When Falesti Shelter closed its doors some time ago, many of the children that JMI served through our sponsorship program were displaced. Some had relatives they could live with, others were taken in by families of friends. Often, these families, though they care deeply for the kids in their care, find it difficult to accomodate another mouth to feed and body to keep warm. Children were scattered all over the area, living in impovershed conditions.
The easiest, and certainly most efficient solution would have been to discontinue our program in Falesti and move on to another location that offered a central gathering spot for kids.
But our staff in Moldova simply could not walk away from these acutely vulnearble children that they had built friendships with over the years. In these kids’ time of great need, our staff Cezara and Alex found a way to continue to serve them.
As you may know, in the rural villages of Moldova, finding someone is not as simple as looking up an address or calling a phone number. Most streets aren’t labeled, nor are home addresses. Most don’t own a phone. So, they searched and they prayed. They drove treacherous roads, they walked long distances, they knocked on doors, they asked neighbors. Along the way, they asked the Lord for his favor in their search. And, one by one, child by child, they located each and every child in the JMI program.
The process took some time, and a lot of persistence. The kids and families were overjoyed that the JMI staff would go to such great lengths to find them. Two sisters, Daniela and Nelea, told Cezara: “Once we left the shelter, we thought you’d never visit us again.” Their mother expressed her gratitude, “Thank you to JMI for not forgetting us.”
This is the heartbeat of JMI. To serve the forgotten around the world, just as Jesus himself did. To have the eyes to see the last and the least. To have the generosity to give fully of ourselves and our resources, so that His Kingdom may come, on earth as it is in Heaven.
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