A Peek Into a Foster Care Agency
By Emiley Shenk, LSW
Training Coordinator
Adriel Foster Care and Adoption
When people hear that I work for a private foster care agency, I am usually met with the following response:  “Wow, I could never do that.”  
That referring to foster parenting.  

Very often the perception of what foster care looks like is quite different from the reality.  Let’s delve further into what foster looks like and address some of those perceptions from an agency’s perspective.

Myth:  All kids that come into foster care are teenagers with major behavior problems.  
Reality:  Youth of all ages enter into foster care.  At Adriel, the average age of children in foster care is seven.  Quality foster homes are needed for children of all ages.  Likewise, the circumstances which bring youth into foster care are as varied as the children we serve.  Each child is unique and brings his or her own set of strengths as well as behavioral challenges.   Usually, the concerns which bring youth into foster care are not the fault of the child, but rather an inability of the parents to care for the child.  

Lay It Down
By: Adam Tracy
10.19.2015 
    I come to you today completely tired and ready to go back to bed. I didn’t sleep well last night. Many of you may know I struggle with sleep. Last night was a rough one. I didn’t get to sleep until 5:30am, then alarm, and the day starts at 6:00am. Luckily my awesome wife knows I have bad nights, and she got up and got the first set of kids off to school while letting me sleep until about 7:30am. I got a good two hours of sleep, so if I am all over the place in this blog, please forgive and try to look at the inner workings of my writing. 
    My brother spoke yesterday on “Eternal Hope”, and he did an amazing job explaining things. If you want to listen to that, you can get it off of the Family Christian Center website. They played a video of Francis Chan in the service. In this video Chan brought out this rope that seemed to never end. It stretched clear across this giant stage. He went on to explain how we need to imagine the rope represents our existence. In his hand was the end of the rope, and it had a two inch piece of duct tape wrapped around the tip. He went on to explain that if the rope represents our existence, then that little piece of tape represents our existence on this earth. Following the existence on this earth is millions of years in the rest of eternity spent somewhere. He went on to talk about how our decisions on this earth decide as to where we spend this eternity and how we spend it. This is what I want to delve into a little more.

​Yesterday was a day of being BLOWN AWAY. So much so that I had to take a day to find words to share with everyone. Adam, Kelly and I spent the summer working on applying for a grant from the government… long story short, we were not awarded the funds we worked tirelessly on asking for. It was a BLOW we weren't ready to take. We were believing for resourcing for MUCH needed housing and resources for local survivors of trafficking. We can’t tell you how much your funds are needed BUT at the same time, we can’t tell you stories or details for their protection. It’s truly a conundrum. Adam took a game changing phone call yesterday afternoon and the rest of the funds needed to get our project off the ground were donated! These funds will get us started, but the need doesn’t end there. BLOWN AWAY (even though I shouldn’t be surprised at what mountains can be moved). We are blessed beyond measure. To see the survivors start to thrive is simply amazing. This will be a game changer for them. For this project we are looking for volunteers and even sponsorships for certain things if it’s in your heart to give. For questions, contact Kelly King, our Freeing Coordinator. More to come later, just know that we received 3/4 of our project yesterday and we are in awe. 

Last night I was in my local grocery store.  I will admit I wasn't in the best mood.  My husband and I had gotten into an argument earlier. I had one child having a melt down because she felt like she had not had her fair share of one on one time, and I was just outright tired.

When I got up to the check out lane, I tried to pick the shortest line and was hoping to just get out and get home.  I was in my own little world. Do I have all my coupons? Did I get everything on my list? Praying I did not go over my grocery budget and so on.  I did smile at the cashier because I know so many times they get people who are rude and mean and don't treat them like they exist. 

I’m coming to you today in a little of a complain fest but also a bit of an epiphany. I came into my bedroom the other day after a shower and caught one of my older children using my deodorant. Now mind you, I put my deodorant in my room because I am so tired of it being used. I felt like that would be the best place to protect it, and the kids would not know. Needless to say it didn’t work, but that wasn’t what threw me over the edge. The thing that threw me over the edge was finding Ellie with my toothbrush in her mouth. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time I have experienced one of my children misusing my toothbrush. No joke! One time I caught Reggie playing in the toilet with it. He was 2 at the time. Anyway, I know she's my daughter, and I give her kisses, but to me that is one of the most disgusting things on the planet. I went on a rampage through the house proclaiming at the top of my lungs that I have nothing sacred. There is nothing that is just mine.