As a campus pastor in Kalamazoo, Michigan, I served on a committee that supports the local Lutheran Social Services Ministry foster care program. One Thursday, we heard about a young girl who had run away from home at age fourteen. By the time we heard about her, she was sixteen, and LSSM was trying to get her some help by putting her into an independent care program. She’d lived on her own for two years, so it seemed too late to put her into a foster care family. She would receive money for living expenses and get life skills training from a case worker. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t receive her first check until the end of the month, and she’d already moved into her apartment. She needed immediate help: pots and pans, soap, toilet paper, and food. The case worker wondered if we could help …