Romanian Orphan Ministries' Blog

A way to keep up with what God is doing among the orphans in Romania!

Castration

We have a male guard dog named Ursul (Bear) at our Beauty from Ashes Center for Orphan Girls. Ursul is only 8 months old but he is already big. He is restless and rambunctious, always getting into things and needing attention.

Recently my wife gave birth to Evelyn, our new baby daughter. Ursul barked at her at first. He sniffs everything that is hers. He licks everything. He sniffs Evelyn and licks her.

Outside he tears things up. He drags things into the middle of the yard. He digs big holes. He tears up flowers, plants, and the landscaping in the yard. He drags our shoes and sandals into the middle of the yard and chews them up. He jumps on people, dirtying their clothes. He drips saliva on the carpet. He licks the clean dishes. He stole the Easter ham off of a cabinet.

The women in the house are furious with him most of the time for one thing or another. They want him controlled. They want him civil. They want us to castrate him so he will be domesticated.

But Ursul does other things also. Ursul barks at anyone who comes near our house. This is what we got him for. At night he goes into super-sensitive mode. Anything that moves gets his attention and his aggressive growl and bark are enough to deter most thieves. He is a very intelligent dog and knows at least twelve different commands. He plays soccer and keep away with me and the girls in the yard.

Recently we have been targeted by the former pimps of one of our girls and by a local thief who runs a band of homeless orphans. At night when the lights go out and the doors are locked we all know that Ursul is outside…patrolling. We all sleep well, knowing that if anyone came near our house, we would know it.

So I don’t think we’ll be castrating Ursul. We want him aggressive, so that he can do his job of protecting. In our society, especially Christian society, many times men are castrated. They may still have testicles, but they have been castrated. Then, when we need them to be men, we find out that they are incapable.

A man should be nice, polite, tame and domesticated…some of the time. But he should also be wild, strong, aggressive, and even violent, when the need arises. Protecting is one of the main jobs a man has. How can he do this job if he has been tamed?

Women – Don’t desire a man who is too tame, nor seek to tame him yourself. If you succeed, you will find that you no longer respect him, and he will be of little use to you when you need him most.

Men – Don’t listen to everything you hear in Christian circles. Read the Bible and look at the character and actions of the men there. (Just one example: David, whom God called a man after His own heart!, cut the foreskins off of 200 Philistine men in order to win his first bride.) Seek to be like them! They are God’s examples for us.

21 April 2010 at 11:51 - Comments
Interesting point of view. But really true. So many women want gentle, kind men...all the time. It ...
21 April 10 at 12:02
Emmie, thanks for your comment!
26 April 10 at 11:07

More Violence and Threats Against our Orphan Girls

Once again one of our orphan girls has been the target of threats and violence. A new addition to our Beauty from Ashes Center, Sarmanca, was baptized just three weeks ago. She is a changed person. She is now a child of the King! She is pursuing a different life than the life she led before…but it seems that life doesn’t want to let her go without a fight!

Sarmanca was forced into prostitution by a group of pimps and human traffickers. Sarmanca is married and her husband was complicit in this arrangement. Sarmanca fled from this life and was living on the streets when we found her. The pimps were not too happy. They vowed to find her, kidnap her off the street and sell her to buyers in Western Europe.

As a part of our program we help our girls to recover their often poor health. In pursuing this we found out Sarmanca has an illness caused by her former life. Treatment is available, but she needs identification. She has none. We also have been working to help her and her husband to resolve their problems and begin again their life together. Towards this end they take walks together. He offered to help her with her identification problems and today they went together.

Sarmanca’s former pimps were waiting for her with a group of their thugs. She ran and evaded them only to be accosted again near the tram. She ran into the tram, praying that they not arrive in time. The Lord apparently heard her prayer and the doors closed before they arrived.

After further investigation it is evident that her husband, who is still very much involved with these people, tipped them off as to Sarmanca’s whereabouts. Sarmanca is devastated to be betrayed in this way by the husband whom she still loves.

It is difficult to obtain police help for orphans, but through a few contacts we were able to speak with several head police officers and we hope to resolve this situation with their help. But nothing is certain.

We must protect the rest of our girls, our employees and my family as we all live and work together at the Beauty from Ashes Center.  We would ask for prayers of protection and also for Sarmanca, a very new Christian, as she faces these trials.

