Sharing by Fabian & Bee Cheng at the joint fostering tea session with Boys' Town on 21 Nov 2020 (online). It was not an easy decision for Fabian and Bee Cheng to commit to apply to be foster parents. There were worries that they would be unable to cope with the addition of a foster child. Fabian first mooted the idea of fostering to Bee Cheng as he wanted to make a difference in a social cause with a great need. God has placed a burden in his heart for abused children for many years – he would feel a tinkling in his heart whenever he read news articles on abused children. After serving in the Sound Crew Ministry in Church for 7 years, he felt ready to explore serving in another area. Bee Cheng was serving in another ministry in Church and was already occupied in other work. She had her own reservations on how the family would adapt to having a foster child in the household. Not knowing the background nor the temperament of the foster child further added to her concerns. When F...

A summary of Mark and Sue’s sharing at the intro session on 31 Oct 2020 (online), with Epworth Foster Care. Despite having their hands full as parents to two boys (currently aged 8 & 10), Mark and Sue were willing to explore fostering after attending a Home for Good tea session back in 2015. They took the big step to foster in 2018, and they are currently foster parents to a 3-year-old boy (he is in back carrier of Mark's bicycle). They have also previously fostered 2 other young children. Sue was initially apprehensive when submitting the application form to foster, as she was worried about the changes to their family’s dynamics. Nevertheless, as she read Bob Goff’s ‘Love Does’ with Mark, the couple felt convicted to obey God’s command and serve vulnerable children through fostering. For many years, God had placed in their hearts a desire to do missions together as a family, and it was now clear to them that their mission field first began at home. Although fostering has its c...

  Sharing by Michael and Irene on 26 September 2020, with The Salvation Army Singapore (Gracehaven Fostering). Michael and Irene decided to foster as newlyweds as they love children and were willing to open their home to children in need. They met while on overseas mission trips helping children who were less fortunate. The couple first heard about fostering at a roadshow in Nex Shopping centre in May 2016. For a good 6 months, they pondered & prayed about the decision before finally signing up. They initially opted to take only 1 child at a time. But when they saw the great need (we hv another 600 children who still need foster families), they took in a 2nd child who was in need of placement. One thing led to another, and now they are concurrently fostering 4 children! The couple agree that while each child came with their own set of challenges, this has also helped them to grow in their parenting skills. They were able to discuss and work together to help each child settle in...

Fostering intro sharing, co-organised with Epworth Community Services , on 29 August 2020. Sandy first heard about fostering through newspaper articles. Learning about how vulnerable children came into care moved her heart to want to do something for them. Despite knowing the stringent criteria and tough application process, she and her family still decided to go through with it. Upon being approved, Sandy was excited to begin her fostering journey as her heart was soft for the children. Initially, each time MSF called to ask her to take a child, she rejected every request as the timing was just not right. Eventually God moved her heart to be less choosy, convicting her that these precious children were not commodities. Soon after, she received her first placement, followed by a second placement and is currently caring for her third foster child. What moved listeners was Sandy's authentic sharing about her struggles and failure in her second placement. Fostering a child is not a be...

  By Joyce (HFG Foster parent, in partnership with The Salvation Army) We started to have foster children since 2016, post cancer remission after hearing of the alarming number of children in need. Over the years, we’ve had 4 foster children, and currently having 2 foster children both with special needs. My husband and I wake up every morning feeling very blessed with these wonderful children, their love and respect for us is so pure and beautiful. Of course, that was not the case initially - each child’s trauma manifested in their behaviours in different ways and I consider it a miracle to see how much they have grown and overcame. I would say the youngest member of our family is the most amazing miracle yet. Our foster daughter has been with us for 3 years. When we finally agreed to take her in, we had to accept that it will take a long while to see changes, given the very tough and seemingly unchangeable bad behaviour. We knew the need to persevere and just love her uncondition...

  HFG-SG recently partnered with churches and SSAs in the Safe and Sound Sleeping Places (S3P), to bless the rough sleepers. A coordinator was urgently needed. We thank God that Sandy, a HFG foster parent stepped up to volunteer! Below is her reflection. We thank God for those who volunteered and donated generously! <How we started> During the circuit breaker period, rough sleepers needed to get off the streets for their own safety. Many members of HFG and friends stepped forward to offer donations. <Dare to say “Yes”> Indeed, if you’re only looking for God in the spectacular, you’ll miss the supernatural every time. If God sent you to a mission, we need to trust that He will put all the necessary help in place for you. You only need to be still and trust! <Shops closed but God provides> Shops were closed during the circuit breaker period but the effort to source for the supplies were surprisingly smooth anyway. We even have suppliers approaching us to sell us a...

Joint sharing with Epworth Foster Care We started our fostering journey since 2017 and have fostered 3 children since then. I was 48 years old, my husband was 52 years old, and we have 4 adult children of our own. My second son and his wife, then fiancée, helped in various ways like playing and reading to Adam* (name has been changed to protect the child’s identity), our first foster child. They are the best form of support in our fostering journey. Whenever we brought Adam out together, people on the street would ask if he is my grandchild! There are both memorable moments and challenges encountered as foster parents. For example, when our second foster child, Billy*, first came to us, he struggled with managing his emotions and attitudes would often change suddenly. Due to their background, some of the foster children may display such behaviours because they feel alone, and there is no one they can trust especially when living in a stranger’s home. There needs to be constant reassura...

  Amy’s online sharing at the fostering intro with Boys Town on 18 July 2020. In her capacity as the Head of a legal department, Amy was not originally directly involved with fostering. Her first encounter with fostering was at a dinner where she had the opportunity to interact with foster parents. She saw a special needs child strapped into his wheelchair being fed lovingly by his foster parents. She was very moved by their actions. Another foster father told her that while his home was not big, “if you find room in your heart, you will find space to foster.” His words were seared into Amy's mind. The next year at the same event, she met an Indian foster father receiving a long service award. He had brought his biological daughter, and his Chinese foster son whom he had fostered for 19 years. The boy spoke fluent Tamil. The foster father was grieving over his wife's recent passing and this was the first time he had attended without her at his side. The boy recalled his late fo...

On 30 May 2020, HFG-SG organised our first ever "Online" fostering intro session, together with Epworth Foster Care The Filipino couple (Land and Joyce Palmero) came to know about fostering 6 yrs ago through a church mate. Having pictured Singapore as a perfect country before coming over, they were shocked to hear that there were children in Singapore who did not have safe homes and that there was such a pressing need for more foster parents. They struggled in deciding whether to foster as both were v busy at work. However, they were inspired by something one of the foster parents mentioned in a fostering tea session, "What you can give, you give”. Upon reflection, they were convicted by God to give these vulnerable children a safe and loving home just as much as they had been blessed abundantly in their lives by Him. The couple have fostered 4 children so far, with some of them having special needs such as Global Development Delay (GDD) and ADHD. There were challenges a...