This episode may be the most spiritually rich conversation to date on the Upwardly Dependent podcast. Dr. Krish Kandiah, and Officer of the British Empire and long-time advocate for refugees and orphans, shares incredible stories and deep reflections from his love for God’s word.
As the last guest in this series on Orphans and Vulnerable Children, you will be sure to find a renewed passion for not only neighboring well, but also for resting in the love of a Creator who pursues you, as well. There aren’t appropriate words to describe the impact this conversation could have on you, so just go ahead and give it a listen.
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Lauren was first introduced to Nick and Whitney Runyon a decade ago, and was drawn to their videography and storytelling across the globe. Both the Pinkstons and the Runyons entered into their own adoption journeys soon after, and as Lauren’s mind has expanded on the issue of orphan care, so has the work and advocacy of the Runyon’s organization, The Archibald Project.
In this conversation, Lauren and Nick meet for the first time. Nick warmly normalizes the growth process attached to complex issues, and graciously invites others to be courageous in their own evolution, as well. After listening to this conversation, you’ll be sure to want to explore the resources linked below.
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As Lauren says again and again, if you want to see less human trafficking in the USA, start by surrounding vulnerable families while children are young. The majority of domestic trafficking cases involve children who have aged out of or who have interacted with the U.S. foster system.
Lauren was eager to interview Sarah because of her extensive experience in family advocacy. This conversation turned vulnerable and introspective quickly, as Sarah and Lauren both shared their journeys of waking up to their own misunderstandings about what children need to thrive, as well as their grief over the lack of evolution and learning within the American church.
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Kayla and Lauren have been online friends for 10 years, writing and mothering in similar spaces. This conversation takes a deep dive into the relationships parents have with others who mothered our children both before and after they joined our families. Kayla writes heartfelt prayers for parents who are in need of a ministry of words in seasons of deep grief or spiritual dryness. Her top-rated Substack newsletter offers weekly breath prayers, playlists, and encouragement for raising safe and whole families.
Kayla is also the author of “Every Season Sacred” and “To Light Their Way.” With a background in journalism, she hopes to bring curiosity and compassion to how she shows up not only as a writer and podcaster but also as a neighbor, friend, and parent. She considers herself a contemplative extrovert and is the creator of the popular Liturgies for Parents Instagram and Podcast. Her wonder-shaped writing has been featured in a vast array of books, devotionals, and Bible studies. She lives in a former convent with her pastor husband, four kids, and two dogs in her Iowa hometown.
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Links
Think Orphan - Learn more and listen to the podcast
Emmaus House - Learn more about their work with orphaned youth in Haiti
Kayla’s Personal InstagramLiturgies for Parents Instagram
Liturgies for Parents Podcast - Tune into Kayla’s podcast for a moment of peace in the chaos of life.
“Every Season Sacred” - Reflections, Prayers, And Invitations To Nourish Your Soul
And Nurture Your Family Throughout The Year
“To Light Their Way” - A Collection of Prayers & Liturgies for Parents
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Once you see how institutionalizing children can be harmful to their development, how do you continue to be involved with the care of orphans and vulnerable children? Brent Phillips, CEO and Programs Manager at Cherish Uganda, shares how this organization has evolved over the years to best center families within their care strategy. Brent speaks candidly and truthfully about the unique challenges of this transition, and how the posture of programming organizations is critical to the success of marginalized communities.
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It is critical to center the voices of lived experience experts in any human rights conversation. This episode is sure to give you pause at different moments, as David Sanon shares his experience growing up in a boarding school in Haiti, where American donors sponsored his education. After meeting Steph DeLuca Robinson and other trusted partners, he found an opportunity to lead and develop his fellow Haitians into independent, sustainable solutions that promoted their freedom from foreign money.
If you are currently sponsoring an ‘orphan’ or an ‘orphanage’ somewhere in the world, don’t listen to this episode unless you are open to having your perspective rattled by the childhood experience of institutionalized care.
