After a long wait of 974 days in foster care, a young boy named Khaza David Koon officially joined his forever family.
We all know what it feels like to wait for something important. Sometimes it is a small thing, but other times it is a deep prayer that we carry for years.
We often wonder when our situation will change or how God is moving behind the scenes. For one little boy and a willing family, that long season of waiting was exactly where God was building a new life together.
A Surprise Call
Anna and Brenden Koon started their journey as foster parents about five years ago. They worked through the Chambliss Center for Children. At first, they saw themselves as the “fun aunt and uncle” who helped out during holidays and weekends.
Everything changed in April 2023 when they got a text about a baby in need. The child was only 18 days old. Even though they knew the main goal of foster care is to bring families back together, they opened their home to little Khaza.
From Foster Care to Forever
As the months passed, Khaza became a part of their daily lives. By the time a year had gone by, the Koons were already raising him as their own son.
In October of last year, the state reached out with a life-changing question. They asked if the couple would be willing to adopt. Brenden says the decision felt very natural.
“We had been operating for a while, as if he was our biological son, and our family, our extended family, saw him that way, and so honestly, it felt like a pretty natural transition. It was just making it legally official,” he said.
Faith in the Ordinary
Anna believes their story is a witness to how God uses normal people. She says her faith and her past work as a foster parent helped guide her.
“People think when they see foster, adoptive parents that were extraordinary, and we’re actually very, very ordinary people who are really just trying to take it one day at a time and do what God wants us to do,” Anna shared.
A Joyful Celebration
On December 19, the Hamilton County courtroom was full of laughter. Friends, family, and church members gathered to watch the adoption become official.
Khaza was so excited that he kept repeating his full name to everyone. The Koons know that parenting and fostering can be hard, but they say they would not change anything. They hope their story shows that anyone can make a difference if they are willing to say yes to God.
Right now, there are over 360,000 children living in the U.S. foster care system. Many of these children feel alone and are waiting for a family to call their own.
We can be the hands and feet of Jesus by stepping up to help. Whether you feel called to foster, adopt, or just support a family in your church, your “yes” can change a child’s life forever.
Let’s pray for the families who are fostering and planning to adopt. Let us also pray that God opens our hearts to opportunities to change the lives of these precious children.
WATCH: After 974 Days in Foster Care, This Little Boy Finally Found His Forever Family
