Abuse, neglect, infertility or depression doesn’t care about who you vote for. These challenges can affect anybody, anywhere. LFCS offers critical services like pregnancy testing and support, parenting education, counseling for children and families, adoption services, foster care, and child development programs. These services aren’t just important; they are essential in helping children grow up safe, supported, and empowered.

By choosing to support LFCS, you’re casting your vote for a brighter future where every child has the tools, love, and care they need to succeed. Your gift is a direct endorsement of hope and healing for families who rely on LFCS to overcome the hardships they face.

The post LFCS Rallies Around Kids During This Election Season first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

Rev. Buenger came from a family of Lutheran pastors that dated back to the Reformation. Born and raised in Germany, he came to America in 1839 and began his life of service. Before founding LFCS, Rev. Buenger also:

• Co-Founded Log Cabin College (Altenburg, MO)
• Presided over Trinity Lutheran (St. Louis) and Immanuel Lutheran Church (Olivette, MO)
• Helped establish the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in 1847 (St. Louis, MO)
• Assisted in the creation of The Lutheran hospital of St. Louis in 1858. (St. Louis, MO)

In 1844, Rev. Buenger married Rosa Mueller and together they had three children. Tragedy struck the Buenger family in1849 when a cholera epidemic took the lives of Rosa and all three of his children. In spite of his loss, Buenger remained faithful to his mission of serving God through serving others. He eventually married Joanna Reissner and was father to Johanna, Catherine, Maria, and Agnes.

In 1868, during the Civil War, a wounded Union solder made a plea to Rev. Buenger to care for his 10-year-old-son. The boy’s mother had died and the solder knew it would be months before he would be well enough to care for his son. Rev. Buenger promised to help. He used his Lutheran network to find a schoolteacher to care for the boy, but needed $10 per month to provide adequate care. The story of the soldier’s son spread and soon donations from all over arrived to help care for this child. This is how LFCS was born.

Courageous faith, impeccable integrity, service excellence, strong teams, and innovative ideas. These are the five core values of Lutheran Family and Children’s Service of Missouri and are directly inspired from our founder’s life. Happy Birthday Rev. Buenger! We are honored to carry on the legacy you began 155 years ago.

Buenger Portrait

The post Happy Birthday, Reverend Buenger! first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

Early in my career, I found myself working for the Children’s Division; an agency with the Department of Social Services designed to protect children and reunite families.  I had intentions of this role being a mere stepping stone to the wonderful future I had laid out for myself.  Somehow though, I never left.  For ten years, I was on the front line working directly with children and families involved in the foster care system.  I tried to leave – I really did, but I never could.  I could not find anything that interested me more.  Finally, I just gave on the idea of doing anything else.  I thought, “Maybe this is where I am meant to be.  Maybe this is what God intended for my life.”  And I spent the next 16 months going through the motions of a case worker.

In that time, I fully released control and let God lead and then things began to change in the most unexpected way.  My hardened, jaded heart began to soften.  In September 2014, I was taking a little girl back to her foster home after a visit with her birth parents.  As I was driving, a desire appeared in my heart and sat like a ton of bricks.  The most random thing at the most random time…I wanted to foster! I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me and sat dumbfounded wondering why I felt this way.  My husband Joe and I had talked about fostering over the years, but the conversations were never very serious. With this new true desire to foster, Joe and I agreed to start praying for God to lead us in the right direction.  And the dominoes began to fall.

First, a job opportunity with Lutheran Family and Children’s Services surfaced – even though I had not been looking.  Then, we decided we wanted to begin the foster care classes, and we were able begin almost immediately and were licensed in less than six months.  A few weeks after we were licensed, our licensing worker completed one of our home visits.  While visiting, she told us about three little boys who were available for adoption. We immediately declined as our plan was for one child, maybe two, who we assumed would be school age, preteen, or a teen.

A few weeks following our home visit, LFCS set up a photo shoot for foster children as a fundraiser for the agency.  Since I knew the sibling group of three boys needed some recruitment, I invited their foster family to the event so the boys would have a professional recruitment picture.  The family walked through the door, and as I watched and briefly interacted with the boys, my heart fluttered and my mind started running in circles with thoughts that I didn’t make sense.

