Welcoming a New Family: The Kents Join The Hill!
Ask the Kents, and they’ll tell you they’re nothing extraordinary, just an ordinary family saying yes to God’s plan for their lives. And that’s how many important stories begin.
Their road to fostering began in a quiet house. With their adult children Angel and Logen out on their own and their younger children Keegan and Acen spending every other week with their biological mom, Jesse and Jen had started to picture life as part-time empty nesters.
But God laid other desires on both Jesse and Jen’s hearts, nudging them toward a new direction. One Sunday, sitting next to Jesse in church, Jen shared the call on her heart: “We should discuss fostering,” she told him.
Jesse had been feeling the same nudge toward foster care. “I’d been thinking about it for months and hadn’t said anything,” Jesse said. “And then for Jen to bring it up to me, in church, I was just like, alright, God, I hear you.” From that moment, their foster care journey began.
They spent a lot of time in prayer, inviting God to be at the center of every step. As they started researching Christian-centered foster care agencies, they found Coyote Hill. Jen shared, “We knew Coyote Hill was the agency we wanted to work with, especially knowing that they would continue to be advocates for us after the initial licensing process, and that God led their ministry too.”
As they welcomed children into their home, their love for foster care grew deep.
In 2025, the Kents attended the Coyote Hill Family BBQ, where food, fireworks, and fun brought together foster families, community members, and advocates for a summer evening at The Hill. By that point they had already been fostering for about a year, and Jen remembers the visit as something that stirred a deep sense of belonging. “I just had an overwhelming feeling of a sense of community, and a sense of a place where children would be around other children going through very similar situations, and foster parents who are not alone,” she said. Her desire to join The Hill community grew.
Jesse admired Coyote Hill, but moving to The Hill himself felt far out of reach. He was stepping into a leadership role at work, and the timing didn’t appear to line up. Watching the hayride pass by the homes and playgrounds that day, his response to Jen was honest. “This is really cool, but I can’t see us doing that,” he told her.
But Jen couldn’t stop picturing what it could mean for the children they might welcome. “I see so many opportunities for children to just be children. The lake, the slide, the trampolines, those are things children sometimes only get to do at summer camp, and a lot of children don’t experience that at all,” she said. “To have that at your back door, especially for children who’ve been brought up in negative situations, what a great opportunity.”
It was soon after that evening that everything shifted for the Kents. Jen was planning to step back into work, and Jesse would take on more of the day-to-day responsibilities at home with fostering to give her some respite. So, Jesse gave his notice at work, unaware of the door it would soon open for him and his family.
“It’s not a coincidence that the week I put in my notice at work is when we got the email that there’s an opening,” Jesse said. Both Jesse and Jen felt that the call was clear, and they decided to fill out an application to live at The Hill before the night was over.
Looking back, Jen doesn’t call it a leap of faith exactly. “It just fit. It was like a piece of a puzzle that just fit,” she said. In less than a week, they had a move-in date. “Talk about God’s timing,” Jen said.
Now living at The Hill, they have welcomed five children into their home alongside their own. Their yellow lab, Cooper, fits right in, adding to a household full of love and energy.
The transition hasn’t always been easy, but the Kents have found deep roots in the community around them. One of the sweetest surprises has been watching their biological children, Keegan and Acen, step into their new role as big siblings. “Most recently, Keegan and Acen got inside the playroom with our four toddlers, and we turned around and they were just in the middle of all four of them, playing with them like it’s natural,” Jesse shared. “That was really heartwarming and touching for me.”
For Jesse, one of the most meaningful parts of fostering has been building relationships with birth parents whenever possible. “Before we started fostering, our mindset was to foster the family, not just the children,” he explained. “We believe the success of the children also lies in the success of the parent after they go home.”
Jen said one of the greatest gifts of life at The Hill has been the community. “Living in a community of families who are on a similar journey has been such an asset,” she shared. With The Hill providing access to food supplies, housing, and other resources, the Kents are able to meet the needs of their large family. Additionally, Community Coordinator Gage Claas has walked alongside them through the transition.
“The Kents are excited to continue serving children in foster care, and they’ve done a great job jumping into The Hill community and building relationships with the families around them. It’s been encouraging to see their passion, and it’s always awesome to watch every family at The Hill share the same heart for caring for children in foster care.”
“Seeing how God works in the lives of our family and the families we are fostering has made every part of the process priceless,” Jen shared.
We are so grateful for families like the Kents who embrace a calling, even when the direction isn’t completely clear. To learn more about what the foster care journey looks like, visit coyotehill.org.
