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We have lived in Romania for 16 years now. We have 6 kids. The top photo of our family is the day we met the twins, just before their 4th birthday. We were granted custody of them on their 5th birthday.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

We Have a Problem

This post is for followers of Christ here in Romania. I know that my blog doesn't have a huge following. Normally, the intent of this blog is for my family and friends to keep up with what is going on in our family but if this post touches just one then it has accomplished something. First, I want to share a verse from Scripture, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." James 1:27

What we have here is a very specific verse as to what God says is "true religion", basically having a heart for the weakest of the weak in this world. Those who can't fend for themselves. Those who have no one to teach them and raise them. I am talking about the abandoned kids, those left by their earthly parents for one reason or another. The future of Romania is at stake. We have 23 million Romanians in Romania and another 23 million that live somewhere outside of Romania. That means, a lot of people are leaving this country to find a better life elsewhere. It also means that the country is full of a generation of kids who are growing up in orphanages, not being trained and loved and taught about simple things such as manners, how to act around other people, how to treat other people, how to function in society, how to become a productive citizen. Oh, a lot of people feel sorry for them and bring them gifts and candy but these gifts and candy do not help these children in the long run. These children are awkward, they are immature, they are needy, they are lost. They don't understand why they can't go home, they don't understand why no one wants them.

My reason for writing this post is to encourage those of you out there who follow Christ to pray and consider becoming either an adoptive parent or a foster parent. One benefit of being a foster parent is it is a paid job. Now, I think it's important you don't go into it looking at it as only a job, it is very important that a foster parent love the kids they take in and not take in a kid and say, "well, we'll see if this works out, if the child is troublesome I'll just get another one." Let me start by saying, almost all foster kids are troublesome, they have either come from a children's home where they have to be loud and aggressive to get the attention they so desperately want and need or they have bounced around in other foster homes. They need your love and discipline. They need to be taught that it's ok to struggle, it's ok to make mistakes, they need help getting back up again. I just want to encourage all you believers out there, all you who love Christ with all your hearts to consider this, He has a heart for these kids and we (those of us living here in Romania) need to do something about this, the future of Romania is at stake here, these kids are Romania's future. Another good reason for Christians to foster is to see the abandoned kids come to Christ. The goal is for them to see the love of Christ in you and know that their Heavenly Father loves them. Let the Father love these kids through you.

If becoming a foster parent interests you, please contact us, we'd be willing to do whatever we could to help you in this endeavor. We could have a foster parent support group, counseling for troubled kids, help with homework, and Bible studies. We want to see more of these kids get out of the orphanages and into homes, Christian homes where the love of Christ is lived out.

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