(419) 496-2507

Contact Us

To get involved, please fill out the contact form below, send an email to info@fosteringfamilyministries.org, or connect by phone at (419) 496-2507.

Name: * This field is required

Email: * A valid email address is required

Phone: *

This field is required

Street: * This field is required

City: * This field is required

State: * This field is required

Zip: * This field is required

Church currently attend:

I am
check all that apply *

This field is required

Questions/Comments:

Enter the text you see in the security image:

Donate

Request Info Packet

Sorry, this survey is currently closed. Please check back later, or contact us for further assistance.

Baby Snugglers

Hope Abel August 12, 2025 0 comments

What can rocking a baby do? Multiple counties in the area have families who take care of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) babies. After being born, the babies need to be rocked 24 hours a day as they deal with drug withdrawal symptoms. Care Teams come to help rock the babies and serve the families. One family shares their story:

My husband Jeff and I have been married for almost 37 years this September. We have 3 kind, smart, talented adult children ages 29, 27 and 24. Jeff and I never talked about fostering even though his parents were foster parents when he grew up. Jeff has 57 foster brothers and 29 foster sisters. These children stayed with his family anywhere from an overnight emergency placement to a 2 1/2 year aging out.

The seed was planted in my heart to foster babies because a dear friend asked me to babysit her 5 month old granddaughter. They had to get temporary custody of her because their daughter was on drugs.

God had stirred my heart, and a few years later I felt so strongly that we should become foster parents. Jeff said no. He thought I would fall in love with them and not be able to let go and give them back. So I prayed that God would change his mind. The rest of the story is in his own words....

“In January of 2021 Lisa [my wife] went to the hospital with severe bleeding. The doctors told her that if they couldn't stop it she would die. She called me from the hospital at 10 PM to say goodbye. I wasn't ready to let go yet. I went to my knees beside our bed and prayed like I have never prayed before. I asked God to keep her here. I made many promises to him if he would let her stay. Becoming foster parents topped the list.”

We decided to foster NAS (Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome) babies because our first placement was a precious baby born on drugs. God gave us the wisdom, strength, patience and love to get the babies through the heartbreaking withdrawal symptoms. Then starts the purposeful work with PT, OT, and speech therapy. God sent us the best teams from Akron Children's Hospital, Help Me Grow, Child Development Center, and Rainbow Roots.

It is a blessing to see the progress of the babies, the love of a family, and the growth in the Care Team who serves. Snuggling a baby can make a world of difference!

Want to read more? Check out out newsletter: /ffm-resources (scroll down to newsletter).