This is foster care – interceding into dark stories in order to bring light into them. It’s advocating the cause of the helpless, seeking justice for the defenseless, and maintaining the rights of the oppressed. This is exactly what Jesus has done for us. We, therefore, are called to do the same for them.

In 2014, one of the foster families evaluated by the LOC Foundation chose to beautify the life of Anton, who had a painful history, welcoming him with open arms at the age of only 5 months into their family. Anton was born into a dysfunctional family, not having recognized paternity; his mother was 24 years old and without living conditions. She had three more children whom she gave into state care and decided to abandon, too. His cognitive, emotional, and social development in the foster family was significant. However, over time, as Anton grew and developed, the trauma of abandonment was more and more evident in his behavior, and we had to intervene with therapeutic interventions for Anton.  After a lot of work and prayer, the results came, which were an encouragement both for us and for the family.

Six years ago, we started to take steps to search for Anton’s biological family and obtain the consent of all relatives up to the 4th grade so that Anton could be declared adoptable. After long searches and other steps, we managed to obtain the signatures of all the relatives. Our joy was even greater when the foster family expressed their desire to adopt Anton as their forever son. Today, Simon Anton Kevin (Kevin is the new name after adoption) is 10 years old and happy to have a forever family.

We are grateful to God for such families as the Simon family, who love Anton immeasurably and work hard every day to give him everything he needs to grow and develop beautifully and become the best version of himself. What an amazing grace to be able to contribute beauty to the brokenness!

“At the end of our days, we’ll measure the success of our years not by the places we went or the things we created, but by the people we loved and the lives we changed. Fostering a family is nothing if not the opportunity to successfully spend your life for this purpose.”