What a May!
If you have been following us on Facebook and Instagram (and if you are not, go ahead and do that now!), then you know that May is Foster Care Awareness Month.
We have had a busy month, indeed! We kicked off the month with the announcement of our Foster Family Cottage Stay Giveaway. Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about that! We will announce the winner in the next week or so. Thank you to all those who sent in nominations. It was so inspiring to see the impact other foster families are having in the community.
Next, we were fortunate enough to have Send Relief support a serve day to work on some much-needed projects for TRR. In a span of two days, we had 15 volunteers and completed eight picnic tables for the pavilion, 50% of the railing across the footbridge leading to camp, and the front side gravel slope to the bridge.
It was a lot of work, and we are so very thankful to all who came out to serve and support us. Also, a big shout-out to Tim from Gochnauer Construction and Tommy from Tom Martin and Sons for lending their leadership and expertise to these projects to ensure they were done right and with the highest quality. Thank you!
Like the quote from one of my favorite sports movies of all time, Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” We built it, and the following week they came!
We held our first ever Foster Parents Night Out in May, where foster parents could sign their kids up for camp and enjoy a nice quiet evening kid-free!
The night was a blast. We were able to serve 10 foster families and 28 kids in foster care and siblings. We had help from numerous volunteers who spent the evening loving on these kids, playing games, eating pizza, playing in the treehouse, walking the trails, roasting s’mores, feeding the chickens, and just enjoying a beautiful evening outside. We could not have asked for a better night and a better group of volunteers.
As one foster mom said regarding her foster daughter’s experience, “It was, without a doubt, one of her ‘top’ experiences since being with us these past two months. Not only was it a joy for her, but it was such a sweet relief to pick her up and hear that she enjoyed it so much and didn't want to leave.”
Another foster mom commented, “Thank ya'll so much! What a life-giving experience. My littles are already asking if they get to go back tomorrow.”
It was so special for us to get a glimpse of the vision God has placed on our hearts for TRR and what camp will be like. Thank you all for the support that made it happen—and a special thank you to our volunteers who spent their Saturday hanging out with some awesome kids.
We plan to continue the Foster Parents Night Out events as we move through the summer. We realize how much of a blessing it is to have childcare for your kids in foster care. We have been there!
As we head into the summer months, we hope everyone is closing out a successful school year and looking forward to fun summer adventures!
However, please keep in mind that some kids are not so fortunate, and their summer months can be filled with uncertainty. Please pray for these kids and all kids in foster care. Pray for healing, rest over the summer, and reunification with their birth families.
For all foster families, thank you for filling the gap for these kids and loving them, for however long is necessary. And thank you for all the support you all have given us and continue to give us at TRR. We are so very grateful.
—Matt and Heather