Trudy Wilson has been part of the FBC 1:27 FAM at First Baptist Columbia, one of Fostering the Family’s partnering churches, for several years. Their team serves a handful of foster families, and Trudy brings a meal each month to the Samson family, who is caring for two high school girls. Their ministry is led by Katy McCrudden.
A few months ago, Scott Bowser from Fostering the Family reached out to the FBC 1:27 team with an urgent need. Two foster teens, a boy and a girl, had just turned eighteen and were aging out of care. They were entering the Leaphart Apartment Complex, a place where the state covers half the rent for aged-out youth who are working or taking college classes. Gabi and Weston arrived with no belongings, connections, and no support. Weston had been sleeping on a park bench, and both had been moved from place to place for years. Their apartments came with only a bed, table, couch, and chair.
Trudy believes God brought this request at the perfect time. She was hosting a Premier Jewelry party for her pastor’s wife when Katy called about the need. Only a few minutes before, her pastor’s wife had mentioned that their Sunday school class needed a Christmas service project. Trudy shared Gabi and Weston’s story, and the group immediately said yes. They are a small class of about thirty people, yet they raised one thousand dollars to help these two teens start fresh.
Soon after, Trudy and several class members met with Mignon, the manager at Leaphart Apartments, to learn how they could help. They met Gabi, who was so sweet. She shared a little bit about her past experiences in foster care, which broke their hearts.
Together, the Sunday school group got to work:
• They collected furniture and household items from their church’s International Ministry closet.
• They filled the teens’ kitchens with groceries and cleaning supplies. When someone asked Gabi what vegetables she liked, she quietly said, “What is a vegetable?” She had never been taught about healthy food or had regular access to it.
• A cyclist from the group repaired their one broken bike and found a second one so they could get to work and appointments without walking long distances or paying for rides.
• One woman sewed a handmade bedskirt in Gabi’s favorite color, blue.
• When Gabi got a job at a sandwich shop, she needed non-slip shoes and black pants. The group made sure she had what she needed, as she owned almost no clothes.
• They are now working to gather drapes and simple home decor to make the apartments feel like home.
The Cooperative Ministry in Columbia also stepped in and offered to help meet the teens’ remaining needs.
Seeing how much these small acts changed Gabi and Weston’s lives, the FBC 1:27 team asked Mignon if they could begin discipling the other youth living in the complex.
Many of the teens there are completely alone. They need guidance as they look for jobs, start college, learn basic life skills, and build healthy relationships. They need people who will show up. People who will care. People who will show them the love of Jesus in everyday ways.
Mignon welcomed the idea, and the FBC 1:27 FAM is excited to see how many more of the youths’ lives they are able to impact in the future.
When you give to Fostering the Family, you help launch more churches like First Baptist Columbia who care for the most vulnerable in our communities and make a lasting difference in their lives. Thank you for standing with them.
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