Authors-choice: Hope & Revival

His music group has sold over 50 million records worldwide.

At twenty years old he was a teenage sensation, a huge rock star and lived in a 17th century castle in Europe He had all the riches, fame, fortune and the adulation of millions.

His name is Paddy Kelly.

His band, The Kelly Family, sold out the huge Westtaleanhalle in Dortmund, Germany nine times in a row. A feat no other musician has since accomplished. They filled football stadiums, some shows with over 250,000.

He was born in Ireland to American parents. He has eleven brothers and sisters and most of them sang in the band. They started out singing in the streets of Europe, but quickly their incredible singing talents took them to the top. Paddy Kelly became a huge idol with adoring female fans. He needed body guards in public. He was hounded by paparazzi where ever he went and traveled by private jet and helicopters. He was recognized everywhere.

He “had it all.” But despite the fame and money he began to feel empty and isolated.

He felt lost. He felt his soul was dying.

Even with the love of his family, he began to fall into depression, even despair. He lost the sense of who he was and all his ideals and false securities began to break down. He felt like he wanted to end his life. Nothing made sense to him anymore. Material goods and money, not even his music made him happy.

This was when a deep search for the truth began. He asked himself, “If all this doesn’t make me happy then what is the sense of life. Why do I exist?” He eventually asked the question, “Who can tell me who I am? Who has the true answers to my questions?”

At a moment of deep crisis, standing on a ledge of his room, ready to kill himself, he sensed in him a voice telling him to “hold on, hold on,” and after this moment passed, he wept bitterly at what he had almost done.

Soon, after he began to search his spiritual side. He read about eastern religion like Buddhism, and even the Koran, but it was the Gospels that seemed to pull him in a new direction. He felt the Gospels were alive. At a chance meeting with a gathering of priests near his palatial home, he felt his spirit grow. Still, he struggled with depression and sadness.

Then one day, he was “zapping” his television and by chance he came across a program about Lourdes, the shrine dedicated to an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

His first thought was that shrines of the Virgin Mary were “only for blue-haired grandmothers and naive people who believe anything”. But he felt pulled to Lourdes like a magnet. He decided to go. But he was certain that the town would be filled with “horrible plastic statues” and would be no place for a “rock star” to find God. When he arrived at Lourdes, to his surprise not only were “gray haired grandmothers” praying the Rosary, but many young people dressed in a way he thought was “cool” and they liked rock and roll. He therefore joined the youth program.

Then that evening hanging out with the youth group there came a moment of “Prayer and Silence” and during that moment he felt a simple, yet deep peace in his heart. He was experiencing a deep presence of someone inside of him. Wow! He thought God is accessible and this came to him through the Blessed Virgin Mary. He realized that Mary was not some Christian myth, but a person.

He felt she was asking him to give life a second chance. He felt she wanted to help him and he no longer felt alone. He had grown up Catholic, but now he knew that he could meet God and that night he gave life a new chance. He decided to live his life according to God’s will. He knew Mary had planted the seed of faith in Lourdes and now he also knew only through prayer could his faith grow. As his spiritual quest moved forward, he found his brothers and sisters also saw that money and fame did not bring happiness.

A few years ago, he and two of his brothers and sisters decided to go to the youth festival in Medjugorje. Here he met Fr. Jozo and quickly through his words, counsel and abundance of graces a deep movement of conversion with God came to his brothers and sisters and in the months and years to follow. Through Mary, through Medjugorje, he finally came to know Jesus.

He believed that God existed, but he had not yet experienced the Holy Spirit in a deep and powerful way. He wanted to know if Jesus was truly the Son of Man. He wanted to believe it and not just tell himself so or because the Church said so. He wanted to feel the interior confirmation of the Holy Spirit. Then one morning the Holy Spirit entered his heart in a real way.

On a quiet sunny morning, the Holy Spirit came to him. He believed and then with great excitement he called his brothers and sister that he loved so much and said to them “Jesus is God, Jesus is God, Jesus is God!”

Today Paddy Kelly tours with his band bringing his joyful music and love of Mary to happy audiences around the world.

Paul Darrow went to his first gay beach when he was 15.

Soon after, he hitchhiked his way to New York, where there was a thriving gay scene and where he could pursue a career in modeling. Once there, he landed a high-end job as an international model and rubbed elbows with celebrities at clubs in the city.

