“Stepping In and Stepping Back”
Orphan Care Alliance
by Bryan Proctor
4M ago
Meet Opal. Opal suddenly found herself raising her two six-year-old grandsons alone. When the boys first moved in, her husband, Gerald, was by her side. They were determined to raise the boys in a loving home. Tragically, Gerald was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2021 and passed away three months later. Opal needed help. In January 2023, Opal enrolled in OCA’s Family Coaching Program. Over the next nine months she met with a coach. Each week she learned new trauma-informed parenting skills. As she completed the program, she was anxious about stepping out on her own and had goals she w ..read more
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OCA Volunteer Spotlight: Derrick and Amanda Singletary
Orphan Care Alliance
by Matt McDougal
1y ago
Get to know our newest Connect Group leaders Derrick and Amanda Singletary! They are serving as leaders for a new connect group in Jefferson County. Q: Tell us about yourself.... A: We became foster parents in Feb. 2012 and adopted three siblings in Dec. 2015 (now ages 13, 11, and 10). We have four biological children ages 19, 15, 8, and 6. Amanda decided to homeschool our children after teaching elementary school children for eight years. Derrick is a CPA for a regional bank and recently hiked 26 miles in the wilderness at the Grand Canyon from rim to river (bottom) to rim. Just got permits ..read more
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Orphan & Stand Sunday
Orphan Care Alliance
by Megan McDougal
1y ago
This is how the story begins for many foster children. They enter the foster care system later in life when their birth parents are unable to care for them at the present time. They need someone to care for them for a week, a month, a year, or permanently. Some have been abused or neglected, but others have birth parents who simply need time to get back on their feet. These are families in need.  Our ultimate goal as The Church should be to care for people in a way that leads them to know the One who can save their souls, the One who gives comfort and provision as they have never known ..read more
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Christina’s Story-How Being the Village Can Keep Families Together
Orphan Care Alliance
by Megan McDougal
1y ago
Christina has battled with addiction. She has suffered domestic violence. She has experienced the profound tragedy of losing a child. She has struggled with navigating life as a single mother. Through all the pain, hardship, and trials she is raising her three boys with unrelenting love.  We met Christina through OCA’s Family Preservation Ministry as a Restore client. This ministry is focused on partnering with believers to support hurting families in crisis and reduce the number of children entering foster care. All of the families we serve in Family Preservation are isolated and facing ..read more
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Serving Families with Both Hands
Orphan Care Alliance
by Matt McDougal
1y ago
Pam lost her husband at the early age of 44. Amidst that deep loss, she was left with five children to raise.  Jackie, a widow, struggled for three weeks simply trying to trim her outside bushes with a pair of scissors.   Stella suffered the loss of her daughter in 2019. Two years later, she lost her husband. During her loss, she still continued to serve men who were released from prison by offering them a place to stay as they worked to continue to rehabilitate back into society.  Pam, Stella, and Jackie. All with loss. All with needs. All with their own unique story. Thi ..read more
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Kelsie’s Story: More Than a Home
Orphan Care Alliance
by Matt McDougal
1y ago
Kelsie was a young mom of two children with another on the way. She had just decided to leave a domestically violent relationship that left her homeless; living out of her car with her kids. Kelsie did not think she could keep her third child and was considering adoption until she found temporary housing through New Life Directions. This step toward a new life for her and her children was the first time she realized she could and should keep her child. Soon after, Kelsie was referred to OCA as a struggling mom that needed support, resources, and relationships not to run the risk of losing any ..read more
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How Is Family Coaching Different from Therapy?
Orphan Care Alliance
by Matt McDougal
1y ago
Daily we hear from weary caregivers who are at the end of their ropes. Many have read the parenting books, attended trainings on trauma, and taken their child to countless specialists, yet little has changed. Scared and frustrated by their child’s behaviors, their homes seem more like a warzone than a place of refuge.   Family Coaching with OCA When seeking professional help for your family, you may wonder how OCA’s family coaching services are different from traditional therapy. The primary focus of therapy is on treating mental health and psychological issues while healing past hurts a ..read more
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5 Ways to Build Resilience
Orphan Care Alliance
by Megan McDougal
1y ago
None of us are immune to stress, trauma, and adversity. Especially when we are caring for kids with a background of trauma. We will all face misfortunes and setbacks. Resilience means being able to adapt to life's misfortunes and setbacks. Bouncing back from these difficult experiences will grow your resilience and your personal development.   How can you support your and your family’s resilience? Have concrete support - We all face difficult times no matter how supportive our family is. As a parent, allow your kids the space to be who they are and allow them to feel the way they need ..read more
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Christ the Great Healer: Bob’s Story
Orphan Care Alliance
by Matt McDougal
1y ago
Suffering and struggling will always be a part of the Christian walk, but it looks different in every individual and family’s life. Christ suffered on this earth and thankfully has a perfect understanding of our suffering. Christ, in His supreme suffering, is the highest, clearest, surest display of the glory of the grace of God. When you suffer and trust in God to heal it is the same - the greatest display of the glory of grace, but it doesn’t always feel like that in your suffering.   As a foster parent with a foster child, suffering can come in different forms. Challenge after trauma ..read more
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How to “Foster” True Self-Care
Orphan Care Alliance
by Guest
2y ago
The goal of helping as a foster or adoptive parent is not to merely transform your children into good people, but the goal is to help so the children you are raising can fulfill their callings of glorifying God by working and supporting themselves and their families with the fruit of that work one day. As a foster parent, it may be easy to see the children as those that are needy and serve them in that way. Being a foster parent can be hard and thankless work, but in the midst, it is helpful not to see them as only having needs.  Tips for fostering self-care for you as a parent: 1) Foste ..read more
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