If you want to know how Christians should live, pay attention to how God describes himself. As those who are made in His image and called to be like Christ His Son, we can be certain that what is close to God's heart should be close to our heart. We should care about what God cares about. 
​In Deuteronomy 10:17-19 we see God describing himself as one who loves foreigners. He even goes on to describe himself as one who gives them clothing and food. In other parts of the bible God specifically calls his people to care for foreigners in their midst. In the deuterocanonical laws he ensures that the foreigner is protected and cared for. You can see this in how Boaz treated Ruth, allowing her to glean from his field even though she was a Midianite. 

So, what has this got to do with fostering and adoption? Well, right now, as I write this, there are numerous conflicts and wars going on across the world. The most recent is the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Ordinary people are now facing incredibly unjust and horrific treatment. Their homes and loved ones are being torn apart and destroyed. Families are being torn apart and children are losing their parents. We can and should pray for this situation. We have a powerful God who is able to intervene. We can also consider a very wonderful and practical way to help children who are fleeing the conflict and find themselves in the UK. We can open our homes to give some care, stability, and love to unaccompanied asylum seeking children.There are many children in our care system who have fled unimaginably horrible circumstances and now have to start afresh in a foreign country, separated from everything and everyone they knew. It is our hope that Christians will rise to their calling to love and care for these dear foreigners in our midst. Perhaps you can do this by fostering a young refugee.
Fostering is a way of providing a safe, welcome, nourishing and supportive environment for children whose homes are no longer capable of providing them what they need. If you'd like to chat to someone about what God may be laying on your heart about fostering, give us a call on 0191 5656 423 . 

What comes to your mind when you think of a calling? A pastor, a priest, a missionary? Perhaps you think of someone who serves in church like a worship leader or sunday school teacher. When I think of calling, I am reminded of Moses. Possibly because he reminds me of myself. You can read about his wonderful encounter with God in Exodus 3. To recap, Moses had been raised as a prince of Egypt within the household of Pharaoh but in the course of his life, he killed an Egyptian and ran away from Egypt. For 40 years he lived a simple life, herding sheep in the desert of Midian amongst his wife's people. Then one day he encountered God through a burning bush. God had heard the cry of His people who were enslaved in Egypt and was calling Moses to go to Egypt and ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Moses felt underqualified and overwhelmed by the task. 

How often have you felt like that? Overwhelmed and underqualified? Perhaps the very thought of fostering makes you feel that way. Perhaps you've been struggling with this nudge that you've been feeling for a long time. The good news is that you're not alone. The heros of our faith in the bible and in real life have often struggled with their call. However, the one thing that rings true for Moses, for the patriachs and even for you, is that God equips those He calls. Take a look at Moses. When he worried about his speech impediment, God sent Aaron to help him. In addition to that God promised to be with him and to empower him to fulfill what God was calling him to do. 

It's the same with you. If God is calling you to foster, you can take great assurance in the fact that God has specially gifted you for this task. Not only that, but through the amazing services of Cornerstone, you are guaranteed that our team will be your "Aaron", here to walk with you through it all. We provide 24/7 support from qualified social workers. We also pray for our carers and provide regular training and support meetings. 

But what if you still feel underqualified? What if you feel like you're "just a mom"? What if you feel that your ordinary simple life cannot match the extraordinary task ahead? Well, Moses too asked "Who am I" that I should do this. And he worried about people doubting his calling. God responded by using Moses' simple everyday object, his staff, as a powerful tool for miracles. When you read about the amazing miracles that Moses went on to do in God's name, his staff was often a feature. Today, I ask you, what do you have in your hands? It could be your parenting skills. You may feel like "just a mom", but a mom is exactly what a child needs. That steady compassion, those nutritious meals you make, clean laundry, a safe home, cuddles on movie night... these simple things that you do are exactly what children in care need. Some children have never experienced these things.