Bringing Kids Home

My guest today is Pastor Jason Collins of Crossroads Rowlett. I have had the privilege of observing his families’ foster care journey from a distance and have heard his passion to minister to the fatherless. Jason and his wife Kristal with their three biological kids started fostering and now have had three sibling groups in their home. They have experienced the hard times and the huge blessings from being a foster family. When asked why be a part of bringing kids… Jason’s response was “God changes lives through foster care, and while not everyone is called to it...many just need to be encouraged or challenged.”

My guest today is Maggie Paulus. After growing up in Arkansas, she has lived in Michigan for the past 14 years and has 4 kids with her husband, Brent.  Brent and Maggie currently travel around the country as Family Revivalist with Life Action Ministries. This makes being a parent fun and challenging doing what she calls 'Road School' with her kids. I have seen on Facebook, Maggie dabbling at being a lepidopterist and commenting on a love of cookie butter saying it has "changed her life". Maggie’s story is inspirational and demonstrates how God is in the nitty, gritty details of our life and He doesn’t waste any of our experiences. She joins us today “wanting people to adopt kids if they are inclined”.

Read more about Maggie's story at http://maggiepaulus.com/

My guest today is Odell Traffanstedt. Del. He and I met at our SBTC annual meeting some time ago and we had breakfast together. Del grew up in Oklahoma & California but is now in Odessa TX serving as Senior Pastor at Mission Dorado Baptist Church. He has adopted 3 kids from TBHC and has 2 biological children.  All kids are spread out from ages 4 up to 25 years old. Del’s story is redemptive and I hope can inspire you in what adoption is all about. He joins us today wanting to support TBHC ministry of bringing kids home.

My guest today is Eric Porter. Eric and I have become fast friends over our couple of years of knowing each other. Both in the professional space we share and as fellow adoptive dads. Eric grew up in Owasso, Oklahoma. He and his wife Trisha have been married 21 years and have 6 kids. 4 biological and 2 adopted. He loves to run! I have witnessed this passion as he has participated in TBHC’s Hero 5K. Brewing (Roasting) his own coffee is another love and should be shared with more of his friends. He is the founder and president of Backyard Orphans:  a ministry that guides church leaders to develop a foster care, adoption, and support ministry. He joins me today wanting more people to get involved in orphan care!

My Guests today are Paul and Deana Olszewski.  They both grew up in Texas.  Paul is from Lufkin, Deana is from Tomball. They currently call Lufkin home where Paul is a high school teacher and pastor of youth at First Baptist Church Keltys. Deana is fulfilling a great responsibility but also one of the greatest privileges of being a stay at home mom. They have had 7 foster children in their homes since 2016. They are excited to share their story for the first time because they want to encourage others families who are interested in this journey and help people know it’s both the hardest and best thing they have ever done.

Today my guest is Ann Schmidt. She is a veteran of adoption and foster care. She and her husband Randy started in caring for children in 1984. They have adopted 5 children, and have also been blessed with 2 biological children. Yes you did the math right - they have 7 children. She has seen the systems impact on kids and has been a beacon of love to everyone in their home. Along with her legacy of adoption, she enjoys a legacy of being a grandparent. They have 6 grandkids with the youngest being 1 years old all the way up to 7 years old. When sharing her story she said “… I always hope that our story will touch someone and make a difference.  I do not think everyone should adopt but I also realize that as Christians we are called to care for orphans". What a great reminder that the lives we have are not our own.