Site tools

• home
• contact
• site map

Looking for a Home

Where do you go when you’re lonely, sick, rejected, frightened, in despair or feeling ashamed and unsure of everything? For many of us home is the place we run to. But what if you don’t have a home or if that home isn’t a safe and accepting place. All too many young folks then turn to the wrong kinds of places, drugs, alcohol etc and end up in even worse situations.

Bethany Children's Home has been "home" to well over three hundred children in the years that I have been here. When they leave us, for many, it is still the only home that they have. And, yet, it’s a strange kind of home. The actual place may be the same but the people there have changed. Is it still ‘home’? Is it still where they feel comfortable and able to find help?

Having been here for over fifteen years now, many of these ex-kids are well known to me and we want to work more on helping and bringing together these young adults/teens. We want them to know that, in any of the above situations, we are only a phone call away, and that the door is always open for them to come back.

Once a month there’s a special Open House, a meal and time to just chat and share together. Regular phone calls, visits, a spare room, a listening ear, and practical help are there when needed. These are daily parts of ministry, yet very important.

Many of these young folks are doing well, now married with children of their own but, for some, it’s different. They are not so settled. They too are precious and need even more help.

The most important consideration is that these young folks would have a personal faith in Christ, a sure and certain knowledge that He loves them and will take their hand throughout their lives. What about a spiritual home in a local church? We try to link them up with a Church in the area where they live but this isn’t always easy to do.

I was lonely, and when you took my hand, I felt His Friendship. I was sick, and when you took my hand, I felt His Healing. I was rejected, and when you took my hand, I felt His Acceptance. I was frightened, and when you took my hand, I felt His Peace. I was in despair, and when you took my hand, I felt there was Hope. I was ashamed, and when you took my hand, I began to regain my Dignity. I thought God hated me, and when you took my hand, I felt His Love. And I believed … My hand in yours, your hand in His….

Linda McFerran