By Christina Galeone
CFP correspondent
BARRE – On the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows in 2015, Deacon Brian Gadbois – who serves St. Francis of Assisi Parish – and his wife, Nissa Gadbois, adopted two of their children. They adopted their son Nicholas, and their daughter Olivia, from an orphanage in the village of Malak Preslavets in Bulgaria. But the couple, who own and operate Renaissance Farms in Barre, didn’t want their connection to Nicholas and Olivia’s native country to end with the adoption. They felt that God was calling them to serve the village.
“Nicholas recently connected with his best friend, Vasil, who still resides at the orphanage, and, very shortly afterward, I knew that the time had come for me to go back and begin serving in Bulgaria,” Mrs. Gadbois said. “Nick has expressed a desire to help other children in orphanages, and so it was natural that he would come with me.”
In April, Mrs. Gadbois and Nicholas, 15, will return to Malak Preslavets. For two weeks, they will serve the children at the orphanage as part of their mission trip. In addition to providing the children with educational and gardening supplies, they will plant seeds for a future ministry that will empower young adults who transition out of the orphanage.
Providing gardening and educational supplies will address what Mrs. Gadbois said are two of the orphanage’s major needs. She said that the children’s diet “consists of highly processed carbohydrates and sugar, for the most part.” Because of the importance of good nutrition, she hopes to increase their access to fresh produce by using the seeds, plants and gardening tools that she and Nick will bring there to help create a small vegetable garden.
“It is our hope that, over time, this will become a larger project that will supply the children with more fresh produce and offer them an opportunity for hands-on learning and the joy and wonder of co-creating with God,” Mrs. Gadbois said.
Obtaining a good education is also a challenge for the children who live there, she said. And she hopes that the handmade Montessori educational materials that they’ll deliver to the orphanage will improve the children’s chances to have a bright future.
“In addition to children who are struggling with developmental trauma, most of them belong to an ethnic minority that is the target of appalling discrimination,” Mrs. Gadbois explained. “Sadly, this can extend to how they are treated at school. Consequently, it is very difficult for these children to make academic strides.”
The upcoming mission trip has also been shaped by the tremendous influence that Nicholas and Olivia, 14, and their early experiences have had on Deacon and Mrs. Gadbois. Knowing of their children’s struggles, they’ve been determined to make life better for children in orphanages.
“Currently, our driving force is Nick’s best friend, Vasil,” Mrs. Gadbois shared. She added, Vasil’s “dream is to become a lawyer, but his prospects are limited because of the stigma of ‘orphanhood’ and lack of access to the resources he will need in order to achieve his goal. We want to make it possible for him – and for other children – to answer their callings.”
Nicholas has similar hopes. The adolescent, who’s looking forward to visiting his best friend and the village where he spent his early childhood, wants to make a positive difference in the lives of the children at the orphanage.
“I want to help them to learn how to look after themselves,” Nicholas said, adding that he also wants to improve their access to more nutritional food and a good education. “I want to make their lives happy.”
Mrs. Gadbois and Nicholas will also be planting seeds for the children’s future.
“Our hope … is to make important connections in Bulgaria to help us establish an intentional community where children who have ‘aged out’ of state care can come to live independently, or with families, receive remedial education, life skills and vocational training, valuable experience, as well as solid Christian catechesis,” Mrs. Gadbois said. “Our aim is to form adults who are confident, capable, and kind; adults who can care for themselves, their families, and for others; Christians who will live and share the joy of the Gospel. Our hope is that some of these young people will go on to establish other such projects...”
– To help fund this mission trip, you can visit its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/donate/511660239319906, or you can send a donation to Nissa Gadbois, 126 Company Farm Road, Barre, MA 01005.