Fervent for Family

Published: April 13, 2021

Family is always on Katie (Rathgeb 05) Myettes mind, and not just her own family eitheralthough five children and a spouse are surely enough to keep a mind occupied.

She prays for and serves 210 fosterand adoptive families inThe RestoreNetwork, a nonprofit that recruitsChristian households to serve as fosterfamilies, adoptive families and supportteams to foster children in Illinois. Theorganization operates in four southernIllinois counties with Katie as executivedirector.

A former elementary school teacher, Katieand her husband Ben 05 helped start TheRestore Network in 2009 in response tothe overwhelming needs for more fosterfamilies in their area. When it comesto housing foster children in a timelymanner, Illinois ranks last among allstates; nearly 40 percent of Illinois fosterchildren will shuffle between four or morehouseholds.

The Restore Network is committed tochanging the culture of foster care inIllinois, Katie says.

Katie recalls when she, Ben and others inher church initiated the Restore Network.

We were convinced that scripture wasclear that the church was to care for thevulnerable. As we looked around us,we were convicted that the needs weretremendous.

From this conviction grew a passion toadopt children into their own growingfamily. The Myettes are now a busy, self-describedloud family of seven.

Welcoming the vulnerable bringschallenges, Katie admits. She and Benparent their children through emotionalups and downs borne of childhood trauma.Though difficult, Katie asserts the work isnecessary and rewarding.

She believes God prepared her for thiswork long before she married Ben andbefore she thought of having children.While on mission trips to underprivilegedareas of the world as a teen, Katie recallsbeing filled with a burden for vulnerablechildren. It happened again when Katiemet traumatized children in her firststudent teaching assignment through G.U.

Also at G.U., Katie developed a mindsetthat would prove invaluable to her futurework with Restore Network: engagingas a lifelong learner. Meeting the needsof children in foster care is complicatedand ever-changing, Katie says. RestoreNetwork will never arrive. We will alwaysbe changing, improving and learning howto best serve children in foster care.

Working to support families in crisis canseem like a case of the harvest being largeand the workers being few. Katie oftenfeels the weight of a world with too muchhurt. She leans hard on Christ in thosemoments. We remember how He hasworked in mighty ways for vulnerablechildren and families in the past, and wetrust that He is working noweven whenwe cant see it, she affirms.

A version of this story originally appeared in theSummer 2019 RECORD.

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