Fostering Tea Session (Anne & George)
25 Aug 2018 - Joint Fostering Tea Session with MCYC.
Anne & George previously spent a month volunteering in an orphanage in Philippines when their own adopted daughter was about 2 years old. But they had never considered fostering seriously until someone challenged them to look within Singapore as a mission field instead. The couple also feels that the best place for kids to experience life is within a family, and not in an orphanage.
Spurred on by their daughter who was 20 years old by then, they registered as foster parents with MSF and took in 4 year old Apple (not her real name) in 2015. During this process, Anne & George were grateful for the support (advice, clothes & useful items) of HFG-SG members.
While Apple came willingly with them and had no problems sleeping that first night, Anne cried to herself when putting her to bed, feeling a deep sadness that such a young child had gone through so much, and now had to be placed with strangers. Having been blessed with a daughter who was easy to manage, they now had to adjust to a new child who had temper tantrums and rigid behaviour. However, Apple has bonded with them over the past 2.5 years and has expressed that, while she wants to go home, she loves living with her foster family.
Recently, the couple were given an additional foster placement - a 14-year-old girl who still has difficulty opening up and trusting them due to past hurts. They are currently journeying with her, with the help of an MSF psychologist and other officers.
Although each foster child comes with different kinds of trauma and behavioral issues, Anne and George are grateful to God for giving them the different experiences with each child to stretch and grow them. One thing they have learnt is to give their foster kids what the individual child needs, rather than what they as foster parents want. For example, despite George desiring a spotlessly neat house, they recognize that this might not what their foster child needs at this moment, and that there are more important issues the child needs to navigate. They also realize that, while we do our best, foster parents can’t always change or heal the kids we foster. However, that’s when they fall to their knees in prayer because only God can do that, and in His time. We only need be faithful to God’s calling to care for the fatherless.
