Pam and Gary Willis were already parents to five children and grandparents to six when they chose to step in and help a group of seven siblings who needed them.
In 2019, Pam read a story about seven children who were in need of a new, permanent home. They had been in foster care for more than a year after losing both of their parents in a car accident. The children were separated in different foster homes during that time and Pam felt the calling to do something to help.
“I can’t explain it — I just knew I was supposed to be their mom,” she said.
After sharing the article with her husband, he agreed they should adopt them.
“It was what God wanted us to do,” Pam said.
The children had been through trauma — both from losing their parents and because their parents had struggled with addiction. They had lived in homeless camps with hardly any food. They were ages one through 12 at the time. And while it was easy to connect with the younger ones, the older two struggled a bit.
In August, after their original court date had been postponed because of COVID-19, Pam and Gary officially adopted the children amid the pandemic with their biological children watching virtually. They bought a big-screen TV so that friends and family could watch in the park and celebrate.
Pam said “They’ve given us a second chance at parenting, we’ve given them a second Mom and Dad. They are our Second Chance 7.”