Challenging communities to seriously consider adopting or mentoring siblings

Rugge & Stephania

TAMPA BAY — This is an urgent and important question that must be raised time and time again, but each time there is a different child or children. One Church One Child of Florida is reaching out to families and individuals in local communities across the state in efforts to help share the truth that the children pictured here and others like them are waiting for a permanent home and/or mentor.

Daily, over 700 children are in need of a family to call their own; many of them are minorities.  Can you provide a loving, permanent home for these siblings or other children like them or consider becoming their mentor?

Churches are asked to partner with One Church One Child in sharing information with congregations and extending Watch-Care Ministries to children.  Rev. Beverly Hills Lane, state president for One Church One Child of Florida and vice-president for National One Church One Child, is challenging fellow pastors to get involved and encouraging families to open their hearts and homes to children.

These series of articles feature children located in communities across the state; they have no family identified to adopt them. Will you take the challenge of opening your home and family to parenting them?

October’s children are highlighted in this article; they too deserve to have a family.  Do pray sincerely for them and consider making them a part of your family through adoption or a part of your church through Project Watch-Care, for support and mentoring.

Rugge & Stephania

Stephania and her younger brother Rugge knows just what buttons to push to drive each other crazy, but woven between the teasing and practical jokes is a wide ribbon of loyalty, pride and love.

“He’s annoying but he cares, even when he doesn’t show it,” said Stephania.

“She’s smart and she’s fun.  I’ll always watch out for her and keep her safe,” remarked Rugge.

The siblings live with the same foster family, and are helping to raise a menagerie of pets that include dogs, birds and turtles. They also attend the same school.

Stephania thinks she’d like to be a nurse one day, while Rugge can see himself as an engineer or maybe he’ll design video games.

“I’d like to make one where you can choose if you want to be a superhero or a villain,” he said. “You’d have your choice of superpowers and there’d be lots of different cars and trucks and—” with an interruption his sister said, “I’d play his video game!”

“But there would be no girls in the game,” said Rugge.

With a quick retort Stephania countered: “Then you aren’t going to get paid, because there are a lot of girls in this world.”

“OK, but if you’re going to be a superhero I’m making that superhero three-feet tall,” chided Rugge.

Both like to watch scary movies, though Stephania admits she’s “very jumpy.”

“I scare her all the time,” laughed Rugge, “and she tries to scare me, but it never works. I give her props for trying, though.”

The two are hoping to find a home together with parents who are “fun, fast-paced and adventurous, just like us!” said Rugge.

If you are interested in knowing more about Rugge and Stephania and other children in foster care available for adoption, or if you would like to become a foster parent, mentor, partner or volunteer, please contact LaKay Fayson, Recruitment Coordinator for One Church One Child of Florida, at (813) 740-0210 or lakay_fayson@ococfl.org.

Visit www.ococfl.org for more information.