November is National Adoption Awareness Month! All month long Gateway Longview is highlighting the stories of our amazing adoptive families and their road to adoption. Today we highlight the Engler Family!
Meet the Englers!
Number of children adopted: 1
Number of days Jacob spent in foster care: 1298
What led you to fostering?
"Since a young child, when my parents fostered and then adopted, I had always known that I wanted to do the same. I never thought I wanted to do it when my bio kids were still young. But God had other plans.
Through church we found out about the Every Child ministry. Mike and I decided to attend an orientation to find out more about foster care and to see if it was right for us. We learned a lot and Mike became more and more interested in helping those in need through the foster care system. Not just the kids but their parents too."
How did you make the decision to adopt?
"Jacob was our 14th phone call and first placement. We were so excited to welcome him into our home. We had scheduled a vacation and were devastated to not be able to take him with us. After just a short time, Jacob became a member of our family. We could not image our lives without him. Of course when the option of adoption was presented the answer was YES!
The foster care system and adoption process are both broken and flawed. We knew it would not be easy and some days it is still not easy. But we love our boy and would not change or path for anything. (I think you can tell, by the pictures)"
Visit our Foster Care and Adoption page for more information on Gateway Longview's Foster Care and Adoption Program!