Together by AGCI is a podcast from All God's Children International. On Together by AGCI we share the stories that connect us to people, allowing us to see the value of the most vulnerable children and families. We explore what it means to be from a hard place and what we can all do to literally change the world. Whether we tell the stories of families empowered to stay together, the stories of adoptive families coming together, or the stories of all of us working together for the sake of children and families in need, we hope you will join us as we march toward a brighter future… together.
Today we’re chatting with AGCI’s Director of Adoption: Latin America and the Caribbean, SamMoore. We are so excited to share our conversation about waiting children. We dove into every aspect of this important topic, including what it means for a child to be classified as waiting, and the incredible hope that we have for these amazing kids.
Today Together by AGCI co-hosts Marisa Butterworth and Melissa Rush are talking about our recent travels to Colombia. After several years away it was such a gift to be back with our Colombia team and see the kids and life-changing work firsthand. It was also at times, really really hard. We hope you enjoy our open, honest conversation. Spoiler: we both cry a little bit so thank you in advance for your grace. If you’d like to get involved in AGCI’s life-changing work, please reach out to us! Ther...
Description: In honor of Father’s Day, adoptive dad David Maibach shares with us about the joys of becoming a father through adoption. He shares some of his family’s journey, what he’s most proud of, and his best advice for any new or future adoptive dads. You don’t want to miss this inspirational episode.
Do you have children struggling with challenging behaviors? Are you a foster or adoptive parent and feel at your wits end? There is so much hope in our conversation with David Randall, AGCI’s Director of Social Services. In this episode, we’re talking about all things TBRI—what it is, how to begin implementing it, and why it’s an incredibly powerful tool for caregivers. If this is your first introduction to TBRI, I know you’re going to want to know more! Families Are Forever, an incredible onlin...
Do you have children struggling with challenging behaviors? Are you a foster or adoptive parent and feel at your wits end? There is so much hope in our conversation with David Randall, AGCI’s Director of Social Services. In this episode, we’re talking about all things TBRI—what it is, how to begin implementing it, and why it’s an incredibly powerful tool for caregivers. If this is your first introduction to TBRI, I know you’re going to want to know more! families are Forever, an incredible onlin...
There are so many ways to bless an adoptive family, no matter where they are at in the process. Listen in as parents from all over the country share how God used everyday people to help in big ways.
Today, we're talking about all things mom. This Mother’s Day episode is a celebration of moms everywhere. Whether you’re an adoptive mom, bio mom, mom-to-be, or praying that motherhood is part of your journey, this episode is a celebration of you! In this episode, we chatted with Brook, AGCI's adoptive mother 6 about her motherhood journey.
AGCI President Hollen Frazier shares a bit about how AGCI was founded by herfamilyand shares her own personal calling. Join us in taking an inspiring look at the Spiritual Calling of AGCI and how our team navigates where we serve and what God has for us next
Have you ever wondered why adoption can be so expensive? We chatted with AGCI’s Director of Adoption, Sam Moore, to break down the cost of adoption. In this episode, we dive into why adoption costs what it does and all of the important pieces that go into ensuring that children receive the care they need and families are prepared to parent them.
As a child-centered orphan care ministry, we are deeply dedicated to ensuring that everything we do is in the best interest of the children we serve—even when it’s not the easiest. We’ll be the first to say it—adoption should never be our first choice for children. At AGCI, it never is. While adoption is beautiful, it’s also inherently traumatic. It’s the result of deep loss—the adopted child will not grow up in their first family. We chatted with AGCI’s Director of Adoption, Sam Moore, about th...
Post adoption depression is extremely common but rarely discussed. While up to 32% of adoptive parents struggle with this condition, stigma and lack of information and support can make post adoption depression feel incredibly isolating. Our very own Marisa Butterworth struggled with post adoption depression after her daughter, Harper, came home from Ethiopia. In this enlightening episode, Marisa shares her journey and offers resources for parents navigating post adoption depression.
We chatted with AGCI’s VP of International Programs, Kiersten Luginbill, about how AGCI knows where we’re needed next. If you’ve ever wondered how we decide what countries to serve in and what programs to implement, this is the episode for you!
God makes families in such vibrant ways and when a family opens themselves up to adopt, they are often opening their lives up to another culture as well. We spoke with adoptive mom and passionate advocate, Erica Manz to talk about her family’s inspiring journey to adoption and how their entire family has opened the hearts to their children’s culture and country.
