As I look back over the last 5 years I realise how God in his wisdom only reveals one step at a time of His plan for our lives. When my husband Tim and I moved to Otelu Rosu to work as volunteers with the Humanitas Pro Deo Foundation in 2001, we had little idea as to how God may use us here in Romania.
I am quite sure if I had known from the outset what challenges lay before us, I would have run in the opposite direction! Instead, as I consider what God has been doing through our lives, I am thankful and truly blessed to be here and to have been a tiny part of God’s amazing work in this place.
We came to Romania to serve, but at the same time have found ourselves richly blessed. With no children of our own, God had made us available to care for children without a family. In 2002 our home here in Otelu Rosu was registered as the Cristian Placement Centre for 5 babies. During the course of the following year and half many tiny babies passed through our home until new foster families were found for them.
Then as the need for more places for babies grew within our county of Caras-Severin, we knew that we either had to extend our house, or purchase another property. As we brought the need before the Lord, within a 2 month period He provided us with all the money we needed to purchase a new house near to the Foundation, where the Cristian project is now based.
The Cristian project was then authorised to receive 12 babies from birth to 3 years. It was clear to us that this project was of God’s choosing as He opened the doors one by one. In our humanness we were somewhat daunted, as we are one single family supported with some sponsorship from our friends in the U.K. How were we going to find the finances and resources to meet the on-going needs of this project? We soon learnt the lesson that what God required from us was obedience and faith.
Our self-sufficient ‘English’ upbringing and our ‘human’ mindset had always led us to make sure we had everything we needed before we embarked on any new venture. As we watched our Romanian friends at the Humanitas Pro Deo Foundation, daily stepping out and trusting God as they sought to meet the needs of so many people, we were and continue to be truly humbled.
As we embarked on the Cristian project, we began to learn a big lesson in faith. Just two days before we opened this new and bigger home, we had almost nothing of what we needed to care for young babies. Then we were visited by our friends from Support For Romania in Cardiff. I remember opening those first parcels and the joy that filled my heart. God had touched the hearts of so many people who sent us every imaginable item to help us in caring for our babies.
That was just the beginning and I felt that it was also God reminding us that Cristian was His project and He would meet its needs. Indeed we have watched God provide in abundance, as He has showered His blessing on His work.
In the midst of all these activities God also met our own deep personal desire to be parents, when two of our first Cristian babies were placed with us in foster care. They are a delight to us and a blessing beyond words. In our many years of ‘childlessness’ we learnt the very important lesson that children are not a ‘God given right’ to would-be parents, but they are a Gift from God. Every time I look at our children, even when they are being naughty, I see God’s love and blessing.
Sometime ago God spoke to us through a verse in Isaiah 43 vs.5 “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west”.
Moving from England to Romania was a big move and change in our lives, but God promised to be with us. So even through the challenges, we have seen God’s blessing and are thankful that 5 years ago the fear of the ‘unknown’ didn’t cause us to run in the opposite direction.
Debbie Pearson