Kathy Langston

Kathy Langston

Kathy Langston and the Hosanna Children

There are many people in Canada who, motivated by their love for our Saviour Jesus Christ, are doing extraordinary things for the good of human beings in various places and situations. One such is Kathy Langston.

Kathy Langston is the daughter of Job and Marina (Margaret) Mantle, who formerly lived in Toronto, Ontario, but subsequently moved to live in Calgary, Alberta. They had also a son, Paul. Those who have known these 2 parishioners of the Church of Saint Peter the Aleut, the Martyr, in Calgary would attest to their deep love for the Lord. The information that follows is material partly from the web-site (edited), and partly from Kathy’s mother, Marina.

Jesus said to the apostles that they should let the children come to Him : “But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the Temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David !’ they were indignant and said to Him, ‘Do You hear what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes. Have you never read, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise”?’” (Matthew 21:15-16)

Kathy Langston initially travelled from Canada to Romania in the summer of 2000 for a three-week vacation, in order to volunteer in the Oradea Children’s Hospital, and to care for abandoned babies.

Oradea is a city in northwest Romania, in the Crişana Region, and very near to the border with Hungary. (Because Oradea is so near to the Hungarian border, it is in a region of Romania which has a lower population of Orthodox Christians than most of Romania. In this part of Romania, there are more Roman Catholics and Protestants than there are Orthodox.)

After one week of feeding, holding, loving and helping the babies, she felt in her heart that she had to move to Romania to help ease their suffering. She moved to Oradea a few months later, in the autumn of 2000.

In the beginning, Kathy volunteered in the hospital, where she cared for abandoned babies ; but after 9 months, she learnt that the best way to help them was to get them out of the hospital and give them a loving and nurturing home. She took children into her own home to give them loving care and to find them permanent families. Because of the imposition of a ban on international adoptions, and the difficulty of finding national adoptive parents, Kathy changed her mission in order to give abandoned children the love and care they so desperately need. She focussed on caring for the children in the hospital and in the understaffed government-run group homes.

Even though such children are often brushed aside by society and are almost invisible on the world scale, they are precious in God’s eyes, and somehow the children know that to be so.

Kathy has kept in mind and lived in accordance with these words, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this : to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).

Children

Florina

Florina was the first baby to come into Kathy’s care when she first moved to Romania in 2000 and volunteered for 9 months in the Children’s Hospital. At that time, Florina was 10 months old and she weighed less than 10 pounds (4½ kilograms). She was malnourished ; she had anaemia, rickets, and a [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staphylococcal_infection staphylococcus infection]. She was also labelled as being retarded and handicapped, and she was unable to hold her head up for more than a few minutes. Within a couple of months of loving care in Kathy’s home, Florina blossomed into a happy, healthy, normally developing baby and 9 months later she was a beautiful little toddler.

Florina was adopted locally by a Romanian family when she was 19 months old.

Sylvia

Sylvia didn’t come into Kathy’s care until she was 15 months old in November, 2001. All she did at the time was rock back and forth on "all fours" in her crib and chew on her clothes. She clearly had not been fed adequately as she would eat until she threw up ; it took Kathy and her care-givers a long time to determine how much little Sylvia actually needed to eat. Sylvia was also full of staphylococcus infection from being in the hospital. Sylvia became a delightful, hardworking, industrious little girl, who loved to laugh. She had a wonderful sense of humour.

Sylvia was placed in her adoptive family in October, 2004. Kathy, Codi, and Andrea still saw her from time to time ; she was thriving in her new family.

Official approval

In August, 2001, Kathy was approved to be a foster parent in Oradea, Romania. She hired care-givers to work at home and help with the girls. That month, she took 10-month-old Florina home. In September, she took 9-month-old Codruta home ; and in November, she took 15-month-old Sylvia home. All were abandoned in the hospital. In May, 2003, she brought home 8-month-old Andrea who was abandoned at birth. She hired a woman and students to help with the girls.

In September, 2004, with Florina already adopted, Sylvia about to leave for her adoptive home, and Codruta and Andrea very stable emotionally, Kathy decided to have her full-time helper work in the Children’s Hospital with the abandoned babies.

Because of the ban on international adoptions and the difficulty of finding Romanian adoptive parents, Kathy decided to not bring any more children into her home. Rather, she changed the focus of her mission in order to bring love and care to abandoned babies and children in the hospital and in the understaffed government-run group homes. The women she hires are loving mothers to the children there.