When he wasn’t at the studio or at the gym, Darrow spent his time looking for partners. He found himself going through dozens, and then hundreds, and then thousands of lovers.

“It became frantic, and it was never my intention…but I became insensitive to what it means to be with a partner, both body and soul,” he said in the documentary film, “Desire of the Everlasting Hills.”

But after the AIDS epidemic claimed around 90 percent of his friends, a disease he himself narrowly and miraculously escaped, Darrow decided to move to San Francisco for a fresh start. He met his partner, Jeff, there and they moved to a cabin in Sonoma County.

It was in their shared home that Darrow accidentally discovered a one-eyed, straight-talking “pirate nun” wearing an eye-patch who would change his life forever.

“It was so strange that I said ‘Jeff Jeff come in here! You gotta see this!’” he said, pointing to the image on the T.V.

Unbeknownst to them at the time, it was Mother Angelica on EWTN. She had just had a stroke, which pulled the left side of her face into a slump and required her to wear a black eye patch over one eye.

“So (Jeff) comes in and I’m laughing mockingly at this nun with a patch over her eye, a distorted face…and a complete old fashioned habit,” Darrow said. “We both mocked her and laughed at her, you know, ‘Gosh these crazy Christians.’”

Jeff left the room and Darrow was about to change the channel, when Mother Angelica “said something so intelligent, so real, and so honest, that it really struck me,” he said.

“You see God created you and I to be happy in this life and the next,” Mother Angelica said through slumped lips, her good eye still twinkling behind her glasses.

“He cares for you. He watches your every move. There’s no one that loves you can do that.”

Mother Angelica’s words struck a chord with Darrow that day, and he found himself secretively snatching glimpses of her episodes every chance he got.

Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, foundress of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), passed away on March 27 after a lengthy struggle with the aftereffects of a stroke. She was 92 years old.

“She really had…a huge influence on my life, and I learned to love her,” he said, “but at the same time, I had to hide her.”

“So when I turned off the TV, I would always change the channel so that when Jeff or whoever was watching that TV came in, they would never see that I was watching Mother Angelica. And it reminded me as I was doing this of when I used to turn the channel when I was watching porn because I didn’t want Jeff or anyone else to see a porn station come up.”

Eventually, Mother Angelica’s influence convinced Darrow to go back to church after decades of absence. It was a move that made Darrow very wary; he was sure he would lose friends and clients if they saw him going into a Catholic Church.

And in some ways, he was right.

“I lost clients, I lost friends,” he told CNA in a 2014 interview at the premiere of the documentary.

“People were in shock that an educated, relatively intelligent man could believe in Jesus Christ. These were the few friends that were aware that I was back in the Church.”

But it’s a move that he’s never regretted. Since his conversion, Darrow has shared his experience through talks and conferences. Mother Angelica also led Darrow to discover Courage International, the
Vatican-approved apostolate that reaches out to Catholics with same-sex attraction with the goals of growing closer to God, engaging in supportive friendships, and learning to live full lives within the call to chastity.

It was through Courage International that Darrow became involved with the film “Desire of the Everlasting Hills,” which he saw as a chance to share his story and to give others the same hope that he found in the Catholic Church.

“I was not discriminated against at the beginning of my journey back to the Catholic Church, I was never told that I was a bad person, that I was doing something wrong, even in confession,” he said.

“The Catholic Church really is, according to its teachings, open to everybody.”

Darrow said he felt he owed it to God to share his story through courage and through the film because of all that God had done in his life.

“I wanted to express my love to God and my appreciation for all that He has done for me,” Darrow said, “that He had never forgotten me during the decades that I had forgotten him or turned against him.”

The full documentary is available for free online at everlastinghills.org/movie/.

Originally posted on Catholic News Agency

As we near the end of 2019, people are beginning to look back on the year at the individuals and events that have defined it. The BBC, for example, has compiled a list of 100 women considered inspirational in a multitude of different contexts.
Among the 100 women proposed by the BBC, one has been completely hidden and silent for 35 years, in order to protect the success of her mission. She is a Catholic nun from Singapore and her name is Sister Gerard Fernandez. She spent a good part of her life on death row—that is, accompanying prisoners condemned to death, doing her best to open their hearts to ask for and accept forgiveness, and preparing them to meet God. The story of this religious sister takes us into the most sordid depths of the human soul where, indeed, only the power of God’s mercy can reach.

