Adoption - A Child's Perspective (Romania)

It was my turn to pick the children up from the local kindergarten. I arrived at the Sanctuary Orphanage early, so I sat down in the dining room and waited for someone to come with me to help with the children. Ioana, a girl of nine years of age, came dancing into the room. She said, "Ed, my parents are coming to get me next week!" She sat down next to me and we began to talk. She said, "I’m going to Italy, Mama and Papa are coming soon!" She was so thrilled.

I asked her what she was going to do in Italy? She said, "I am going to ride my bicycle, play, and be with Mama and Papa." She told me that she has a room all to herself. She doesn’t have brothers or sisters, but she has lots of cousins. I asked her if she likes spaghetti? She said, "oh yes!" She was happy to hear that they have a lot of spaghetti in Italy. I told her it is warm there and they have a beach. She eagerly took in any information I had about her new country. She was even trying to learn Italian on her own so she could speak with her new parents. As I sat in that dining room talking to Ioana tears began to well up in my eyes as I saw the joy of an orphan girl whom God has now given a family to love and take care of her.

Ioana grew up in Transylvania, Romania with both of her parents. When she was seven her mother became ill; she spent time in the hospital and died. Two years later her father died as well. Ioana became an orphan! She entered the Romanian foster care system. She stayed with a particular family for more than a year. They said they wanted to adopt her, but for some reason they didn’t. In the spring of 2000 she entered the Sanctuary Orphanage.

When she came she was very angry over all that happened to her. She also had a problem with lying. She began to learn about Jesus and how God wanted to be her Father. The staff at the Sanctuary Orphanage loved her and showed her God’s ways. She also attended services at a local church. She loved the worship music. Ioana began to change! She began to receive love as well as give love once again.

The staff workers at the Sanctuary Orphanage teach the children that God hears prayer and each child prays for a family of their own. Ioana began to ask God to give her a family as well. After several months of being at the orphanage God sent a family from Italy to be her new parents. One day Ioana exclaimed to the Director, "See Mimi, God did give me a family!"

We mostly think of adoptions from the adoptive families’ perspective, because that is what we see. As I listened to Ioana, I had the privilege and the joy to see an adoption from a child’s perspective.