Foster Care: The Olsen Family Story
Jen grew up in the foster care world. Her dad had been a foster kid for ten years before a family took him in during his junior year in high school and he was with them until he graduated. A few years later, this family became Jen’s grandparents, even though they weren’t related by blood.
Jen herself was adopted and didn’t know much about her biological family until she graduated from college.
Jen’s husband, Eric, understood where she was coming from but didn’t have anything like this in his past.
Jen knew Christian Heritage’s foster care supervisor, Doug, and his wife, Misti, from college and then ran into them at Capitol City Christian Church as their kids attended the daycare there.
Eric and Jen decided to attend training for foster care at Christ’s Place. They really hadn’t found a church for their family, so they started to attend the church too. The pastor was doing a series on scars, which really spoke to Jen, and she went forward to accept Christ as her Savior.
Jen and Eric moved forward, finished training, and were licensed for three. Before long, they got a call from Doug about three boys whose mother had died. They said yes.
Over the course of about three years, the boys’ dads relinquished their parental rights. In June 2015 the boys were adopted and officially became part of the Olsen family. The boys also have two older sisters and they have contact with them during birthdays and holidays.
God has used Eric and Jen as a platform for foster care, not only at Christ’s Place but in other avenues as well. They have witnessed God planting seeds, watering them, and making lifelong changes in these boys and in their own two children as well.
Since 1980 Christian Heritage has been caring for Nebraska’s abused and neglected children. There is currently a huge need for foster parents in our community, and if you would like to find out more about the process to become one, please visit chne.org.
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