By Staff Writer, Jill Lee

After several exhausting hours of dealing with rebellious teenagers, a teacher could look forward to going home where he would snuggle into bed with a cup of hot chocolate at hand and a good movie or football game flickering in front of him before slowly dozing off into the night.

Now, four months later, he braces himself before entering his own house, expecting another couple of hours of wrestling with children, trying to bathe them, put them to bed, and keep them quiet. 

On Dec. 12, math teacher Greg Switzer and his wife Leah brought home Alex, Elizabeth, and Peter—seven, eight, and ten years old, respectively—as their foster children with the hope of adoption.

“We’re Christians, and when we get to heaven, we don’t want it said of us that we took good care of ourselves,” Switzer said. “The Bible says to take care of widows and orphans, though the children are not exactly ‘orphans.’”

The children’s birth parents are alive, but they could not “make life good” for their children, Switzer said. After a while, the judge “separated all ties” between the parents and the children, hence giving Switzer the custody of the children. 

Before living with the Switzer couple, the children were turned down by six different foster parents. Over the course of four years, they moved from home to home because of one child’s behavioral problem. He has currently been put into a group home where he is expected to stay, anywhere from six months to a year; such conditions ensure that he will learn “the things he needs to learn.”

Switzer could not have done any of this without his wife. Leah has what he calls “relational energy,” or the ability to play Monopoly with an eight-year-old for hours on end or the chance to meet with every one of the kids’ teachers, which is something Switzer himself could never do.

The kids are “survival,” meaning, they try to get away from blame and punishment, such as in schoolwork. But not under the eyes of Leah and her relational energy. She minimizes the possibility of avoidance from responsibility.

      With everything under control, Peter has been able to recreate himself into “a new Christian.”

      When a woman came over to Switzer’s house and complained about leakage in her house, Peter told her to bring over some fans and blow the water dry, referring to a Bible study session that he had with Switzer about a flood. This made the Christian Club adviser very proud.

      “He’s a new Christian, and he wants to help the ones around him,” Switzer said.

      Speaking of being proud, the investigative and active Alex did something that made the former track coach quite exuberant. He was able to perform chin-ups, which is not only impressive for his age but is also something that his sharp-minded brother could not do.

      As for the emotional yet sociable Elizabeth, she is “posting challenges” with habits of watching TV and refusing to study.

As one can imagine, life is like never before for Switzer and his family. However, despite all the difficult ordeals the children have gone through, Switzer is determined to help the siblings and do his best to proceed to adoption.

Switzer’s students are fascinated by his choice of action. Almost everyday you would hear one of them asking, “How are your kids, Mr. Switzer?”

“They’re like a class,” Switzer would answer. “Good, and bad.”