Forget Me Not

RACHEL ROSS

From the tender of age of 13, Rachel Ross prayed for the opportunity to spread the message of God's love in Romania. Never did she realize how fully God would answer her prayers! She first visited Romania as a teenager, in the summer of 1999. During her time in this impoverished country, Rachel worked in local children's hospitals and orphanages, returning every summer until 2003, when she served a 6 month-internship in the country.

It was during this period that Rachel's heart was captured by an abandoned baby girl named Zorica Izabela. Rachel fell instantly in love with little Iza and knew that she could not leave her alone in this world. Because of a moratorium on Romanian adoptions, Rachel would be unable to adopt Iza through the traditional process typical of international adoption. The only possibility of becoming Iza's mother would require extreme sacrifice - an indefinite move to Romania so that Rachel could fulfill new Romanian adoption criteria.

And so, with the blessing and support of her parents, Rachel moved in 2004 to Oradea, Romania, where she spends her days and nights steadfastly caring for abandoned and seemingly overlooked babies and children, while pursuing formal adoption proceedings to become Iza's forever mother. Though the adoption is not yet finalized, each day brings them one step closer.

While working in a a Romanian children's hospital with 5 floors of abandoned babies, Rachel's heart was so burdened for orphans that she started Forget Me Not Ministries, an organization whose mission is to improve the lives of the Romanian children whom God has NOT forgotten! FMN Ministries now has a large house and land in Tinca, Romania (the gypsy village from where so many of the abandoned babies came), where they plan to expand and build a 25,000 sq. ft. daycare able to house 200 babies, children, and at-risk youth.

Watch a video highlighting the work of Rachel and FMN Ministries, and read more about the organization at the official website. Again, a box of Kleenex is a must have before viewing the video!

Rachel praises God for each little life with whom she is able to come in contact; even in the face of heartwrenching circumstances and children barely surviving, she rejoices in the comfort of knowing that God hears each child’s cry, knows their pains and has a plan and a future for their precious lives.

Never underestimate the amazing ability of God to work through a young woman whose heart is sold out to Him!