The coming of 2021 brings with it anticipation and excitement for many reasons. For Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries, it’s a huge milestone, as we celebrate 30 years of ministry!
If you visit our History page, you will find the very cut and dry, condensed version of the formation of Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries:
Realizing that there was a tremendous need for a professional home of love that was able to address the social and emotional issues, in addition to the physical ones of food, shelter, and clothing, Larry and his late wife, Cathy, formed Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries in 1991 under the direction of a Board of Directors, consisting of Pete Cummings, Mary Foutz, Doug Phillips and Phil Wyatt.
In honor of the people and children of 30 years ago, we wanted to take the time to begin sharing some of the real-life events that happened in the midst of that one sentence summary.
“When my late wife Cathy and I started this ministry, I was in my 13th year at UPS,” CEO and Founder, Larry McDaniel, shares. “I would rush through my route and meet with potential donors over my lunch break, while Cathy was at home taking care of a house full of children. After work, I’d go meet with more people, chatting with them at their kitchen table and telling them about the vision and ministry we were starting, while Cathy was home taking care of all of the kids. That’s how the funds were raised to start supporting this ministry. We set a goal for me to go full-time for the ministry in July 1993, which we met. I walked away from a great career at UPS, and we committed our entire lives to running the ministry of Coyote Hill.
“Anna was the very first child in foster care welcomed into our home. It was 1990, when Coyote Hill was still being dreamed of and considered. Anna came to us when she was just five days old, straight from the hospital. Her siblings had previously been removed from the home, and so it was decided that Anna would not go into that home. From day one, Cathy wanted her name to be Anna Leigh, which of course was not her given name. So that is what we always called her. When we were finally able to adopt her, shortly after we had formed Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries, her name was officially changed to Anna Leigh.
“We soon discovered that Anna was developmentally delayed and did not start crawling or other things at the normal age. Cathy was so incredibly patient and encouraging, and helped her in every way possible. The first thing Anna did was learn to reach out and grab something so she could pull herself on her belly along the floor. It took a long time, but the day finally arrived when Anna found the strength and ability to pull herself up on her knees and begin to crawl. I remember it was such a joyous occasion. Everyone was so excited.
“Calvin and Jesse came next. I remember going to pick them up on a very cold winter day, with ice and snow-covered roads. I was in a 1978 Dodge 4×4 pickup. (Fun fact: when Calvin was a teenager, he became the owner of this same truck and would drive it to school.) On my way to pick them up, I slid into the ditch. I managed to get out of the ditch and went on to pick them up and bring them home. We were now a family of four, with our own son Joshua, Calvin, Jesse, and Anna Leigh. Our twins (Caleb and Amanda) were not yet born, but soon would be. We stayed in close touch with Calvin and Jesse’s mom and grandmother. They would come to our home to visit, and we involved them as much as we could.
“Mandy was the next child to come and live with us. She was about 12-years-old when she came. She was a lot of fun. I remember winning a watermelon eating contest with her at a local church’s family fun day. Her dad was a caring and humble guy who knew he couldn’t properly take care of Mandy. He was thankful for us being willing to do so. We would have him out for dinners, and for Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.”
What happened next is probably one of the most challenging moments in Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries’s history. In September of 1993, just three months after Larry had left his job at UPS and was working full-time for the ministry on a modest salary, Cathy was diagnosed with extensive cancer. When she became unable to serve as a foster mom to the children she’d welcomed into their family, the first Home Parents were hired to move into the McDaniel’s home as full-time foster parents. Mark & Laurene Zimmer opened their little old white house, that stands at the corner of Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries’s current property, for Larry & Cathy’s family. Cathy passed away on November 21, 1994.
During this difficult time, in the summer of 1994 before Larry and Cathy had moved out of their home, a young lady was brought on as a Summer Intern. Debra Ketsenburg (now Debra Miner) came to live with the McDaniels.
“I was there for an extra hand while Cathy was fighting cancer,” Debra said. “Larry had to take her to Columbia often. I enjoyed being with the kids and taking care of the home. I remember one day Larry walked in and found slight chaos, with me asleep on the couch. I had come down with the flu, so he called in a friend and sent me to bed. The kids kept wanting to check on me while I recovered, as they wanted to make sure I was okay.
“Another memory was when Michael (now my husband) was coming to take me on a special date. I had bought a new dress, and the girls were there as I got ready and came downstairs to meet him. They were so enthralled with the romance of it all. Michael and I have now been married 24 years. Those children were able to witness God first-hand and the faithfulness in relationships, from two completely different perspectives. There was the budding young couple falling in love, to the other fighting for life so faithfully and lovingly. Yet both were experiencing the love of God through all of it.”
Larry, now a widower caring for his four young children, while also carrying on this brand-new ministry without his wife and co-founder, was surrounded by the support of friends and family. Some of that support eventually came in the form of a young widow with two small children of her own, Denise Kaufman. After both had suffered such devastating loss, God brought ‘beauty from ashes’ as their two families united. Larry wed Denise on June 6, 1996. This year marks their 25th wedding anniversary!
Through all of it, God worked and moved, whether it was providing food for a houseful of children when funds were minimal, or providing healing to a family who lost a spouse and parent much too young in life.
“In the early days, in our board meetings, there were times when we spent the entire time praying for God’s provision,” founding and current Board Member, Pete Cummings, concludes. “There were times we weren’t even sure where milk was going to come from. Then, I could just see year after year, the momentum changing and people catching the vision.”
If you haven’t already, will you catch the vision of caring for children of abuse and neglect, and providing them with a safe place to be a child? In honor of our 30 years, we have an exciting opportunity to present a 30/30 Challenge. For every donor that commits to become a monthly donor at $30/month, Thriving Home will donate $100 to our ministry! Thank you for the part you’ve played, and will play, in changing children’s lives.
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