Book Review: Heart Bridge by Johnny Miller- Joys and Sorrows at Nathanial Christian Orphanage

Forty-five years of communistic control had left Romania in dire straits. Poverty Hunger and despair fueled a vicious cycle of sickness, death, alcoholism, broken homes and broken lives.
Caught in this cycle were thousands of children- orphaned, abandoned and unwanted. Many suffere in the notorious state run orphanages. Many   froze or starved as they struggled  to survive  by begging in the streets. in 1989 the yoke of communism  was broken and the world’s eyes were opened to the suffering and oppression of the Romanian people. Just over two years later, the Nathaniel Christian Orphanage opened it’s doors to provide a home for hurting children. <p> By the time Johnny and Ruth Miller moved to Romania with their family, the orphanage housed 53 children. their touching and sometimes heart-wrenching- stories unfold in this first hand account of the Miller’s first year in Romania. <p>
I grew up reading Christian Aid Ministries newsletters, back before it was Christian Aid Ministries and when it was Christian Aid for Romania. We sent clothes, we supported a family with food packages and wrote to them. I even had Silvia’s niece for a penpal for awhile. So, this story of the orphanage really tugged at my heart. I think the thing I  found the most amazing was that most of the children were not at all orphans, but usually had at least one parent alive. In one chapter, it tells of a visit to a village and a mother dressed her children up nice hoping to convince them to take them to the orphanage. It just really made me want to cry! Johnny Miller relates how he sort of felt like the woman in the shoe as suddenly he was in charge of 53 children!  He shares a story of hatching eggs into chicks and he planned on butchering all the ones he hatched and saving the others, when the children realized that all the "Romanian chickens" were going to die and the "American chickens" were going to live, they protested that it just was not fair and in the end all the chickens died for fried chicken dinners! From trading ice cream for fast treatment at the emergency room, to dealing with punishments for riding in the dryer and dealing with relatives  with bad motives were just a few things Johnny and Ruth Miller experienced. <p> This well written book is a very good read, one that would be a great read aloud! You can order it from <p> Christian Aid Ministries P.O Box 360 Berlin, OH. 44610 <p> Ask about their other books as well and sign up for their newsletter.
<p> There is a short summery on the ministry here  Christian Aid Ministries
There is also a link to buy the books there!