In 2011, Kathy adopted Codruta (Codi) and Andrea, since they absolutely needed a mother.

Codi

In September, 2001, Kathy took home Codi ; she was 9 months old and had just been abandoned. Codi was sad when she first came home, although she was only at the hospital for a month (a much shorter period of time than the other children). Babies know when they’ve been abandoned. Many gypsy (Romani) women carry their babies around in slings all day long, and it must have been a very dramatic transition from being continually carried to just lying in a crib when she was left in the hospital.

Codi, now 15 years old, is a real teenager. She’s happiest going out with Kathy to the state group homes where the women work, any chance she gets. She loves taking care of small children and the children from the orphanage that spend weekends with them. Codi plays the flute and she loves swimming.

Andrea

In March, 2003, Kathy met Andrea for the first time when she was 6 months old and she weighed only 7½ pounds – she was just a skeleton. Andrea had been abandoned at birth in the maternity hospital and she had lived her entire life in the Children’s Hospital. She was too sick and weak with malnutrition, pneumonia and various infections to leave the hospital, so Kathy and two friends took care of Andrea in the hospital in shifts for a month. She showed only very little improvement ; she never moved at all, and she smiled only once, on Easter Sunday (Pascha). But then, when Andrea was allowed to come home, after only 2 days she began moving around her crib ; and after a month, she had made a miraculous recovery – God healed her completely.

Andrea, at the age of 13 years, played the piano beautifully. She liked most to improvise, and she liked anything to do with computers and art.

Kathy’s Ministry with Abandoned Babies and Children

There was (an may be even now) a shortage of staff in the Children’s Hospital. Rather than hold the abandoned babies to feed them, the staff propped bottles with blankets, and didn’t pick the babies up to burp them, but just flipped them onto their stomachs, where they often vomit or scream from gas-pain. Picking up a baby and loving him or her was rarely done in the hospital ; there was a serious problem of neglect. The babies were rarely if ever taken out of their cribs to sit in a seat or to be standing up in a walker. The children could become handicapped simply from spending most of their lives lying in their cribs.

Kathy has been involved in this ministry since 3 November, 2000. In September, 2004, Kathy began to hire Romanian women and students to work in the hospital with these abandoned babies. The first women moved on, and the following team was been in place for a number of years. They did amazing work. Vera and Dora later worked with abandoned babies in the hospital, most of whom came literally starving to death. With their dedicated love, they helped these babies thrive. Rodica, Dorina, Zorita, and Cornelia went to work in 3 state group homes with neglected abandoned and handicapped children who have been institutionalised all their lives. Then David joined this group. He worked in a fourth state group home with abandoned teenage boys, with different levels of mental disability. Because of his contribution, the boys made amazing progress. The women and David gave the children the joy of being loved, and tought them the joy of interacting with each other. Without their efforts and influence these children would have had a very bleak existence.

The primary purpose of the team was and is to love and help abandoned babies and children. However, through this work Romanian adults who are desperately in need of jobs were also helped.

The staff have been extremely thankful to the many generous supporters who gave them this opportunity to work. Babies and children recovered and thrived under their care and love. Babies were prevented from becoming handicapped, and the handicapped ones developed to the very best of their abilities. Donations also provided extra formula, cereal, bananas, and yogurt to combat malnutrition.

Soledad, Rodica

A very beautiful story unfolded with Soledad (a severely handicapped child), and Rodica, a young woman who worked with children with Down’s Syndrome but who had been let go due to lack of funds. Since 2004, Soledad (who was resident in one of the state group homes) had been making great progress from Kathy's hospital visits where she was in Kathy’s section. Kathy’s women care-givers gave Soledad warm baths and long massages because her body was like a piece of wood. With these therapies, Soledad loosened up and she was able to bend her body in order to sit, and she loved having her arms raised over her head. She also got her fingers unclenched from her palms ; and Soledad, who was blind also, was able to feel for things. After a 3-month hospital visit in 2006, Soledad was sent back to the group home. Kathy heard that the people working in Soledad’s group home didn’t want her back ; and when she went to visit her 2 weeks after Soledad had been back, Soledad was completely shut down and unresponsive – it was just heartbreaking. Kathy hired Rodica to work with her and the other children in that group home. Soledad became lively and happy again, and she knew she was loved. The other children there in that house also benefited from Rodica’s energy, love, and song.

Over the years, supporters have provided funds for surgical operations for abandoned children who otherwise who would not have received them.

