When Ramona Dudas approached the stage on the final day of CAFO2023, it was a miracle she could walk … let alone was about to tell her story before thousands of people.
Facing the crowd, she shared what it meant to have been found as a 3-year old in the Romanian orphanage known as Cighid.
Between 1987-1990, 138 child deaths were recorded at Cighid. Its tragedies were finally exposed and broadcast to the world by Western reporters after the fall of communism in 1989.
Ramona was one of dozens of children removed from the home and taken to a nearby pediatric hospital. Weighing less than 11 pounds at the age of 3, she could not sit, speak or walk. Her prognosis was deemed “irrecoverable.”
“But God,” Ramona shared, “had a different plan.”
A young woman named Corina, just 19-years old, came daily to the hospital as a volunteer. She began feeding Ramona by hand with home-cooked food she brought with her. Corina also helped her to exercise her undeveloped legs and arms. She sat by Ramona’s crib hour after hour, praying for her and comforting her while she slept. Little by little, Ramona began to gain weight, strength, and the capacity to stand.
With permission from the hospital, Corina took Ramona home and never looked back. The years to come weren’t easy. They moved at a pace that simply could not be hurried. But they were full of countless acts of tender care from Corina and her parents and siblings … and a warm home rich in home-cooked meals eaten together, music, siblings and lots of prayer. She was also officially adopted by Corina at the age of 10.
Little by little, Ramona not only recovered, she came to thrive. She graduated from nursing school, and is now a mother to three children and works as a registered nurse.
“At times the road of my life has been very difficult for me and my mother,” she said. “She was just a teenager when she began caring for me. I imagine her with her hand on my head praying for me the long hours of night. And I’m sure she was tired. But she had this long view, she wasn’t in a hurry and she wasn’t thinking about the hours of the day or even the years. She had eyes for eternity. She had eyes for what she believed – that even if that little girl didn’t survive, God was still at work.”
Ramona’s story was one of many shared this year at the CAFO2023 Summit in Oklahoma City Sept. 20-22, where 3,000 leaders, practitioners and caregivers – 2,000+ in person and about 1,000 online – gathered.
Leaders committed to leaving their logos and egos at the door to strengthen one another…
Practitioners equipped with insights and research to provide better care and see better outcomes for children and families…
Caregivers leaving refreshed and encouraged to continue on the long road of healing and health for those in their care.
Listen to the full keynote, Unhurried: Living with the Long View, by Jedd Medefind.
We receive – and give – good gifts at Summit.
CAFO Summit is often referred to as a “giant gift exchange” – and this year was no exception: from united worship … to dynamic main-stage speakers … to practical workshop learning … to rich conversations and prayers among God’s people from more than 50 countries.
Each came with gifts to give. Each came with needs to fill. And God marvelously enabled both.
We are strengthened the wisdom we share with each other.
CAFO2023 featured 100+ workshops and coaching tables in six major tracks, including:
- Help for foster and adoptive families
- Guiding and leading church-based ministries
- Effectively engaging for youth in foster care
- Maximizing the impact of your organization
- Effectively serving children worldwide
- Strengthening the soul for lifelong service
The 230+ presenters and facilitators represented some of the world’s very best in both knowledge and hard-earned insight. They shared freely, strengthening their co-labors and helping shape the future trajectory of our work.
When we live “unhurried,” we keep the long view before us.
Embracing the long view when the needs around us are so urgent requires two things especially. We must learn the discipline of pruning. And we must confront the hidden taskmasters that drive us to choose anxious and hurried lives. These taskmasters are stripped of their power when immersed in the goodness of God.
And as we learn to live un-hurried, we come to offer to others the most precious gift one human can give another. Not merely a product or a program, but a presence that feels much like the presence of Jesus himself.
Did you miss out on CAFO2023?
You can now download audio from the experience!
Listen to the workshops and sessions you missed, and share them with others in your organization or community! The full audio bundle contains the General Sessions and Workshops that were recorded during the CAFO2023 Summit. The price is $159.00 for the bundle, or each workshop can be purchased individually for $5. Also, new this year, Audio Bundles by Track! Purchase the most relevant content for your role or community, starting at just $19.99. Find all these options at cafo.org/audio.