When Emily and John first felt called to be foster parents, they also felt intimidated. Both parents work in the medical field with two biological children at home, creating a busy schedule. They didn’t seem like the typical foster family, but the idea never left. They wanted to use their means to help children, so Emily and John answered the call. Little did they know that their foster journey would lead them to three boys they wanted to keep forever. This foster care success story shows how finding an ideal family can be life-changing for a child in need.
A Foster Care Success Story with a Painful Beginning
John remembers going for a run on a cold April morning when they got the call about a three-year-old boy. A truck driver found the child on the side of the road in only a diaper and a T-shirt. After giving him a blanket, the truck driver called the police. Sadly, no family members came looking for him, so the boy spent the night in the police station. They didn’t know his name or where he came from, but they knew he spoke Spanish. John speaks Spanish fluently, making them an ideal foster family for the child.
A social worker soon brought the little boy to Emily and John’s house. He was dirty and clutched a snack close to his chest, afraid it would be taken. While Emily went to get him clothes and supplies, John stayed with him to play and speak to him in Spanish. “He was trying to make us laugh because he was scared to death,” John says.
Emily and John learned his name was Matias, and he was the youngest of seven siblings. As soon as they heard this, they notified Child Protective Services (CPS), and the rest of the children were removed from the home. Matias stayed with Emily and John’s family for three months. During that time, his personality blossomed, and they couldn’t help but love him.
Second Removal from Birth Home
Eventually, CPS found a close friend of the biological family who said she could take all seven children. While normally this would be ideal as it keeps the children close to their loved ones, Emily and John had concerns.
“If he was going to a good situation, we would’ve fully supported that,” says Emily. “But we didn’t believe it was a good situation.”
Nevertheless, all seven kids went to live with the family friend. But a few months later, Emily received a worrying phone call. An older sister said Matias was on day three of a high fever. He was prescribed antibiotics, but the family friend refused to give them to him. The caretaker also hadn’t been home in those three days. The kids were out of food, and Matias needed medicine.
Emily urged the young girl to call an ambulance, but she was too scared. Emily compromised by sending John to deliver food and medicine to them. When he saw the situation firsthand, he knew they couldn’t safely stay in that house. The children were once again removed, and this time, Emily and John took three of the siblings: Matias, Andres, and Carlos.
What Makes a Foster Care Success Story?
Once it became clear that reunification with their biological family wasn’t possible, Emily and John decided they wanted Matias, Andres, and Carlos to stay with their family forever. They loved all three, and their biological children (who Emily and John included in every step of the foster process) did, too.
“They already feel like ours,” Emily said in our interview in 2024, “and I think they feel like we’re theirs.”
As of July 2025, it’s been six years since that first phone call. The adoption process faced its own challenges, but the family persevered. In the meantime, Emily and John said it was amazing to watch the boys transform into confident, secure kids. Matias loves reading, Andres excels at math, and Carlos runs for the cross-country team.
2025 Adoption Update
In August 2025, it became official: Matias and Andres were finally adopted! Carlos aged out of foster care during the long adoption process, but he, Emily, and John still consider themselves to be parents and son.
Emily and John give God the credit for overcoming the challenges and setbacks in their journey. When life felt overwhelming, they saw God provide for their family.
The couple believes anyone can foster and wishes more people understood that they don’t have to be the “typical” foster family.
“Every kid needs somebody,” John says. “It changes your heart. It makes you realize your life before wasn’t filled the way it is now.”
Foster care isn’t the end of a child’s journey, but rather the middle. Every time a child finds their forever family, it is an adoption success story.
When you donate to For Others, you support foster families and, most importantly, the children in their care. Give today so that we can recruit and retain more ideal foster families.
Give Now