The Day Love Knocked on Their Door

Sometimes love shows up exactly when it’s needed most.  

When the Daul-Keyser family agreed to take in two children through an emergency foster placement—including an 8-year-old boy with severe muscular dystrophy who relies on a wheelchair full time—they had no idea how drastically their lives would change.  

Just days after the boy arrived, he became seriously ill with RSV and rhinovirus. The Daul-Keysers suddenly found themselves juggling hospital stays, frequent doctor appointments, and the daily needs of their other children, all while learning to care for a child with significant physical limitations. They were exhausted, overwhelmed, and unsure how to keep going.  

And the truth is—their home was already full. They had been fostering four children, including a 2-year-old boy who also has muscular dystrophy and had spent months in the hospital before joining their family. The physical and emotional demands of parenting six children—many with unique medical and developmental needs—were mounting by the day.  

Life became a nonstop schedule of outpatient therapy sessions, school drop-offs and pick-ups, and efforts to maintain meaningful connections with each child’s biological relatives. The Daul-Keysers were doing everything they could to hold it all together.

That’s when a friend told them about Kingdom Workers’ Foster Support program.

Within 24 hours, local volunteers stepped in. They delivered meals and continued to do so for weeks. The foster mom remembers reading the first text offering help and feeling stunned.

“My husband and I looked at each other and said, ‘These people are incredible. Is this really a thing? They just drop everything to serve us?’” she said. “It was so much more than a meal—it was relief, especially while we were spending so much time at the hospital.”

Then came another surprise—a notification that a Kingdom Workers volunteer had given them a monetary gift. The foster mom cried. That donation made it possible for them to give their two newest children a joyful Christmas—something that felt impossible just days before.

Through meals, encouragement, and generosity, a group of strangers made them feel seen, supported, and surrounded by love. “Even now,” the foster mom shared, “I still think, how lucky are we? We didn’t even know help like this existed. We felt so alone before, but now we see how many amazing people are here for us.”

Yet one challenge still remained: getting the 8-year-old in and out of the house. Without a ramp, they had to lift his heavy wheelchair up and down the front steps—an exhausting and unsafe routine. That’s when Build Up, Kingdom Workers’ trades and faith mentoring program, stepped in.

Local teens learning construction skills are now working on a custom wheelchair ramp for the Daul-Keyser home. Even more meaningful? The program invited their two teen foster sons to help build it. Their parents were deeply moved. “We just thought, how awesome is that?” they said.

The foster mom, who left her full-time job to care for the children (now ranging from ages 2 to 17), says she and her husband are endlessly grateful for everything Kingdom Workers has done. “Anything we can do to spread the word—we’re more than happy to.”