I am passionate (it’s my wife’s fault – I didn’t want to have kids) about helping single moms with kids. My wife and I helped foster 85 boys – the tough ones. We have been serving the Lord for over 35 years.
We want to help the moms who don’t qualify for state assistance, and believe me, there’s a lot of them. Government is not the answer. That’s why we created the Fun Brick – to create a revenue stream to help fill the gap.
Michael A. Garcia
True stories from our life:
SAMANTHA GARCIA
I’m 22 years old. I was adopted by Michael and Carol Garcia in Seattle when I was about three months old. My biological mom was addicted to drugs but had enough thought to give me a second chance with someone else. I’m very grateful for that because I have an amazing childhood to look back on now.
My parents were foster parents for over 22 years with over 80 foster boys coming through their home. I remember a time where we had five maniac boys in the house at a single time and I got to call them all my brothers. The only choice I had being the only girl at any given time was to toughen up. I learned quickly from my parents to never judge anyone. You never know what battles people are fighting in their lives.
I grew up watching my parents constantly give. Not just personal items but love. These children coming into their homes were broken. Many of them were filled with anger and resentment. But it didn’t matter either way cause my parents would tell them it could always be worse and showed them tremendous amounts of love.
After they retired from their daily jobs and stepped away for foster care, they were presented with a new challenge: helping single moms back on their feet whether that be with housing, food or jobs. They have housed about a dozen single moms over the past few years. They want to do more but it’s difficult when you are the sole provider for your charity. Many of these moms have children and that brings in many more needs and they need your help.
People who make a real difference!
JIM PAGE
I’m 39 years old and loving life. The story didn’t start so well however:
I was born into a pretty tough situation. My father was an alcoholic, and my mother a drug addict. They had a less than stellar relationship as you can imagine. When I was 2 years old my mom shot & killed my dad. She did what she thought she had to do in the moment, but the guilt made her drug problem that much worse. She struggled to keep it together but we were spiraling downward (I moved 17 times by the age of 7) and eventually she put me into foster care and checked herself into treatment.
Enter the Garcias:
I moved in with Mike & Carol in August 1982 (I turned 8 that September). They had the nicest home I’d ever seen (looking back now it was a very typical starter home for any ambitious family in their 20’s) but considering the places I’d lived and couches I’d slept on, their house in Lynnwood WA might as well have been a mansion. I immediately felt safe with the Garcias but I also remember being scared and missing my mom and not knowing what to make of the whole thing. I cried a lot in the beginning, every night in fact for the first month or so. Carol used to come in every night and sit on the end of my new bed and try to comfort me as I cried myself to sleep. Then one day the magic began. I was crying myself to sleep and Carol came in as usual to sit with me. After a few minutes she said, “Honey, it’s time to stop crying now.”
I remember looking at her through tear-blurred eyes, and kind of being caught off guard. Then she said something that changed the course of my life forever. She said, “Do you think the world will care that you’ve had a tough life? We’re here for you but you’re going to have to be strong to get through this.”
This isn’t the approach most would take. Many would’ve felt sorry for me but the Garcias understood that self-pity would easily become a lifelong disability if allowed to take root. I remember this moment like it was yesterday, and a day doesn’t pass without me thinking about it.
That was the beginning of a 6-year journey with Mike & Carol. I’d learned everything not to do in my first 7 years 11 months on earth, but in these 6 years I learned a lifetime of lessons that help me to this day. They taught me that anything worth doing is worth doing well. I learned the value of hard work, and more importantly I learned there are no easy ways out of working hard.
Mike worked at Boeing and I remember him having to work extra shifts, getting up as early as 1:00am or earlier (he worked day shift, not graveyard) but I never remember hearing him complain. They showed me how to trust people (without being naïve) and that doing the right thing will always bear fruit in the long run. I learned how to respect others as well as myself. I learned how to be humble and not let success go to my head. By watching them I learned how to be a man and how to pay it forward to make the world a better place. I’m not alone. They took in over 80 children during 25 years of serving as foster parents.
As an adult I’ve been lucky enough to find my soul mate of over 18 years and together we raised her son. He was 8 months when we met and he just graduated high school in June. I’ve been at a great company for over 12 years and have worked my way up the ranks from a delivery driver to an area manager overseeing 6 facilities, 10 managers, and over 175 associates. I think about the lessons I learned from Mike & Carol every day: to be strong, work hard, treat people with respect, never feel sorry for yourself, count your blessings, never make excuses, and have fun along the way. I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t been placed in their home. I know there are other great people in the world but there’s none any better than Mike & Carol. One day when I grow up I hope to be just like them.
The positive ripples of their kindness spread far and wide. Much love!
SUSAN BARNARD
Meeting the Garcia’s was an act of God. My late husband and I attended a dinner for one of his godson’s wedding. That is where I met Mike and Carol. After that chance meeting Marque, my late husband, continued to visit the Garcia’s and called Mike regularly. One tragic night I received a call from Marque he had just been in an accident. I rushed to meet him at the hospital never once thinking he would not return home. He suffered a cardiac arrest on June 30th 2013. My life was turned upside down.
I was devastated and distraught; so broken up inside that I did not want to continue living. I recall someone saying to me “you will be surprised who will be there for you during your time of need”. For me it was the Garcia’s. I made one call to Carol. Next thing I knew I was moving in with them. Having only known them for 3 months, they took me in as a grieving widow and nurtured me back to life. Through prayer and genuine kindness I have become emotionally and physically stronger to continue on without my late husband.
It’s people like Mike and Carol that go unrecognized and I believe it’s their time to shine. So, please help me repay them with the gift of funding Mike’s project.
JULIE TRUJILLO
Hello my name is Julie Trujillo in 1980 I married a man named Rudy Marquez ,he moved us out to New York, me and my two children,it was a very abusive situation and for three years I lived in New York in 1983 Mike and Carol got together and got a plane ticket for my kids and myself to get me out of that situation I came out in July 1983, I live with them for a little over a year my two children and myself and I got into a program called a ANEW which help me get into my next job which was King County I started out as a labor and ended up as a truck driver and just retired a couple years ago without their help I don’t know if I would’ve ever been able to get out of that situation so they were very helpful and I’m glad that they were there for me and my two children,I just want to commend them for all the work they do with the young people and also with single moms and single dads so that’s my story and I thank you