Imagine being 19, you have just started college. On your way to fulfilling your dream of becoming a teacher, starting your new, adult, life. Then, tragedy strikes. After battling breast cancer and going into remission, your mother begins to have headaches and is diagnosed with stage four cancer that has metastasized to her brain. Your momma is still raising 4 children and there is no involved father, no one to raise these children. This is the story of my friend Anthony.

In the early months of 2020, Anthony’s mother new she was running out of time. She asked him if he would take custody of his siblings. Frankie 17, Mimi 7, Cayla 5 and Roger 4 who is awaiting a possible autism spectrum diagnosis. Think about that for a moment. Who, at 19, could even consider that as an option? Would you have? Being honest, I am not sure I would have.

Anthony is just 19 years old. He struggled with the thought of it. Am I capable? How would I even begin to know how to raise children? How will I support them? I’m barely taking care of myself. Then there is his girlfriend Bianca. High school sweethearts, just starting their lives together. How can he ask her to take this on with him? The questions in his heart and mind had to be so overwhelming.

He described to me a few pivotal moments that lead him to ultimately make the decision to raise his siblings. Moments that I can only define as “God moments” I’ll just share a Cliffsnotes version of one briefly with you. A stranger approached him one day completely out of nowhere and basically stated that he could see that he was struggling with something. That “something” was pushing the man to talk to Anthony. The man believed that “something” was God.  The man told Anthony that God told him everything was going to work out and that he could raise these kids. The man spoke of things that he couldn’t possibly know. He then asked Anthony if they could pray together, said goodbye and walked away. This and several other instances compelled Anthony to leave college and move back home to begin caring for his mother and the children.

At this point his mother was not able to leave the house. They tried to get a notary to come to the home to finalize paperwork transferring custody of the four children to Anthony. Unfortunately, this was at the height of Covid and it took some time to find someone willing. They finally had someone scheduled to come on a Monday, the weekend before, his mother passed. Anthony was able to find a lawyer to help him with what now could have been a fight for these kids. Thankfully, the judge involved was a wise person and after a nail biting month, Anthony was awarded guardianship of all four of his siblings. His girlfriend is on board too. They are both working opposite schedules as the kids are still attending school remotely. After a year or so he will begin the actual adoption process.

Here is where they need your help.

Anthony’s mom had been sick for a couple years, in remission and then became sick again. She had not worked for those years. What that means is there is virtually no social security death benefit available. Under $200 a month, no,not each, total. That is not a lot of money when raising four children.

Anthony is pure joy. Despite his circumstances and sometimes because of them, he is so full of gratitude. He smiles every day. He constantly shares stories about the kids with a smile on his face. He tells me of the joy the kids bring him every day. He and Bianca have jumped right in to their new roles as parents. Bianca spends her day as their teacher, their nurturer, as they learn from home while schools are still shut down. They read to them at night, they bake cookies together, they comfort them so very sweetly those nights when they are crying, missing their momma. They are juggling, so beautifully, four children, remote learning, their jobs, their finances and their grief better than most parents twice their age, with years of experience.

It is my goal to help them in any way I can. If together, we can raise enough to make their life a little simpler, some new clothes, a decent Christmas or maybe an electric bill or two, fantastic. However, my goal is larger. They need a home, a place where the kids can play outside safely. A constant they can rely on. They deserve some peace, some consistency. So the goal is a down payment on a home. Just some place affordable that they can settle into and call their own. I have never met a family that deserves a break more that this new little family. Help them, share their story, donate if you can, but please pray and share so others can help and pray as well. Show Anthony, Bianca and their new children even a portion of the selfless love they have shown for each other.

Follow their story here:
https://www.facebook.com/Home4TheCFam