FOSTER CARE 18 october 2024 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida edition So far this year our 4KIDS articles have covered stories and ideas around the Hope and the Homes we extend to children and families. These pillars are often our first touchpoint in impacting lives by meeting urgent physical needs. If you’re familiar with the 4KIDS paradigm then you know we bring Hope, Homes and Healing to children and families in crisis every day. That final pillar of Healing holds invaluable truths, depth and transformation that reaches far beyond one singular life. Healing that multiplies I’ve spent nearly 25 years now serving with 4KIDS. In my over 30 years spent in child welfare, I can tell you countless stories about the disparity, pain and hopelessness kids are facing right here in our communities. We know that with access to Christ-centered trauma-informed care and expert-level clinicians, the emotional and spiritual wounds these children carry can be healed in powerful ways. God’s heart and care for these children and families is our guidepost, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). When I think of the Healing I see happening every day at 4KIDS it goes far beyond healing these individual stories of trauma. What we see time and time again is that when a child experiences healing, that healing spreads to their foster parents and, in many cases, to their biological parents as well. Their healing is reaching siblings, friends, teachers and coaches – the ripple effect of healing has the ability to transform whole communities, even our world. One of the most profound ways we see this healing take place is through EPIC Trainings, Trauma-Informed Care Trainings and TBRI®Trainings (TrustBased Relational Intervention), all led by our 4KIDS EPIC Clinical team. For most parents, caregivers or teachers taking these courses, they embark imagining that they will learn critical skills to care for kids with trauma, but they leave with that and so much more. Here is what one 4KIDS Foster Parent from Hobe Sound shared about their experience taking trainings with 4KIDS: “TBRI and EPIC gave words and names to past hurts and triggers that we as adults had ‘swept under the rug’ emotionally. It allowed us to be honest with one another, using words and descriptions that, coupled with our knowledge of Jesus Christ and scripture, allowed us to heal and break free from past pain. The tools and training we received in these classes equipped us to identify areas that need healing in both ourselves and our children, opening the door to restoration and further healing and connection. We are so grateful for the strategies we’ve learned to succeed, equipping us to lead our family so well.” That isn’t just one child’s life transformed; that is an entire family transformed forever, and that Healing they’ve encountered in their own hearts will continue to extend to others as well. The same is true for teachers who attend trainings. Picture the difference a teacher can make in the life of a child who is walking into school each day filled with pain; that teacher is now a beacon of hope to countless children. We have teachers joining virtual trainings from all over the world. Our team has even hosted in-person trainings in Brazil, Peru and Columbia to extend these resources for healing deeper into our world. A movement of healing The fact that 4KIDS has the opportunity to offer healing to kids and families in this way is really part of a much larger movement I see happening in our Christian community. We see this reflected in 1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Whether it’s EMA offering healing to single mothers, Live the Life helping to heal families, OneHope extending healing through the gift of the gospel, or Venture Cares in Fort Myers offering a mobile market that restores dignity while healing hungry families, and the list goes on and on. We are all a part of the Lord’s move to heal our cities, our country and our world. Moving toward people in pain and offering hope and healing is at the core of the gospel–to see it enacted in this way should fuel a passion in us to keep walking the journey of healing with those in need. I would encourage you to reflect on your own role in bringing healing to those who are hurting and even how there might be greater healing to experience in your own life and family. Please, be in prayer for the children and families who still need healing and consider how joining a 4KIDS training might impact your own life. Our trainings and resources are free and available online. Learn more about EPIC Trainings. Learn more about offering healing to a child through fostering. Families Encounter a Movement of Healing - Mat John - 4KIDS Executive Vice President
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