OUR STORY

Florida 1.27 Co-Founder Rachell grew up with a heart for fostering and adopting. Her parents ran a halfway house for eight boys during her early childhood - giving her a firsthand look early on at how beauty can come from brokenness. On the other hand, Florida 1.27 Co-Founder Brian grew up in a family of six children and was convinced that he’d have two kids and be done.

During high school, Brian and Rachell met while working together at a local K-Mart. Friendship turned to dating, which ended up with an engagement and a wedding. After ten years of marriage, Rachell’s passion for fostering and adoption began dividing them as a couple. Brian began praying that God would either change his heart or release Rachell from her passion. Soon enough, his heart was softened to the idea of fostering and adoption, and they began an incredible journey together!

But it wasn’t an easy journey. While the church was really good at encouraging families to begin fostering, no one really knew what to say other than “JUMP!” Suddenly Brian and Rachell had taken the leap into this new world of fostering, but there seemed to be no local resources or support. They quickly began to feel isolated, challenged, and misunderstood.

Rachell shared, “It was a lonely walk to answer God’s call and then feel no one could help us through the process. Yes, churches were gracious in offering items to help, although many times the items were not needed. What we really needed was a relational community willing to support and grow with us through the journey. We cried out to God for help, knowing that He had called us and would not let us fail.”

Soon they met Loryn Smith, Owner and CEO of Finally Home Christian Adoption Services. Loryn’s 30+ years of experience helped Brian and Rachell learn about trauma, attachment therapy, and counterintuitive methods to most parenting processes. They began to see an amazing capacity for their children to heal from trauma, hugely in part from the practical things they had learned. And like Acts 4:20, they suddenly found themselves in a position where, “we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

And so, Florida 1.27 took root in 2015. Brian and Rachell felt called to become pioneers in Florida - sharing with churches how to care for foster families based on what they had learned and experienced. Rachell shares, “We are bold enough to enter into foster care, but overwhelmed by immediate challenges within. That’s why Florida 1.27 exists to equip churches to embrace foster families in meaningful ways. We engage churches through small steps to help varying individuals become champions of these kids to have safe opportunities to grow.” Brian adds, “If we all stepped up, we’d find that there are more than enough foster families in churches to handle the kids in need. Our goal is for caseworkers to go home and not make phone calls late into the night, knowing instead they have church families always willing to help.”