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Eric Gott began working with kids who hold difficult narratives as a play therapist in Nashville, Tennessee. He then became a foster dad, and after 3.5 years of courtroom appointments, he and his wife, Leah, became the legal parents of four young children. Eric now serves as a Children’s Minister in Birmingham, Alabama, where he has brought trauma-infused thought to the way the church creates inclusive spaces for kids who may need help regulating emotions and behaviors. And, you’ll hear him admit that their new sensory room is a huge hit for adults who may need a change of scenery, too.
In this episode, you’ll hear how one therapist’s philosophies of best practice were challenged when his home also needed to become a therapeutic environment, and how the ways his commitment to his children has been infused into the ways he perceives holistic care for vulnerable kids. Whether you are a therapist, a parent, a church member, or simply a curious listener, you are SURE to take tangible wisdom from this conversation.
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Jamie Finn is no stranger to the attachment journey for children and families. Having shared her life as a foster mother for a decade, Jamie knows the beauty and the sorrow of loving kids with difficult beginnings. In this episode, you’ll hear Jamie share the ways her heart posture has changed over the years. If you’re considering becoming a foster parent, if you’re currently walking through the attachment journey yourself, or if you’d like to learn how to better support families wrapped up in the foster system, this episode is for you!
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In a law-oriented society like the United States, it is critical to engage legal professionals who frame our understanding of adoption and foster care policies in the field of child advocacy. Elizabeth Kirk, who holds a doctorate in law from Notre Dame, is passionate about adoption policy because of the way her own life started and the way she and her husband have grown their family. As a leading voice in both the legal community and the Catholic pro-life movement, Dr. Kirk sheds light on the interpretation of abortion legislation and the way forward after the Dobbs decision.
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Dr. Nicholas Darby obtained his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and is a distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is a managing partner of Florence Medical Associates, where he practices primary care in Florence, Alabama. He served as chief resident during his time at Cahaba-UAB Family Medicine Residency and has also enjoyed roles as a clinical professor for nurse practitioner and medical students.
Dr. Darby and his wife are passionate advocates for embryo adoption and the responsible use of assisted reproductive technology after being blessed with their daughter through embryo adoption. This episode will provide technical language around embryo adoption, advanced reproductive technologies, and Christian frameworks for these conversations.
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As medicine continues to advance, reproductive technologies provide more options to hopeful parents. Lauren’s sister, Ansley, shares her journey to motherhood with great vulnerability. This episode provides a frame for those who have wandered through ethical questions of in vitro fertilization. The things Ansley discusses here offer both challenge and hope in the midst of family planning.
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As the mother of four children who joined her family through adoption, Shannan Martin shares how loving and walking alongside the marginalized of her community not only revolutionized her faith, but also made her an unapologetic ally with those who are negatively impacted by the U.S. prison system.
Shannan, whose husband is a chaplain in their local jail, shares what she has learned by living with and loving the incarcerated. In this episode, you’ll hear about how Shannan accesses the promise of the Gospel through the lives of her neighbors. Be sure to read Shannan’s books or sign up for her Substack for more conversations like this.
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Since her release in 2019, Cyntoia Brown Long has been able to travel the U.S. speaking about her experience within the criminal justice system where she was tried as an adult and placed in a womens’ prison at the age of 16. Her story started long before her arrest, however, and long before she found herself fearing for her life in the home of a man who offered to pay her for sex.
Cyntoia shares about her journey out of early childhood foster care and into a loving adoptive family–a journey that was still weighed down by crises of identity and belonging. Her story is one of resilience and faith, and shows how the prison system in the United States should evolve in order to consider the trauma histories of children in the courts.
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In this episode, Dr. Patt van Eys provides an incredible foundation of understanding about psychiatric illnesses and the U.S. system for diagnosing and treating mental health concerns. Listeners will find this conversation SO helpful as Dr. Patti connects child development, attachment, and dissociation to the critical ages of neurological growth for babies 0-3 years of age. For those parenting or teaching children who are neurodiverse, this episode will bring clarity to new research around “developmental trauma” and how this phenomenon can manifest in adults. Dr. Patti regularly visits prison residents with death sentences, and works to explain how trauma, dissociation, and the brain’s protective instincts should be considered when assessing criminal behavior.
