Blog

18 Jan

Support Meeting 01.12.23

Children are never too young to talk about race.  Stokes and Draayer encouraged us to have conversations about race with our children at an early age.  Research shows that race-related stressors can cause trauma symptoms; however, high ethnic identity can serve as a buffer against the negative impact of race-related stressors on mental health.  Coping strategies for children who have experienced traumatic racial events could include: journaling, talking through the incident and time-lining it, powering off from triggering...

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17 Nov

Orphan Sunday 2022

What a day! We are so thankful to all of you who showed up and joined us for Orphan Sunday 2022. It was such a great day of community and worshipping together! We were so blessed to hear Diego Fuller share his story of redemption and how God has captured his heart amidst the hurt and anger through people who didn’t give up and shared unconditional love with Diego! Thank you Diego for being so transparent and sharing how God has...

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15 Nov

Support Meeting 10.10.22

Helping children is Marty’s passion and God’s calling for his life. Marty shared various types of therapies that are available to children who have experienced trauma, including Theraplay, Filial Therapy, CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy), EMDR, and Neurofeedback. Marty has a practice in Sheldon where he leads children to find healing from traumatic experiences. The slideshow that he shared is available:Marty Wallace – The Road God Chose (Power Point) The organizations/speakers/businesses are sharing from their...

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18 Oct

Support Meeting 10.13.22

This month’s meeting was held at Shari’s Family Visitation & Exchange Center to bring awareness to our community about a new site providing a safe and neutral location for visitation purposes. Contact the Family Crisis Center if you would like to utilize the space. We also had the privilege of hearing from Mindy Louscher about her own adoption story as well as her responsibilities as a case manager through DHS. We were able to view the foster care process from her...

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27 Sep

When God Speaks

WHEN GOD SPEAKS by Angela Dekkers When God calls you to sometime, do you obey Him or do you question?  Do you listen to Him or do you ignore? Seems like an easy answer, right? But can I admit something to you? I am guilty of latter. When God called my husband [Jim] and I to the adoption journey, I questioned Him. I ignored Him. I did everything in my power to pretend like He never spoke. Even though adoption was something Jim and...

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16 Sep

Support Meeting 09.08.22

Sep 8, 2022 – Loren De Jong Identity in the Promises of God Setting our families up for success by putting strategies in place can help make day to day life more manageable.  Tools, such as Dr. Pervis’ The Connected Child, help us walk alongside our kids.  Some strategies that Loren and Patt De Jong incorporated into their...

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27 Jul

What if it Doesn’t Work Out

FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS Today’s blog was written by a Katelyn’s Fund friend Kansas Fergen. What happens if it doesn’t work out? This very question was asked while we were in the process of adopting one of our older children. Our family was called to walk the road of adoption in a not-so-typical way, and this question made us think about why we were adopting in the first place. When most people think of adoption, the first thought...

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19 Jun

Mindfulness

This blog post was written by Kyle Blankers, a friend of Katelyn’s Fund.   Mindfulness. It’s a word I’ve been pondering lately, and one I’d like to encourage all you fathers with on this Father’s Day. “Mindfulness” doesn’t come up often in daily conversation or get put on the back of a t-shirt, but you’ve probably had experiences in your life (like I have) that have made you familiar with the concept. ·  Back in high school, I had a choir teacher constantly remind...

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07 Jun

Alijah

This blog post is written by a friend of Katelyn’s Fund….Tara Dekkers.   When asked to write about foster care and adoption, I honestly was not sure what to write about.  After thinking about this for a long time I decided to write and give you a little insight into our families journey.   I hope to give you a small glimpse into foster care and encourage you to reach out our family or to other foster families. This next part is our personal...

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12 May

Support Meeting 05.05.22

Jenn Eekhoff, shared with her passion in caring for those in need, their family’s journey which has spanned many years of foster care and adoption, and ways the broader community can come alongside families as well. We are grateful for Jenn taking time to share, thankful we can learn and listen from one another and He provides ways for us to walk together in community. Here are some of the ideas Jenn shared below: How can you support kids in foster care...

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