloquently shared her story and answered the prospective foster parents’ questions with grace and maturity that far exceeded her age. In response to one of the foster parents’ questions about how Mindy feels about adoption, she responded, “I am ready to move on with my life, and I know that this is the very best thing for me.” Then, last month, Mindy and her foster mom attended a conference for pre-teen girls, put on by a large Christian church in the area.  While waiting for a band to begin playing, Mindy turned to her foster mother and said, “I love you. I just…I just really love you. I never thought it would be possible to love someone as much as I love my mom, but it is. It really is.”

Each and every day You are helping transform the lives of at-risk children through the healing power of family. THANK YOU!!!!

For the Children-

Sharon Mooers, Regional Development Director PNW