Fostering Tea Session (Audrie Siew)


Joint HFG Intro Tea on 23 March 2019 with The Salvation Army Singapore and Petra Church.

Here is a summary of the sharing:

“Fatherless, orphans, destitute, children…” These were the words that touched HFG foster parent, Audrie Siew as she felt God’s deep love and heart for vulnerable children. This led her to finally reapplying to be a foster parent, even though she had previously withdrawn her fostering application many years before out of fear. She now has 2 bouncy foster girls, Ellie and Kelly (not their real names), 10 and 12 years old respectively.
Audrie shared more about her journey with Ellie, her 1st foster girl. She shared how Ellie had come illiterate at the end of P2 and her heart broke because Ellie’s future seemed so bleak. Her family committed themselves to helping Ellie and prayed fervently! Amazingly, Ellie not only learned to read within 2 months but went on to pass her exams for the 1st time in her life in less than 6 months. Audrie was amazed at how Ellie’s life was turned around and instead of being dogged by a theme of failure, Ellie now had “Hope and a Future”!
Wanting Ellie to thrive even when she returns to her natural family one day, Audrie felt that partnering with Ellie’s natural parents was impt. In consultation with the professionals in charge of the case, she used various ways such as using checklists to help Ellie remember her routines when returning to her natural family for a night and encouraging the natural parents about Ellie’s love for them.
There were many challenges! Audrie confessed that her family (made up of her, husband and 2 teen children) is really an ordinary and imperfect one. She honestly talked about how they were sometimes not gracious or wise enough. They had to use their weekly family devotion time to process this openly and go to God for more grace, strength, love and wisdom. She also shared how she juggled with meeting the needs of her own biological children, her husband and of the foster children.
Audrie was amazed that her normal *imperfect* family was used by God to make such an impact on children. Her family has also grown! She felt much joy when her own teens agreed to step up to speak about fostering. She highlighted that we don't have to be perfect to foster because God is strong in our weakness!


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