Missionary seeks to build ranch for Romanian orphans
| Tuesday, Nov 03 2009 02:31 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Nov 03 2009 02:39 PM
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ROCK Ministries presents BedRock Falls Ranch: A vision and a future for Romania's abandoned children
When: 7 to 9 p.m., Thursday
Where: Calvary Bible Church, 48 Manor St.
Details: The event will feature a silent auction of handmade items from Romania. There is no cost to attend.
More information: Contact Barbara Dow at Admin@rockministries.org or 909-877-3323
Images:
Nannette Gonzalez with some of her abandoned children at the Dr. Victor Gomoiu Hospital in Bucharest. Marius, the boy on the far right, was abandoned at two weeks old, but was recently placed with a foster family by ROCK Ministries. Photo courtesy of ROCK Ministries.
The first time Nannette Gonzalez left Bakersfield for Bucharest, her plan was to hold babies for two weeks, then come home and get on with her very American life.
That was 15 years ago. Gonzalez is still in Romania, still holding orphaned and abandoned babies. Still loving them.
Gonzalez was among the first local missionaries to travel to the infamous orphanages of Bucharest in the early nineties. Three years after her first memorable trip, she founded ROCK Ministries -- Romania Outreach to Christ's Kids -- with the sole purpose of finding homes for abandoned children.
It's not a job Gonzalez went looking for.
"I didn't choose Romania, God chose Romania for me," she said. "He put a burden on my heart to care for his kids and I'll love them forever. They've changed my life."
She's doing her best to change theirs, which is why her current U.S. sabbatical may keep her away from Romania for as long as six months, so she can raise the funds necessary to build BedRock Falls Ranch, a 10-acre spread in the wide-open spaces of Ghimpati about 25 miles south of Bucharest.
"Gypsy kids and disabled kids are hard to place in Romania," she said matter-of-factly. "There are Romanians who do want to be foster parents, but not everyone qualifies because you have to own your house or apartment -- something that's nearly impossible in Romania."
Gonzalez will share her vision Thursday night at Calvary Bible Church during a "fun-filled, fundraising event." During the event, Gonzalez will lay out plans for the still undeveloped property purchased by ROCK Ministries a decade ago from a private owner for a mere $200 an acre. Plans for the ranch, which will double as a Christian camp, include three family homes, horses, stables, soccer fields, fruit orchards and a heated swimming pool.
"The children will learn to swim, which is very unusual for Romanian kids," Gonzalez said. "It will also be good therapy for our kids with cerebral palsy."
Gonzalez plans to break ground on the ranch in the summer of 2010 with the help of fellow missionaries, including Jack Highfill, a Bakersfield contractor who shares her vision. Until that vision becomes reality, she said, ROCK Ministries will continue to find foster homes for Romania's abandoned children "as long as there are children who need them."
"In my heart, I know there is no such thing as a good orphanage," she said. "These children need to be raised in a home, where they're safe and loved and know they have a purpose in life."
-- Marylee Shrider has served on a mission trip with ROCK.
