Children are a gift from God: Meet Steve & Melissa

Melissa and Joannah, one of their adopted children

The occasions when I reconnect with alumni that have been gone from Athens for a while usually bring a broad smile to my face! It is absolutely wonderful to work with students during their years in Athens and then discover how they have faced life's challenges and opportunities many years down the road. Such is the case with Steve and Melissa. I have kept up with them via the wonderful world of Facebook, but only in a cursory way. I knew where they were living and basically what they were doing with their careers. I had heard from their peers that they had entered into the world of foster care and had adopted two of the children that had come through their home. However, I didn't know the half of it.

Steve and Melissa were both involved as student leaders in BCM while at UGA. They credit their time together then as foundational for their lives now. In BCM they learned what it meant to be Christian adults whose faith was integrated into all areas of life. Steve graduated soon after I arrived in Athens, but Melissa stayed on to finish her degree for a year or so longer. Steve got a job in law enforcement and was involved in training and getting accustomed to the work. They married in 2004 after she graduated and moved south. Melissa stays busy working part time as a speech therapist at a hospital and in private practice while managing their busy, and full house.

A few years into their marriage they bought a house that, according to Steve, "was too big for a young married couple so we decided to jump into foster care and put the 2 extra bedrooms to use." After they were approved by the state and got their foster care license they began to welcome children into their home. Before long they had to add on to the house, adding another bedroom.

Steve writes about their experience becoming foster parents:

"Our first placement was 3 young boys that were only with us for a week. I went out of town for work and when I came back they were gone and I never got to say goodbye. I was amazed at how attached I had become to them in just a short amount of time. After that, we had a brother and sister move in with us. They were babies at the time and we raised them for 2 years before they were reunited with their mom. After that, we had the awesome privilege to adopt 2 babies from our local community. We also fostered 2 teenagers from Africa. This was a tricky phase for us because the teenagers were new to our country and were just learning English and because their schedules/lives/needs were so different from our two adopted babies. 

The 18 year old graduated from high school and is now enrolled in college. We are still in touch with the 15 year old; however, our relationship now is more of a mentor type of a relationship instead of that of foster parents. In August of this year, we got a surprise phone call that our former foster kids (the 2 that we raised for 2 years) were back in the system and needed a place to stay. This time they had their little brother with them too. There was no doubt about what we would do; they moved in right away. 

So now we have a house full of little ones with a 3 three year olds, a 4 year old, and a 5 year old running around....and Melissa is due in July. Who knows what God has in store for us then. Depending on the foster care situation, we may have a house with 6 little ones or just 3 little ones. It's a bit overwhelming to us, but we know God is good and He hasn't brought us this far to forsake us now and leave us on our own."

Their church has been their support network since they have no family close by. When Steve has to travel or work late friends from church come over to help Melissa with the many tasks of caring for the five children. There isn't an organized program for this - it's just a "grassroots" thing that occurs in a church family, sharing the love of Christ in Christian community. Steve reflects that he, Melissa, and the members of their church are just doing what Scripture teaches:

"God makes it so clear that His heart beats for the orphan and the widow and those who are most vulnerable and we saw foster care as a way we could pursue God, do Kingdom work, and just live out our faith in a very real and practical way."

Join us as we continue to pray for Steve and Melissa as they share the love of Jesus with the kids they have invited into their lives and home! We thank God for them and the impact they are making in the world!