Grateful for the Gilmores
Before Teisha and Mike Gilmore became foster parents, they spent much time in prayer asking God to search their hearts’ intent and provide perspective. They didn’t want to treat fostering like an adoption agency. Soon after, Teisha met someone whose own children were temporarily placed into foster care while she got back on her feet; this mother vulnerably expressed to her how she felt loved – not judged – by the foster family caring for her children. Teisha says,
“God laid it on my heart that the goal is not to love the children, but also to love their families. I didn’t want families to feel that because they messed up, it was the end. I wanted to give them hope like God had given to me! As an adoptive mom now, the biggest thing I want to share with anyone interested in foster care is this: if you want to foster, first, realize it is not about taking a child into your home, but taking a whole family into your life, loving them, praying for them, and prioritizing the stability of their family whenever it is possible. Foster care is intentional family building – it includes the whole family, not just the child.”
Teisha Gilmore
The Gilmores have cared for 50 children during their 5-year foster journey so far. As for those children and teens they’ve been privileged to foster long term, Mike and Teisha created a toy chest with their hand prints to honor them. “While each goodbye is so hard, we want to reiterate to our kids why we do this. The chest is something for our family to honor each child and our love for them.”
Crossroads’ 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!