Christ in the Courtroom: The Edmunds Story

Sunshine and Earl Edmunds were content with their family of four when they felt God’s prompting to grow their family in 2011.

“We spent eight years pursuing international adoption from Haiti and walking a journey with lots of waiting and paperwork and trying to be faithful and obedient to God’s calling on our lives,” Sunshine shared.

As complications continued to arise in their adoption process, the Edmunds felt God pointing them in a different direction.

“We felt God was saying, ‘Well done, but I’ve got something different for you,’” Sunshine said.

In 2020, Sunshine and Earl heard about the growing need for foster parents in Georgia and prayerfully shifted their focus from international adoption to foster care. Two years later, they welcomed their first placement through Families 4 Families: two little boys who were close to reunification with their biological family.

“We already knew where the case was going, so that helped us emotionally and psychologically,” Sunshine explained. “Our role in this case was to teach them everything we could teach them and put them in a better place to reunify with their mom and dad and try to support their parents as best we could.”

That summer, the boys did reunify with their biological family, and soon after, the Edmunds welcomed another placement as that child prepared for reunification.

“We built a relationship with his mom, and she began to come to church with us. We really tried to foster that family back together as best we could,” she said.

Following this reunification, Sunshine received an unexpected call about their first placement.

“Those two boys were coming back to care, and we were asked if we could take them,” Sunshine explained. “It was an immediate ‘yes.’”

In July of 2025, these boys officially joined the Edmunds family through adoption.

In each step of their foster and adoption journey, what stands out to Sunshine is her community’s efforts to ensure her family felt seen and supported — from Families 4 Families’ support services to her church establishing a scholarship to fund her son’s preschool to a friend gifting a baby monitor Sunshine still uses for peace of mind today.

“Families 4 Families is a great support system,” Sunshine shared. “When the little guys were in diapers, [our case manager] would show up with diapers and wipes in hand. She would ask, ‘How are they with clothing? Do you need me to go to a clothing store? How are they with shoes? How are they with pajamas?’”

Since both Sunshine and her husband work as educators, having other people to help with daily tasks lightened the load of their foster care responsibilities.

“There are a lot of phone calls and appointments to be made, but [our case manager would say,] ‘I’ll call and make them a dental appointment. I can take them to the doctor.’ Having that extra support was helpful so we could give the best to these children,” Sunshine said.

Support for the Edmunds’ family especially shone through in the courtroom.

“I remember being at the [Termination of Parental Rights] trial when the [Georgia Division of Family and Children Services] lawyer asked us about our church support,” she recalls.

“I was able to say that they are amazing. They opened their arms to each kiddo that we’ve brought to church. They met any need that we had financially or physically, and they just love like Jesus would love. To be able to say that in a court of law touched me.”

On adoption day, the church showed up too.

“The courtroom was filled,” Sunshine said. “I remember I looked over at the bailiff — someone we didn’t know and someone not part of our story — and even he had a little tear rolling down his face.”

For Sunshine and her family, this consistent support has been vital throughout their foster care and adoption journey.

“People always think about the physical needs, but the phone call or the text or the smile as the family approaches who may not all ‘match’ is important,” she shared. “When the boys came back to us a second time, they came with no shoes and had one little bag of clothing, and different people immediately met those needs. Being there in the immediate and being there for the long haul are both important.”

Just as her church has made an impact on her family, Sunshine believes other churches can mobilize to do the same.

“You can open your arms and be ready to meet foster families where they are, no matter how big or small your church foster care ministry is, no matter whether there’s a formal ministry or not,” she said.

“For me to be asked in a court of law, ‘What does your church support look like?’ means it’s on people’s minds how successful foster families can be when there is church support.”