by Tom August


Tom August, a deacon at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, served as a volunteer during a Buckner mission trip to Romania in July. The Wedgwood team worked in Leaganul Orphanage in Targu Mures and at a Vacation Bible School-type camp for special-needs orphans near Lapusna. It was August’s fourth Buckner-led mission trip to Romania.

The thing that was impressed upon me was the sense of hopelessness that these children have. The orphans truly have had everything stripped away from them and can only rely on their heavenly father. We provided them the opportunity to be introduced to the love and forgiveness of their Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.


These children very much look forward to camp each year. The children came from the Big Blue Orphanage and are special needs children that are all either physically, mentally or emotionally handicapped. This is an opportunity for them to be able to get away from that atmosphere and be out in nature and see God’s creation and be surrounded by the love of God’s people – to, on a daily basis, be told gospel stories and to sing songs. They very much love to sing songs…about how Jesus loves them and to know that, even though they are orphans, they do have a father, a Father in Heaven.

One of the children in my care group was autistic. He was not capable of comprehending some of the stories we shared and not capable of reading or memorizing a verse. At one point, after we had gotten done singing some songs, I heard this little boy, Nicosur, as he sat on the ground and rocked back and forth, singing to the best of his ability a song about how Jesus loves him. He didn’t know all the words, so he made up some as he went along.

But he understood the message that he is loved by Jesus as he was singing this song at his own time and in his own way. I knew that this was a point when the Lord was touching his heart. This, to me, was kind of a verification of my calling. I knew that this was where the Lord had me to serve at this time – to be able to come here, to be able to be blessed by the opportunity to meet and work with Nicosur.