From the beginning, Kathy’s ministry was supported by private donations, and she is very thankful to God for providing funds so that she could hire loving Christians to impart His love to these very needy little ones. Kathy is not “superwoman”. She is a normal human being who shares the love that our Saviour gives her with those around her. The Lord increased her offering. In the same way as others like her, she did not take days off, because doing the work of love is not a job. It is her way of life. She and the others pray for all their supporters every day.

Some anecdotes of developments from the web-site

Anecdotes from 2014

February, 2014

These past few months music was given to the children in one of the state group homes where the ministry's women work. Two teenagers with the disabled bodies of 7-year-olds, Cornel (who was blind), and Lavinia, discovered with Cornelia’s guidance, a game that made them very happy. Cornel held a musical pull toy near Lavinia who pulled the cord. This was quite a feat for her, and when it worked, Cornel took it back and held it to his ear. And he laughed out loud. This game went on and on, and they were very happy. This and a battery operated foot-long piano kept him so occupied that he wouldn’t let go of them at mealtime. There are no words to explain what music does for these children, and especially for the blind children. Fifteen-year-old Alexandra got into terrible moods and couldn’t express herself. Music was the only thing that lifted her out of the blackness. A little radio was available that played music off a stick, and the care-givers recorded beautiful music. Often, Alexandra greeted Cornelia in the mornings saying only “musica, musica”.

Kathy saw 15-year-old Florina with a huge smile on her face, and walking with Dorina. It used to take two women to carry her. Dorina’s massaging and exercising of Florina enabled her to walk, but she walked reluctantly. With lots more massaging, Florina’s muscles wre working very well, and she became very happy.

It was amazing to see Aurica lift her arms and play hand games. Rodica’s diligence and loving exercise with Aurica greatly decreased her pain, and she began walking Aurica every day, which the child enjoyed, and which is so necessary for muscle development.

In the hospital, there was a 3-week-old baby girl, abandoned at two weeks of age. At 7 months old, Bogdan was developing little cheeks. He loved the bananas and cereal they gave him to eat. Rodica, also 7 months old, and who had been with the group for half her life, left to go home with Vera and Dora. Like Beni, whom they took home in the summer, Rodica had no place to go, and the months going by living in the hospital without sunshine, fresh air or good food were not good for her. Then, she was blessed to be adopted into a family.

Five-month-old Noemi was again abandoned. This time, she was suffering from flea bites, and other sores. Still, she remained her same sweet self. And they also had a beautiful 4-month-old Filip. Adrian, the 1-year-old handicapped boy who was unresponsive, began to smile, and to respond to love. No one thought it was possible. Love always surprises us.

April, 2014

They were very happy when tiny Radica, whom they received last winter at 2-weeks-old, was adopted. She recently left for her new family. The beautiful twin girls they received in March were doing well. At 3-month-old at that time, they were developing normally. They had also a number of 3-month-old babies that were very much lacking and needing love.

The children were doing well in the state group homes where our women worked, because of the love they received. Istvan, who was 17 and autistic, opened up to our Dorina. He hadn’t interacted with anyone ; but then, when she would give him her hand, he would hold it to his chest. He was happy knowing he was loved. There was a similar with Maria, an autistic 8-year-old. Usually, when Kathy visited, Maria grabbed her hand and headed for the door. Last week, when Kathy got down to hug her, Maria hugged her back and wouldn’t let go.

In March, the care-givers made it possible for 6-year-old Amalia to have treatment at a rehab. hospital. Abandoned children don’t get treatment because they need someone to be with them night and day. Therefore, Cornelia and Naomi took turns taking care of her. For the three-weei period, they slept in the same bed with her in a room with 4 other older noisy children and their mothers. Afterwards, Amalia was able to sit better, to hold her deformed body straighter, and her stomach was no longer ballooned out. She became more talkative, and Kathy and her team were appreciating her alert mind. The intense togetherness with Cornelia and Naomi was healing in itself.

Naomi was a student in her 2nd year of university, and studying to teach children with special needs. Kathy had known her for years, and she had a lot to give. She had recently lost her part-time job, and she was devastated because she was on her own (being from a very poor family). So it was a perfect match that she should work part of the weekend, when the children were especially neglected. They loved her very much and she was wonderful with them, usually having one of them in her arms.