We spoke with Dr. Sarah Yee about how to advocate for your adopted and biological kids within the public school system. Dr. Yee is a former K-8 educator and currently serves on the education team at the Center for Equity and Inclusion in Portland, OR. Tune in and listen today.
Bringing a new child into your family—however you do it—is never easy. Often, this transition is particularly difficult for “resident” children. We chatted with Gail Heaton, Founder of Suddenly Siblings about how to make this transition a little easier. Whether you’re preparing to bring a child home, or your adoption was finalized a decade ago, you don’t want to miss this enlightening episode.
After visiting a government run orphanage in Ethiopia, God took Jesse’s personal heartbreak for the kids he met and opened him up to share the need with his immediate community and beyond. This week, learn about how becoming an adoptive father ended up leading to an entire movement. We hope that this story inspires you today.
The AGCI & Tim Tebow Foundation House of Hope has opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and we get to hear about the home, why AGCI opened it, who it serves, and how we think that this home and model of care will bring hope and healing to vulnerable children and families both in Ethiopia, and all around the world. We hope you will tune in to find out how together, we can create pathways to faith, family, and independence for those in desperate need.
Adoption requires adoptive parents to hold space for a lot of unknowns and adopting an older child can often add another layer of complexity. Thankfully, we can learn from other parents and Jacqui has so much wisdom to offer to this conversation. We are so excited for you to hear a bit about the Gustafson family’s adoption story and how they have been intentional in championing their children’s unique stories through every stage of their lives.
November is National Adoption Month! We are celebrating by sharing the stories of AGCI adoptive families. Ashley and Stan Felts followed God’s call to adopt their daughter from the Philippines—even when they didn’t know how all the pieces were going to come together. Adoption has completely transformed the Felts family! Listen to their story of tremendous faith and obedience—we know you’ll be inspired.
Ethiopia is a country in crisis after being hit with the Covid crisis, locust infestation, and now a war. Tune in now for a special update from AGCI’s Angelyn Salyer, the Ethiopia Program Director, on what is going on in Ethiopia and how AGCI has been able to help vulnerable children and families throughout the country because of our partners and their continued support. Tune in and find out more about our new Child Advocacy Center, the AGCI & Tim Tebow Foundation House of Hope, and how you ...
October is Disability Awareness Month! To celebrate, we chatted with Washington State 2020 Teacher of the Year, Amy Campbell! Amy's focus is special education, advocacy, and inclusion. Tune in and learn more about how you can better advocate for children living with disabilities.
We're back with Season 3 and a deeper dive into how to talk to your children about race! Marisa chatted with educators and transracial adoptees Kevin Hofmann and Tiffany Henness about the importance of having conversations early and often about race with your children.
When should you talk to your kids about race? Spoiler: now! Marisa chatted with educator and transracial adoptive mom Elizabeth Behrens about how and when to dive into this important topic with your adopted and biological children. Take a listen and let us know what this episode brings up for you!
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is incredibly common—1 in 20 people in the United States is on the spectrum. While it can be a difficult condition to diagnose and to understand, there is so much hope!
HIV can feel like a scary diagnosis. We chatted with Dr. Mary Staat, Infectious Disease Expert, to dispel the myths and dive into what adopting a child that is HIV+ really looks like!
We are so excited to share that we have a new podcast co-host! Marisa Butterworth is AGCI's West Coast Advancement Officer and an AGCI adoptive mom. We can't wait for you to get to know Marisa!
As we gear up to celebrate Independence Day in the U.S., we’ve been thinking a lot about what independence means in a different context. We asked the young women at the Dream Home—what does independence mean to you?
With Father's Day right around the corner, we chatted with dad and transracial adoptee, Kevin Hofmann. Kevin is a Diversity and Inclusion educator and the author of "Growing Up Black in White" a book that covers his childhood as a transracial adoptee and serves as a guidebook for white parents raising Black children.
We sat down in person with Hollen Frazier, the President of All God’s Children International to talk about her journey into a leadership role. Spoiler—if things had initially gone her way, AGCI wouldn’t have been part of her story. Fortunately, God had a different plan. If you like what you hear, please rate or review us wherever you listen to podcasts. If you’d like to read or watch even more stories, check out our website allgodschildren.org . Reach out to us and let us know what you think on ...
We sat down (In-person! For the first time!) with AGCI co-founder Ron Beazely. Ron and Jan and their daughter Heather founded AGCI in 1991. Give this episode a listen and hear Ron’s behind the scenes take on the origins of AGCI!
