Orphan stories

Each Thursday I get to spend the afternoon at a children's home in the suburbs of Szeged. Yesterday was a very special day for me there as I got to "learn the story" of one of the kids I've been spending more time with this fall. A. is 22 years old and was placed in the home when he was just 11. He is one of 7 children, but the only one who has grown up in a children's home. I asked him how he ended up there. "I was a really bad kid! I used to just leave home when I was really little (starting at about age 6) and go hang out on the street with friends, and I got involved with some really bad kids. My mom finally got so frustrated with me because I was not going to school and I was getting involved in really bad things, so one day, she brought me here. At first I thought I would be here for a week or so, or maybe a month, and then, I realized, this is now my home! I tried to leave and do what I always did...go wander the streets, but the social workers wouldn't let me. I really thank God that I ended up here in the children's home because otherwise I wonder where I would be now."
Another boy came to the English lesson and I was asking him about his "story" because I noticed his younger brother is not really "normal". J. told me "Yea, my brother has a nervous disorder and is going to a special school because he cannot be in a regular school." I asked him about the rest of his family. "There are 6 kids in the family, and now my brother and I are here because my dad is in prison." Their stories break my heart, and a part of me just wants to take them home with me, but hearing stories like A's. helps me realize that this home can really be a good place for some of these kids, and so I just keep loving them as best I can and giving them some life-skills, and praying for them.
Finally, there is B. We enjoyed some time together this morning, drinking coffee and eating breakfast. B. has essentially moved out of the children's home and is living with her boyfriend. What breaks my heart though is that she is having such a difficult time building this relationship. As she poured out her heart to me this morning about the fact that she has NO IDEA how to build a healthy, normal relationship with someone, having grown up in a children's home since she was 2 years old and never having seen a "normal" relationship between a man and a woman, my heart was breaking. I praise God I was able to share with her my "vision" of a healthy relationship that I hope to share someday with someone, and that is a relationship where each person's first love is Jesus, and as we each seek Jesus, we grow closer together, building on the foundation of Christ as the center of our relationship. It dawned on me afresh today that I can work hard to give these orphan kids lots of things: a fun summer camp, English skills, friendship, chocolate every week, laughter, clothes, and many other "wonderful things", but what they need most is a relationship with the living Lord Jesus, who will never leave them nor forsake them.

ceo for the kids