Chosen Ministry Stories

Chosen Stories

Lisa and Steve Rutherford

In late 2004 Lisa was a single mother of one volunteering in the children's
ministry at Prestonwood when she met a foster parent and was inspired by her story and how she made a difference in the lives of the children she served. Lisa had been praying about how God wanted her to use her extra income and the extra space in her home, and she felt led to become a foster parent. She was licensed in March 2005 and got her first placement that same day.

About a week later, Lisa met Steve at the police department where she was an officer. A year later when they were dating, Steve was spending so much time around Lisa and the kids that he, too, became licensed as a foster parent and they became engaged. They were married in September of 2008. Steve had custody of his two daughters from a previous marriage, so instantly they were a family of five. Since beginning as foster parents, Steve and Lisa have fostered a total of 20 children. They are currently expecting their first child together, due in August. Lisa currently stays at home with the children and Steve is
still a police officer.

Malissa & Shane Henrie

The one thing we have learned over the last several years is that every adoption story is different. Our story is no exception to that.

Malissa and I were married in 2001. I was living in Boston, MA at the time we were married, and we remained in the Northeast for 2 ½ years. We returned in November 2003, and purchased a 4 bedroom house in Frisco, Texas. We began attending Prestonwood, which was Malissa’s home church. We had discussed in the past a desire to somehow give back to the foster or adoptive community. We really didn’t know what that meant, but we knew that we currently lived in a 4 bedroom house and there was only one room being occupied. We didn’t feel like there was anything missing, but we felt like there was more that we could be doing with the resources that God had provided for us.

One Sunday morning before the worship service started, there was an announcement in the church bulletin that a meeting would be taking place for people that are interested in learning more about foster care and adoption. We immediately looked at each other and said “let’s go”. After the meeting, we felt led to attend a training session at a faith based foster/adoption agency. We decided to become licensed foster care parents. We prayed about what kind of role did God have for us as foster parents. We knew one thing for sure, no babies! We were terrified of them, mainly because we had very little experience with them. We also decided that since we were both working, we would be a respite provider. As a respite provider, we would be providing care for foster children on a very temporary basis to relieve foster parents if they suddenly needed to go out of the state or just needed a break for a weekend, etc.

One day, we received an email from a foster mom that needed respite. She was a single mom at the time that was taking care of a child of her own in addition to two foster children. She was a police officer at night, so she needed a respite family to provide care for her children from 5:30 p.m. until about 8:00 the next morning 3 to 4 days a week and some Saturdays. We prayed about it, and decided that we would be willing to help. A short time after we began providing respite, one of the foster children returned to their home, and the foster mom took a new child into care. She was 4 month old girl, and her name was Cara. We didn’t think we were capable of taking care of a baby, but the Lord had different plans. Naturally, we fell in love with the children, and we were head over hills for Cara.

Not to get into too much detail, but Cara’s biological parents had their rights terminated. Over a two year process, Cara became eligible for adoption. We felt that God had called us to be her parents. During the process, Malissa and I found out that we were pregnant. In addition, Cara’s case worker at CPS wanted to broadcast Cara to find a family for her to adopt. We knew that if she was broadcasted that thousands of families would apply for her adoption since she was a very young Caucasian girl. We prayed and prayed for Cara. We prayed that if we were not selected, that Cara would be with a family that loved her as much as we did. There many nights that I wept thinking about her future. We also knew that God’s word in Romans 8:28 sates “And we know that God works all things for the good of those who love him, that have been called according to his purposes.” We claimed that promise from God and prayed without ceasing.

Well, God’s word is true. It just so happened that Cara’s case worker went on a medical leave for a couple of months. Cara’s file went to the desk of her case worker’s director. She found out that we desired to adopt Cara and she said that if they broadcast Cara for adoption, thousands of families would come forward. She decided that instead of broadcasting Cara, she would consider us for her adoption. God is good and faithful. Cara entered our home on August 21, 2007. Her adoption was finalized on February 23, 2008.

By the way, that foster mom that I mentioned above, her name is Lisa Rutherford. She is a member of Prestonwood, a board member of CHOSEN, and she continues providing foster care for children in the DFW area.

