Charlie Daniels and his wife worked for GAP Ministries as house parents from the summer of 2014 until the end of 2015, at which point they were selected to train other house parents who were coming to work for GAP and ended their time in the group homes. He currently works as an Adoptions & Foster Licensing Specialist at GAP and remembers his days in direct care quite fondly.

There are so many memories I could share from my days serving as a house parent at GAP Ministries.

One of the first and most impactful events took place only four days after being placed in our first group home setting in October of 2014. There were already four children living in the home – 2 different sets of siblings. Just a few days later, we watched as four cars pulled up in front of the home to reunite a sibling set of 5. They had all been placed in separate foster homes and they were reuniting on this day at GAP. To watch those four sisters and one brother exit their respective vehicles and all congregate for a group hug was absolutely magical! I knew then that I was in the right place at the right time!

Another memory that comes to mind is when we took a group of nine kiddos to California for a San Diego beach vacation. For most of the group, it would not only be their first time out of the state of Arizona, but also, quite obviously, their first time to ever see or experience a beach—the sand, ocean, waves—all of it! When we arrived to the beach, we purposefully did not let the mall jump out of our 15-passenger van and run to the beach together. We intentionally wanted to capture a picture of their expressions as they put their feet into ocean water for the first time.

Their expressions were priceless! Up to this point, they had only ever seen pictures in books or on TV of an ocean or beach. This event, for so many of them, was only a dream until this day! And as cold as that Pacific Ocean water was, they would not be dissuaded. I still remember little Thomas emerging from the water, lips slightly blued from the cold ocean water and shivering from the cold. I asked if he needed a break and he would quickly respond that he did not and off to the waves he would joyfully run once again.

I still get messages on Facebook from kiddos from those group home days. One I received not long ago came from a sweet teenaged girl who was reunited with her biological father and step-sisters during our stay. It was an incredible life story. Her mother had passed away from a drug overdose and she had no father in her life when she came to live with us. She had been born to a single mother and had never been told who her father was, although she did have her suspicions through the years.

Long story short: she reached out to a man through Facebook who DNA confirmed was her father. He delightfully worked to bring her into his family, and ultimately succeeded in doing so and she is thriving in life! The note she sent reads like this: “Hey you! I hope you’re doing good. I think of you always. You’ve forever left an amazing impact in mine and all of us kiddos’ lives so thank you for all you do and have done”.

Now keep in mind, she had been in our care over eight years earlier at the time she wrote this to me. Needless to say, I had to wipe the water from my iPhone that had flowed from my eyes, down my cheeks and onto my phone screen!

There are so many other stories I could share. How about the couple in their early 30’s who adopted a total of six teens in one day? I got to work with these amazing people and be a small part of the process that led to this amazing event! While there are many challenges that come in a group home setting, there are also so many things to celebrate! I would not trade those memories or experiences for any amount of money you could offer! My life has been forever changed because of them!

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