On any given day in the United Kingdom, more than 100 children are removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. Every day, newborns are taken from hospitals to police stations, siblings are pulled out of school and split apart, and social workers already stretched thin begin the complex process of finding dozens of safe, temporary homes.

Within the Church of the Nazarene, families across the Eurasia Region have chosen to invite vulnerable children into their homes through foster care. In Wales, Cath and Neil Lucas have welcomed 43 of those children since 2012.

“We knew. It was absolutely a proper calling,” Cath says, remembering the moment she and Neil decided to jump into foster care. Separately, the husband and wife had encountered foster care families—Cath as a teacher and Neil at church—and both had witnessed children experience hope and healing.

Cath and Neil tentatively approached the other, delighted to learn the Lord had placed the same desire in their hearts. The Lucases added two bedrooms to their home, filed their applications, and began the lengthy process of getting approved to provide care.

“It was a huge investment,” Cath says, “but it’s obviously paid dividends.” The couple has watched children experience God’s healing in various ways: some reuniting with parents, some discovering and enjoying what it means to be part of a safe, healthy environment for the first time.

In England, Lauren and Carl McCann also sensed God leading them to open their home. The McCanns, licensed for less than a decade, have now cared for 20 children—many of whom arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Here, Lauren says, is an opportunity for believers to step in and serve their community. Often, children enter care unexpectedly, adding unpredictability to an already stressful world. Foster parents spend a lot of time and energy collecting everything a child needs to feel safe during his or her stay.

Lauren says one way to support caring families is to provide care kits tailored to each family’s needs. The kits, which could include simple items such as clothing, deodorant, and a stuffed animal, can help ease the transition for both carers and children entering a new environment under challenging circumstances.

“Because the last thing that you really want to do,” Lauren says, “is when you get that phone call, to then be thinking, ‘oh, I’ve got to go to the supermarket now. I’ve got to go and provide this child with enough clothes to see us through the week, and buy the toiletries, and things like that.’ And so, is there anything that you could provide to make that first night easier?”

This is an abbreviated version of a story that originally featured on The Eurasia Region website. To read the story in full, click here.