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InAsMuch Children's Homes

Let the children come to me. Don't stop them. For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Luke 18:16 N.L.T.

INASMUCH CHILDREN'S HOMES

Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40

The new man of Communism has failed. The "new man" in Christ Jesus is victorious and will live eternally. Our magnificent God welcomes the outcasts.....the orphans, the street Kids, the handicapped, prisoners, and makes them "new creatures" in Christ. "Change our hearts, oh God. And keep showing us how that love always overcomes evil and love conquers all."

Ron and Sue Bates

C.P. 53--55

Bucharest 4, Romania

inasmuch@fx.ro

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So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34 N.L.T.

This is Leonard the first child Ron and Sue received. He was 6 weeks old and very, very sick. His parents are drug addicts, living in the underground sewers.

Some of the girls from Inasmuch home for Girls.

Missionaries Ron and Sue Bates

Right after the Revolution of '89, ABC's 20/20 exposed to the world the horrific, draconian conditions of some of the orphanages in Romania, scenes that would make Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist", seem almost humane.

Since that time, thousands of children have been adopted and the conditions of many of the orphanages have improved. But what about the many thousands and thousands of children that no one wanted to adopt...those left in this hellish system that has been labeled, "Ceaucescu's legacy"?

The Communists wanted to build the "new man" and there was no welcome in this system for unwanted orphans, the handicapped, gypsies, street kids, for failure of any kind.

This is a story about Ionutz (pronounced E-o-nootz), a young man.....who is a gypsy, who was abandoned by his mother about 20 years ago in an orphanage in Romania. This tiny baby was left alone in a cold, cruel, loveless world. He has never seen his mother, so he will never know the reason why she didn't want him. For the first seven years of his life, he was imprisoned in a situation that can only be labeled "insane".

In the past, the abuse in some of the orphanages was unfathomable. They were like an insane asylum for the sane. But the tragedy is that young, innocent children were the victims of this treatment that could be labeled as nothing less than Satanic.

The older, more aggressive orphans were just bullies, left to their own devices. They controlled, used and abused the younger ones. They ran the orphanages. Ionutz said he was forced to steal for them, to do their laundry, to commit unspeakable acts with them. And if he didn't, he was beaten on the palms of his hands, kicked, beaten with a stick on the knees, pushed around, constantly insulted and verbally treated in a despicable way. He said he learned to steal in his early years.....for the older orphans.

And because food was scarce, the older ones stole the food from the younger ones. Ionutz said many times he hid bread in his pants pockets so he would have something to eat. He would go into the bathroom and eat what he was able to save for himself. Today, he is frail and in poor health because of this abuse and neglect

When he cried, he was forced to sit in a corner and then was beaten for crying. There was no one ever there to comfort him.

And why didn't the administration do something about this? He said they either didn't care and wanted only to keep their jobs. Or, in his case, the workers themselves also were afraid of the older boys. The boys sometimes were allowed, with special permission, to stay longer than their allotted 18 years, and, in fact, intimidated the workers so that they were afraid to try to stop them from their bullying.

So life was a nightmare for Ionutz and thousands like him. He kept running away and finally, at age 7, he succeeded. He escaped to the streets of Bucharest. A gypsy woman found him and took him to her home. He lived with her several years, helping out with the finances. He went every day to the Italian Catholic Church to beg. Even at his young age, he learned enough Italian to be able to support them. Finally, he got tired of this kind of life and wanted to run away. When she heard of this, she ran to him and said, "I am your true mother." He was so elated, he yelled, "Mama, mama" - crying and hugging her. And then he realized the truth that she was only using him to make money and was not his mother. So he ran away again.

A kind woman who worked in a hospital saw him crying and asked what had happened to him. She invited him to live in the hospital where she worked. He was so filthy and ragged and hungry...he welcomed the promise of a bath, new clothes, and food. He was there for three years.....until the age of 13 and then left. He wanted to find his mother and family, if he had one. He searched and searched, but to no avail. At age 17, he went back to the hospital. Because he was too old to stay there, they sent him to an orphanage in Bucharest, called Pinnochio.

He was so full of anger and bitterness and hurt, they could not endure his rebellious attitude. They kicked him out into the harsh night in the dead of winter. He was standing on the streets - alone, freezing in the snow without enough warm clothing. For once, Ionutz cried out to God saying, "God, if you will just let me survive this horrible night without freezing to death, I will serve you forever."

Across the street lived some Christian gypsies that were famous singers. They took him in for the night and took him to a Christian orphanage the next day. He stayed there for a year and couldn't take the discipline any more. So back to the streets he went.