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Angela Tucker has been a long-time trusted voice in the space of transracial adoption. As an advocate for children growing up in foster and adoptive homes, she shares her own experience of finding her safest place amongst others who were raised apart from their birth families.
Angela facilitates the connection of a vibrant adoptee community full of teens and adults who share a unique journey to finding themselves and their identity. This episode is a critical listen for any parents who have adopted or fostered children of a racial heritage different from their own.
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***This episode contains themes of self harm, some mild language, and other concepts that may be sensitive to listeners.***
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Milton Washington leads a number of ventures as he shares a powerful narrative of an identity formed through transnational and transracial experiences. In this episode, he sheds light on the unique origin to his story, and how he learned to grow into his own identity with pride. Listeners will be challenged in this episode as Milton bravely gives testimony to the parts of his adoption narrative that allowed him to find his place in his family. This episode provides excellent context to the complexities of the human experience, and offers an invitation for parents to understand their children as they best receive security and love.
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Kimberly and Lauren discuss the particular landscape of orphanages in Thailand, where $40M is donated to homes in 2 of the 76 provinces alone. Kim, a veteran advocate for reformed care led by Thai churches and families, shares how she’s seen practices shift over the years, and where donor churches still need to evolve in their understanding of child development and attachment. Kimberly leads StepAhead Thailand, an organization that offers training on scriptural frameworks for care as well as extensive guidelines for family strengthening.
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Kindred Exchange - Become a monthly donor to support this show and our mission
Think Orphan - Learn more and listen to the podcast
Step Ahead - Learn more and find resources for family-based care
CAFO2024 Summit - Sign up for the conference happening September 18-20, 2024 in Nashville, TN
World Without Orphans Conference - Sign up for the global forum taking place in Chaing Mai, Thailand February 29 - March 3, 2024
Rabbit Proof Fence - Watch the movie about three aboriginal girls who were forcibly taken from their families in 1931 to be trained as domestic servants as part of an official Australian government policy.
Safe Families - Learn more about the work they do to keep children safe and families together.
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As the President of CAFO (Christian Alliance for Orphans), Jedd Medefind invites people with any skill set or particular burden to care for the needs of vulnerable children and families. Whether that is through offering prepared meals, financial support, intercessory prayer, physical space, or emotional respite, there are things anyone in the Church can offer in the ecosystem of family-based care. Lauren and Jedd set the stage for the rest of this season, and offer a guide to posturing our hearts to place the lived experience of adult children from orphanages or foster care to guide our actions and thoughts around the issue.
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When Lauren was in graduate school, she committed herself to bringing research and data to inform the ways Christians engage with humanitarian issues. Dr. Kristen Cheney is an incredible resource for Churches to understand the psychology of attachment, best practices around child protection, and the need for excellent qualifications in the field of child development in order to appropriately work in the field of care. As you listen to this episode, consider the years of research that has been done to help us better meet the needs of children in vulnerable places.
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For more information, details, and episode transcriptions, visit upwardlydependent.com/shownotes.
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Kindred Exchange - Become a monthly donor to support this show and our mission
Think Orphan - Learn more and listen to the podcast
Dr. Cheney’s Bio & Publications - Learn more about Dr. Cheney’s work and research
Hopeland - Learn more about the global initiative to end orphanage tourism
Crying for Our Elders - Order Dr. Cheney’s book today
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Like many guests on this season, Megan Boudreaux found herself swept up into the church industry or orphanages. The longer she stayed in Haiti, the more she noticed that something was awry with the North American approach to placing children in institutionalized care. Megan and Lauren discuss the crisis of children aging out of orphanages with no connection to their city, their family, or their culture. This episode is an invitation for Christians to consider the large how the conversation around orphan care in the Global South needs to shift.
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