13 April 2010 at 10:15 - Comments
Hey Ken, yes, that sounds good. We need to talk. Thanks for your prayers!
10 May 10 at 06:08
Nathan, thanks for your comment! My I ask where you are in Romania?
10 May 10 at 06:08

Honor Your Father and Your Mother

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord you God is giving you.” (Ex. 20:12)

“And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.”  (Ex. 21:15&17)

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents…” (2 Tim. 3:1-2)

I have broken every one of these Biblical passages. I was a very rebellious teenager. I hated my parents. I disobeyed them. I cursed them. I did not honor them.

Upon becoming a Christian at age 18 I realized my mistakes. God forgave me. My mother forgave me.

But now I am a parent.  I wake up at 3:00 am to feed and change my daughter. I hold her when she is crying. I work to provide for her and her mother. Just now she made a noise and I whirled around with my heart in my throat to make sure she wasn’t choking.

Everything I am doing, my parents did for me…and more. That is why it is such a grave sin to dishonor them the way I did. Only now, as a parent, can I understand the gravity of my actions.

I deserve to die for what I did. I deserve hell. Instead I have received forgiveness.

Parents, even if they are far from perfect, should be honored.  Period. Failure to do this has dire consequences. Our world is full of people (like I was) who don’t understand this.

Let us teach our sons and daughters to fear the Lord and respect their parents!

7 April 2010 at 07:14 - Comments

Orphans Attacked and Threatened

Violence – I don’t like it. I don’t like having to deal with it. I don’t like threats. I don’t like living in fear. I don’t like those in my family and our orphans to have to confront these things either.

Yet these are some of the things we have been confronted with recently at our Beauty from Ashes Center here in Oradea, Romania.

One of our new girls was involved in a life of forced prostitution before coming to us. She is afraid to leave the house because her former pimps (a man and his wife) threatened her and told her they would find her. They told her that if they caught her out on the street they would kidnap her and sell her to someone in Western Europe.

Another of our girls was attacked on the tram yesterday by a band of homeless orphans girls who live in a major park. They are controlled by one “Poofy” (his nickname) who is also an orphan and beats the girls if they do not steal for him. We have heard that this Poofy is wanted by Interpol and has been in prison in other countries in Europe.

About a month ago we heard the church alarm and saw someone crawling out of the window. (Our orphan home is right next to the church.) We surrounded the church and called the police. We caught the thief – and it was Poofy! The police came, but they didn’t arrest Poofy. They beat him up in the women’s bathroom of the church!

In all the activity, one of our girls had come over to the church. This Poofy saw her and, in his twisted mind, sought revenge on her for what happened to him. (Although she had absolutely nothing to do with it. The men, including myself, held him until the police arrived and then the police decided to beat him!)

So now we must protect our house, my family, and our girls from pimps bent on kidnapping and human trafficking and bands of thieves who would not only rob from us but physically harm us and our girls if given the chance!

This is not the nice, quiet, safe environment we would like for our girls! They need healing. They need safety. They need love and peace. They also need to be free to pursue schooling and work in the city.

This violence is not good. Further violence (although tempting!) from our part will just exacerbate the situations. Therefore I am asking for everyone to join with us in prayer. God wants us to protect our families and our children. But revenge is His. A few turns of the page in Psalms should be enough to see how even David, who was more than capable of taking care of his own enemies, turned to the Lord and depended on Him.

We also will depend on the Lord during this time. May His will be done!

6 April 2010 at 08:10 - Comments
Sarah
May the Lord continue to provide and protect you and those whom you help. Your ministry is an answered prayer ...
12 April 10 at 23:05
Sarah, thank you for your comments! Glad to have your input. You can also follow us on our Facebook page: ...
13 April 10 at 04:48

Proper Compassion for the Poor

Recently I have been reading through Ruth. In addition, over the past year, I have read a lot about ministry to the poor. This is a subject near and dear to my heart as I have dedicated my life to ministering to orphans in Romania.

As Christians we are to have compassion on the poor, the weak, the helpless, the orphan, the stranger and the widow. But in the Old Testament this compassion manifested itself in a much different fashion than today. The labor and work of the poor person was essential to this compassion. Laziness was not fostered or condoned in any way.