Seventeen-year-old Darian who was blind, now sang for long periods. Cornel, also blind, who stayed in the same bed, would not let anyone take the music toy out of his hands, because he was so happy. The constant music must have been inspiring Darian. Cornelia made a special effort to take these boys outside. No one else ever took them out of bed.

June, 2014

The twins Tibor and Lajos were almost 2 months old, and they had been abandoned recently by their 18-year-old mother because of poverty. Andrei was 5 weeks old, and he just loved to be held. Florin, a perfectly healthy abandoned baby who was doing very well with Vera’s and Dora’s care, sadly was moved to another hospital, where there was no one to give him the time and love he needed. Octaviana who was 3 months old, and who had been with us most of her life, was doing very well.

In the state group home where our Naomi worked, a 16-year-old girl had an amazing emotional break-through. Lacrimoara had her arms tied together because of auto-aggression, and Cornelia’s love over these previous 2 years had brought her to life. Before Cornelia, Lacrimoara would never get out of bed. Well, this girl just loved Naomi too, and one day after Naomi had taken all the children outside and they were sitting on a bench, Lacrimoara began inching her way towards Naomi and then she put her head on Naomi’s shoulder. This was the first sign of affection Lacrimoara had shown in her life, and the team was overjoyed.

Kathy was able to hire back Estera who had worked with the children 2 years earlier, before having a baby. The children really loved her. She knew how to give them activities for their level of development, so that they could have success and be happy. Her goal that summer was to get 4-year-old Andrea who preferred crawling, to achieve walking. Already, the supervisor of the houses was impressed with the progress Andrea had made with Estera’s help. Also, the social worker was impressed with how the 36 children’s health and disposition had improved since the team began a year before taking fruit, milk, yogurt, and eggs to supplement their poor diet.

The beginning of the month, Kathy and her girls started taking out children from the 80-bed orphanage in town, for the weekends. They were given 7-year-old Florina and her 4-year-old brother Cristi, who were not doing well there. After a few weeks, the team was asked if we could take out another child. They just love to get out, if only for the weekend. Therefore, after that, 5-year-old Laura was joining them, and Codi and Andrea were a wonderful help with them. Codi loved to teach, and she really applied herself : Cristi didn’t know numbers, nor did Florina know the letters of the alphabet.

August, 2014

In the hospital, there were 2 babies that have heart conditions. Adam was 1 month old, and he was not expected to live much longer. No-one knew the birth-date of the other baby, Erno. He seemed to be a few months old, and he was very hungry. He finished his small amount of formula and cried for more. Vera was managing to get him more. Sandor was a thin 3-month-old, and Reka was a 9-month-old who mercifully had finished kidney dialysis.

It had been a very good summer for the children in the state group homes, with both Estera and Naomi working part time, filling in hours that weren’t covered. The children had more hours of love and care. Estera accomplished her goal of getting 4-year-old Andrea, who preferred crawling, to walk : and the child would get up and walk on her own, something she never did before. Andrea was also talking more by that time.

They were giving Amalia another round of treatments at the rehab. hospital. The treatments from the spring had had a lasting effect, thanks to the fact that Cornelia and Naomi continued to exercise and massage her limbs. The hospital staff there were impressed to see the good shape that Amalia was in.

Kathy and others visited Canada that summer, and Kathy met with a sponsor who wanted to take on a state group home of 13 abandoned teenage boys. These boys have different levels of intelligence. They need activities, sports, and most of all, love and direction. Each one complained of being hungry, and the food provided was not sufficient. Therefore, the team had started to buy them supplementary food, and God provided a young man David to work with them.

In July, when they would go to the orphanage to take out the 3 children for the weekends, we were asked to take more. Quickly, they found themselves with 5 children. The children enjoyed very much being in the apartment, in a home environment with toys, games, and things to do. They also very much liked to eat plenty. Their relationships were deepening, which the team hoped would help them.

October, 2014

Five-month-old Sandor was much stronger and happier at that time, after having been given cereal for 2 months. Alexandru, 2 months old, had been with them before. He had been taken home ; but then 2 days later, he was brought back to the hospital, and extremely sick. Unfortunately, this is the pattern for babies that are not wanted. He rebounded quickly, being very loved by Vera and Dora. Three-week-old Izabela is up for adoption. In November, they would be able to give 3-month-old Cristian cereal, and he would be able to grow bigger.

The results of Amalia’s 3-week treatment at the rehabilitation hospital had a fantastic effect on her. She was sitting up very straight, and she held her head up well. Now, she could sit and colour and do things with her hands.

