Michelle Sloan had never been on a mission trip until this summer, when she spent two months in Romania. A special education major at Grove City College, a Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pa., Sloan was participating in Red Box Missions, the college’s summer internship program. She chose this Eastern European country because of her passion for education and the special needs of abandoned and orphaned children in Romania.
The internship was coordinated by Livada Orphan Care, a ministry located in Plano, Texas, committed to helping wounded children find their place in the world through a blend of Christian social work, humanitarian aid, and ministry. According to its website, tens of thousands of abandoned and orphaned Romanian children live in some form of institutional care: state orphanages, group homes and various forms of foster care. An equal number of other Romanian or Roma (Gypsy) children are unofficially abandoned on the streets or impoverished hospital wards or are trafficked.
Michelle Sloan holds two babies at an abandoned baby hospital in Romania.
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“My job for two months, along with 11 other interns, was to run a summer camp for different group homes of orphans,” said Sloan, a member of Chancellor Baptist Church in Fredericksburg, Va. The camp was housed in a building located behind a gym with an adjacent field.
“Each week we met a new group of 60 to 70 children or teens who arrived with a wide range of needs, but all needing to know God’s love,” said Sloan. “Some came with an obvious hunger for love — shown by their quick attachment to us — and others came with an equally strong need for love and compassion shown through obstinacy, disobedience and anger.”
Translators, mostly high school students, helped the interns communicate with the Romanian children during a day camp program similar to Vacation Bible School. Each week a different pastor came to deliver a biblical message and work with the team.
“My favorite part of the day was team time,” said Sloan. “Each intern had a team of kids and we would have a Bible lesson with discussion — asking them questions and getting them to open up to us about their lives and what they believed.”
She acknowledges there were times when hearing the children’s stories were overwhelming.
“At times we felt like we were the most unqualified people to be running these camps, yet God calls the unqualified and it was amazing what he did.”
Sloan cited one instance of this as the week a group of older teens from a group home arrived.
“The bus pulled in and these really big kids toting homemade tattoos and chain smoking got off,” she said. “With young children you can hug on them and love them. They are usually so open — but these kids were not.”
Michelle Sloan (back row center) with other interns and a team of older children she mentored at summer camp. Her translator (on the right in green) became a Christian following camp.
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She soon discovered that her assigned group for the week was a group of 18- and 19-year-old boys. Her initial attempts even to get get names failed, she said.
“Another intern and I went home that night and begged God for wisdom about what to do and how to connect with them. We asked him to give us words and to open their hearts, so that the camp could be a place of freedom for them — where they felt they could open their hearts and learn,” she said.
The next morning the volunteers prayed with the translators prior to the arrival of the bus. “When they arrived it was as different as day and night. They were excited to be at camp and there is nothing that we could have done to bring about that change — only God.”
“The hardest of teenagers opened up to us and were able to talk through things in their past that had been haunting them and God protected our emotions and gave us compassion and love for those that were the hardest to give to,” she said.
“The other interns and I saw many orphans open up to us during the week, accepting our love, trusting us and asking questions about God as we taught them. Many of them prayed to accept Christ, as did many of the teenagers who had volunteered to translate the gospel message.”
The interns also became acquainted with those who had become Christians during camp the previous year. “It was great to see how they’ve grown throughout the year in their love of God and how they wanted the kids this year to receive the gospel message.”
During their time in Romania, two interns served at an abandoned baby hospital every day. Babies are often abandoned due to birth defect and impoverished conditions. Some are simply unwanted by their natural parents. Sloan said she and other interns also went at different times to hold and pray for the babies, hoping to provide the care needed to help with their development while waiting for a foster-to-adopt home.
“The Roma people group is subjected to discrimination and poverty. They have difficulty finding jobs because of their reputation for stealing and not attending school,” said Sloan.
“Yet the children at the Ogra Gypsy Village were the most affectionate children I’ve seen in my life. They were so excited about our programs and camps.”
Sloan said the time spent with these children focused more on education. She taught English for several weeks with the hopes the children can learn skills that they can use in their education next year.
“I prepared for the trip, praying that God would pour me out so I would leave feeling like I’d given everything I had to serve everyone I came in contact with and he answered that prayer,” said Sloan. “But I was surprised by how I felt more filled when leaving than when I arrived.”
“In the grand scheme of everyone we interact with in our lives, there is a very small percentage that we are close to for long,” said Sloan. “I only had a week with some of the orphans and he impressed upon me the urgency of that time. I could hug them, show them I cared and that they were valuable; but while those memories would last for a while, it wouldn’t change their situation. The only real thing I could do for them is to make sure they knew that God loves them and is always with them.”
Since returning to college Sloan said she has been reminded of this time and again.
“Everyone around us, regardless of who they are, needs to know God and his love and forgiveness.”
Barbara Francis ([email protected]) is on the staff of the Religious Herald.