Merrell Family Adoption/Foster Care

Anyone who knows the Merrells understands they have a heart for children in foster care. Four years after welcoming 6-year-old twins - who were victims of neglect and abuse -  into their family, they are stepping up to save Kaitlyn and Davien's little sister. But they can't do it without the support of their friends and neighbors. 

Since the sudden death of the twins' biological mother nine months ago, the Merrells have been involved in the child's life. Eight-year-old M. was being raised by the twins' biological mother. She lives in New Jersey and has a different father than the twins. As circumstances changed for M. and her birth father, the Merrells began pursuing custody in early March. She's currently bouncing around foster care homes in New Jersey and slipping through the cracks in an overburdened child welfare system. 

The Merrells have already invested $3,500 (all of their savings & more) into legal fees as they fight to pull her out of New Jersey foster care with the goal of welcoming M. into their family as a pre-adoptive placement . The attorney requires a second $3,500 retainer for the next phase in the court system. There is an important court hearing scheduled for Sept. 11 at 9 a.m. that can't happen without our financial support.

NOW IT'S OUR TURN TO HELP. Let's pull together our resources and bring M. home to her family. This little girl deserves to be raised in a loving, safe and FOREVER home with her brother and sister. 

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.