God’s Perfect Timing on the Fostering Journey

We would love to introduce you to the Starks, one of our Hannibal foster families!

Ally and Andrew started to think about fostering shortly after their third child was born. They heard the statistic that if one out of every three churches in the United States had a foster or adoptive family in their congregation, the foster care system would be empty. This fact struck a chord with them because they felt called to minister to individuals within their community, but the timing didn’t feel quite right.

For the next eight years, they felt like God continuously reminded them of this calling, but it was clear that it wasn’t the time to start fostering yet.

“God was taking time to grow us,” Ally shared. “Over those years, God would constantly bring foster care and adoption to the front of our mind.”

In the fall of 2022, Brittany McCaskey, our Hannibal Area Coordinator, spoke at a women’s conference that Ally attended.

“I remember hanging on her every word, because one of our big questions and unknowns was how to get into foster care,” Ally reflected. “As she was talking, I realized, This is how we’re going to be able to do this.”

The Starks didn’t realize that something like Coyote Hill existed, but Brittany provided helpful information that allowed them to see what the next step was. This prompted them to start the licensing process in 2023 and become fully licensed in 2024. Since then, the Starks have welcomed a nine-year-old girl and a sibling set of three infants into their home.

Ally shared that one of their most humbling moments fostering was the opportunity to share the Gospel with this nine-year-old before she moved to live with her aunt and uncle around December. When she moved, she asked for a nativity set so that she could share the Christmas story with her aunt and uncle.

“That was incredibly humbling to know that we were launching her out of our home but that she was taking such a precious gift with her,” Ally shared.

Ally shared that along the way, they have been learning how to navigate parenting children with trauma. It has also been challenging, but rewarding, to include their children’s biological parents in milestones and every day moments.

“I have a great deal of empathy for this family, but when I see the progress that their babies have made in such a short amount of time that is something that I have to constantly lay at the feet of Jesus,” Ally shared. “The consistent support and help from Coyote Hill–knowing that we are being supported physically, emotionally, and spiritually, knowing that we are being prayed for–has been a huge comfort.”

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