A truly black sheep
Today Sister Gerard is 81 years old. She finished her mission in prison in 2017, which is why her story can now be told; for all the years she was at the side of those condemned to death, she too was “dead to the world,” that is, she performed her mission in secret and in silence.

It probably makes sense to tell this story starting with the most shocking episode: In 1981, Singapore was shaken by a terrible event: the killing of two children in order to perform a magical ritual at the hands of an alleged medium, Adrian Lim, with the collaboration of his wife Catherine Tan and another woman. All three were sentenced to death. Sister Gerard was deeply affected by the tragedy, because she knew one of the victims, who was only 9 years old, and she also know the father of Catherine Tan, one of the murderers.

She wrote to Tan, who replied from prison after six months, signing the letter as “Catherine, a black sheep.” The nun went to visit her in prison, where she says was met by the culprit’s sad eyes that said to her: “You haven’t condemned me. Please help me change.”

Going after the lost sheep
The parable of the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to follow the one that is lost could almost be called romantic. What it means to accept the request for help of a murderer who killed two children pulls us to the brink of a cliff that not all shepherds, however good, would be willing to go down.

With a serene voice that patiently measures out her words, Sister Gerard explains to a journalist, with amazing candor and radical humility: “There is still hope in their hearts, and this has changed me.” The starting point is not the will to change someone who is “bad,” but the fact of being changed by a glimmer of light glimpsed in eyes of a person no one would like to meet.

She stayed seven years praying at Catherine Tan’s side, until the day she was hanged. Starting then, Fernandez’s place was on death row (executions in Singapore continue to increase in number). Throughout her 35 years, she came to know many different stories, but with one common denominator: “They begin to face death, to know a day will come when they will be told, ‘This is your last week. On Friday, you will be hanged.” Now, I’ve walked with them, preparing them for that moment. And when that moment came, their hearts were ready.” (from The StarTV)

Using a rather inadequate image for such a serious context, we might think of a bouncer stationed at the entrance of a chic night club, who selects who may enter. Sister Gerard is the “anti-bouncer”: she throws souls in, not out. She has made herself available to accompany and encourage those sincerely open to returning to God, even under a thick blanket of sin. There is no sinner willing to take the step who cannot be guided to repentance.

“Don’t make me out to be a saint”
Sr. Fernandez has been too much in touch with the realities of life and death to be flattered by the attention she is now getting. She says, “Don’t make me out to be a saint, because I’m not. My ego can be as big as a satellite. But I try to use the dark moments to become better.” (from The Straits Times)

Calling her a saint could be taking the easy way out. Yes, she’s admirable, but her example is not beyond reach. Her life teaches us that God can lead us, little by little, to places we never would have imagined in His service. Some are called to live their Christian mission to the extreme, on the peripheries, but sometimes those peripheries are within us. All of us carry inside us certain dark corners of our heart that we don’t want to open to God, because we deem them too shameful, too unsightly. Yet, there is no dark corner that God cannot illuminate with the light of his grace and forgiveness. We are all called to conversion, and we are all called to recognize that God’s mercy is greater than any sin — ours or someone else’s.

One of the sweet things about being a priest is being able to minister at a person’s deathbed.

The veil between this world and the next is very thin at that point, and you can see so much. When I say you can “see” so much what I mean is that so much is revealed. At that point the person who is dying is usually very vulnerable and open. Their worldly facade is fading. Their accomplishments and pride are forgotten. They realize that all the stuff of this world will soon be left behind.

Often the person is quietly sleeping. The family is gathered around and there is no response as the last rites are given. On the other hand, sometimes the process is very conscious. More than once I’ve been called to visit a man or woman who has called the parish office specifically because they know they are dying and they want to see a Catholic priest.

So I once made my way to a small apartment in a not so good part of town. I was admitted to find a man in his sixties with a haggard expression gasping for air. Call him Ralph.

“Are you a Catholic priest?”

“I am.”

“It’s about time. I’ve been calling all around town for the last three weeks trying to get hold of a Catholic priest.”

“I’m sorry. It looks like you’re pretty sick.”

“Yep. I’m dying. Doctor says only a few more weeks. They can’t do anything for me.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Lung cancer. It’s my own damned fault. I couldn’t give up smoking,”

“Uh huh. Why haven’t you seen a priest up til now?”

