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Photo by Kelly Kirksey Photography
Changed lives Christiansen Family By Mary Wallace
“We HAD to do Something.”
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“I will never forget the first placement call we got in the middle of the night. We were sound asleep, the phone rang and it was the social worker calling for an emergency placement of a 1 ½ year old who was found walking along the highway.”
“I started to second guess if this was the avenue for us,” said Emily. “I just didn’t know. I asked Phil if foster care was something we could really do?”
“Can you get here?” the Social Worker urgently asked.
Phil shares that this moment was a really pivotal part of their story. Hearing of the overwhelming need and the depth of the hurt these children have experienced really convicted Phil and Emily that they had to be a part of children’s foster care journeys.
I didn’t think twice. “Yes. I’ll be right there,” I replied. “I drove to the Department of Child and Family Services and all of the lights were off in the whole building except for the hall light and the room that they were in. I began walking down the hallway and then they appeared in front of me. My heart was racing. All I could see was the silhouette of a darling little girl clutching the hand of the social worker and I couldn’t believe that we would get to care for her.” Phil and Emily Christiansen had been watching foster families from a distance, but it wasn’t until Child Bridge gave a presentation at their church that they decided to pursue it. Soon after, they had a conversation with a Child Bridge Regional Director and heard about the reality of what the foster care journey was going to look like.
“I knew there was no way we could NOT do something,” said Phil. “If it was going to be that hard and there are so many wounded kids, we HAD to be a part of it.”
“We are called to run to these kids because they didn’t sign up for this life,” said Emily. “We have the ability to provide them with a family with stable, loving adults. We needed to run towards them and not away from them. Foster care has been the hardest, but the most beautiful thing for us.” “Child Bridge is an amazing bridge for us,” declared Phil and Emily. “Between proactively educating us about foster care, navigating the details of what the state needed for schedules and our home studies and our training, they helped us put all the pieces together, so it didn’t feel overwhelming or confusing. Then, they offered the inspirational support along the way.