Andrei Narcis was abandoned at birth (his mother left the country and his father is deceased) and was sent in a state-run infant orphanage where he remained until the age of two. One of the workers there decided to foster him; she left her job at the orphanage and became a foster parent, not only to Andrei Narcis, but also to other orphan children (including Raul O. who is now part of our family as well), giving a home to the little ones and filling the void in their hearts and lives with genuine love and affection.

For 12 years, he was offered an environment where he could grow up harmoniously and he slowly overcame the challenges of coping without his parents. The foster family selflessly sowed into him, while carefully monitoring his health (he suffers from persistent bronchial asthma).

Years later, his foster "mother" had turned 60. Since Romanian laws prohibit anyone over 60 from providing foster care for children and after thoroughly researching and exhausting all options, she asked us to take Andrei Narcis into our family, knowing the love and care that we would offer him.

Two weeks after his arrival at Hand of Help, Narcis was already feeling at home at our orphanage. He was thrilled to meet new friends and enjoyed the company of so many other "brothers" and "sisters" who met him with the same love and affection that they were once welcomed with.

While Narcis' time with us was relatively short, it was long enough to stir up his heart towards following the Lord and seeking out the truth in the Word of God.

In the fall of 2016, Andrei started high school – majoring in electronics. With the attention and push needed, Narcis not only graduated high school with good grades, but he has also received a full scholarship to the University in Suceava and will be studying to be a social worker so that he can impact the lives of children, just like his life was impacted by the loving care of others.

Hand of Help will continue to support Narcis during his academic journey and ask that you would continue to pray for this young man, that he surrender his life to the Lord and live according to His will.

"What I am today I could not have become without the support and help of the Hand of Help family. Hand of Help extended a lifeline to me when I was on the brink of collapse, and they shaped me into what they knew I could become.

I witnessed and understood God's love throughout my time spent at the orphanage. Many people contributed towards my upbringing, and in the beginning I was skeptical of their intentions, but soon I realized that their selfless intentions were in fact an earnest desire to see me through these critical teenage years and make me aware of the importance of working towards my future.

I am most appreciative for being presented God's love in such a real, beautiful, palpable way that led me to want to draw closer to Him.