“I was in the hospice and when I asked they sent some old guy around wearing a blue shirt. That made me suspicious so I asked him and he said he was a Methodist. I told him to get lost. I want a Catholic priest. So off he went and a few days later I asked again and they sent some woman around wearing one of those shirts priests are supposed to wear. I knew she wasn’t a Catholic priest, so I told her to get out and go find me a Catholic priest.”

“Why didn’t you send for your parish priest? What church do you go to?”

He laughs, then starts coughing. Coughing really bad. I think he’s going to cough his lungs up—what’s left of them. Finally he stops laughing-coughing and says, “Hell, Father I haven’t been to church for fifty years.”

“Then why start now?”

“Because the nuns told me when a Catholic is dying you’re supposed to call the priest. Right?”

“Right.”

“And I’m a Catholic and I’m dying so I called a priest. What next?”

“Well, are you prepared to make your confession and receive the sacrament of healing?”

“Is that the same as last rites?”

“Yes. Do you want to make your confession?”

“That might take a long time….” starts laughing-coughing again.

“I’ve got as much time as it takes.”

So I began to hear his sad old confession of a wasted life and tragic losses. There were tears on his side first, then on mine. I gave him absolution and promised to bring him communion the next day, and that communion was one of the sweetest things I can remember. He was like a little child. He had faith. In fact he had nothing but faith.

Then after communion and a blessing he lit up a cigarette. “You shouldn’t smoke.” I said. “Those things are going to kill you.”

He thought that was hilarious.

A week later his carer called and I went to see Ralph again. This time he was in bed in a darkened room. There were no family members there. He’d screwed his friends, alienated his kids and divorced his wife. He was alone.

I sat by his bedside. “Ralph, who is with you right now?”

“Nobody Father. Nobody, and it’s my fault. I admit it.”

I took out my rosary. “Do you remember this?”

“Sure. The nuns taught me to say the rosary.”

“That’s who is with you now, Mother Mary.” I give him the rosary. “You’re going to die soon, but I want you to hold on to this rosary as you go. She and your guardian angel will see you across the river. Are you good with that?”

He whispers, “Sure I’m good with that.”

Do you want me to say the prayers for passing?

He nods. I pray. He goes to sleep, and a few days later at his funeral his people are surprised to see a Catholic priest show up. Nobody knew Ralph was a Catholic.

When I told them how Ralph died there was total silence and reverence, and in some strange way Ralph, who was a pretty lousy Catholic in life, bore a radiant witness to Christ the King in his death

This article originally appeared on Fr. Dwight Longenecker’s blog

Visit his website, browse his books, and be in touch at dwightlongenecker.com.

On October 24, 1941, in a Brazilian village, a boy hid in the bushes in hopes of catching a 12 yro girl called Benigna off guard when she was fetching water. He was hoping to rape her, but she valiantly fought off his attempts and prevented him from forcing himself upon her.

This refusal added fuel to his rage and the boy took out a machete and started attaching Benigna. He made several blows, the last one killing her instantly. The boy fled, but her body was soon found. He was eventually arrested and spent most of his life in prison. In 1991 he was released and returned to the site of the murder, sincerely repentant of what he had done.

Benigna’s heroic example became an inspiration for the local people and in 2011 her cause for canonization was open. On October 2, 2019, Pope Francis authorized her “martyrdom,” paving the way for her beatification in Brazil.

She will join the ranks of Maria Goretti as a “martyr for purity,” highlighting the beautiful gift of sexuality and how it is to be preserved and used in the right way according to the plan God has created for it.

At the twilight of life, our actions will speak who we are. Nothing speaks louder than the acts done to save the life of another. Here is the story of man, Justin, who promptly chose to give one of his kidneys to a man whom his wife told him needed one. The story began when Nicole, his wife returned from work and told him that one of her customers at the star buck office was in need of a kidney or he might die. “I will give him mine, ” replied Justin to the amazement of his wife who initially thought he was kidding. But Justin met the man and one thing led to another, tge became friends and within a few months, made the arrangements and donated one kidney to him. You can read the full article here>https://t.co/YmqmoXwrbJ

Watch the video here

A 20-year-old college student in upstate New York reported an Uber driver for refusing to take her to get an abortion. According to the women’s account, which was reported on by Yahoo! Style (UK), the ride-sharing company canned the pro-lifer.

