1st meeting with High Sky Children's Ranch

After 2 1/2 hours of relaxing casual conversation and sharing God's calling on our life, our initial meeting with High Sky Children's Ranch concluded. Wow! We had NO idea what they are truly about and how many children/families they help. I'm amazed daily at how awesome God is and just hearing how this place has evolved over the years and the personal connections they have with these children is God's display of mercy and grace. James asked a lot of questions and I threw in a few, which often led us two ladies to get side tracked and visiting about other stuff... Ha! The coordinator is also a huge "pumpkin spice" diva- we hit it off from the start. Within an hour her shoes were off and she was curled up on the love seat, like an old friend visiting or something.

We have learned so much about the need for foster and foster/adopt homes in Midland. We heard stories about where these children (birth-18years) have come from and the process involved with adopting or fostering. The bureaucracy involved is flawed and unfortunately, many children are "lost" in the system with CPS. Sadly, the CPS workers have so many cases, we are setting them up to fail or keep up with the demands... They are not as heartless as we may think. Where does this come from? the coordinator we met with, is a former CPS case worker and spoke to us from the heart about her past experiences within the system and her experiences working with this agency. All of the children at High sky come from CPS or the TDFPS so she has been there done that, now she has them in a much more controlled, safe, and smaller setting.

What High Sky does and means to the children living there is beyond words. They are an extended family and have so much to offer, except enough loving homes and families. They are selective on who they recommend to foster/adopt... Which tells me they are looking out for the child(ren)'s best interests, not just their case loads. All of the children they work with live on premises, so they know them off and on paper and are able to ensure placement success by knowing both the families and the children's needs. They know who will be the best fit in a person's home...not just who is a "warm body". Our stereotypes and misconceptions were off on this one and what an eye opening experience it was. 

We have a meeting with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services department on the 9th to hear what they have to say about their agency. James seemed to be leaning on going through High Sky. God's planning and timing is perfect. If we begin the process through this agency, we will begin the training and home study (training will begin in January). James said he is still NOT opposed to going overseas (I'm praying to get my Cara Grace), but it's all in God's hands.

We are under no illusions that we are getting a "perfect" child. None of us are perfect or will ever be close. We ourselves have special needs, disabilities, and limitations. For many of us, we had many family issues throughout our lives we overcame with the support of our families and our faith in Christ. We do know that we have the love of our savior Jesus and have peace, safety, and forgiveness from our father God. This is what we have to offer another child(ren), and Jesus is ALL we need!