Florida pastors Ronnie Stewart and his wife, Krystal, were leaving their church on Nov. 6, 2015, when they noticed two homeless baby boys and their parents huddled under the church awning. Shocked and saddened, the Stewarts approached the boys’ parents and made an offer to help.
![Photo courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/krystal.stewart.73">Krystal Stewart</a>](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F02%2F08%2FET-family2.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
The homeless family had originally been spotted by Metropolitan Ministries chef Mark Purcell; upon first glance, Purcell thought the babies were sitting on a heap of trash.
Ronnie and Krystal recognized the homeless parents as regular attendees of their free-food program, a collaboration with Metropolitan Ministries. Immediately, they offered to take the near-naked baby boys home for a warm bath and a comfortable night’s sleep. To their great surprise, the boys’ parents said yes.
![Photo courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/krystal.stewart.73">Krystal Stewart</a>](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F02%2F08%2FET-family1.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Ronnie described the sorry state of the babies upon returning home. “[Krystal] had to bathe them twice, I think three times, just to get the dirt off of them,” he said, adding, “The toddler who did have shoes on didn’t have any socks on. When we took his shoes off, the little skin on the top of his feet actually came off.”
The Stewarts also offered to help the homeless couple secure housing, but according to Krystal, they did not want help for themselves. “[A]ll we could do was pray for them,” she said.
Within days, the Stewarts’ own children, Ronnie, Riley, and Selah, were thinking of the baby boys as their own siblings. Three months after their first interaction with the homeless brothers, who were huddled under the church awning in nothing but diapers, the Stewarts sat down with the boys’ parents and a social worker and made a decision.
![Photo courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/krystal.stewart.73">Krystal Stewart</a>](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F02%2F08%2FET-family4.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
The parents, who were still struggling with substance abuse, asked the Stewarts to take their boys into their home on a permanent basis. “We just looked at each other and knew, there was no other option. Of course we said yes,” said Krystal.
![Photo courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/krystal.stewart.73">Krystal Stewart</a>](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F02%2F08%2FET-family3.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Reflecting, Krystal recalled a poignant irony from the day before she and Ronnie had met their baby boys. “I was six weeks post-op from a total hysterectomy after battling an early cancer diagnosis,” she revealed, “and sadly said, ‘Well, no more kids for us!’
“What was so unplanned and unexpected,” Krystal added, “has turned into a beautiful blessing for our family.”