I called Joe immediately afterwards to tell him about the boys, and we decided to move forward.  Joe recalls my exact words being, “I found our kids!”  I asked our licensing worker if she thought we were crazy for considering this.  I felt crazy.  None of it made any sense.  I’m a germ-a-phobe who hates needles and hospitals.  How can three little boys, one who has medical issues, be a good fit??

Well, the rest is history, and we have been incredibly blessed with three spunky, energetic, sweet, amazing sons. I often don’t feel like we deserve them, and I’m still in complete awe of how things worked out.  There’s definitely something to be said about giving everything to God.  My life completely changed when I stopped fighting and gave that control to the One who knows it all.  With God in control, I know we can’t go wrong.

Who else could have turned this heart of mine??

The post From Caseworker to Mother of 3 first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

To begin your journey to parenthood through foster care, contact us today! Learn more here.

The post Journey to Parenthood first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

You can make a difference for children like Henry and Andrew. At just six-year-old, the twins were removed from their parents’ custody last Christmas Eve after Missouri’s child protective agency staff found signs of abuse and neglect. An LFCS caseworker was called to find them a foster home. Foster parents, James and Emily, opened their home and their hearts to Henry and Andrew. They made sure the boys were included in family holiday traditions and that each had special gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. Henry and Andrew had the sort of Christmas all children dream of and the kind of safety and stability they had never known.

You have the opportunity to provide that kind of comfort and joy to someone else in need this season. An better yet, your gift will go twice as far! A generous donor  has offered to match your Christmas gift to help more children and families who will need LFCS in the coming weeks and months. Your generosity will enable us to keep the promise on which our ministry was founded 150 years ago.

Thank you for making room in your heart for all those in need!

I want to help children like Henry and Andrew!

The post Finding Room in Your Heart first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

But sadly, thousands of Missouri children live day-in and day-out in fear and uncertainty.

Fourteen-year-old Jenny was one of them. By age nine, the little girl had faced more hardships than most people do in a lifetime.

“I lived with my mom – mostly in rehab centers, homeless shelters or with babysitters,” Jenny recalled. “One night we slept on a church balcony. I woke up and saw my mom using drugs …”

In the grip of addiction, Jenny’s mom wasn’t the parent she should be. She came to a breaking point, and one day, the unthinkable happened. Jenny remembers, “A petting zoo came to my daycare. My mom told me to go see the animals and then meet her in the parking lot. But when I came back, she was gone. It got later and later. She never came back, and the people at the daycare called the police.”

Thankfully, LFCS donors enabled us to be there to help rescue Jenny from a future that seemed to hold little promise.

The Missouri Children’s Division contacted Lutheran Family and Children’s Services. Our caseworker went to work immediately to find a loving home for Jenny. In a matter of hours, foster parents welcomed the little girl into their home.

LFCS caseworker Joanna kept in close touch, and oversaw Jenny’s visits with her mom. “I always felt better seeing Miss Joanna,” Jenny said. “She was honest and knew the right thing to say; she would comfort me when my mom canceled.” Three years later, when her foster parents asked if she would like to be adopted, Jenny said YES.

The Missouri Department of Social Services receives over 5,000 reports of child neglect or abuse every month.*

This need overwhelms our financial resources, but certainly not our hearts.

November is National Adoption Month. Through your continued generosity to Lutheran Family and Children’s Services, you can help us serve more children like Jenny, along with their parents who are facing desperate circumstances because of poverty, homelessness, illness, and addiction.

“Today, through our ups and downs, I am SO happy that I can call my family my own,” Jenny said. “And I am happy that LFCS has people like Ms. Joanna to help.”

Last year, generous LFCS donors enabled us to provide safe, stable and permanent homes to 448 children through Foster Care and Adoptive Services. Like Jenny, many of these children had endured years of neglect or abuse.

*Source: https://dss.mo.gov/re/pdf/can/2017-missouri-child-abuse-neglect-annual-report.pdf, page 3, retrieved 09/23/18.

