By Natalie Barentson
Every year, we have the privilege to create and release an Impact Report for you! The 2019 Impact Report reflects the last 10 years of ministry and all that’s happened. It’s filled with stories from people impacted by Remember the Children, a timeline outlining the last 10 years, information on financial stewardship, and so much more. Click on the link below to read the report!
Note: You will notice the report linked above is different than the physical copies we sent to donors. We changed and omitted certain elements of the report to protect the children in our ministry. Please help us to maintain the safety of children by enjoying these online versions!
Excerpt from the Report
From ‘Letter from the President’ by Andy Baker
As each year passes, I find myself reflecting more on all that has happened in life and ministry. It seems like just yesterday I was walking through the orphanages of Romania when my world was turned upside down. I don’t know about you, but I see key moments where I have had to make choices. It could be any number of scenarios for you, but for me, twenty-four years ago when I took the uncomfortable challenge to go on a short-term mission trip I had no idea how transformative it would be for my life.
Do you ever look back on your life and consider the impact of certain decisions? I am amazed by what has been accomplished over the last two and a half decades simply because I heard the whisper of one man and had to respond: “remember the children.” Everything in that moment changed for me. I found compassion at a level I never knew was inside of me. I found the deep desire to begin to live differently. I found the overwhelming desire that I had to do something for these children.
Through the years, I have become close to many of the children from those early days. When you add twenty-four years to the little nine-year-old girl who captured my heart on that first trip, she turns into a married thirty-three-year-old mother of two who teaches kindergarten in her community. I have stayed the course, and I have seen so many victories; yet I have experienced so much heartache. But I have also learned that when you stay the course, you build trust. And over time, those trust-built relationships end up doing something even more extraordinary together. That is the beauty of Remember the Children. Over the years, we have built significant trust with thousands of people like you, and together we have built a life-transforming ministry for the children that have been placed in our care. Longevity has even been pivotal in the relationships built with our colleagues in the cultures where we serve. It has been a shared ministry on all fronts, and today we can stand back and give thanks that God showered his blessings down upon these relationships.
Mircea Toca challenged me to “remember the children.” And twenty years later he asked me a question that once again altered my life: “What do you want to do with the next twenty years of your life?” Then he gave me the challenge: “Let’s go to Africa.” Here we are three years later with eight families that have been created and are now taking care of over eighty former orphans in Tanzania. We are presently in the middle of constructing the Eternal Families Village, which will contain ten homes for up to one hundred and fifty children who need a new family.
My challenge to you as you read this report is to ask: “Where is God speaking to you, and how can you respond to his gentle voice?” My prayer is that you will see how listening to these three words—“remember the children”—has changed the lives of thousands. Thank you for being our trusted partner. The best is yet to come.