As they start their 4th year fostering, the DeValcourts have planted many seeds of connection with vulnerable children and have even caught glimpses of growth as the Lord heals hearts and minds of children from hard places.
Kristie & Gary are currently fostering their 7th child, B, a sweet 2 year-old boy with cancer. Recently, they invited B’s mom and dad to Church of the King with them to enjoy a time of fellowship supporting B*. This is a wonderful example of how foster care should work, remaining hopeful of reunification when it’s in the best interest of the child.
What inspired you to get started in fostering?
Our kids are grown…as we looked at the empty rooms in our house, we both felt led to fill them with children in need of a healthy, safe home! Before B*, we were fostering a sibling set of 3 girls (ages 6, 10, & 12) who came with lots of challenges. They were violated in the worst ways by their parents. They were all scared of the police; they hoarded food in their beds.
They were in desperate need to see what normalcy looked like. We feel blessed to have been the ones selected to show them. We love that we GET TO serve in this capacity! It is amazing to see a child walk into your home dangerously underweight and filled with fear from trauma, but then the Lord uses you to completely change the course of his/her life. We do all that we can do, providing love, nourishment, structure, and prayer and trust God to do the rest!
How are you being supported right now?
The ladies in my small group have helped with childcare and clothes. Our church family has embraced B* in childcare, Crossroads has set up meal trains for us, and most importantly we have been able to depend on our spiritual family to pray for our kiddos and their bio parents.
Crossroads NOLA’s mission is to connect children in foster care to the families, individuals, and opportunities they need to thrive. We recruit new foster families from local churches, develop them into competent caregivers for kids from hard places through training in TBRI®, and support them through the ups and downs of their journey as foster parents. Join the Home Team and support this life-changing work all year long!