How Foster Care Saved Me...

I heard about Fostering Futures from Stephanie's family. I have known them since 2004 and am still blessed to call them close friends. On a recent visit, they shared what Stephanie was doing with this ministry, and it struck close to home for me. Since my personal biography included going into a foster home, it was pretty clear that I could help not only with a monthly gift but also by sharing my story.

So, where to start? I grew up in a home with a very abusive mother. Physical and emotional abuse was my everyday normal. I remember thinking that I would not survive long enough to even know what else life had to offer.

It is a terrible sentiment to say without the proper context, but my mother going to prison was the best thing that ever happened to me. When I was twelve and a half years old, she shot and killed her latest boyfriend. I had no idea what life held for me after the deputy came to our house early that morning and told me to stay home from school. I did know, that at least for the short term, there would be no more beatings and hopefully a lot less hunger wherever I ended up.

After a brief stay with a relative, I ended up being placed at Elon Homes for Children. I had won the lottery! Surrounded by His people, doing His work, loving on lost sheep, such as myself. I will never forget when I saw the food pantry at my cottage for the very first time. It was a veritable feast waiting to be made. Three really good meals every day, air conditioning and heat, clean sheets, access to a gym... I could spend pages talking about the differences between before and after.

More than all of the temporal comforts, the houseparents were concerned about my soul. We had to go to church every Sunday. I was definitely not used to that. I had become a hard-hearted hellion and now these simple acts of kindness and care by these hard-working, humble, beautiful servants of Christ were pursuing my lost soul. They could see what I was blind to, my own faithless wretchedness. Instead of running from me, they surrounded me with love the likes of which I had never known.

Mrs. Mullis. Dear sweet Mrs. Mullis. She is who God used to reach down and pull me onto the Rock. After proving through her actions that she was different, she began to put into words what gave her the strength to be where she was and the love to do the hard work of a faithful servant.

One evening she shared the precious Gospel and Christ gave me the faith to accept His grace and salvation…..

Fast forward to age seventeen when I went into foster care with my previous house parents, with whom a very strong relationship had formed. After leaving the orphanage, they went through foster care training and were certified, at which point I moved and began my life as a foster child.

Fast forward again to me getting ready to graduate from high school with no options…. I had been called to the ministry at age 16 but had no means to pursue any type of college or training. With only one viable option, I joined the Army for the sole reason of getting college money for theological training. After being injured while in service, I was discharged with a bilateral hip injury and only half the money due to a shortened enlistment.

I had a Jonah stage for most of my 20s and while not giving up on God, I surrendered my desire to serve God as a minister and settled for a degree in poultry science from NCSU.

God was faithful, as always, and by His gracious patience, I finally answered the call and graduated from seminary with an M.Div in 2006.

To wrap things up, I am now 50 years old, have a wonderful wife and 3 awesome sons, and a great church family. I was forced to retire from the church where I was the pastor for 8 years when I developed MS in 2012.

Four artificial hips and many, many other surgeries later, I look back at my life and would not change a thing. I do wonder what would have happened if I had been able to partner with a ministry like Fostering Futures, instead of joining the service. Regrets? No, God is sovereign and directs my steps. Angry? No, Christ Jesus is always faithful and sustains us even in our sorrows and struggles.

So, I would simply ask that you would consider partnering with Fostering Futures. My wife and I are hoping that our monthly contributions will enable some other young man or woman to not have the uncertainty of paying for college and instead be forced to try to make their own way.

Please pray and act. Many hands make light the work. Many donors make the dreams possible.

God bless,

S. Williams