International (MNN) — Buckner International's foster care program is flourishing, especially in some African countries.
Scott Collins of Buckner reminds Christians that immersing orphans into a Christian atmosphere is effective and beneficial for the children. "The beauty of that is they get to see the Gospel incarnated in the lives of their foster parents," said Collins.
Many of the children have not lived in a home before, since they are born into orphanages, or they have very little home experience.
One nine-year-old girl, whose story Collins shared, was taking care of a younger sibling all alone before she was placed in a foster family. "She has adult supervision now and has people who love her. Having met her and seen her, you just begin to see the impact that foster care is having on her life because, really, she gets to be a kid," said Collins.
Collins also shared the story of a young man he met in 2003. The boy was in an orphanage when they first met, but today he is living in a foster family and making great strides in his faith because of the impact they're having on him. "His nickname is 'Preacher.' Everyone in the neighborhood where he lives with his foster home has gotten to know him, and they call him 'Preacher' because he tells everyone that he will grow up and become a pastor. It's so wonderful that he has hope and a bright future because someone blessed his life through foster care," said Collins.
It is nearly impossible for a child to be immersed in a Christian home without having a seed planted. We learn what we're taught," said Collins. Foster care provides 24 hours of opportunity every day for children to soak up the Gospel.
The VOICE program allows donors to sponsor the foster care ministry. "The more funding we have for foster care, the more children we obviously can take care of and the more homes we can help establish," said Collins.
Collins says they find that many families are willing to open their homes to foster children, but he asks for prayer because there are still so many children who need loving homes.
