Our Story

We are Donna and Chuck Varadin

We are foster and adoptive parents and like many people we never expected to be foster and adoptive parents, but God had a far better plan—one with an eternal impact. According to investigators our daughter (nicknamed “Sugar”) endured one of the worst cases of child abuse in the last 30 years. Today, Sugar is a bright and bubbly little girl who lives up to her nickname. She is just one example that we have personally witnessed of the power of God to change lives through foster care and adoption. Only He can bring beauty from the ashes.

We see so many little lives burning down all around us and we know that since God has clothed us—His children—in His righteousness, He has calls us to be “holy firemen” for these little ones, running into their little lives, wrapping our arms around them, and walking with them through their fiery ordeal (Daniel 3:19-30). Love is a choice we make—a sacrificial choice. And once that sacrificial spirit of the early church is ignited in the hearts of God’s children, we believe it will burn forth like a Holy fire for God’s glory and become contagious within local communities. 

Our hearts break for the vulnerable, scared, lonely, hurting, abused, neglected, and fatherless in our community. The Starfish Ministry was birthed from a desire for every child to feel chosen, valued, accepted, protected, and loved as part of a forever family. Our mission is to connect, encourage, and equip each other as we make a difference ONE child at a time!

Soli Deo gloria (Latin)
Glory to God alone