Foster Movement Podcast

In this episode, our youngest guest, Trent Taylor, sits down to discuss his life before, during, and after foster care. Trent entered foster care at the age of four and was placed with more than five different homes until being adopted at age nine. He shares with us the difficulty in transitioning frequently, but the changes that came when one set of foster parents chose to express their love and care for Trent with consistent words and actions. Now, Trent encourages both crowds and readers (he wrote a book!) to look beyond the behavior of youth in foster care, and he aspires to help youth navigate their trauma.

After Trent, you will hear from Robbie Seay, a worship pastor and foster dad. Through his interview, you will notice his desire for people to be moved by the Spirit of God before engaging with foster care and the importance of the Spirit when engaging with foster youth. Robbie then shares with us the hopes he has for his children as they grow and the practical ways he communicates his love and God’s love with them.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series--“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.

In this episode, Crystal Williams discusses the heartbreak she experienced when she lost her baby brother and when she entered foster care. At the age of six, Crystal chose to express her feelings about losing her baby brother in a poem. She shares her poem in today’s episode and explains how poetry has continued to serve as an outlet for her. You’ll then hear her desire for today’s youth to discover their own gifts and use them for good. Crystal also shares how adults positively transformed her experience in foster care and encouraged her to use her gifts to follow her dreams. As she chooses to come alongside today’s youth, Crystal is able to offer insight into effective ways to empower youth in foster care.

We are then joined by Tom Lukasik. Tom brings his experience as a foster dad into his role as Vice President of Community Engagement at 4Kids of South Florida. Through the years, he and his wife, Linda, have fostered over 50 children and interacted with countless other children in and out of foster care. In this episode, he shares useful tips for empowering kids in foster care every day and into the future.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series--“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.

When Alex Lyons entered foster care at 8-years-old he was placed with a Presbyterian choir director named Helen who was in her late 50s or early 60s. Alex loved it there. Helen was everything you’d ever want a foster parent to be.

Alex was only in Helen’s home for about 18 months. But her impact on him during that time was profound. Alex is now married, has kids and is on staff at a church. He shared, “Though I was only with her for about 18 months, she made an impact on me. I view motherhood really through her lens. She sung songs to me that I now sing to my daughter and my unborn child.”

Many people have the desire to help kids and families in foster care in various ways but wonder if they really have enough to offer to make a significant difference. So many of us feel limited by time and space and resources. This episode explores the impact that each of us can make even amidst these limitations.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series--“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.

When Diego Fuller arrived at the home of Bishop Aaron Blake and his wife Mary, he heard a message that he hadn’t heard before. They told him when he arrived that he was engrafted and that nothing could separate their love from him. He didn’t fully understand what that meant. In fact, the words “I love you” meant something completely different to him because of all the abuse and neglect he had experienced at the hands of those who told him “I love you.” In this episode you will learn about the devastating event that helped Diego to understand the true meaning of love for the first time. You will hear him describe how that discovery changed his life.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series--“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.

Kevin Bueker lived in a middle-upper class family in a nice home, but behind the pristine doors of this ideal world, he was suffering unimaginable physical and emotional abuse. By the time he was in the eighth grade, Kevin found himself kicked out of his home and on the streets wandering his neighborhood. He would sleep at night in the tube slide at the neighborhood park . . . until a friend and his mom stepped in. Kevin’s amazing journey led him to his faith and to stepping into the lives of kids who have experienced the same things he has.

We then hear from Pr. Robert Gelinas, whose church in Colorado was confronted with the reality of hundreds of kids waiting for homes. They decided they could no longer stand by and do nothing. Pr. Gelinas’ powerful message reminds us of where to look when we can no longer look away.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series--“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.

Josh Shipp grew up in foster care and made it his mission to get kicked out of every home he was placed in . . . until he finally met his match. In this episode, Josh shares the amazing story of his ploy to get kicked out of foster homes and tells about the man who wouldn’t give up on him. Now a teen expert and national speaker, Josh carries the vital message that every kid is one caring adult away from being success story.

Also, we catch up with Foster Movement Podcast co-host Diego Fuller who has been traveling the country this summer sharing his amazing story and his music with kids in foster care through Royal Family KIDS Camps.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series--“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Lauren Lawson who grew up living with various family members and then eventually went into the foster care system at age 12. Lauren shares her story and offers insight into some of the issues and behaviors that might exist in adolescents within the foster care system. Now a foster mom, she shares wise guidance that encourages us to consider what might be behind some of the behaviors of the children in our families.

We are then joined by Ryan North, the Executive Director of Tapestry, the Adoption and Foster Care Ministry of Irving Bible Church and leader of Empowered to Connect. Ryan and his wife Kayla train others from around the country to help couples tend to the hearts of children from hard places. In this episode, Ryan offers practical advice for foster parents on how they can learn to address and meet the needs that sometimes occur beneath the behaviors.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series--“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.

We had the opportunity to sit down with two former foster youth who grew up together in a group home, Jimmy Cisneros and Jacob Mendez. Jimmy and Jacob share about their foster care experiences and the commitment they had to break the cycle that existed within each of their own families. Jimmy and Jacob believe that changing foster care can change the world.

We are then joined by Jedd Medefind, the President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans and the Author of Becoming Home. Jedd dives deeper into this idea of how changing the outcomes of foster care would have a profound impact on so many other areas of society from child trafficking to homelessness to incarceration. He discusses some of the statistics and the implications for the Church as it thinks about these issues.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series--“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.

In this episode we visited with former foster youth and adult adoptee, Mercedes Russaw. Mercedes entered foster care at a young age and was adopted by her foster mom. She discusses the desire she had as a young adult to explore her biological family relationships and talks about the dynamics of how that impacted her relationship with her adoptive mom. With beautiful faith and clarity, Mercedes talks about the role her relationship with God has played in her understanding of her relationship with both of these important women in her life.

We are then joined by writer and foster and adoptive dad, Johnston Moore, who is the Founder and Executive Director of Home Forever. While Johnston and his wife Terri have come to be strong advocates for building relationships with biological family members of kids that have come into their home, they didn’t always feel that way. Johnston shares about his journey to understand the importance of these relationships and how God has used this in amazing ways.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series--“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.

In this pilot episode of the Foster Movement Podcast, we visited with former foster youth, Jessica Francis. Jessica entered foster care at 12 and aged out before going to college. You’ll hear her amazing story of persisting through college as a single mom, her time as a caseworker for the state and how she now uses her experience to step into the lives of other aging out youth so that they have the connection to mentors that she never had.

We are then joined by author and adoptive mom, Pam Parish, who is the Founder and President of Connections Homes out of Atlanta. Connections Homes helps followers of Christ provide trusted relationships for young adults who have aged out of foster care. She shares practical tips on beginning this same kind of inspiring and vital work in your church and community.

Visit MoreThanEnoughTogether.org/freedownload to access the companion PDF to this series–“Seven Insights about Foster Care from Those Who’ve Been There”--and share these types of insights with others in your community.