Children end up in foster care because it’s come to the attention of a child welfare agency that their parents or legal guardians are unable or unwilling to take care of them. While there are roughly half a million children in the U.S. foster care system at any given time (which can involve temporary placement with family members), only around half are able to return to their homes.

While states work hard to find permanent homes for other children, many of them wait over a year and a half to be adopted. This can be even harder for siblings that want to stay together.

So imagine a group of 8 siblings of varying ages.

That’s what pulled at Jacob Smith’s heartstrings when he saw the Facebook post describing a group of children who were strongly bonded and deserved to live together but had all spent significant amounts of time in separate foster homes. The Tampa, Florida man wanted to help.

“Their photo pops up, and I’m like ‘Wow, what a beautiful family,’” he told Caters News.

The group stirred something in his wife Peggy as well, but as a young couple, they were hardly in a position to adopt 8 children whose ages ranged from a toddler to an early teen (14).

It’s no surprise that Jacob felt compelled to do something. His parents Loryn and Thad had fostered over 100 children. That’s why it was no coincidence that they were contacted directly about helping the children via the Promise Love Foundation.

Loryn said:

“Several months ago, we were sent a picture of a sibling group of 8 with the messaged attached: ‘Will you consider this?’ We were done adopting because most of our children were grown and out of the house. We were looking forward to a new phase of life… But after 4 or 5 similar messages about this group of siblings, we knew we HAD TO pray about this situation!”

They prayed. And while they felt the need to help in some way, they were equally unprepared for such an enormous undertaking at their age.

But once the two couples began speaking about the children, they came up with an idea: Loryn and Thad would adopt the 5 older children.

Meanwhile, Jacob and Peggy – who are in their 20s – would adopt the 3 younger children.

All 8 siblings would have homes a few houses away from one another.

“As they [Jacob and Peggy] said this, a peace settled over all of us,” Loryn recalled. “We each knew we could do 4 children well while allowing them to grow up in the same family together.”

Each couple felt that God had called them to help these kids.

As the couples got ready to set up the adoption, a big surprise came along – a 9th baby from the same mother who would also need a home.

Peggy and Jacob decided they could adopt the newborn as well.

“So that’s when the ninth child came in,” Peggy explained. “Oh, my word! Okay, God, I guess we’re going to have a baby— and he has just been a dream.”

The families simply felt that going to church on Sunday was not enough to call yourself a Christian.

“I think we’re called to a deeper purpose than coming home, and closing our doors,” an emotional Thad told Caters News.

Thad and his wife had parented 15 children at the same time in the past and despite people thinking they were “crazy” for making such a choice he asked, “…if not us, then who?”

The adoptions took place in April of 2018.

Be sure to scroll down to see more about this family’s incredible story.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Inside Edition, Promise Love Foundation (x2), Caters Clips via YouTube, Adoption.com