In the second chapter of Ruth we see that Ruth found favor in the sight of Boaz and his servants – but how was this favor manifested? Ruth worked all day long! (vss. 7, 15, 17) She then had to beat out what she had gleaned. (vs.17) Verse 23 states that Ruth worked until the end of the barley and wheat harvest! This must have been weeks of hard labor out in the hot sun.

Many Christians today would not consider this compassion, but that is exactly what God prescribed in His Law! (Lev. 23:22) This type of compassion seeks to assist a person to assist themselves by creating opportunities for them to work. They retain their dignity in this arrangement and are still dependent upon themselves for their sustenance and not on others (for example, the government!). For more on the dignity of poor people we need look no further than to Boaz and how he treated Ruth in verses 15 & 16, instructing his servants to purposely allow grain to fall to the ground so that Ruth could collect it without knowing that Boaz had commanded it.

Lest we think that this is merely an “Old Testament Thing”, let us read Paul’s instructions to the Thessalonians in 2 Thess. 3:6-15, where we find statements such as: “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” (vs. 10)

Compassion on the poor is immensely important to our Father and, therefore, should be to us as well. But let us pursue assisting these people who are close to God’s heart in a way that He has already prescribed, a way that is immensely pleasing to Him.  Let us help the poor to work!

3 April 2010 at 05:13 - Comments
Thank you, Anna, for your comment!
6 April 10 at 08:20
verna
thank you for this wisdom and insight...
21 August 10 at 20:44

More Musings from a New Father

I have a riddle for you: I am looking at the most beautiful thing in all the world and at the same time something completely disgusting. What am I looking at?

I am looking at my new baby girl, Evelyn, after I’ve opened up her diaper!

Now, in looking at these two things in front of me, what is my natural reaction? I want to clean her up! What kind of a loving parent would I be if I callously just let my beautiful little daughter sit there in her filth?!

Hebrews 12:5b-6 says: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”

God is our loving, all-knowing, all-seeing Father. He looks at us and sees the filth (sin) we are sitting in. And just as I must do something when I see my daughter sitting in her filth, He also must do something when he sees me in mine.

Later on in Hebrews we read: “For they [our human fathers] indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.” (vs.10)

Our sanctification is God’s goal in suffering, chastening, trials, etc. Because He loves us, He chastens us. If we truly have the mind of Christ then we will desire our own sanctification above all things so that God may receive the glory through our holy lives.

This necessarily requires suffering and discipline at the hand of God. We must willingly offer ourselves up to God’s purifying, painful chastening, remembering His love and that He cannot bear to see us sitting in our filth. We must see things the way God does, and desire what He desires.

28 March 2010 at 05:06 - Comments

Musings of a New Father

My first child has been born. A perfect, pure, innocent little girl – Evelyn Miriam Burba. I sit and look at her and think of the awsome responsibilities that await me. She is so tiny and helpless. She is fragile and weak. But soon this will no longer be the case. Soon she will be stronger. She will grow up. She will learn to speak. She will learn to make decisions. She will become an adult.

Unfortunately, as these steps begin to happen, it will become clear to all that Evelyn is not perfect and she is not pure. She has been born with the same sin nature that I was born with. This “perfect” and “pure” little baby, when she comes of age, will deserve God’s wrath for the sins she will commit. Right now I feed her, I clothe her, I protect her. These are my responsibilities. Later on, responsibility number one will be to make sure she understands her standing before God, and to help her to choose His salvation.

There are beautiful moments in life when everything seems so wonderful. We almost forget (oh, how nice it would be to forget!) that we are living in a fallen world. A wedding night. The birth of a child. Viewing range after range of mountains from on high. These moments make us soar. They make us glorify God and thank him for giving us life!

But there are other moments. The death of a loved one. Serious illness. Heart-ache. Suffering. These make us remember that our world is fallen. Nothing is as it should be. God’s original design has been corrupted and nothing will be truly perfect or pure until He comes again and makes all things new.

Oh, Lord, give me the strength and wisdom to teach little Evelyn these things that she may choose You and thus live with You forever.

24 March 2010 at 15:08 - Comments

God’s Salvation Vs. Traumatized Orphan

The harshness of the lives some of our orphans have led is sometimes mind boggling. But the horrors they have endured are no match for God’s incredible love and salvation. 

