We were blessed and thankful for the continued generosity from the Miami Dolphins, who have included His House in the food relief program, which includes receiving 100 meals per day, Monday-Friday through May of 2021!
Bryanna entered the foster care system along with her six siblings a few years ago after experiencing abuse, neglect, and drug exposure. Despite the odds of success stacked against her, Bryana’s determination for a better future helped her achieve the monumental task of graduating from high school.
This past May, we celebrated many graduations, far more creatively due to current social distancing guidelines. But for most children in foster care, these celebrations are not a reality. The drop-out rates are three times higher than other low-income children, and only 50% reach graduation.
Bryanna beat those odds, and we were blessed to have celebrated her graduation at His House.
Together with her His House family and the help of a dear friend of the organization, we celebrated this great milestone. The festivities included a spectacular graduation parade – by far the best part! She was so grateful that she could not hold back the tears!
Bryanna is now college-bound and despite having the opportunity to attend any state school, she chose to enroll at Miami Dade College to stay close to her siblings; a true testament to the remarkable young person that she is.
During the difficult months of the pandemic, Pablo, a young man still in high school and filled with the spirit of charity, donated, through the Soccer Life Foundation, a non-profit he founded, over 100 Chinese Bento Boxes and 40 soccer balls. His act of charity and kindness made it possible for our kids to enjoy one of their favorite meals and favorite sporting games. We are so grateful!
Health Choice Network immediately put boots to the ground on the onset and throughout the pandemic to help keep our children safe and calm. Donating thousands of dollars’ worth of PPE gear, indoor and outdoor games for children to enjoy while quarantined, gift cards for our Christmas in July campaign as well as continuing to give to our Kids Keeper program on a monthly basis are only a few of the ways HCN has championed children in foster care!
Our faithful friends at Kakes 4 Kids Florida celebrated their 10year anniversary of bringing thousands of smiles to our children by sponsoring monthly birthday wishes for all our kids. We are so blessed and grateful for their time and dedication in helping us achieve our mission! Take a look…
Here at His House Children’s Home, we recognize and celebrate the vital role that a foster dad can play in the life of a child. As we look forward to Father’s Day, we would like to share with you some thoughts on fatherhood from the perspective of one of His House’s own foster dads, Nelson Caban.
“This will be the second year I will be able to celebrate Father’s Day as a foster dad. Never having kids of my own, for me, the day has always been about my own dad.
I remember receiving Father’s Day wishes last year, and thinking to myself that I really didn’t deserve them because the children weren’t mine. But we have had 9 kids come through our door, 5 of them were with us for only 1 or 2 weeks. One set of siblings was with us for almost 7 months, and our current siblings have been in our home for almost 5 months.
During these past two years, I’ve learned that being a father is more than just being a caretaker. I’ve jumped in kiddie pools and playpens … I’ve bandaged up boo-boos… I’ve had a baby sleep in my arms and sneeze in my face, and tomorrow I will attend my first prekindergarten graduation.
I’m always looking for opportunities to teach my current foster son. I’ve told him that I don’t like to hear him say, “I can’t,” but that it’s okay to say, “I don’t know how.” I told him I would always be there to help and teach him. Just the other day he said, “I can’t,” and quickly covered his mouth, and with his eyes open wide and a smile, he corrected himself and said, “I don’t know how.” That made me really happy because I want him to believe he can do anything.
For these reasons, I believe I qualify to celebrate and enjoy this Father’s day.
Being a father is a big responsibility and a blessing. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be a foster parent. I never know how long we will have the children with us, so I have to make every day count. Being a father has been a learning experience and I don’t always get it right, but as long as I give these kids the love and the support they need, I can’t go wrong.”
His House is blessed to have 46 foster families extending our ministry to abused, abandoned and neglected children throughout Southern Florida. We count on individuals like Nelson to fill the shoes of a father in the lives of these children who desperately need a safe home and the loving care of a family.
