Running Toward

South TX Alliance for Orphans
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Running Toward tells the stories of ordinary people who couldn’t look away once they saw the hidden crisis in foster care and family. Each episode features honest, unfiltered stories from ordinary people who couldn’t look away once they saw the hidden crisis impacting children and families in their own communities. People living normal lives who took imperfect, often reluctant steps toward brokenness — and were changed by it. This is not a podcast about quick fixes or heroic solutions. It’s about the long, costly, deeply human work of preventing family fracture and supporting families.

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    She Still Calls Me | Brenda

    Brenda grew up watching her mother say yes to a boy no one else wanted. Decades later, she found herself standing in a shelter, being told she wasn't the mom — and that's when everything changed.Growing up in El Salvador, Brenda learned early that caring for a child without a home wasn't heroic — it was just the right answer to an obvious need. When infertility led her and her husband toward foster-to-adopt, she thought she understood what she was walking into. She didn't. What she found instead was the slow, holy unraveling of her need for control, her instinct to judge, and her definition of what a blessing actually is.In this episode of the Running Toward Podcast, Brenda opens up about:- Growing up in El Salvador watching her mother adopt a boy no one else claimed- Navigating infertility and saying yes to foster care and adoption- The shelter moment that stripped away every need for control- Learning that her calling was to be a mom — not a judge- The heartbreak of adoption day and why it felt like both an ending and a beginning- Building a lasting friendship with her daughters' biological mother years after reunification- What she told her daughter when she was afraid loving two moms meant betraying oneHer story is a quiet invitation: you don't need a perfectly prepared heart. You just need a bed, a willingness to show up, and the courage to let go of the rest.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━The Running Toward Podcast is brought to you by South Texas Alliance For Orphans — transforming the foster care crisis in San Antonio and surrounding areas.🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a story🌐 Get involved → southtexasalliancefororphans.org━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#FosterCare #Adoption #RunningTowardPodcast

    56 min

  2. 25 MAR

    Beautifully Wrecked | Maren Baker

    In this powerful episode of Running Toward, Marin Baker shares her journey from planning international adoption to stepping into foster care, navigating special needs diagnoses, becoming a CPS caseworker, and ultimately learning what it means to release control and trust God fully. Marin opens up about the realities of the foster care system, trauma-informed parenting, courtroom heartbreak, and the emotional toll of advocating for vulnerable children. She also shares how foster care transformed her faith, her marriage, and her biological children — teaching compassion in ways nothing else could. This conversation is raw, honest, and deeply hopeful.

    52 min

  3. 18 MAR

    You Cannot Unsee Them | Alex Wallendorff

    In this episode of Running Toward, we sit down with Alex to hear her powerful journey into foster care, adoption, and advocacy. From working as a case manager to becoming a foster and adoptive mom of three, Alex shares how faith, obedience, and courage shaped her family’s story. She opens up about unexpected detours, early marriage, saying yes to hard callings, navigating trauma-informed parenting, and the challenges of welcoming children into her home. We also discuss supporting teens in foster care, aging out of the system, church involvement, and why stepping into broken spaces matters. This conversation is for anyone who has felt called to help but doesn’t feel “ready,” for families considering foster care, and for anyone wanting to live out their faith with purpose.

    41 min

  4. 11 MAR

    When The Life You Planned Fell Away | Kaitlyn & Josh English

    Josh and Caitlin share their powerful story of how infertility changed the course of their lives and led them into foster care.What began as a journey filled with uncertainty, grief, and unanswered prayers slowly turned into a calling they couldn’t ignore. After years of trying to start a family, they felt God nudging them toward fostering — a path that would challenge their faith, stretch their hearts, and ultimately reshape their understanding of family.In this episode of the Running Toward Podcast, they open up about:• Their infertility journey• The moment they decided to foster• The emotional reality of loving children who may leave• How the foster care system really works• The heartbreak and healing that comes with fostering• What they wish more people understood about foster careTheir story is one of faith, resilience, and learning to trust God’s plan even when it looks nothing like the one you had for your life.

    53 min

  5. 4 MAR

    When grief made it personal | Susan Littlefield

    After losing her son in 2020, Susan never imagined foster care would become part of her story. What began as grief, anger, and unanswered questions turned into a calling she couldn’t ignore. In this episode, Susan shares how faith, loss, and responsibility collided — leading her and her husband into foster care, adoption, and a completely reshaped life. From navigating trauma, therapy, and the foster system… to surrendering control and deepening her faith, this is a raw and honest conversation about what it means to run toward the hard things.

    44 min

  6. 25 FEB

    Staying When it Keeps Costing | Katie

    In this episode of Running Toward, we sit down with Katie to hear her powerful journey into foster care. From teaching in Title I schools to opening her home to vulnerable children, Katie shares the highs, heartbreaks, and faith-filled moments that shaped her family. We talk about trauma, resilience, community support, and what it really means to love kids who come from hard places. This episode offers an honest look at fostering, obedience, and choosing to show up—even when it’s messy and uncertain.

    1hr 7min

  7. 18 FEB

    Finding faith while living the questions | Brittany

    In this episode of Running Toward, Brittany shares her journey into foster care—one marked by hesitation, obedience, heartbreak, and deep faith. From feeling unqualified and overwhelmed to learning how to hold children and plans with open hands, this conversation explores surrender, reunification, loving without guarantees, and trusting God in the chaos of foster care.

    1hr 4min

  8. 11 FEB

    When Ordinary Families Step In | Ashlie

    In this episode of Running Toward, Ashlie shares her powerful journey through infertility, loss, faith, and foster care. From struggling with unanswered prayers and career-driven identity to learning how to trust God through heartbreak, Ashley opens up about loving children without guarantees. She talks about losing her first placement, choosing to foster again, navigating grief, adoption, and learning to surrender control. This is a story about obedience, resilience, and choosing to love even when it costs. If you’ve ever wrestled with waiting, loss, faith, or saying “yes” to something hard, this episode will encourage you to keep going.

    52 min
See All (13)

About

Running Toward tells the stories of ordinary people who couldn’t look away once they saw the hidden crisis in foster care and family. Each episode features honest, unfiltered stories from ordinary people who couldn’t look away once they saw the hidden crisis impacting children and families in their own communities. People living normal lives who took imperfect, often reluctant steps toward brokenness — and were changed by it. This is not a podcast about quick fixes or heroic solutions. It’s about the long, costly, deeply human work of preventing family fracture and supporting families.

Information

  • Creator
    South TX Alliance for Orphans
  • Years Active
    2k
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © South TX Alliance for Orphans
  • Show Website
    Running Toward

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