It was a very emotional journey, but one we will never regret!

Sarah & Chris Thomas

Chris and I have been happily married for six years. We both come from tight-knit, loving Christian families, and couldn’t wait to have one of our very own. Unfortunately, nature was not on our side. After several years of heartbreaking and unsuccessful infertility treatments, we began the process of adoption. We began by pursuing international adoption through a local agency. The process required a lot of paperwork and patience. As a typical overachiever, I worked diligently to get everything done, quickly and properly.

Steve and Karin Faulkner lived in Raleigh, NC. They adopted a little boy from Russia 4 years ago, and decided to pursue two more babies from Vietnam, a baby boy and baby girl. The boy's adoption went smoothly, and they were able to bring Kien home from the orphanage in Vietnam in June '08. The girl's adoption was held up by paperwork, and she was not cleared to leave Vietnam until September. Two days before Karin & Steve received the notification to go get Aria, they received tragic news: Karin was diagnosed with advanced renal cancer, which had already spread to her bones. They struggled with the decision of whether or not to go to Vietnam for Aria in light of the aggressive treatment Karin would require. In the meantime, the United States terminated their adoption agreement with Vietnam, and refused to let any further adoptions proceed, except those adoptions that were currently pending. Mercifully, Aria fell into this category. In November, Steve made a solo trip to Vietnam to adopt Aria. She was 16 months old. He brought her home the week of Thanksgiving, and tragically, Karin passed away from complications of cancer three weeks later. Steve found himself devastated - dealing with the loss of his wife - while also solely responsible for the care of an active 4-year-old, and 2 recently adopted toddlers desperately needing love, structure and attention. After many tortuous weeks of prayer and soul-searching, Steve made the decision to find loving homes for the two new babies.

The boy Kien is being adopted by Karin's brother and sister-in-law, but Steve still needed a loving home for Aria. A close family friend in South Carolina knew the struggles Chris and I have had trying to start a family. This dear friend also happened to be close with Karin and Steve. She approached Steve about us adopting Aria, and also approached us about it. After much discussion and prayer, Steve decided we were the right family for little Aria. On our end, God led us to a brilliant adoption attorney in Dallas who was able to complete a 3-month adoption in a week. Because we had our paperwork and clearances already completed for our local agency, the process was able to go forward a bit faster than usual. Saturday morning January 24th, Chris and I boarded a flight to North Carolina to meet our little girl.

Aria is amazing. She is definitely in adjustment mode to life as a Thomas, and still is a bit shy around new people. She is a 19-month old who has had more pain and loss in her short life than many of us see in a lifetime, yet she also does typical toddler things: loves bows in her hair, loves dogs and cats (hooray!), eats anything on her plate, and hates going night-night. We are completely enamored of her, and are truly honored and humbled by the gift that God, through Steve and Karin, has given us.

Chris and I have hoped, prayed, and waited for a family for more than five years. Our friends and families have wept and cheered with us along the way, and have at some point encouraged us with a kind word or a whispered prayer. We are so grateful for all the love and support we received along this most unconventional of journeys - our journey to Aria. Most importantly of all, though, we would like to honor and thank God for answering our prayers in a most unconventional way, and thereby giving us the truest joy we’ve ever known.

Teresa & David Garrison

Early in 2006 we started researching adoption options - it is quite overwhelming! After a lot of research and prayer we really felt God had called us to adopt from China. We filled out all of our paperwork and spent 5 months working on our dossier. At the time we applied to China for adoption the wait was 7 months but after our dossier was logged in 12/14/06, the wait was increasing each month. We are now 31 months into a current 40 month wait for our adoption from China. The wait is not always easy but we know God has a plan for expanding our family.

We are so thrilled CHOSEN Ministry is now available to support people who are considering adoption or foster care. What a wonderful way to meet people who have experienced adoption, can answer your questions and support you with friendship and prayer during your wait. We have already been so blessed by the people we have met through CHOSEN and the fellowship at all of the events! We are so grateful for all the relationships we have developed and look forward to sharing our adoption story when we are united with the child God has planned for us. In the meantime, we will continue to spoil our puppies rotten!