But now the woman is looking to take legal against the driver.

“I’m in college in upstate NY and I don’t have a car on campus because it’s expensive,” she wrote in a message posted to Reddit earlier this month.

“I’m 20 years old and I found out I was pregnant and subsequently decided I wanted an abortion because I’m in no position to care for a child,” the woman said.

She found a clinic about an hour from her university, because the nearby Planned Parenthood had a schedule that didn’t work for her. “Because I don’t have a car, I rely on Uber and [L]yft to get me places,” she said.

The student then recounted her interaction with the Uber driver, who attempted to dissuade the woman from choosing abortion before telling her he could not drive her to the clinic.

“My appointment was at 11:30am so at 9:58am my Uber arrived and he immediately seemed uncomfortable. After about five minutes in the car, he asked, ‘are we going to a planned parenthood?’ I said no (because we weren’t), but it set off alarm bells that he would even ask that,” she recounted. “The destination I put in was just the name of the doctor and the address of the clinic, there was nothing that would suggest it was an abortion clinic. After a few more minutes he asked, ‘are we going to an abortion clinic?’”

“I was shocked,” the student continued. “I had no idea what to say, so I just remained quiet. He then said ‘I know it’s none of my business, but…’ and proceeded to mention something about his wife being pregnant, how awful the procedure was (and proceeded to explain it in graphic detail), and that ‘there is so much they don’t tell you’. He then said ‘you’re going to regret this decision for the rest of your life’ and that I was making a mistake.”

At about halfway to the clinic, the woman said, the driver “suddenly pulls over with no warning.”

“He said ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t take you the rest of the way. I can take you back to [my city], but you won’t be able to find another Uber out here,’” the post read.

The woman said she finally got ahold of her boyfriend, who advised her to call the clinic and inform them she’d be late. (What a great guy.)

“I got out of the car and immediately started crying,” the student wrote. “I called my parents each three times but they didn’t pick up. Then I called my boyfriend and he picked up right away. He managed to calm me down and told me to let the clinic know what was happening and to call some local cab companies.”

The driver then “hung around for about 10-15 minutes and asked once more if I wanted to go back with him,” she said, but noted that she “declined.”

“After he left, a cab came and I got to my appointment (an hour late),” the post read.

The driver, who otherwise had good reviews from patrons, was fired after the woman filed a report against him.

“I reported the driver to Uber and the next day I filed a police report with my city’s police department. Someone on Uber’s team got in touch with me after I told them about the police report and called me to get a detailed account of what happened,” she said. “I told them everything on a call that was recorded, and the rep mentioned that it appeared the driver had taken a less direct route to get me to my destination prior to dropping me off.”

“Within a few days they reached out again and told me the driver had been banned from Uber,” the woman added.

But the driver being fired was not enough: “However, I’d like to pursue further legal action against the driver if at all possible. Do I have a case? What should my next steps be?” she asked via Reddit.

“I reached out to a law firm and a few legal aid societies but nothing has happened. I’m not sure what I should do now,” the woman said.

By AMANDA PRESTIGIACOMO

“A lot of my friends tease me,” said Kidman, who came back to her Catholic faith prior to marrying country singer Keith Urban in 2006. The couple settled in Nashville, Tennessee, where they have lived ever since.

Kidman said that regular Mass attendance is an important part of their family life.

“That’s how we are raising our children. Keith has his own beliefs but he comes, too,” the Big Little Lies star said. “I had a very Catholic grandmother, and I was raised praying, so that had massive impact.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s absolutism, there’s constant questioning — I’m a willful, feisty girl. For me it’s very important that I don’t have judgment. My dad would always say, ‘Tolerance is the most important thing,’” Kidman said.

Leading up to her marriage to Urban, Kidman spent time studying theology at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, as part of “a return to her Catholic roots,” it was reported.

“Catholicism guides me. I certainly have a strong belief. I try to go to church regularly, and I try to go to confession,” she said at the time.

Last fall, Ms. Kidman told Allure that she had considered becoming a nun when she was young, a life she felt attracted to.

“I’m spiritual in the sense that I absolutely believe in God,” she said. “I loved the idea of being a nun. Obviously, I did not choose to go that path, but I was very drawn to it.”

