By Sarah Stienmeyer
In Whiteriver, they have CPS just as they would anywhere. They have foster families that take in kids who need a place to live. But where do these kids go if there isn’t a family available? Where do they go if they can’t cope with living with a family? “Our Kids Group Home” is a group home that has been in Whiteriver for years. There actually used to be two group homes and the kids were split between them based on age. Now one is a home for the elderly and the other remains for children. There is too much information to go into how all the changes took place and how the two group homes for kids is now one, but I would like to share a bit about the children’s home and really just my heart when it comes to these kids.
It is a bit of a struggle for me to know what to write so I don’t breach any kind of confidentiality but I have been visiting this group home once a week for almost a year now. I first came to Whiteriver last June and I’m not sure when I started going to the group home weekly but I have had connections with them since last summer when a couple teams who came out helped with yard work and spent time with the kids.
I go to the group home every Monday evening and stay for about an hour to an hour and a half. It depends on the night. The kids always want me to stay longer but the time I spend there has a lot to do with the time that works for the staff and the kids’ schedule. There are times when I take a few of the teenagers with me. The kids love it when the teenagers come. Sometimes we read books with the kids, sometimes we play games, we always talk to the kids, there have been times I have helped kids with homework. I have gone on walks with the kids too and we have played outside when the weather is nice. Most of the time they just want time like any other kid. They want love and attention and to know someone cares about them.
The staff at the group home have to record everything that happens from who comes into the group home, to what the kids do, and any behavior problems. They also work with the kids on reading and writing. They have requirements of what they have to do in order to maintain funding for the group home. They also teach them the Apache language. The kids have chores they have to do to help pitch in around the house. There seem to be a lot of rules sometimes but the staff cares about the kids. The director of the group home has been there about fourteen years give or take, and she has shared stories of how she loves and hates her job at the same time. She grows to love these kids and wants them to find a home, wants the parents to do what they are supposed to in order to get their kids back, but at the same time she hates to see them go because she grows to love them and she sees the improvement from the time they arrive to when they leave. There have been times I have heard her say, “I’m not gonna let them get to me anymore, it’s too hard when they leave.” But that never happens. She says, “She can’t help but love them. They get into your heart and you just love them.”
AYM also has a “program” called Homes for Hope. And, I’m not even sure I want to call it a program. But this is when a child is placed with a family and it is not necessarily through CPS. For example, many know that Ron and Darcy have adopted kids and I would consider this under Homes for Hope. And most recently the relationship we have with the group home and Homes for Hope have collided in that one of the young boys who was at the group home now lives with the family of one of my co-workers. This is a young man who grabbed the heart of those of us that knew him and one family has opened their home to him. I do not feel the liberty to go into detail at this point but I ask that you pray for this family to have wisdom and discernment, and that God would grant them what they need as they love this boy. There will be challenges and it will not be the same as having their own kids in the home. But God does amazing things when His children step out in faith. Pray also for this little man, that God would work in his heart, that He would bring healing and restoration, that he would adapt to this new life and environment, that he will find true freedom and life in the one place freedom and life are found, in Christ. There are so many things to pray for when thinking about a child, a family, and raising him to honor and glorify God and they are not limited to what I have listed here.
There is another young man who has captured my heart; both him and a little girl that I have known since last summer. The little girl was placed in a foster home but the boy is still at the group home. He has had a challenging life just as the boy mentioned above. And it makes it more challenging when trying to find a home for him. These two kids have been on my heart for a long time and I can’t shake it. And, if I’m vulnerable right now I would say, if I had my own home, stable income and an amazing husband I would be talking to him about taking these two kids into our home. But that isn’t where God has me right now. Some have said I should just do it, fill out the papers and adopt him. And, the process would go relatively quickly for me as I have talked with his case worker and I have had visitation with him. You see, he’s one of the kids who doesn’t have family and I decided I wanted to know him better. So I have spent some time with him. But, I feel very strongly about male leadership in the home. And, I am hoping not to hurt or offend anyone in saying this because I know there are many single parent homes in the world today. Some of my good friends are single parents and they do an amazing job. Honestly, I don’t know how they do it, but they do. And although it is possible to be a single parent, in spending time in prayer about this part of my life, knowing that God has put adoption on my heart from the time I was small, I also know that I am not to be a single mom. I believe that God has made that very clear to me. So I continue to pray for these little ones and that God would provide the right home for them as He did for the one mentioned above. I want the best for these kids and God always knows best. Sometimes it’s hard to wait for what you know God wants you to do. Sometimes there are details we don’t know about that He still needs to work out. Sometimes we would rather think with our heart instead of our head. And, I think our heart should be involved but God also gave us a mind for a reason. Sometimes it’s easy to want to be the “rescuer” and want “save” the kids you meet. It’s easy to want to reach out but also easy to forget all the little details that come with having a child. It’s another life. It’s a huge decision and one I would never want to make by myself. And the only true rescuer is also the only true Savior. Pray for these kids, all three that have been mentioned. Pray that those that still need a home would be given the one God has for them.
I am asking that you continue to pray. Prayer can move mountains. A co-worker told me about a sermon he listened to about prayer called Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick from Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Basically it’s about praying impossible prayers. It’s easy to forget who we are praying to and that He is more than able to do exceedingly more than we could ever imagine. Let’s Pray Big Prayers Believing He Will Answer.
