Andreea C

God has answered the prayers of our sweet siblings (Mihaela, Marian and Andreea). They have finally found what they have always dreamt of their entire lives – a family of their own!

Lidia and Avraam, two believers from Suceava, Romania are now the foster parents of probably the happiest children on earth. It all started with the Hand of Help's project – "A Place at Your Table" – an opportunity for our children to spend their vacations and holidays with families from our community. After a few such visits, Lidia and her husband came to our center and told us that they have been praying for many years to have children. Being in their 50s already, they started praying for God to open all doors so that the children could be a part of their family.

The foster care proceedings in Romania are by no means easy ones, especially when the biologic parents are alive, as was the case with the three siblings. Their mother is still alive, but refuses any contact with the children, while the father, a notorious alcoholic, is unable to offer a secure environment for their growth and development.

After long days spent in prayers, Lidia and Avraam received their divine confirmation to start the foster care proceedings. Numerous appearances in front of different evaluation committees passed by. During their last visit to the family, over Christmas break, the children marked the date of February 17th as the day they would finally return to live there permanently.

The final court hearing was set on that very day. Even though things seemed to head towards a negative ruling, God worked in a miraculous way. The foster father, Avraam, stood up and told the committee that the three children have already marked the date of their permanent return to the family's home in their calendars and that he loved them as his own.

After hearing Avraam's desperate plea, the judge immediately stood up saying that no one should stand in the way of this new family or play with the hearts of these children. She ruled in their favor, deciding that the best interest of the children was to be with their foster parents.

We all gathered to say a tearful goodbye on February 17th. Smiles, laughter and pure joy accompanied the children. We prayed and blessed them as they departed, starting a new life in Suceava. Please continue to pray for them as they embark on this journey. May all future obstacles be outrun and may they be a blessing to each other.

The children have been the light of our orphanage and they will be missed deeply, but we could not be happier that God has performed this miracle in their lives.

The three siblings come from a broken family. The parent's divorce was triggered by the father's abusive attitude caused by heavy alcohol consumption. For a brief time the mother lived with her father-in-law but after an argument he asked the family to leave. The mother was forced to seek shelter for her family wherever she could find it. They came across an abandoned house that was inhumane but would do for this traumatized family. Due to a make shift oven that the mother had put together, Mihai, one of her children suffered severe burns on 30% of his body and was take immediately to the emergency room of the Botosani hospital. The child's condition has stabilized but still requires medical supervision in the hospital. The two girls were also admitted to the hospital for severe colds that went untreated while they braced through the cold winter in the abandoned "home". During the children's hospital stay the mother asked the doctor if shed could go home and pick up the government stipend for her children. That was the last time the children saw their mother. After the children were abandoned the doctors called Child Services and they called Hand of Help seeking help for these children. The accommodation period has been very difficult for these children as they have already been through the divorce of their parent, two moves, an extended hospital stay and being abandoned by their mother. We pray that the Lord fills the void in their little hearts and that He gives us His Love to show much needed affection to them.