Brad's Story - Part 3
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
The shock was evident on Brad’s face, but quickly turned to frustration.
“You can’t make me! I’m not gonna go! I don’t care what you say!”
They continued walking out to the white minivan, and he rode in silence, refusing to speak.
Questions flooded his mind… where would he go? Where was his mom? What happened to his grandma? He knew a kid from the neighborhood who was sent away in foster care. Disappeared. Never came back. They couldn’t make him live somewhere else; he’d run. Make his own life.
When they got to the DSS office, Ms. Jessica received a couple of phone calls, but Brad didn’t understand what they meant by long-term, short-term, or overnight placements.
When she got off the phone, the caseworker empathetically explained that he had an overnight placement, which meant he would stay at the office until 8 pm, then spend the night at a home, and get picked up tomorrow morning to spend the day at the office while they made arrangements for the next night.”
“I don’t care, I’m not going,” he said disgustedly.
The next phone call must have been something exciting because Ms. Jessica was beaming when she hung up. “Brad! That was your coach! We found a long-term placement for you at the Smiths’ house! They live near your school and have 2 teenage boys at the High School. Your coach knows them and thinks you might even be able to stay on the team. We’ll go grab some McDonald's and meet them at their house in an hour.”
After two cheeseburgers and a large fry, Brad’s anger began to ease, but he was nervous as they pulled into a nice neighborhood. Stopping at a white two-story house, he noticed a basketball goal in the driveway and a pitching target off to the side. This place might not be so bad as long as they let him play ball. He climbed the stairs to the front door behind the caseworker.
Brad's Story is an incredible story of a child in foster care included in PS I Love You's 2026 Mission Kit. For more information about engaging your church or child's organization, visit https://www.psiloveyouministries.com/missions
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