Fostering Love- Stevenson Oaks Couple Shares their Journey as Foster Parents

One Sunday morning, Win and Sandy Heinrich found themselves drawn to a couple who sat nearby, beaming with pride as the Pastor of their church presented a young child for baptism. There was something magnetic about the joy the pair of strangers were emitting from their smiling faces. Following the service, they caught up with the couple to introduce themselves. It was soon obvious why they radiated such joy at the site of this child’s baptism, the couple had once fostered the child. This is the moment the Heinrichs point back to as the “aha moment” when their souls were stirred towards fostering babies. They had always discussed doing some sort of ministry, but they had never felt a clear leading in which direction, until this preordained meeting.

At the time, their three children were in elementary school, and they absolutely loved the idea of having a baby coming into their home. There were many steps that the family had to take before they could receive their first baby, one of the most critical steps would be the home study. Win laughed as he shared, “Sandy was so particular about making sure the house was perfectly clean! I remember all five of us got on our hands and knees to clean the baseboards with toothbrushes.”

After going through the steps to get qualified with the state, there was only one final thing the pair needed before they dove in headfirst. They were hoping to get some sort of final confirmation that this is really what the Lord was calling them to do. They didn’t have to wait long before the answer was clear. Win’s employer had a big event where spouses were invited to attend. Sandy recalled, “There were lots of door prizes up on the stage to be given away. We saw a little baby lamp as one of the prizes. So we told ourselves, if we win the lamp, we’ll know we are supposed to foster. Sure enough, our name was called, we won the baby lamp!”

The couple was so enthusiastic, they woke their children when they got home that night to share the clear sign, in the form of a lamp, that their family was indeed called to be a foster family.

“It was definitely a family ministry,” explained Sandy. The babies would be taken home around 36 hours old and would be cared for until the birth family was able to make a decision about adoption. The couple’s children each took their role as foster siblings very seriously, each learning how to properly hold, feed, and burp a newborn baby. The family not only bonded with the babies, but they also forged special relationships with the adoptive families too. The couple made a book for each baby, writing in it every single day to journal anything that might have occurred in the baby’s life. The book also depicted photos of the child to preserve every single experience. Win and Sandy would present the book to the baby’s parents who were unable to witness these moments themselves. These bonds have stood the test of time as they have stayed connected with these children who have since gone on to find success, get married, and have children of their own.

Over the course of many years, the family cared for a total of sixty-two babies. “They all had their own stories and they each took a part of our hearts with them. But we learned very quickly how to be so excited when they were placed with a family because they were with their forever home and that’s where they needed to be. There always was another waiting for our home, to be cared for and loved.” The couple keeps a collage of photos which now hangs in their home at Stevenson Oaks of each and every baby they once cared for.

Each of these precious babies, now turned adults, once slept in a room where a little baby lamp stood nearby. This little lamp once acted as a sign that they should pursue the ministry of foster care. Today, when seeking confirmation of their calling, the Heinrichs look no further than the sixty-two sweet faces on their wall.  

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