Care

Becoming Foster Parents

In “Forgotten God: Reversing our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit,” Francis Chan addresses our fear of the Holy Spirit:

“What if God does show up but then asks you to go somewhere or do something that's uncomfortable? ...The truth is the Spirit of the Living God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something you wouldn't normally want or chose to do.”

For Karen Morlan, who is a self-professed Francis Chan groupie, and her husband Ron, God definitely asked them to do something uncomfortable: become foster parents.

“Many of our friends had adopted or were in the process of adopting. Watching and walking with them through the process stirred something in me,” said Karen. “Then over a two-week period God bombarded me with the idea. While dropping off the kids at school I noticed the license plate cover in front of me. It said, 'Give kids a break-try foster care.' I had probably been behind that car dozens of times but finally noticed it.”

Last year she listened to a Francis Chan podcast where he said hundreds of people at his church signed up for foster care classes. She was also reading Chan's book and “Hole in our Gospel” by Richard Stearns.

“It was obvious I had to check into foster care. I asked myself and Ron; 'What were we doing for the least of these?'  'Where am I being a real follower?' and  'What is that uncomfortable thing we may be avoiding?' I challenged him to read 'Forgotten God.' He only got a few chapters in and said all his reasons for saying no had everything to do with fear and being comfortable. So we googled "foster care Iowa." Up popped IowaKidsnet,” she said.

IowaKidsNet a statewide collaboration of six agencies, recruits, trains, licenses and supports Iowa's adoptive and foster parents. The agencies also partner with other child welfare organizations to “help all of Iowa's children reach their potential for greatness.”

The Morlans attended an informational meeting, completed a 10-week training session and an in-home study. In August, they became licensed foster care parents. Then the waiting began.

“The whole process has been submitting to the Spirit. We said we were only going to take children younger than ours (9-year-old Abbie and 7-year-old boys Andrew and Isaac), but the calls for those children were emergency placements. By the time I spoke with Ron, the children were already placed, so we just waited. We waited trusting the 'right' child would come. Thanksgiving came and went. Christmas came and went,” Karen said.

On Dec. 28, they got a call to take a 12-year-old girl.

“We should have said no, we always said we'd say no, there was no reason to say yes. Except Ron and I both felt we were supposed to say yes. We talked it over with kids. Abbie was an immediate yes, Isaac said 'at least we would be helping someone' and Andrew said 'whatever.' Lauren came to us on Dec. 29,” Karen said.

Living with an almost-teen can be challenging. For the Morlans, it has been a daily, if not moment-by-moment, submission to God.

“It's four months later and we all love her. I constantly think of Paul in Romans 9, how he was willing to give up what he had in Christ so all others could come to Christ. We have power because of the Spirit to love people supernaturally! My daily prayer is to love Lauren the way she needs to be loved,” Karen said. “The other night at dinner Andrew prayed, 'Thank you, God, for our foster sister Lauren 'cause I really like her and thanks to Mom and Dad for fostering.”

Nancy Jackson

By the time Dave Ramsey was 26, his net worth was over a million dollars. Within two-and-a-half years, he and his wife had accumulated a mountain of debt and lost everything.

 He decided the best way to avoid this from happening again was to learn how money really works and how to handle it. This led Ramsey to establish Financial Peace University (FPU), which provides a biblically based education for people not only struggling with debt and money issues but also for those who a financially secure—and want to stay that way.

 According to www.daveramsey.com/fpu, more than 1 million families have taken FPU. On average, they have paid off $5,300 in debt and save $2,700 in 90 days.

 In 2007, Prairie Lakes Church began offering the 13-session classes to members. According to Gabe Berger, PLC Group Life Director, 172 people have participated in the class.

 Last summer, Berger asked Nancy Jackson if she would conduct classes for the women at the House of Hope in Waterloo.  Jackson has held leadership positions in the Business and Professional Women/USA  for more than 20 years, as well as experience training women in career and personal development areas.

 “After participating in FPU, Nancy realized she had an opportunity to help others with their finances.  When she heard about the need with House of Hope, she jumped at the idea. Not only was she willing to spend time on the project, she coordinated the logistics to make it work and donated resources to ensure it was effective. Nancy is a great example of someone using what God has provided them to make an impact on the lives of others in a real and practical way,” Berger said.

 Jackson began teaching classes March 1 to 10 women living at the Christian-based transitional housing program for homeless, single mothers and their children. 

 “Part of the requirement to live there is to be involved and participate in any workshops and classes they do, which are designed to provide support or create better futures for the women,” Jackson said.

“Implementing this at the House of Hope is different than in the typical 10-week course. The majority of women receive some type of support and their income may vary depending on the hours worked and childcare.”

 While the traditional FPU classes cover topics including mutual funds, tuition, real estate and mortgages, the main goal for this group is to help them establish and live within a budget and improve their relationship with money.

 “Last month I gave each woman a small piggy bank and challenged them to think of small ways they could begin saving so they could build an emergency fund of $500 for each of them,” she said. “One of the biggest challenges is helping them look to the future to develop budgets; they are accustomed to spending everything they have from each monthly check or paycheck. They are focused on today, not next month or next year.”

 There is a cost to participate in the FPU classes, however through donor ships at PLC, the women received their workbooks, audio CDs and other materials. Jackson donated a television, DVD player and TV stand so the class can watch Dave Ramsey's DVDs.