Restoring Wonder: Coyote Hill Foster the Call Conference
Wonder is worth pursuing, and as we reflect on the month of June, we’re grateful for how Coyote Hill’s Foster the Call Conference reminded us why. On June 5-6, foster parents, families, volunteers, and advocates filled the auditorium at Forum Christian Church, coming together around this year’s theme: Restoring Wonder. Through thoughtful workshops, encouraging speakers, and unifying fellowship, the weekend was a time of renewal and reinvigoration for everyone walking alongside children and families in foster care.
Hosted by Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries, the conference provided foster and adoptive families, child welfare professionals, ministry leaders, and teachers a space to connect while learning practical strategies for serving children impacted by trauma and loss. The conference qualified for 9 training hours for foster parents and 7.25 training hours for Missouri educators. Alongside the workshops, the weekend featured encouraging words from speakers Jason Johnson and Staycee Dixson.
Jason is a writer and speaker who encourages families and equips church and organizational leaders on their foster care and adoption journeys. Before his work at CAFO, Jason spent 14 years in church staff ministry, including planting and pastoring a church in Houston, where his own family’s foster care journey began.
“Any opportunity I get to be in the room with people who ‘get’ each other, I take it. Connecting people engaged in the same journey, one very few not on that path can relate to, is incredibly important. You’re able to be encouraged, supported, and challenged in ways that are hard to find outside of this community.”
Staycee is an award-winning advocate, poet, keynote speaker, and founder of Rise of the Champions Foundation, an organization dedicated to equipping families and communities with life-saving skills, leadership development, and healing-centered programming. She experienced displacement and instability as a teenager, and that season deeply shaped both her leadership and her heart for this work. Staycee is known for helping caregivers build stability, restore identity, and lead with resilience in complex environments.
“Speaking into the lives of foster and adoptive families is personal for me because I have lived many of the experiences they are navigating. I know what it feels like to love children through difficult seasons, to advocate when systems are complicated, and to continue showing up when the road feels hard.”
We are so grateful for the words of Jason and Staycee, whose encouragement made the call to wonder so tangible for attendees. We’re also grateful for the incredible volunteers who were present throughout the weekend, directing families toward the resources they need.
Alongside incredible speakers and volunteers, meaningful sponsorships made the weekend the impactful time that it was. Because of partners like EquipmentShare, Boone Supported Living, Doug Perry Towing, Home State Health, and the Theological Education Initiative (TEI), Foster the Call was able to reach foster and adoptive families in our community, equipping them to keep walking alongside children who need it most.
Jason opened the event by meeting attendees right where they were, acknowledging the real and familiar challenges of serving others: burnout, weariness, and the lingering question of “why.” He called those in attendance to find a “why” that carries them through the hard seasons and reminds them of the hope, joy, and fulfillment that comes with walking alongside children and families through the foster care journey. His words set the tone for what it truly means to Restore Wonder.
Attendees had the opportunity to put those words into practice through a variety of training workshops, each designed to equip them with the skills needed to serve children and families navigating life’s hardest challenges. Throughout the weekend, 14 unique workshop sessions were offered at different time slots, covering topics from “Managing Emotional Mayhem” to “Cultivating Healthy Rhythms.” Each session offered meaningful, practical training in the skillsets needed throughout the foster care journey.
Training Manager, Paige Douce, who coordinated and facilitated much of the event’s programming, reflected on what makes the conference so meaningful.
“One of the most meaningful parts of planning the conference is thinking about how to create an environment where people can feel supported and restored. Another aspect I really enjoy is thinking about workshops, content, and presenters to equip and encourage attendees,” Paige said.
Friday closed with the Gathering Hour, a dedicated time set aside for conversation and connection between attendees. Food, drinks, conversation starters, and a relaxed environment created space for community to happen naturally. “Oftentimes, the world of foster care and adoption can feel isolating. Our hope is that this time allowed people to connect with others and be encouraged they are not alone,” Paige said.
Saturday brought more from Jason, who empowered attendees to move past fear and embrace what Jesus provides through His strength. Drawing from Matthew 14 and the story of Jesus feeding five thousand people with just five loaves of bread and two fish, Jason challenged everyone in the room to bring that same spirit of trust and provision to their foster care journey, showing up with what they have and trusting God to do the rest.
Staycee then spoke on the importance of Restoring Hope Through Healed Leadership, weaving together her own story with a powerful call to caregivers.
“I believe children need more than services. Children need healthy adults who are willing to do their own healing work while walking alongside them. When we allow God to heal the places where we have been hurt, we become better equipped to help children rediscover hope, trust, wonder, and possibility,” Staycee said.
The weekend reflected what it looks like when a community gathers around a shared calling. Times of equipping and practical training were woven together with genuine interpersonal connection, sending families and caregivers home refreshed and ready to keep making an everyday difference in the lives of the children they love.
Thank you to our sponsors, presenters, volunteers, and others who made this event possible. Restoring Wonder isn’t just a conference theme. It’s a reminder that the work foster families do every single day matters deeply, in our community and beyond. The journey doesn’t end here; it is just the beginning. For more resources and training, visit https://coyotehill.org/upcoming-events/.
