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They were looking for everything Providence House is… a place to call home, love and acceptance in the world!
Galina has just spent the summer running children’s camps at the now totally rebuilt orphanage. For those who may not know, the orphanage is no longer run by the government, and it is Moldova’s first Christian orphanage; it is run by the Stella’s Voice organization and we now call it Providence House. Galina sent us the letter below, and in it she shares the impact the camps had on the children who came. Apart from a few minor grammatical changes, these are her words.

All the kids we have gotten at our camp were from the poorest villages of the region of Leova. We’ve had 4 groups so far, and every group stayed for about 2 weeks (15 days). Most of these kids’ parents are alcoholics and most of them have left the country and never come back… so the kids live with their grandparents. All the boys of Simon’s House and most of the girls from Stella’s House helped run our camp.

Most of the kids came with what they were wearing and nothing else. We gave clothes to every child body from every group. The leaders helped the kids to take showers, and showed them how the bathrooms work because they have never seen an indoor bathroom or shower before. We taught them how brush their teeth as well. We saw the happiness on their eyes when they saw their own beds with clean sheets.

When they had their first meal at our camp, we told them that they can eat as much as they want and they kept asking us why are we giving them so much food… because back home they didn’t get to eat a warm meal. Every night after the night service at 10:00 P.M. we gave them snacks and drinks. Most of the kids would hide food in their cabinets, because they were afraid that the next meal would never come. So many times I tried not to cry in front of them. We tried to do everything to make them feel comfortable and to put a smile on their faces.

At the beginning all the kids were so mean, saying bad words, because every word that was spoken into their lives before was negative and dark, but we corrected them with kindness, and we showed them how God’s people are. We showed them their first Disney movie; Simon’s house boys taught the kids how to play table football and billiards; we taught them how to create a group and work/play as a team; we told them who Jesus is; we taught them how to pray before every meal.

Every night after the night service, the leaders had conversations about the Bible with the kids in their rooms. The first few days they didn’t asked us questions, but after some time they started to open up and ask us so many questions about who God is. It was so awesome watching the kids memorizing the Word of God and racing each other to be first or second to tell us their daily Bible verses.

Also we told them about our life experience in the orphanage and how God changed our lives completely, and gave us hope and a bright future. They couldn’t believe us at the beginning. Saying goodbye to the kids was the hardest part. None of them wanted to go home to their alcoholic parents and grandparents. They were looking for everything Providence House is… a place to call home, love and acceptance in the world!

For those who don’t know, a few years back I grew up at the orphanage in Cupcui. It was nothing compared to what it is now. Our beds were wet because the roof leaked. It was cold, dirty, and the walls were covered in black mold. The windows were broken; the only bathroom was a hole in the ground outside. The shower was in another building, and we used to take showers once a week with cold water. Every meal was served on a cold tin plate, and it was never enough… me and my friends were always hungry.

After I left the orphanage I made a promise to myself that I would never go back there. That place was like a nightmare for me. When the government gave Dad (Philip Cameron) this building to run, I was not happy. Every time we used to go to the orphanage I counted the minutes until we would leave. Then when the orphanage was rebuilt and opened with a new name, Providence, the children started coming to live there. They were left there, like I was once, by their parents. As the time passed by I fell in love with the kids! This wasn’t planned, but the first month after Providence House opened, I didn’t go home to Stella’s House at all. Whenever I went home I used to thing of the kids all the time, and maybe call a few times a day! Now I love giving them what I was missing when I was a kid!

God seeks and saves that which is lost in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. God is the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine for the one; God is the woman who sweeps the house in search of the lost coin; and God is the father who runs to the prodigal son. He asks us to do the same… to go and search for broken lives and invite them into the kingdom.

All this is happening because of Jesus and people like you who care! Thank you for giving, praying, and loving. Without you, Dad could not do what he does, and neither could we!!!

Your gifts make an amazing difference.

God bless you!

Sincerely,

Galina Telescu

Visit our Flickr account with thousands more pictures from this summer at Providence. →