I was condemned to a hellish orphanage at age two. Today I'm a musician, wife, and mother. This is my story.
Daisy's Story
When we first laid eyes on "Daisy," she was hardly ready to come with us. She did not know that her scent, her skin, her eyes, her clothes were weighed down by years of neglect and mistreatment. She was young—just nine years old—yet somehow aged with bravery and filled with memories we would soon learn. As she drew near to us and we drew near to her, layers of fear and exhaustion shed. We gave her a long, warm bath, where the dirt of world she had known swirled down the drain. The hope of something different wrapped around her as we dressed her with fresh clothes bought just for her. She was beginning to awaken to the reality that there was another sort of love out there in the world: a sort of love that she could have for her own.
We took her clothes and tattered shoes, which were hardly recognizable as such, and could do nothing with them but throw them into the furnace. Although we knew it would be much harder to burn away the years of brutality, neglect, and abuse, we prayed that this was a rescue that would change this little girl forever.
As the months since meeting Daisy have passed, she has begun to find her place in her new family. Though memories of her former life tap on her shoulder from time to time, we continue to remind ourselves of the day we found her, scared and ragged. If the Lord could rescue her from that place, we are confident that He will not stop rescuing and healing her.
Becca & Allison's Story
Sisters “Becca” and “Allison” were removed from their extremely abusive birth mother by the state. Because Romanian law prohibits children under age 2 from living in a group home, the constant influx of babies into the foster system means that older children nearly always face institutionalization. And that’s exactly what happened: Becca and Allison were placed in a state orphanage. Despite all they had been through in their birth family, the girls did not adjust well to an institutional environment and were very unhappy.
A few months later, the children from this particular orphanage happened to be visiting a local park at the same time as our director, Corina. It was a divine appointment: something about Becca and Allison’s sad faces caught Corina’s eye, and she struck up a conversation. She left the park that day determined to do all she could to find the girls a foster family. It didn’t take long: one of the best families already in our foster program happily agreed to open their home to two more children.
But removing the girls from state care proved more difficult than expected. Child welfare officials initially were unwilling to re-open a case they considered “solved.” Once again, God intervened, opening doors for us to appeal this initial decision to a higher authority. Thankfully the decision was reversed, and Becca and Allison went home with their new foster parents.
It was quickly apparent that these two little girls had never experienced carefree childhood. Whenever she left the room to play, Becca would ask her foster mother, “Can you watch my little sister while I’m away?” Gradually, she’s learning what it means to be truly safe and cared for.
Oliver's Story
“Lord, please give me a Christian family" was "Oliver's" constant prayer of faith for four years. Abandoned as a child, Oliver grew and thrived in a state foster family. Unfortunately, after years of care and love, this family also abandoned him when they decided to move out of the country. Placed in state facility for special needs, even though he did not have any special needs at the time, Oliver had no freedom and was greatly mistreated. He states that his relationship with God is the only things that brought him through those years.
While Oliver prayed for a new family, he also continually begged his social worker to find a Christian family who would take him to church and let him read the Bible. Finally, the social worker spoke with our Romanian director, Corina, to see if we could help. God answered Oliver's prayers!
Oliver's days are now filled with rediscovering the joys of riding bicycles, reading the Bible, attending church, and playing music with his new foster brother, "Drew", with whom he has formed a close connection. Even though he now suffers developmental delays from his four years in the institution, his love for God and others shines brightly. Recently baptized, Oliver's smile couldn't get any bigger. God's plans for this boy of deep faith are just beginning!
Andra & Angie's Story
In 2008, neighbors of a young, Roma woman heard faint cries coming from her apartment. When authorities arrived, they found that “Andra” (3) and “Angie” (2) had been locked in the apartment alone without food or water for almost a week. Their mother had simply abandoned them there. Severely dehydrated, starving, and suffering from rat bites, these sisters were almost dead.
Thankfully, their story didn’t end in tragedy. We found a foster family for Andra and Angie, where they have grown up surrounded by love.
However, we know that every abandoned child desires to know that they permanently belong. So, we spoke with their foster parents about adoption. Not surprisingly, they loved the girls and had wanted to adopt them for a while. Unfortunately, they could not financially support the girls without the foster parent salary. Knowing it was better for the girls to be adopted, we promised continued financial support until the family is more financially secure. With this weight lifted, they immediately started the paperwork to make Andra and Angie their daughters. After one of the fastest adoptions in our history, Andra and Angie now belong. Rescued from abandonment and death, they are building a new future with their forever family!
From Irrecoverable to Walking Miracle
Faith Like a Child: Gina's Story
Sometimes God uses one simple, faith-filled action as the seed from which to grow a miracle. A young boy gives up his modest lunch, and five thousand are fed. A widow drops two tiny coins into the offering box, and untold generations are challenged toward faith and generosity.
In the case of little “Gina,” an entirely new life came through a very simple act of faith indeed. We just heard her sweet story this week from our orphanage director, Corina.
Abandoned as a newborn, Gina spent her first year of life primarily in institutions. In the region of Romania where we work, private charities often send workers into hospitals to help care for abandoned children, rendering their living conditions (while still less than ideal) far better than they once were. Thanks to these volunteers, it’s rare today to find the hollow-eyed, utterly emaciated children we saw so often in the 1990s.
But sadly for Gina, she was shuffled from one place to another during her year of abandonment, missing out on the volunteer caregivers. By the time she came to our attention, she looked like an abandoned child we might have met twenty years ago. Weak, malnourished, and barely able to take food or lift her head, no visitor would have guessed she was nearing her first birthday.
When a young couple approached Corina a short time later, seeking a newborn to join their family, her thoughts immediately turned to this frail baby still waiting in the hospital. Gina wasn’t quite the newborn they had requested . . . and her health was clearly fragile. But the couple agreed to come and visit her.
The day of the visit came. The prospective parents, not knowing what to expect, tentatively followed Corina through the hallway of the hospital, passing windows of crib-filled rooms. Finally, they pushed open Gina’s door and entered softly. The weak, neglected little baby stirred, looked up into the gentle, eager faces . . . and reached toward them, beckoning to be held.
That was all it took. The couple knew their daughter when they saw her. There was no doubt: “She’s ours.”
Gina went home just before Christmas. Today, just a few weeks later, she has already made tremendous strides, growing healthy, gaining weight, and already learning to crawl. She couldn’t be more loved.
And it all began with that first, impulsive, needy act of faith, as a baby who had never known love summoned all her meager strength to reach out her arms to her unknown visitors.
Do we have the eyes to see our own need, and the faith to respond as this child did? There is One who has quietly entered our lives and stands waiting to heal and restore us. May we daily reach for Him.
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.'” (Jeremiah 29:11-14)