florida

Modern-day orphans find hope through 4Kids of South Florida

by Karen Granger | The Good News | May 5th 2009
Tags: 4Kids, foster care

Broward County
Ministry: 4Kids of South Florida
Family in focus: The Harrisons
Website: 4KidsofSFL.org

Moody Bible College graduates Topher and Anya Harrison didn’t expect to be parents so soon after starting their new positions at Calvary Christian Academy in Ft. Lauderdale. They certainly didn’t expect to be the “twenty-something couple with a teenage daughter.”

How is that possible? Only by divine appointment.

Rewind to the summer of 2007, when the Harrisons led a group of summer campers, including a young teen named Crystal. The couple had a wonderful rapport with the teens. They even considered a few of the students their “spiritual children” as they built relationships with them and offered mentoring support.

Crystal was living at GirlsPlace at the time, a foster care home run by 4Kids of South Florida. One day at summer camp, Crystal approached Topher and shared her testimony with him.

“I really trusted him, and I wanted him to baptize me,” Crystal says.

As Crystal shared her life story about how she came to live at GirlsPlace, she never expected Topher would end up sharing his life story – filled with many of the same struggles and hardships Crystal had experienced.

After hearing about Crystal’s past, Topher connected Crystal with his wife, thinking Anya would make a great mentor and encourager for the young girl.

Meanwhile, Crystal was wishing for more than a mentor; she hoped she could be Topher and Anya’s daughter.

Crystal recalls that time: “I became a Christian while living in GirlsPlace. I was learning a lot about God, and I really wanted to be part of a real family. After camp, I was praying for a real family, yet I knew most foster kids my age don’t get adopted.”

“I knew God would provide a family for me, and I would like them. But I was really hoping it would be Topher and Anya – even though Topher was just 10 years older than me, and Anya is only 7 years older than me.”

Crystal visited the Harrisons often for dinner over a period of several months. She’d secretly pray that God would move the couple to adopt her.

“My foster mom was praying, too,” she adds.

Topher says, “Meanwhile, God was working on our hearts and leading us to want to adopt Crystal. We went to the Lord in prayer and read the book of Galatians. We didn’t want to consult with man, just with the Lord. God continued to lead us. We started taking MAPP (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) classes.”

“I approached Doug Sauder, president of 4Kids,” Topher explains. “I told him of our interest in adopting Crystal. He said there were other families interested in adopting her. The thought of someone else adopting her made me panic, so I knew in my heart we really did want to adopt her.”

Crystal prayed for four months. While she prayed, Topher and Anya wondered if they’d even be approved to adopt her since they were only 27 and 24 years old respectively.

The Harrisons were indeed approved, and today Crystal is their adopted daughter. She’ll be heading off to Moody Bible College in Spokane, Wash., this fall, yet she’ll always have a forever family to come home to.

“I’m a living example,” says Crystal. “When God is in the equation, lives are totally changed.”