The post Promise of a Forever Family first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

Jeremiah’s Story

At only 8-years old, Jeremiah had been exposed to too much. His parents, although loving, put their addiction before his safety and regularly abused drugs in his presence. When both his mom and dad were arrested and incarcerated on drug charges, Jeremiah was placed in foster care.

The separation devastated Jeremiah’s mother. She was disappointed in herself and knew she had to make better choices in the future. She vowed to follow her written service agreement so that she could be reunited with her son as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah adjusted to the new normal of living with his foster family. Rules, boundaries and routines were set for him. He thrived.

As months passed, Jeremiah’s foster mom and mother formed a great relationship. They bonded over shared photos, stories and hopes for the future for Jeremiah. Soon it was time for him to make the transition home.

The foster parents hosted a party for Jeremiah and his mom and asked the guests to help send him home by bringing one of his favorite snacks. It was a small way for all the people who had grown to love Jeremiah to show they cared. It also helped his mom fill the pantry with the things her son loved.

Jeremiah’s father returned home soon after the reunification. He formed a bond with Jeremiah’s foster parents as well; grateful his son received such unconditional love and guidance from total strangers.

Together, the two sets of parents continue to communicate and Jeremiah even spends a few weekends with his foster family when his parents have to work. They are a family – helping each other to give Jeremiah a great childhood.

The post Promise of Family through Reunification first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

Joel’s history teacher was concerned. In recent months, he had missed days of school and when he was in class, Joel seemed on edge and disinterested in classroom activities. The previous semester, Joel had been very engaged and had even shared his hopes to attend college to study ancient history. “What happened?” Joel’s teacher thought.

The school counselor was notified and after a conference call with Joel’s father, they all agreed Joel needed to talk to someone. The school counselor recommended Lutheran Family and Children’s Services (LFCS) in addition to regular meetings at school.

Joel began meeting with his LFCS therapist weekly. As their relationship developed, his therapist discovered that Joel’s behavior-changes began when he learned about his father’s drug use and criminal activities. This knowledge overwhelmed Joel with fear and anxiety.

A hotline call was made, and following an investigation, Joel’s father was arrested. His grandparents welcomed him into their home, providing Joel with stability and safety he hadn’t felt in nearly a year.  With prescribed mediation and the implementation of communication and coping skills he learned in counseling, Joel’s anxiety and depression were under control.  He soon began to flourish in his new school and environment.

Now 16 years old and driving, Joel feels like he is right where he needs to be.  He passed all of his classes last year and is starting to look at nearby colleges.

The post Promise of Childhood first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

Sarah, LFCS Foster Mom

Think of the very best moments of your childhood. Remember the people who were there? Of course you do. What makes occasions so special isn’t what you do, necessarily, but who’s by your side with love and support.

Sadly, thousands of  Missouri children do not have many fond memories. They don’t feel safe, secure, or at peace in their own family — much less loved.

Thankfully, because of your past kindness, Lutheran Family and Children’s Services is fulfilling its promise to care for those kids who need us most. Because of you, we are able to place neglected and abused children in loving families where they can begin to heal from a lifetime of past hurts.

Sarah, a foster parent with LFCS, received our call about four siblings in need of a safe home. From 18 months to 9 years old, the children were discovered confined in a bedroom
of their mother’s run down house. Their bruises, hunger, and malnourishment were evident hidden were deeper emotional wounds. Sarah could see that even one healthy meal, a warm bath, a loving hug and good night’s sleep might be something these little ones had never before enjoyed. Sarah opened her heart, and her home. Their long journey to healing began.

May is National Foster Care Month. I invite you to take this occasion to join the LFCS family of generous donors. Many of our donors give back in gratitude, “paying forward” the compassion and care they themselves received from LFCS! Gifts of every size are needed to help us rescue more neglected and abused children living across Missouri.

Doshie, LFCS Pregnancy & Parenting Services Client

Doshie found LFCS at the age of twenty-four. At the time she was homeless, unable to work, and receiving disability benefits because she had been shot multiple times in the leg. Doshie was also pregnant with her first child and not prepared for motherhood.

