Story number 2 for 8 Jan 2001

In a related story, many Sudanese civial war orphans are often called the “lost boys” after Peter Pan’s lost boys who clung together to avoid a hostile adult world. However, Bethany Christian Services’ Ben Padron says they are starting a new life in the U-S through Bethany. “Some don’t even remember their childhood because they left their parents at maybe, 3 or 4 years old. 75-percent of the kids are in foster homes-that’s where we got a lot of the outreach. We’ve had foster parent trainings, cultural awareness trainings; we have therapists here for them to address any of the other post-traumatic stress issues.” Grace Community Church Pastor Steve Krohg is hosting one of the young men. He says it’s an outreach. “For some of them, they would be born-again Christians as we would perceive it. For some others, they’ve been the recipient of a lot of atrocities by the Muslims, and so, though they would call themselves Christians, many of them likely would not be. So, it is [the program] an evangelistic opportunity to share the Gospel. We’ve been approaching it more than just in words; it needs to be demonstrated in deeds, first.”