Al Clark: On Father's Day, this group takes mothering far from home

As far east as Istanbul, as distant in time as yesterday or tomorrow, the small, seemingly overlooked country of Moldova lies hidden between Ukraine and Romania. Where the Russian author Pushkin, in exile, wrote some of his greatest poetry, it has been called the unhappiest place on earth.

Tumultuous history, economic distress and uncertainty have led to this: More than 12,000 orphans, most with scant support other than government institutions or piecemeal assistance from abroad, live a precarious existence with the terrifying shadow of human trafficking and crime hovering constantly over them.

But as we celebrate this Father's Day, there is reason to call this a mother's day in Moldova.

This is because a special group of men and women, whether mother or father, have chosen to leave their families for a time to make the strenuous trip to this distant place to bring a special brand of mothering to some of these children.

My wife Coni and our good friend and Reflector colleague Kim Grizzard joined a small group of brave travelers — including two men — and set out on a church mission trip to Moldova this past week, where, starting tomorrow, they will lead Bible study and other activities at a Christian summer camp for orphans. The trip, led by Pam Strickland of Farmville, was sponsored by Greenville's Oakmont Baptist Church with assistance from Peace Presbyterian Church in Winterville.

This is a return trip for Kim, who wrote extensively of her experiences with a similar mission group last year:

"In Moldova, students are typically released from orphanages about age 16. With few resources available to help them stand on their own, it is estimated as many as 70 percent of the girls will become prostitutes or be forcibly sold into sex slavery. An estimated 70 percent of the boys released from orphan care as teens will resort to a life of crime."

For Coni, this is an unexpected journey. Our family has sponsored a young Moldovan girl for about a year. Shortly before the trip, one of the Oakmont team members learned she would be unable to go. Kim mentioned this to me; I mentioned it to Coni. Wheels turned but nothing really happened until one day, out of the blue, we received an e-mail from the young girl we sponsor, translated and sent through a relief agency:

"After I finish the 9th grade, I would like to become a cook or go to the university, but only with God's help. I will pray every night to have the chance to go to the university. I am also praying for you too, so that God would help you come to the summer camp this year."

She would have had no way of knowing that Coni was even considering going on the trip.

Well, I just got word that Coni, Kim and the other team members safely arrived in Chisinau on Friday, to begin an adventure born of what great mothers — and fathers — do best: nurture, teach, give of themselves and love.

In the 1820s, near the time he lived in Moldova, Pushkin wrote:

If I caress a young child, / Immediately I think: farewell! /

I will yield my place to you, / For I must fade while your flower blooms.../

And let it be, beside the grave's vault / That young life forever will be playing, /

And impartial, indifferent nature / Eternally be shining in beauty.

Father's Day is a good day to be thankful for these men and women bringing a better day to some sad but hopeful children on the other side of the world.

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