“…let them be one as we are one…”John 17:21
I sat today across the table from American and German men who have never met each other, and share nothing but broken Russian and a passion for marginalized children of Moldova. As the man from Germany spoke of his conviction that now is the time to build family homes for orphan care I watched the other, a friend I had met nine months ago, come alive. I had encouraged my friend to come here to seek strategic partners for a ministry vision of developing home-based family unit orphan care. I sat and watched the working of the Holy Spirit as the shared visions came together with grace. God has lined up pieces of a bigger picture and it seems like some of these pieces are starting to fall into place.
Two years ago, we left Moldova knowing the solution to the orphan crisis was far more complex than what one organization could provide. This week, ministries from across the US, and across Europe, are coming together with visions that provide holistically. Slavic Ministries of Germany is building homes. Brian Cochrane, using his passion for local, sustainable farming and through his vision of Hope House Farms, sees a future of vocational training and income generation through farming and homesteads. Members of First Baptist Church Whitehouse, Texas – our longest standing church partner – are on the front lines training and equipping the adoptive parents in the biblical calling to adopt as well as techniques in parent-child attachment and addressing fear based behaviors.
<blockquote>There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear since fear is crippling, a fearful life – fear of death, fear of judgment – is one not yet fully formed in love. We, though, are going to love – love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. <strong>1 John 4:18-19</strong></blockquote>
We teach adoptive parents that the Church stands behind them and that we stand behind the Church. In the same way, we are a cooperative of ministries working together to help create stable, Christ centered homes for children of Moldova. It takes the Body of Christ and we are blessed to be a part of that effort.