The Oscar-winning actress wandered from her childhood faith for several years, dabbling in Scientology and Buddhism while she was married to actor Tom Cruise and later returning to the Catholic faith.

“For Nicole, you know this is a spiritual homecoming, coming back to the church and her faith in her old parish,” said Father Paul Coleman in 2006, an Australian priest and a longtime friend of the Kidman family who helped the actress obtain the annulment of her marriage with Tom Cruise.

The 51-year-old star has two grown-up children with Cruise, as well as two younger daughters — Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret — with husband Keith Urban.

Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter

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Epiphany means “manifestation”. Today the Church celebrates our Lord’s manifestation to the whole world. He had already made himself known to the shepherds. Now he shows himself to the Magi, the first Gentiles to know him. The Epiphany is a proclamation of God’s will to save all mankind. Although the newborn Child is the Messiah promised to the Israelites, his redeeming mission extends to all people. He is the new Adam who, appearing in human flesh, has renewed us in the new light of his immortality.

The adoration of the Magi foreshadows the future coming of millions of souls of every race and tongue, called by God to adore Christ. Such is the full meaning of Isaiah’s prophecy: Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Isaiah addresses the holy city, which is a figure of the Church, the new Jerusalem, the light of all nations. Kings and peoples will come from all over the world, drawn by the brightness of its glory. The Church, as Mother and Teacher of every nation, welcomes them and presents them as a precious gift to Christ, her Spouse.

We know that all this began, says St Leo the Great, when a star led three Wise Men from a far country to come to know and adore the King of heaven and earth. The Magi’s obedience is held up to us as a model, so that we may also respond to the best of our abilities to this grace that draws all men to Christ.

Whoever lives a pious and chaste life in the Church, whoever savours the things that are above and not those of the earth, resembles, in some way, that heavenly light. By preserving in himself the splendour of a holy life, he shines like a star and shows many people the way leading to God.

Fortified by this zeal, dearly beloved, help one another to shine like the children of light in the Kingdom of God, which is to be reached through sincere faith and good works.

The couple leaving Holy Trinity Parish

The couple entering the reception venue

Moms dancing for joy

Enugu state governor pays his respects

Chiemezie and Nkiru, newest couple in town takes the throne

The couple cut the Cake of love

Chiemezie and Nkiru tell it all

When all the children leave home to start their own lives, empty-nester- parents do not have to live sad lonely lives, concerned about food and rest, anxiously awaiting children’s visits. Rather they can begin again, like the Mack couple.

According to lifesitenews, the D.C. couple was beginning life as empty nesters when they learned of a family crisis. Five siblings, all ages 10 and under, needed a home.
Tyrone and Karen Mack prayed, “Lord, what can we do?” and then agreed to adopt them all, Live Action News reports.
Now, the 55-year-olds are parents to young children once again. The five siblings plus the couple’s six grown children make the Macks parents of 11.
“… we decided to take all the kids and keep them together. I guess that’s what God wanted us to do,” Karen told the Washington Post.
On Nov. 18, 10-year-old Heaven, 7-year-old Chanel, 6-year-old Hakeem, 5-year-old Hayden and 2-year-old Jeremiah officially became members of the Mack family, according to the report.
They are the biological children of Tyrone’s niece, who has drug abuse and mental health problems and could no longer care for them. Tyrone said their biological fathers have not been around to take care of them either.
Initially, the Macks brought the girls and Jeremiah into their home, while the other boys were placed in separate foster homes, according to the report. But the Christian couple said they did not want the siblings to be separated.
“It was important that we kept them together,” Tyrone told the Washington Post. “So many people sit back and don’t give their all to kids that are not theirs. But if we didn’t step and take our place in their life, they wouldn’t be society ready.

And these children need it more so now because they are our future. They are our Congress. They are our president.”
Raising five young children comes with many challenges, but the Macks are committed. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help the family buy a van.
And If we are honest, used textbooks and pass-me-down clothes reduces the costs of raising these unfortunate children yet gives much joy.
Granted, raising someone else’s child as your own, and not merely exploiting them as slaves or helps is in God a type of selflessness that takes effort. It’s even true that occasionally, adopted children or children of poor relatives ungrateful but same can happen with ones own biological children, yet that deos not negate the good done, and valua added to society.