Alexandru-Iosif Kaltenbacher
March 18, 2003 - October 18, 2007
A cold north wind swept down upon us. The skies looked like storm-tossed seas. We huddled together, shivering. Plastic flowers bedecked the gray headstones that surrounded us. Teenaged orphan boys shoveled damp soil into a rectangular hole dug in the ground. I startled at the sound of dirt clumps thumping on the small casket below.
Today, we buried Alex. He was four and one-half years old. Alex was born to a young Roma (Gypsy) mother who lives in poverty in a small village in northwestern Romania. This young mother knew she could not properly care for Alex. No social system or specialists were in place to help her severely handicapped son.
Alex was blind and afflicted with cerebral palsy. He could not hear or speak. Baby Alex was abandoned in the local hospital, and was due to go to an institution for life. Brenda, a volunteer from Nebraska, asked to take Alex and care for him. Sometimes, she would spend six hours a day just feeding him because he had a problem swallowing. Brenda slept with him as he experienced numerous seizures day and night. When he cried out in pain Brenda’s hand was there to calm him.
Alex’s life was short, but he was loved by many. Two hundred of his friends from six countries gathered today to celebrate Alex’s life. Each child from our two small Christian homes held a rose and sang songs praising Jesus and His love for Alex. All the orphans were touched by Alex’s life. The “why” of our love for Alex is a mystery. He offered no beguiling smiles or any sign that he loved us in return.
In the funeral service today, Brenda tearfully and with a quivering voice read her words that honored Alex’s life.
“I want to give thanks to our Heavenly Father who created this beautiful little boy perfectly in His image. I want to thank God that he entrusted us with the life of this precious child.
Alex was not an ordinary child. Alex was an extraordinary child. He was created by God according to his will, and I truly believe he was given the gift of the Holy Spirit. I took care of Alex with absolute pleasure. He filled me with a sense of love, joy and peace that is beyond words. I received from him far more than I gave. And he touched many, many people in ways they had never been touched before.
I am absolutely certain this is a better place because of Alex; what he was, who he was and how he touched others with his ‘somewhat mysterious” little spirit.
Although I grieve deeply over my loss, I celebrate Alex’s life and I rejoice in knowing that God has prepared a place for him in heaven. He is now in the arms of Jesus.”
In my mind I see Brenda looking at Alex with eyes of love and cheerfully cajoling him. Observers were certain they saw a slight smile on his lips. His feeble response was unbelievably powerful. We witnessed “true agape” in Brenda’s tender caresses of Alex. Our hearts are moved and our faith renewed as we have uniquely experienced His mercy and grace in two lives knit together forever.
A final note: Alex’s birth parents and a few relatives came to the funeral. This did not go unnoticed by the orphans. One nineteen-year-old leaned over and whispered, “When I am dead my parents will come to my funeral.” He has not seen his parents in years.
Karleen Dewey
mother and grandmother to many
blessed with loving family and friends
missionary to Romanian orphans
author of The Place of the Mourning Doves. Reaching Out to Romanian Orphans, available at www.mercymins.org
Comments (1)
I am Alex too, and the Lord is so tender and patient it is quite astonishing. I give him so few real signs that I am aware of his kindness. Yet his love endures, and sometimes he spends hours and days and weeks just getting me to swallow some bit of nourishment. Thank you, Alex, for modeling for us perfect weakness.
Posted by Kathy Mulhern | October 26, 2007 7:15 AM
Posted on October 26, 2007 07:15