They had been given a walker (something hoped for for a long time) so that Erika could walk on her own. Her legs crossed in front of her when she walks ; nevertheless, Dorina and Zorita walk her, because she loved walking. Kathy never saw her so happy as walking alone with this walker. She was laughing, and the other children watching her seemed to be about as happy as she was.

David was bonding with the abandoned teenage boys, and they were very glad to get out daily now that he was there to take them. All 14 sang when he took his guitar over ; and when he took some of the older ones to church with him Sunday nights, they get up at the front and sing there too, feeling very good about themselves.

December, 2014

It was a very happy Christmas time at the state group homes where the women worked. A week after the children received their presents, Gisela was still dancing with joy after she threaded a bead necklace. Blind Cornel was laughing out loud with his new music toy. Alexandra was colouring almost non-stop in her own colouring book. Claudia and Roxana were very carefully taking care of their dolls. Amalia was delighted to make shapes with plasticine. When she made a puzzle (although needing help), she gave a shout of joy with every piece successfully placed.

By then, the children were so used to activities and to the pleasure they bring, that right after breakfast they each ask for their favourite thing. It is wonderful seeing them function to the best of their ability. Naomi had started working with them with a game of faces, to help them recognise their feelings. This was something of value for those who have trouble speaking.

Some appropriate books were found, which make the children and the teenage boys happy and interested. With success, David used a reader/activity book with Andrei who was still trying to learn the alphabet and to read. It was also not as painful for Andrei. It was touching to hear the boys sing carols. They took their singing very seriously, and even the boys that barely talk would sing.

The children being thus loved, loved in return. When Ilu and Maria gave a hug at the same time because neither can wait, it lasted a long time. They didn’t let go.

The cereal provided for the abandoned babies in the hospital really helped Sandor, Alexandru, Cristian, Cosmin, Razvan, and Maia over the past few months. The team started them early on it, they were so hungry. Tiny Bobi came without a birth certificate, and he still slept a lot. The team was very happy that Izabela (whose picture was in the newsletter) was adopted.

Events and anecdotes following these may be found in the web-site.

Return to Canada, to Calgary, to care for parents, and continued work in Romania

September 2017 – Codi, Andrea, and I arrived in Calgary our new home, this summer. It was time for Kathy to be with her elderly parents. She was still working on the mission, and she kept in close contact with the devoted people. They still wanted to keep on loving the babies and children, and the babies and children still sure needed them.

August, 2017, was busier than usual in the hospital. The team had had up to 5 babies. Then came 4-month-old Milan who had been abandoned before ; 7-month-old Janos ; 6-month-old Marius, and 2-month-old Narcisa. The doctors discovered a heart condition in Narcisa. Three of these babies were eating cereal. It contributes very much to their health and happiness.

Cornelia was going daily to the state group home where she said "11 little souls are waiting for me". This is the place where abandoned children with health conditions live, and she was often left alone with them. She had had a great summer working with them, and because of her efforts 4-year-old Iza was now walking. Iza had hydrocephalus, and already had the freedom to walk alone. Roberta who is the same age and with the same condition, was by then much more stable on her feet.

Adam who was 3, was not having emotional breakdowns anymore, was learning a lot of words and was now playing nicely with the other children. And 4-year-old Costica too - he had Down Syndrome and wouldn't let anybody near him or touch him : he must have been really hurt, but already he wanted only to be playing with the children. The younger and quite handicapped children Adriano, Isac, Marimar, and Boby were all very happy simply being taken out of bed. They were learning how to play, and they love the attention they were getting, and not being left alone.

There was a new boy 12-year-old Cornel, in the state group home where Dorina and Zorita worked. He had deformed limbs and other problems, but he understood everything, and he was happy when the women spent time with him, teaching him to count, and playing with him.

The events and anecdotes for remainder of this year, and all the subsequent years, may be seen on the web-site.

Kathy with Codi and Andrea

References

Web-site

Additional information :

Newsletters

Hosannchildren Updates

'Our life in Christ : "My Romanian Adventure"' in "Canadian Orthodox Messenger" (Autumn 2003) pp. 10-11.

'Christian service in Romania : "The 'Romanian Adventure' revisited"' in "Canadian Orthodox Messenger" (Winter 2006-2007) pp. 9-10.

Other similar works elsewhere :

Ascension Monastery’s adopted orphans

NASHI — Our Children

Please send your suggestions, additions, corrections or contributions to this address :

info@orthodoxcanada.ca