America’s Got Talent’s golden buzzer is never a piece of cake! But this 40-year-old father of six was the first and the only one this season to get the golden buzzer that sent him straight through to the live shows. He won judge Simon Cowell with his stirring rendition of the Bee Gees classic “To Love Somebody.” He truly deserves that golden buzzer.
Michael Ketterer’s story is familiar to everyone who has watched his audition. He is a pediatric mental health nurse and father of six, of which five of them came out of foster care.
“When you’re surviving, you can’t dream,” Michael said during his audition. “And that has been one of the most rewarding things, is providing them a home and a safe environment where they’re free to dream.”
Michael Ketterer shares the story behind his inspirations in doing his best with his performance— his children.
“But the moment that I stepped on that stage, I was just extremely special to get to perform a song to my children in front of the world and I got to tell them how much I love them.”
Michael and Ivey had not been married long when they found out they were pregnant with a baby girl. Being a soon-to-be-dad was challenging to accept for Michael since he himself grew up fatherless. However, being a devout Christian, he put his trust in God to lead the way. The journey was a big challenge for the couple. Their firstborn had some complications and doctors told them that this would definitely occur if ever they will have another pregnancy. So, they made the decision to not have any more children.
However, when their daughter when she was 8 years old, began to have dreams about 3 boys that were her brothers. For 2 years this dream had been recurring, that’s when Michael and Ivey decided to start the fostering process. They indeed adopted 3 boys who were quite challenging. However, they were able to get through the difficulties by the grace of God.
Soon, Michael receives another call to foster this boy with cerebral palsy. He became hesitant since taking care of this kid involves so much work and Michael didn’t know whether he could do it or not. But he just listened to God’s leading and again adopted this kid.
They thought they’re done, having these four boys in their roof as sons, not until when Ivey had a dream of a little black boy. She prayed about it and eventually this boy came into their life.
Michael and Ivey now have 6 children, of which 5 are adopted. It is just amazing how along the process Michael was able to have a deeper understanding of the identity that we have in our Heavenly Father’s name. He was able to listen to God’s leading and he definitely knows that our Father will never leave him in the process.
“Even if you’re completely disabled and broken, you’re still my son. I believe that’s really who our Father is. He’s not afraid to get down on the dirt with us, in fact, He sent his son to be just like us, to experience all of our same issues, and seeing us healed and set free.”