Mike Chesterton shares some encouraging stories, which have come directly from Home For Good volunteer champions, Rachel Downey and Phil Watson

Recent highlight:

From Rachel Downey.

We have a support group called Paddington’s which was set up about 10 years ago. It had been a long-term dream to see the group connect through a holiday.

However - what, where, when and how were the challenges to overcome! Taking a family away for a weekend is never cheap. Finding something that everyone is happy with and something accessible for all, is never easy. There is also the challenge of finding an organisation that would happily accommodate a group of loud, over excited and often dysregulated children, an organisation with the compassion and skills to see past the behaviour and see the child.

Our group is hosted by Christians and part of a church, but the majority of those who attend do not practice any faith. Our hope was to find an environment that would minister to the soul of those who attended, through creation and through the care and compassion of the staff.

We managed to get a generous grant from the Timpson’s Foundation, enabling us to pay for the deposits for everyone and allow a few free places for families in need.

We then approached the Christian Mountain Centre in North Wales https://cmcadventure.org.uk/ regarding our group and their needs. Nothing was too much trouble for them. Amazingly all our requests were met, (including plain pasta as an accompaniment to every meal).

We were able to take 12 families away to an activity weekend in August. Family rooms allowed each family to have their own space. Games rooms and plenty of outdoor space allowed the children and adults to find their own space too. The activities were well staffed allowing parents respite (although a few took the opportunity to join in). The children thrived and loved the element of challenge and adventure. Each activity was planned according to each of the children’s abilities, and this gave every child a sense of personal achievement.

The children and the parents connected. The children were very noisy on the first night and on the second day, there were some squabbles to navigate but by the second evening, as we walked on the beach the children gelled beautifully as they were rock pooling with each other. It was very calming for the parents as the sun set and we all took big deep breaths of the sea air. It was an amazing sight when the tired children and peaceful adults made their way back to the cars, all very content and happy.

The joy for me was seeing the parent who was the most stressed and overwhelmed upon arrival leave with happy tears. She felt bringing her family to this was the best thing she had done. She found peace being with families who parented differently, she felt there was no judgement. She loved the fact that other adults knew how to speak with her children and that the children had made friends and had shone in the new activities they had tried. Her son showed compassion to another child when he said, “I think he is behaving like that because he has a difficult start, like me”.

Paddington’s was set up so that no child would ever feel they were the only one who was adopted/fostered. Watching true friendships grow between the children that weekend that has led to invitations to each other’s birthday parties, sleep overs, play dates and trips. This is a thing of beauty to behold. That weekend in North Wales, a village was formed, not just among the parents but among the children.

From Phil Watson:

We have many stories of hope and encouragement. As a group, I like to think we’ve helped many Churches understand God’s heart for the orphan. We have learnt that there’s a beauty in being with a child who may have had a very difficult start to life, but with a lot of love and a lot of patience, they can have a beautiful future.

As well as teaching, I also work for Liverpool Fostering Service. I promote fostering and find new foster carers for Liverpool City Council. I train teachers, church workers and charity workers around the impact of early trauma on education.  

We live around the corner from the world-famous Penny Lane in Liverpool, and we have two birth children, who were 5 and 7 when we started fostering for Liverpool City Council.

I am a German teacher at a local Secondary School and my wife is a solicitor, working in Family Matters and Child Protection. We adopted one of our foster children, after he drew himself onto a family photo.

We got involved with Home for Good after meeting Krish Kandiah, the founder, in a swimming pool in France. We run a Home for Good Support Group in Liverpool, and we are linked to about 15 households who foster, adopt - or both. We have a WhatsApp Group, and occasionally meet as adults and families. We go to a variety of Churches across Liverpool and it’s always encouraging to meet people who are living a similar life. We can compare challenges, learn from each other, offer advice, lend a shoulder to cry on, and above all, pray.

Home for Good has a number of peer support groups running across the UK so please pray for each and every individual, couple and family involved that they would experience the type of supportive ‘villages’ Phil and Rachel share about.

What can I be praying for?

We would love you to stand with us in prayer as we continue to work to find a home for every child who needs one in North West England.

• The recently released figures from Ofsted show a 4% fall in the number of registered foster carers in the North-West. Please pray for more households to step forward and head towards welcoming children into their homes – and for stamina and resilience for those who already have.
• Home for Good recognises the vital role of peer support in creating stability and resilience for those who look after care-experienced children. Please pray for our volunteers in the North West, especially for those who provide one-to-one support, and for those who run peer support groups.
• Please also pray for the new group due to start in Bury – and for those who will lead it
• Please pray for more volunteers, more opportunities to share our message, more people to pray, and more people to support our work through regular giving.

Check out our prayer resource, Let’s pray, for additional thoughts, inspiration and points to guide your prayers.

Are there any events happening soon that I can attend?

Head over to our North West England page to find out what is happening in the area and find all the local support groups.

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How do I get in touch with a member of the Home for Good team in North West England?

Mike Chesterton heads up Home for Good's work in North West England and he would love to hear from you! You can contact him through the button below.

Email Mike