God gave me a desire to foster from the age of 14. I've seen first-hand how my mom led by example, selflessly opening up our home to welcome friends and relatives who needed a shelter and a place to sleep until they found their own home.

With this deep desire seeded, I visited Christian bookshops and looked for any reading material I could lay my hands on regarding fostering and adoption.

After getting married and starting a family, I waited until my own sons were independent and older. I then started looking for opportunities for fostering and befriending. In late 2014, I took that step forward and volunteered as a Befriender to foster children and provide respite care for foster parents.

My biggest joy was seeing how the rest of my family warmed up to the idea of fostering, and welcomed the foster children to our home whenever we provided respite care. Our sons helped to babysit the younger foster children whenever I had to run errands, while my husband, Peter, was supportive in what needed to be done to soothe and comfort the foster child.

Of course we faced challenges. As parents, we were mindful of how we should balance the needs and privacy of our family, while helping the foster children feel comfortable in our home. We've learnt that it helps to be mindful and anticipate potential conflicts. Personally, I've found that this process has helped me navigate difficult moments, when it seemed like everyone needed my attention at the same time.

It has helped that we are part of the HFG-SG family and in a peer support group. The group has given us encouragement and support when I started as a befriender and a respite carer. As everyone was like-minded and were bonded in hearts for fostering, we found no lack of practical help, wise counsel and timely advice.

If you are interested in helping foster children, I urge you to volunteer as a Befriender. Take courage, step out and start befriending them through opened avenues to gain experience. It will be a rewarding journey of self-discovery.