We are so thrilled to introduce the first half of our Winter 2022 TFI Advocate Training Cohort. We were overwhelmed with how lovely these individuals are, and we are so excited for you to be able to get to know them better. Would you pray with us for the launch of their ministries?
When asked, “Why do you want to be a TFI Advocate?” she shared:
“Christ calls us to be involved in the lives of the marginalized, the broken, and especially the children who have no place to call home – and there are so many ways that we, as Christians, could be doing that – but a lot of people just don’t know where to even begin. As a foster parent, I get so many questions as people are genuinely curious but I often don’t have anywhere or anything to lead them to, besides becoming a foster parent, donating items to shelters, or becoming a respite caregiver. I know that we all have God-given gifts, and I wish there was someplace I could point people to so that they could utilize those gifts for the fostering world. When people are able to relieve the pressure off of social workers, agency workers, agencies, foster parents, and the countless other people who are directly involved by using their own personal calling and gifts, Christ is physically shown and represented. What a great picture this paints.”
When asked, “Why do you want to be a TFI Advocate?” she shared:
“Several years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to TFI, I learned what an advocate was and have been faithfully listening to the podcast since (and if I’m being honest, a little envious, feeling like I was on the outside looking in). It was a few weeks ago that I started feeling God tug on my heart to possibly pursue the advocacy route. Then I listened to the podcast with Leah Johnson and her story resonated with me a such a big way. She has similar passions and desires, and though her life didn’t play out as she had thought it would, it didn’t hold her back from allowing her passions to still serve the community through an advocacy role. Since then, there have been multiple moments where I feel like God is leading me along in this direction. I’m simply trying to be faithful, and take the next step!”
When asked, “Why do you want to be a TFI Advocate?” she shared:
“I love the mission of helping people everywhere experience Jesus together. I work as Executive Director of our local pregnancy center and work part-time as a nurse at our county jail. I see firsthand the experience of bio families whose children are in care. I know Jesus is the answer and TFI does an amazing job living out that mission.”
When asked, “Why do you want to be a TFI Advocate?” she shared:
“My family and I recently moved to Twin Falls Idaho from Louisville KY to help support a church plant. While we are just a baby church here in Idaho, we long for foster care to be implanted in the beginning DNA of our new church, TFCC (Twin Falls Community Church). Before moving from KY we became foster care certified and during the process, my and my husband’s burden and passion grew immensely for all involved in foster care. We were met with many hurdles along the way in the midst of what was a new pandemic, but learning how to press on in what felt like a system that wasn’t really rooting for us to become certified, only increased our heart to become foster parents more. In the end, shortly after becoming certified, we believed the Lord was leading us to Twin Falls to support our friends in their endeavor to church plant. So we only had a short time to be respite care for foster families before our move, but it gave us an itch to jump into the foster care community here in Twin Falls. We have become aware of the major need here in Idaho for foster care support and for a healthy local church to become involved as well. There is such a need and so little awareness. I don’t honestly know what becoming a TFI advocate would fully include, but I really desire to be a voice in our community and church body for foster families- for the kids, the bio parents, foster parents, the workers, etc. And I would love to be any part of sparking a flame within our year-old church that sees the desperate need to get involved in this hard and holy work of fostering. Especially as the church.”
