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Josiah & Bethany Children's Home 2008
Melody with the staff & children of the J&B Home
Currently, there are 40 children who call the Josiah & Bethany Children’s Home “home.” They range in age from 5 to 19 years, some have been here all of their lives. They came when they were babies and the majority of them have no family members who visit.
God Brings Them To Us
The pictures show clean children, happy, and well educated, but they did not arrive this way. They were children with no future. Some were literally living on the streets, learning things that were damaging their minds, bodies, hearts and consciences. They were dirty, with lice, without education, very sad, and without hope. Their future was black, and it seemed that they were not important to anyone.
 
But God in his mercy rescues them and brings them to our children's home. Here we have the opportunity to develop with His help, a future, a better life, with purpose,with education, with principles and values, with a vision, and above all an understanding that God has a plan and purpose for their lives. Today they are happy, healthy and growing.
There are two fundamental ways that the children come here. One way is that the government brings them here, and the other is when they are brought by a parent or family member. Some of these children are abandoned, orphans, abused, mistreated, children of prostitutes, delinquents, or lived in extreme poverty.
What a privilege it is to be able to work with these children. What a blessing to be able to be a part of their lives, their dreams, their desires and their future.
Psalm 68:6: God Gives the Lonely Families
Orphanage Directors, Julio and Luz Garcia have been with Calvary Co mmission for more than 25 years, and live at the Children's Home where they serve full time. God has given them a vision to build the Orphanage in a unique way. Rather than dormitories, they have built apartments, each with three bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, bathrooms, etc. We are placing four children in each apartment, with a married couple without their own children, or two single girls in charge of four younger children. The changes we have seen within the children is phenomenal!
Education: The Path for a Brighter Future
Given the situation in which they lived, the majority of the children tested at a much lower school grade than other children their ages. Their academic abilities were also tremendously low. The children that did have parents were not very concerned with education, not caring whether they went to school or not, or whether they spent the entire day in the streets. We have had to work very hard, first of all, to motivate them to study, to excel and to break free from the curse of coming from a broken family. Many of the children come from families in which alcohol, drugs, prostitution and crime were their daily bread.
At the Josiah and Bethany Home we have our own Primary School and Teaching Staff. We've worked hard to get the kids up to current standard for their studies, also into their right school age grade. We also work to maintain their motivation for learning, and to keep a burning flame for the things of God.
We are always blessed to attend the graduations of our children from many different schools and higher grades -- junior high, high school and college. We are very happy and proud to see the purpose for their lives coming to pass.
Now we are taking a step of faith -- and a large step it is. This fall we will begin teaching high school and junior high classes. We know this means work, more teachers and a great deal of will power. However, we see this as a challenge and know God will equip us.
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