First Foster Care Retreat encourages Branch family

"It was incredible to be with other couples committed to fostering," Justin says. "They are families like us going through things likes us. We felt not alone."

Getting on the road at the Branch home is much like that of any young family who is going on a trip. It's a tag team approach featuring mom and dad, Jessica and Justin. Check-in for the Foster Care Retreat is at 4:00 and it is a three hour trip. The four children are excited and have asked dozens of questions. Suitcases are packed, tummies are filled, and all are dressed. There is of course a lost shoe, and fostering a little girl about the same age as their youngest—both toddlers—keeps one or both parents rounding up the little ones with the efficiency of an Australian shepherd. All the while, the adults are readying themselves to head out the door to buckle the children in the car and leave to arrive on time.

Jessica and Justin have been married for nearly 15 years and have three biological children: Bennett (10), Evie (5), and Ellis (18 mos). Justin is the worship pastor at Rich Fork Baptist Church in Thomasville. Jessica is a stay-at-home mom and home schools. When Jessica taught in schools, the students who came from troubled homes, needing and wanting love, weighed heavy on her heart.

It was around that time when the couple felt the Lord stirring in their hearts about becoming foster parents.

"Becoming a parent made me more aware," Justin recounts. "I experienced the beauty of loving a child, unconditionally, and realized every child deserves that kind of love—to know they are created with a purpose and are valued."

After moving back to North Carolina from Texas in 2022, the couple learned about Baptist Children's Homes' (BCH) foster care program, applied, and began training. They were licensed in March 2023 and received their first placement in June that year, which lasted four months. Their second placement came in April 2024—a little girl. She was 13 months old.

"You cannot find the layers of care BCH provides anywhere else," Jessica says. "They are supportive and help you to be successful. They stand with you. You know they are in your corner, praying with us and for us."

Navigating fostering has daily challenges. Caring for the child takes a commitment, but fostering is not just about the foster child, it is about the child's family as well. To see the brokenness can hurt. Foster care is beautiful and hopeful but there is tragedy. The hope is reunification while focusing on what is best for the child.

"We are the ones witnessing and celebrating her first words, her first steps," Justin says. "We feel for the mom and dad. We are not trying to take their daughter. We are loving her and caring for her until things hopefully get better, trusting in God's plan for her."

When the Branch family were invited to the inaugural Foster Care Retreat, they were all in.

"They had us at there would be a date night for parents," Justin chuckles. "It can be almost impossible to get away together as a couple."

The Foster Care Retreat was held March 28-30 at Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center near Waynesville. The event began Friday at 5:00 p.m. and lasted until lunch on Sunday. It was the first of two slated for 2025. Fifteen couples attended with 42 biological and foster children. The retreat is for foster families who have been recruited, trained, and licensed as EVERY CHILD Foster Care Families and designed to be a time of encouragement, worship, learning, and refreshment. The Fall Retreat is set for September 19-21 at Caraway Conference Center near Asheboro. The retreats are funded through a two-year grant from The Duke Endowment.

The weekend is for both parents and children to spend time together in a supportive setting, surrounded by other families who share a similar foster care journey. The retreat is provided at no cost.

"It was incredible to be with other couples committed to fostering," Justin says. "They are families like us going through things likes us. We felt not alone."

Foster care families can feel isolated, caring for their bio children and fostering a child(ren). The retreat is an opportunity for BCH staff and volunteers to shower them with love and support. Orchard Church in Waynesville and Ridgeway Baptist Church in Candler provided volunteers.

"There was no doubt in my mind that God wanted this retreat," BCH's Foster Care Retreat and Outreach Coordinator Kristin Allmon says. "We were able to show the families that they matter in God's eyes and they matter to us and what we do in ministry to vulnerable children and families."

BCH CEO David Melber and his wife Tera are the keynote presenters for both retreats. The couple welcomes times to share their story of adoption and their family.

Written by  Jim  Edminson, Editor of Charity & Children