How One Family and One Church Said “Yes” to God’s Call (Part 1)
“They really know how to be the hands and feet of Jesus, don’t they?”
Bekah Brouch’s young daughter shared this thought with her mom after witnessing a local church wrap their arms around her family, just as the Brouches are wrapping their arms around a little one in foster care.
Since Bekah was just 12 years old, she felt a calling on her heart to be the hands and feet of Jesus through loving children in need.
“I heard the voice of God so very clearly that I was going to adopt,” Bekah shared. “Once I got into college and would seriously start dating someone, I would say, ‘Just so you know, I’m going to adopt one day. How do you feel about that?’”
When Bekah met her now-husband, Eddie, she approached him with the same question.
“He said, ‘Awesome. I love it. Let’s do it.’”
After they married in 2011, the possibility of adoption or opening their home to children in foster care was a continual conversation. While they moved from state to state to follow military assignments and welcomed three biological children, the possibility of expanding their family through foster care or adoption stayed at the back of their minds.
Then, after Bekah had her second son, she learned he would be her last.
“We knew we weren’t having any more of our own, but our hearts weren’t done growing yet,” she said.
While living in Ohio, they decided to pursue adoption. After what Bekah calls a “gut-wrenching” turn of events, the Brouches’ potential adoption fell through, and they soon moved to Georgia in 2024.
There, a friend introduced them to Families 4 Families, and the Brouches felt God leading them to foster care. “She told us, ‘If I ever [fostered] again, I would only go through Families 4 Families,’” Bekah recalled.
That fall, the Brouches began their foster care training, and by May of 2025, they were approved to foster. Before receiving their first call about a placement, someone else called. It was Elizabeth Irby, the Director of Children’s Ministries at Sandy Valley Baptist Church.
“Elizabeth reached out to me and said, ‘We’re going to be your Banner Church whenever you get a child. We’re so excited to work alongside you,’” Bekah said.
Later that day, Bekah and Eddie accepted a placement for a seven-day-old baby girl. Just a few hours after Bekah and Elizabeth first connected, Bekah texted Elizabeth to say that they were getting a placement.
In training to become a Families 4 Families foster parent, Bekah had learned about Banner Churches, local churches that partner with Families 4 Families and foster families to provide support services like meals, babysitting, prayer partners and more.
“I didn’t fully grasp what [having a banner church] meant until I started working with [Sandy Valley],” Bekah shared. “They go above and beyond. They are out of this world.”
After the Brouches welcomed their new little one, Elizabeth visited with diapers and supplies. From home-cooked meals to gift cards, Sandy Valley has stepped up to make sure the Brouches can enjoy a special treat or a night off.
This summer, Sandy Valley used VBS to raise awareness for Families 4 Families and children in foster care — and their committed care has not just touched Bekah and Eddie but has blessed their biological children as well.
“My kids got to be loved on — and they were extra loved on because [church members] knew who they were. It was really special and meaningful to my kids,” Bekah said. “Each night, they talked about a different need that a [child in foster care] has and that a foster family needs to give them. They are just phenomenal.
“Every time they get us a gift card, the kids are like, ‘They got us a gift again?’”
From banner church care to case manager support to community with other foster families, Bekah is grateful for the ways Families 4 Families has connected her with people to walk this difficult but beautiful journey with her family.
“A bunch of us moms from [Families 4 Families] got connected, and we continue to chat. There’s a support system because we’re all going through it together,” Bekah shared.
“If we didn’t have Families 4 Families, I think we probably would’ve either given up by now or maybe not even gone into foster care to begin with.”
