By Andy Baker
For the first fifteen years of my married life I was not a father. That was never an issue that weighed heavily on me. God had blessed me with a terrific father, and our relationship was one of sincere friendship. I miss him on Father’s Day. But I think to those early years as my wife and I were entrenched in ministry with busy schedules that kept our lives full how the issue of children never really surfaced. It was right after our sixth anniversary that we went to Romania for the first time, and it was through that initial experience that many Romanian children became a part of our extended family. I had a father growing up, and God allowed me to be a father figure to so many children and that seemed to fill that vacancy in my life.
My status as a “real father” changed in 2004 when two adolescent girls entered my world and went from bearing the name Kuznetsova to the name Baker. Those young ladies were truly unexpected gifts from God, and my busy ministry life suddenly became the life of a busy father. When I think back to those early days of spending evenings together around the dinner table, driving them to school or getting them to their outside activities each week, it was amazing to watch them experience life in safety and to find joy in new experiences. As with all parents, it was difficult to watch them experience pain or encounter situations that crushed their spirits, but it also helped them grow in knowing that life is truly not easy. They have grown up and left the safety of our home now. However, they remain close to us and still seek us out and desire to be with us, especially on holidays.
What a blessing to be able to give the gift of a family to two young girls. What a joy to me personally to be able to call them my daughters. The Psalmist writes in 68:5-6 that, “God is the father to the fatherless and he sets the lonely in families.” When I read that I like to think that I was a fullfilment to God’s overall plan. I also know without a doubt that the ministry of Remember the Children is a fullfilment to that plan as we work to bring the orphan into the family.
Throughout my life I have had encounters with children and teens that tell me how valued the presence of fathers are. We are the image of strength, safety, love, and comfort. When I recall conversations and situations where the overwhelming need of unconditional love is the only answer, I am grateful that we pursue the orphaned child and we place them in a family giving them the needed future.
I have had questions and comments like:
“Will you be my father?”
“You say that you love me, but what is love?”
“Thank you for feeding me. I am always hungry.”
“I was forced to do things that I didn’t want to do. I don’t know what to do with these feelings I am having.”
“I have gone too far in my life. God will never forgive me.”
This Father’s Day our ministry continues to place the orphan in families. I am grateful for the fathers, the heroes, that serve in our ministry and are bringing love and healing to children who bring us such painful questions and life experiences. I am grateful for all the ministry partners who join us monthly in supporting this process of creating new families that bring healing through the love of Jesus in a family setting. So, this Father’s Day, I want to wish all the men who are bringing the needed hope, love, and faith to their children an incredibly special day where you are honored and loved. You deserve it! You are showing the heart of God to a world who needs to see it.