Bruce Thomas began working in Romania right after the fall of Communism in 1990. He initially went to Romania to help develop a national network of youth ministry for the Church who had been so harshly persecuted under the Ceaucescu regime. He and his wife Catherine Vandermeer Thomas started a non-profit ministry to serve vulnerable children in Romania in 2001. Together with an incredible international staff team, they have cared for, protected, evangelized and discipled thousands of abandoned kids. Their ministry is called Livada Orphan Care. (livada.org) “Livada” is the Romanian word for orchard and serves as a symbol of what they want to accomplish: They want to use the platform of orphan care to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Bruce is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Dallas Theological Seminary. He is a trauma informed caregiver certified in Trust Based Relational Intervention from TCU’s Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. He is the co-founder of the Romania Without Orphans Alliance and a member of the Christian Alliance For Orphans. He and his wife Catherine were the recipients of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s “Angels In Adoption Award.” They are the parents of four sons, of whom their older two sons are adopted from Romania. Bruce is the Founder and Executive Director of Livada Orphan Care and resides in Frisco, Texas.