If you believe that you have room in your heart and home for a child in need, we need you. Please call His House today at 305.430.0085 ext. 240 for more information.
“My husband and I had often considered the possibility of adopting a child, or at least having foster children in our home, in order to help kids in need.
Originally, we expected to adopt a child from Colombia, our native country, but we found out that it was too difficult and expensive.
We had friends who were foster parents and we knew a bit about their experience. We were definitely interested. But even though we thought about it frequently, there always seemed to be other things that distracted us from actually starting the process of becoming foster parents.
Until one Sunday we were at church. At the end of the mass, a couple was speaking and introduced His House and its foster parents’ program. At that moment, we both knew it was time for us to get started.
The licensing process at His House was extraordinary. We learned a lot about the situations that kids are coming from and how much we would be able to help. The staff at His House were a tremendous help and made the licensing process easy for us.
Initially, we had decided to foster a girl between 2 and 7 years of age, since those are the ages of our biological children. We, as well as the staff we were working with, agreed that those would be the best ages for us to foster.
After the process was finished, we were asked a few times if we were open to foster particular children, but the process was never completed for one reason or another.
One day we were asked if we were willing to take a 7-month-old boy. My husband and I decided that we were open to that option if it was God’s will.
And so far, the experience with Michael, our foster baby angel, has been marvelous. He is a happy little boy and he has enriched our lives so much. Our children are extremely fond of him and he has become an integral part of our family. Everybody in our extended family is also very happy we are doing this and they also love baby Michael.
We thank God for this opportunity He has given us, and we hope to be able to fulfill it in the best way we can.”
A true hero is not measured by his physical strength but by the strength of his heart. Thank you Carolina and Pedro for being a HERO for baby Michael!
Juan Carlos and Francely Gonzalez have been licensed foster parents with His House Children’s Home since 2013. The family recalls the day that the first child was placed in their home, “She arrived helpless and uncertain, but eager to be happy and that is where she blossomed.”
Having witnessed the results first hand, the family has taken a fervent view on fostering. They continue to see their purpose as one in which they provide guidance, demonstrate love, and help children navigate life with security, confidence, and optimism as they look forward to the future.
The impact that the family has seen is a positive one as they welcome children who are hurting and in need of love and security to their home. “Every day with them is an achievement. To see all the positive changes and be proud to say that we are a foster family … to watch them blossom in society as good people … we know that we have achieved our purpose in life.”
In addition to serving as foster parents, the family also provides respite care for children. For the Gonzalez family, as long as there is room, their home is always open to provide children a safe.
The family shares, “We are the example of God working through different people in different ways, but the same God who fulfills His purpose through them all.”
Raquel E. has not been able to have children of her own, but was always impressed by individuals who fostered or adopted children. When she became a foster parent herself, she came to value any amount of time she got to share with the child. Raquel states, “I am grateful every day for the opportunity God has presented me with to offer a loving home to a child, to attend to his needs, and to enjoy the family experience.”
Raquel has fostered two children. Although one child was with her for only three days, she felt that her home was a safe haven for that short time. Of her current placement she says, “It has been an awesome experience, being able to foster the child (who has been) in my home for the past fifteen months. Just seeing his face when he looks at me is priceless. He makes my day when I go to his bed in the mornings and he opens his arms for me to pick him up and then hugs me.”
While the experience has been awesome, Raquel has had to face multiple challenges. She has had to deal with her foster child’s health issues, kept multiple doctor appointments, tried different milks and medications, and has gone to court to keep up with the legal issues throughout the process.
Having a good support system of “family, good friends, the licensing group, and being part of the FAPA group and attending their support meetings” has allowed Raquel “to find the strength to overcome whatever the situation and to keep taking things a day at a time.”
Raquel encourages anyone who desires to begin the fostering journey to first ask this simple question, “Do you have room in your heart to share with a foster child? Because if you do, that’s all you need. Once a child is in your life, you will not regret it. My life has changed for the best, knowing I am helping a child who did not have a loving and stable home.”
