“Evelyn” helps out with jam-making in her new placement family.
Of all the lamentable things about growing up without a family, one of the worst is its generational impact. Far too often, a child who grows up in the system ends up abandoning his or her own children to the system. And the cycle of brokenness continues.
We recently had the joy of interrupting this process for one teenage girl and her unborn child. “Evelyn” first entered the Romanian child welfare system at nine years old. She was 15 and still living in a state orphanage when she learned she was pregnant with her first child. The options for her baby were limited, to say the least. The state was willing to provide some temporary housing for her and the child after she gave birth, but within a few months, they would be separated: Evelyn returning to the orphanage, and her baby being placed in the foster system.
When our Romanian director, Corina, learned about Evelyn’s situation, she did what she always does first: pray. One of Corina’s prayer partners is Annie, a “hero mom” who has adopted and fostered many of our children. Annie is in the habit of calling Corina every week and asking, “Do you have any new children for me to pray over?” One week, Corina told Annie about Evelyn.
As Annie prayed over Evelyn, she was gripped by the conviction — as she’s been on several past occasions — that she should become the answer to her own prayer. She called Corina back. “I want to take Evelyn,” she said. “Maybe just for a few weeks to see how it goes.”
Evelyn, having suffered the disruption of a prior family placement, was desperate to escape the orphanage and has been very eager to please. She has become an established figure in Annie’s burgeoning household, gladly pitching in to help with chores and the younger children. Her due date is in the fall, and Annie intends to allow the baby to remain in her home, along with his or her young mother.
Please join us in praising God for not one, but two lives snatched from the desperation of the Romanian child welfare system. Pray that He would continue to work in Evelyn’s life, helping her heal, grow, and bond with her placement family. Pray for strength and blessing for Annie, her husband, and all the children under their roof — including this small unborn life. Our deepest desire is that Evelyn and her child would both find peace in Christ, the love of a family, and a bright future.