Year in Review of 2025
I wanted to write an update on how things have gone this first year of TFI ministry. I have had people asking me more about what TFI is and what it looks like to be a part of this.
So, starting off, being an advocate with TFI means that I help bridge a gap between churches and the foster care agency so that the social workers feel seen. This means that I speak with the social workers and develop relationships with them. It is a slow, but intentional, process. We can only build relationships at the speed of trust. (This is something that stood out to me in my training and with an online community event with other advocates.) The slowness helps to cultivate true and meaningful relationships with the social workers and the church. This way the social workers feel and know that we are here to care and support them, which in turn is caring for the kids and families they help.
In speaking with the social workers, it is obvious that they think about their clients before themselves. To show a small bit of appreciation, a friend and I took an afternoon pick-me-up to the agency in May, for National Foster Care Month.
Everyone deserves to know that what they do matters, and this definitely helped to brighten their day. I knew then that God had been right in opening this door for me.
I also wanted to give the social workers something tangible that they would need for their clients. In speaking with them, various things were brought up that would help them with the kids as they come into care or even the families they help. Some were very large things, others were more obtainable. In speaking with our church partner, it was decided that we would give them some hygiene kits for the kids as they come into care. The church graciously offered to pay for this to start up. I’m hoping this might be something that we can easily do on a regular basis.
The church leadership has encouraged me to keep the social workers on the forefront of my mind as well, knowing that they need emotional and spiritual support and not just the physical help. So, with the help of a few friends, we wrote out some encouragement cards for the workers to be opened on a hard day. I was able to drop off the hygiene kits along with these cards in November. It was great to talk with the social worker and see how these will be used as well as letting them know that I’m around for an ear to listen to them.
Looking ahead to what this next year brings, I honestly have no idea, but I’m so excited to keep building these relationships that have already started. This is where it can be more than just myself and a couple of friends helping me. You can help out too!
Here are links to the hygiene products the church bought if you want to give something tangible: Girl Kit or Boy Kit If you are in town and want to grab an extra hygiene item to give, please let me know and I’m happy to collect them.
If you are wanting to do something more in the background, these workers could use all the prayers you want to give them. They do hard work and it takes a toll in many ways. Pray for them, reach out if you want to write an encouraging note for them. I would love to connect with you as well to just answer any questions you might have.
All together we can tangibly show the redemptive love of Christ.
