Answering the Call

Phone

Did you know that a New Mercies relationship actually begins before a child walks through the front door of her host family’s home?

When New Mercies parents find themselves in a hard place—facing hospitalization, suddenly homeless, or another critical situation—their first step is to contact the support line. That’s where compassionate volunteers like Jill Hire step in to answer the call.

Over the last year, Jill has often been the first voice a parent hears when reaching out to New Mercies. She’s a member of the support line team, which takes crucial family information and then helps locate a suitable host family.

Jill Hire

When she learned about New Mercies, Jill says she was “instantly inspired by the mission, purpose, and drive to support, empower, and build relationships with families—all while showing Christ’s love."

Jill's favorite part of her role is helping connect families with a host home. “I love to hear the sound of relief in a mom, dad, or grandma’s voice,” she says, “when I tell them a host family has offered to provide a safe place for their child while they handle whatever challenge they are facing.”

The greatest challenge comes when the solution doesn’t appear according to her own timeline, Jill says. “I want to find a solution right away,” she shares. “I want a host family lined up, and I want the parent to sleep well that night knowing everything is taken care of.” But, she adds, “God continuously reminds me to wait for His timing.”

“I love to hear the sound of relief in a mom, dad, or grandma’s voice, when I tell them a host family has offered to provide a safe place for their child while they handle whatever challenge they are facing.”

God’s timing, while never predictable, always provides, Jill says. Once, the volunteer team had a multitude of hostings needing to happen at the same time, all with little kids requiring car seats. “The team was discussing how we were going to handle the lack of car seats in the resource room with the abundance of hostings occurring.”

Jill says that while the team was meeting to discuss how to handle the shortage, “I received a text from the host [mom],” Jill says. “She happened to be at the store and felt the nudge to buy her own car seat for the upcoming hosting, rather than using one from the resource room. She had absolutely no idea that the team was in the midst of problem-shooting how to deal with the lack of car seats! God always provides!”

Jill says she has really enjoyed her flexible schedule while serving with New Mercies. “I have the flexibility to make my own schedule when it works for me to volunteer,” she says. “Some weeks, it is only once, other weeks, it is five days a week. There is always someone to cover if I am busy with my family obligations or work schedule.”

Interested in learning more about becoming a support line volunteer? In Jill’s words: “If you feel the nudge, just do it! God wants to use you and your talents for a greater purpose!”

To take your next step toward volunteering on the support line team, tap below and request more info!