Through LFCS Pregnancy Services, Doshie learned about caring for an infant while working towards goals she had set for herself. Doshie knew she wanted to provide a better life for her baby than the one she had. She also aspired to go back to school.

After giving birth to a healthy baby boy, Doshie began taking college classes and transitioned into the LFCS Parenting program. When the baby was old enough, she looked for work that would allow for breaks from standing for long periods of time. She eventually found two part-time positions to provide for herself and her son. With her new income, Doshie was also able to secure housing for the first time.  Although being a single mother was very challenging, Doshie felt proud of all that she had accomplished in such a short amount of time.  LFCS continued to offer support with regular counseling sessions and by providing clothing, formula and diapers, as well as occasional rent and utility assistance.

Eventually, Doshie secured full-time work as a security officer at the MetroLink. One of her responsibilities was to remove homeless individuals from the trains. She felt compassion for those she encountered and she found it difficult to remove them as her job required. Homelessness was something Doshie truly understood. Seeing so many others struggle compelled her to action.  She knew limited access to running water for showers or laundering clothes was a problem so she made a goal to open a facility where homeless and low-income individuals could shower and wash their clothing at no charge. After spending two years dedicated to cause, Doshie launched her own non-profit in St. Louis called Doshie’s Laundry Foundation.

Doshie is a shining example of resilience and determination. Now married and a mother of two, she is able to fulfill the needs of her family. She works full-time as a teacher’s assistant for the St. Louis City Public Schools, and plans to graduate with her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. Doshie’s hope is to continue growing her nonprofit to give back to the community that once helped her.

Carmyn, LFCS Foster Parent

Three years ago, Shawn, a loving father to Sienna (6) and Tyler (3) and husband to Carmyn, was tragically killed in a car accident. Grief overtook Carmyn and their children as they tried to cope with this significant loss. Together, they met with a LFCS therapist to work through their emotions and find a new normal as a family.

Although adjusting to life without Shawn as well as could be expected, Carmyn still felt like something was missing. She and Shawn had always wanted a large family. They had even discussed adoption a few times before his accident. Carmyn was mourning not just the loss of her husband, but the big family that could have been.

Then, last summer, Carmyn’s neighbors shared a story about a family member who had just become a foster parent. They talked about a group of siblings whose parent was unable to care for them and how their lives had been changed for the better since joining their family. This conversation lead Carmyn to realize she was open to the possibility of becoming a foster parent.

At her next appointment at LFCS, Carmyn told her therapist about the idea and she was referred to LFCS Family Services. Although the idea of being a “single parent” seemed daunting, Carmyn knew she had enough love to share with children in need.

The first placement Carmyn accepted was a set of seven-year old twin boys left orphaned by their single mother’s accidental overdose. Having experienced the loss of a parent, she knew Sienna and Tyler could truly relate to the boys and that she could offer them a safe and loving place to call home. The connection was natural and immediate for all of them. Now they see themselves as one big family – complete because they have found one another through the tragic losses they each experienced.

The post Promise of Motherhood first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

Patrice was told of Bentley’s experience and injuries and she knew she could help. As a foster parent for more than 20 years, she had cared for children with special needs before. Bentley was placed in her care and his journey to recovery began.

Patrice refused to accept the doctors’ predictions. She found therapies to address his delays and spent countless hours addressing his needs. In just two years, Bentley made huge strides. He was able to sit up on his own, was learning to communicate and could even smile when he was happy. It was time for him to have a forever home.

A family interested in adopting through foster care had been working with LFCS and was told about Bentley. They agreed to meet with him and Patrice. They fell in love with this sweet little boy and soon made plans to adopt him.

Although forever scarred by the abuse, Bentley is now thriving because of the love he is shown.

Twice a year, LFCS provides Elevated Needs Training for foster parents. This and other available trainings prepare foster parents to care for children with special needs and, ultimately, reduce the risk of abuse. For questions about upcoming Foster Parent Training opportunities, contact Lisa.

The post Promise of Safety – Recovering from Abuse first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.