We were taking food to the street kids at the North Train Station and Ionutz had seen us there. But we never got acquainted until he "accidentally" came to our house on Zalelor Street.

They have a custom around Christmas and Easter where young people go singing door-to-door to make money. One day, I heard the bell ring and opened the door and there stood Ionutz with his guitar and two friends. They sang a beautiful Christmas carol and I asked them if they were Christians. They told us "yes" (not true), and that they were orphans (true) and that they lived in a gypsy village (not true) and went to church there (sometimes true). I invited them in and we became instant friends. Ionutz played his favorite song, "Change My Heart, Oh God." I was very touched. He said he was an orphan and needed a job and a place to stay. We invited him in, not knowing his tragic past.....or his tragic future. But God didn't forget the promise he made Him that winter night..."I will serve you forever."

We didn't know he was a pathological liar and a habitual thief. During the next few months, he stole so many things, even money from our guests. Of course, he was always innocent...someone else did it. Finally, when we could endure this behavior no more, we told him he would have to go live with the friends he was stealing for. He left, though very unhappy. All the while he was living a life of crime, he was playing the guitar and singing, "Change my heart, Oh God." I told him, "Ionutz, you shouldn't sing that song and continue stealing. You are going to wind up in prison."

When we moved to Ciorogirla, he returned and begged for forgiveness. We gave him another chance and yet he still kept singing that song and stealing. Nothing would stop him except prison. We went to the police and they came and arrested him. My heart was broken for him. This talented, handsome young man whose life was destroyed, in part by the way he grew up. He stole because he learned to steal to survive. But God didn't forget Ionutz' promise..."I will serve you forever."

He was put in jail until the trial. This experience shocked him into reality. He said he was with murders, drug addicts, perverts. He was beaten by the police. But he never said to us, "Why did you do this to me?" I think for the first time, he realized right from wrong and took responsibility for what he did. I hugged him and cried with him in the police station and told him I loved him. He begged us for forgiveness and I told him he was forgiven by us and by Jesus. The policemen were confused, to say the least. They said, "What do you want to do? You had better lock him up or every gypsy in town will be at your doorstep to steal from you, thinking they can get away with it."

I said, "Let him go, and DON'T beat him." They said, "In a few hours, he will be a free man.......so you can leave now." They released him, but first beat him up."

He came by our house to thank us and then left to go back to the North Train Station.

Today, a few weeks later, he came by our house to tell us what happened to him. Sunday, the Hound of Heaven caught up with him. He said, "I was playing my guitar and singing for money. As I was singing, 'Change My Heart, Oh, God' a man stopped and said to me, 'Has YOUR heart been changed?' Who was that man, Ionutz asked?"

I said that it was Jesus disguised as this stranger, speaking to your heart, telling you that your heart needs changing!

Ionutz said, "I want to commit my life to Christ and I will never, ever steal again. I want to live for Jesus now."

He told me that all his life, he had cried and cried...searching for his mother, for love, for acceptance. He said he didn't know good from evil...right from wrong. When he stole the $300 from our friend, he felt no guilt at all because he wanted money to celebrate his birthday with his friends.

He said I was the only person in his life that showed love to him.....who hugged him and tried to comfort him in his tears.

Now, he lives in a little room at the North Train Station where some of the railway workers stay at night. He cleans the room and cooks for them in exchange for a bed and food. Now, he sings "Change My Heart, Oh, God" with a changed heart. One of his roommates asked him if anyone other than God loved him......and he said "Yes". He said that he didn't believe it. So, today he came to Ciorogirla with that man to show him the person who showed mercy on him....to prove that someone in this world loves him. Sue Bates

IT IS MY HOPE AND PRAYER THAT THIS PAGE HAS TOUCHED YOUR HEART, AS IT HAS MINE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND A DONATION TO HELP RON AND SUE WITH THE WORK OF THE LORD, PLEASE SEND TO ME, AND I WILL SEND IT TO THEM. P.O. BOX. 172 EAGLEVILLE, MO. 64442 THEY ALWAYS HAVE NEEDS FOR ALL THE CHILDREN THEY HELP. TO READ THEIR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER GO TO THE GENERAL DISCUSSION BOARD. [THEY ARE POSTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE]

MY HEAVENLY FATHER MAY YOU MEET ALL THE NEEDS OF THE MANY CHILDREN RON AND SUE HELP, AND MAY YOU YOU TOUCH HEARTS TO HELP IN THIS GREAT WORK FOR YOU. BLESS EVERYONE WHO TAKES THE TIME TO READ THIS.

LOVE REV. SHIRLY

How to Get Saved and Know It

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