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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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And a Child Shall Lead Them |
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by Sue Orsen A child opens further the hearts of the people, first the parents and then others in the human family. At least that’s how it normally is and how it’s supposed to be. A child shows us the way. We know the quotes. “Let the children come to me.” “Unless you become like little children.” “And a child shall lead them.” The opposite is also true. Parents open further the heart of the child. When that natural parent-child setting of giving and receiving is broken, it is the child who suffers most. That’s how it was with Ancsa, a young lady today who was placed in an orphanage right after she was born. Said Ancsa, child-like even at the age of 26, “I think it is better that way, to be left from birth. Otherwise they know their parents and it’s more painful.” Obviously, Ancsa witnessed that pain in some of her fellow orphans. Ancsa -- pronounced like ahncha -- now lives in Victoria, Minnesota, literally on the other side of the world from the orphanage in Miskolc, Hungary. She lives with Bill and Maureen Bonner, her Mamamaci and Papamaci, tender Hungarian words for mama bear and papa bear. A child opened further the hearts of the Bonners, and they, in turn, opened further the heart of the child. It is significant to know that Bill and Maureen are pastors at Waterbrooke Fellowship, a church they began in Victoria ten years ago, for it was through the mission of Waterbrooke that they came to minister to the Hungarian orphanage back in 2002. As Maureen tells the story, “I went over there with our team in the second year. Ancsa was one of the first kids I met at the orphanage. She was 18 years old but seemed younger to me, a child in heart and also in physical size. Ancsa played her violin for me and it was so beautiful. I began to talk to her through an interpreter. We talked about her history. For me there was a supernatural connection, that God just put her in my life.” After Maureen’s return to Minnesota, she and Ancsa kept in touch through a translator. “We emailed back and forth for two years,” she said. “It was sporadic. Then I’d go back each year at Thanksgiving with our church team and I think that cemented our relationship.” There was an interpreter at the orphanage to translate and write emails for Ancsa. “My love for Ancsa grew,” said Maureen. “We started talking in our own language, a little bit Hungarian and a little bit English. We did that for three to four years. Then we talked about Ancsa coming here to visit. In 2006 she came for two weeks. In 2007 she came for a couple of months, and she was with us for Christmas in 2007.” Maureen knew that her connection to Ancsa could remain loving but distant or it could become something more. “The first time I came back on the plane to Minnesota,” she said, “I thought to myself, how involved can we get in her life. I’m getting attached to her.” Continued Maureen, “I prayed about it. And I realized I needed to tell Bill. I prayed that if this is something that we were supposed to do, that it would be evident to me. Bill needed to be on board with me. So I told Bill my story and he said, ‘We need to do something about it. We need to get involved in Ancsa’s life.’ That was for me like a green light from God.”
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December 2009 |