I have written recently about a new addition to our Beauty from Ashes Center for Orphan Girls, Sarmanca. Through tears Sarmanca opened up to our house mother, Eva, and told her about how her husband let his new group of “friends” use her in perverse ways and how he would rent her out for money! 

We were floored and disgusted. 

Eva prayed with her and all Sarmanca could say was, “I want to be clean, can I ever be clean?” 

After we posted a video on our Facebook page about Sarmanca’s life, our director, Andreea, sent it to the members of her church. They felt very burdened to do something for Sarmanca. The whole church began praying for her. 

Sunday, Sarmanca went to church with Andreea and she prayed to accept Christ into her life! She is passionate about reading her Bible and praying. She wants to be baptized as soon as possible! 

God has made her clean! Her past is no match for His salvation. 

The road to recovery will not be easy. Already she has faced many hurdles. But the spiritual journey has started. Please pray for her and her new life in Christ!

10 March 2010 at 12:20 - Comments

Babies and Spiritual Growth

Comfort. Don’t lie. You know you like it. You know you want it. We all seek after it, consciously or not. 

Change. Growth. These are things that require effort. They require struggle. Hardships. Suffering. 

I am on the cusp of becoming a father for the first time. Now, mind you, for the last eight years I have been a father to an untold number of orphans here in Romania. 

If you told me today that tomorrow I would be responsible for twenty more orphans – that I would be their father, would have to provide for them, instruct them, protect them – I would be ok. It wouldn’t be anything all that new for me. 

But the thought of this one little, tiny baby – who should be here any day now – is enough to shatter my little world. It’s scary. What do I do with her? I don’t know anything about babies. Hardened, damaged orphans…ok, I can handle that. A fragile little baby…this will require change, growth, struggle. 

Now, don’t get me wrong; I will rise to the occasion, as hundreds of millions of fathers have before me. But this experience has brought to light my reticence to change and grow. 

But it is precisely change and growth that God demands. Our sanctification is His concern. Because He loves us, He cannot leave us in our harmful, sinful condition. He must continue to purify us daily and make us into the likeness of His Son. Otherwise, He wouldn’t be a loving Father. 

God is calling us to follow Him. He is calling us to allow Him to purify us, to sanctify us. 

Many times, we are just too comfortable to hear.

8 March 2010 at 02:10 - Comments

A Rough Life, Indeed

So we have welcomed a new girl, Sarmanca, at our Beauty from Ashes Home for Orphan Girls and I’d like to tell you a little bit about her. 

Sarmanca grew up in one of the worst orphanages around, Cighid. Many of the orphans there died from mistreatment and neglect. As a teenager she came to Oradea to stay at a private foundation. 

Soon after, she was married to a young man who also grew up with her at Cighid. Their marriage has not been a bed of roses. 

Sarmanca decided to go to Italy to work for a friend. She was beaten, maltreated, and not paid a single dime. 

Back in Romania, her husband got in with a new crowd of friends. He wanted to go live with them. Sarmanca did not agree to this. According to her, these new friends use drugs, have perverse sexual relationships among themselves, have beaten Sarmanca (she has wounds on her face), and are involved in rape and human trafficking. 

Some of our girls saw Sarmanca at church on Sunday and told her to talk to us. She was living on the streets, sleeping in cars or at a homeless shelter at night, having been effectively abandoned by her husband. 

We immediately wanted to help her. However, I wanted to talk to her husband. There are usually two sides to every story. I told Sarmanca to tell him to come by. I did not want to house another man’s wife without at least talking to him. But he has no phone. He doesn’t work. He spends all day long with his new “friends”. 

Yesterday I told Sarmanca to go tell him that we want to speak with him. She told me that she is afraid to go over to these people’s apartment. She is afraid of being beaten (again), raped, or trafficked to God knows where. 

However, in talking and interacting with Sarmanca you wouldn’t know all these things about her. She expresses a real desire to draw close to the Lord, after falling away from Him. This morning I found her reading the Bible. 

She is smart and perfectly capable of learning a trade, working, and getting along in Romanian society. 

I fear we will have problems with her husband in the future. I imagine at some point either he will want her back or she will want to go to him. Maybe we can help them. Maybe not. 

But God has brought her to us and we have accepted her. We would ask for your prayers as we begin to minister to her.

3 March 2010 at 08:17 - Comments