This is a re-post from Tiffany Berkowitz who is currently on the field Squad leading. The initial blog was written by my October 2008 squad member Marisa Rodriguez. This just shows that ONE person really can change lives!
For context, see original blog here.
For those of you who have never heard of this child, this is the infamous Michael Angelo.
Two years ago he was sold as a sex slave for the same price of a meal out for two. His family was promised that he would be sent to Japan to become a king, but what they didn’t know is that the day they handed him over to the seemingly harmless woman, they were actually handing their son over to a pimp to be the sex toy for a perverted man in Asia who already had several other children that he used in this way.
It is easy to turn your head and flip the downer of a news channel over to some eye-candy reality show that involves nothing important whatsoever. I do that often, mostly for sanity. But today, in this moment, I am going to ask you to not turn away. I want you to look at this next picture and what I have seen with my own eyes. Then I want you to consider becoming a Sarah Hastings.
Marisa Rodriguez initially found Michael Angelo, and his story, in the graveyard dump site outside of the city. She writes:
“At the time I had no idea why I was taking this boring picture of their feet. It is this picture that later haunted me along with several thousand other people who read the initial blog. Sitting on the steps of the school, shocked and angry at what I had just learned about Michael Angelo’s situation, I looked at the picture and wept profusely. I asked myself the same questions you probably asked after looking at this image. ‘How can a man this size do…that…to a child.'”
Let that simmer…
Marisa continues, “About a month after the initial posting I was surprised by a casual comment given to me by my squad leader. ‘Hey, I have good news for you. My friend Sarah Hastings has gone buck wild and changed that sex slave kid’s life…you know, the one that you blogged about.'”
Here is where the story gets good.
Just a busy mom with two active toddler twins… Just a woman with a compassionate heart… Just someone that loves the Lord…
That is who Sarah Hastings is. And after reading about Michael she let the haunting pictures make her so angry that her only choice was to take action. She decided to enlist her family to trade the age-old tradition of giving and receiving Christmas gifts for sponsoring Michael Angelo’s family. Through PCF the family was lavished with food, clean water, clothing, paid school fees and even a taxi type of vehicle that would enable the father to provide with.
A couple of weeks ago two of the teams from my squad were sent into the village to find Michael Angelo and report the family’s well being after 2 years. They found him. Michael is healthy. The father is working construction and renting his vehicle to someone else so they are making even more money. Most of the kids are in school, and Michael Angelo will be enrolled in the next school session. This time when they went there, the children had clothes. And although they still don’t have much and are still dirt poor, their lives have been touched. His mother was especially humbled by all that she has been given. Wouldn’t you if that were your family?
It is possible to make a difference, and you don’t have to be a hero to be a hero. Thank you Sarah Hastings for your tender heart, and for your relentless compassion that led you to taking matters into your own hands and extending the reach of God even farther.
Some recent pictures I took of Michael Angelo and his family while visiting them in their new home:
For those of you who have never heard of this child, this is the infamous Michael Angelo.
Two years ago he was sold as a sex slave for the same price of a meal out for two. His family was promised that he would be sent to Japan to become a king, but what they didn’t know is that the day they handed him over to the seemingly harmless woman, they were actually handing their son over to a pimp to be the sex toy for a perverted man in Asia who already had several other children that he used in this way.
It is easy to turn your head and flip the downer of a news channel over to some eye-candy reality show that involves nothing important whatsoever. I do that often, mostly for sanity. But today, in this moment, I am going to ask you to not turn away. I want you to look at this next picture and what I have seen with my own eyes. Then I want you to consider becoming a Sarah Hastings.
Marisa Rodriguez initially found Michael Angelo, and his story, in the graveyard dump site outside of the city. She writes:
“At the time I had no idea why I was taking this boring picture of their feet. It is this picture that later haunted me along with several thousand other people who read the initial blog. Sitting on the steps of the school, shocked and angry at what I had just learned about Michael Angelo’s situation, I looked at the picture and wept profusely. I asked myself the same questions you probably asked after looking at this image. ‘How can a man this size do…that…to a child.'”
Let that simmer…
Marisa continues, “About a month after the initial posting I was surprised by a casual comment given to me by my squad leader. ‘Hey, I have good news for you. My friend Sarah Hastings has gone buck wild and changed that sex slave kid’s life…you know, the one that you blogged about.'”
Here is where the story gets good.
Just a busy mom with two active toddler twins… Just a woman with a compassionate heart… Just someone that loves the Lord…
That is who Sarah Hastings is. And after reading about Michael she let the haunting pictures make her so angry that her only choice was to take action. She decided to enlist her family to trade the age-old tradition of giving and receiving Christmas gifts for sponsoring Michael Angelo’s family. Through PCF the family was lavished with food, clean water, clothing, paid school fees and even a taxi type of vehicle that would enable the father to provide with.A couple of weeks ago two of the teams from my squad were sent into the village to find Michael Angelo and report the family’s well being after 2 years. They found him. Michael is healthy. The father is working construction and renting his vehicle to someone else so they are making even more money. Most of the kids are in school, and Michael Angelo will be enrolled in the next school session. This time when they went there, the children had clothes. And although they still don’t have much and are still dirt poor, their lives have been touched. His mother was especially humbled by all that she has been given. Wouldn’t you if that were your family?
It is possible to make a difference, and you don’t have to be a hero to be a hero. Thank you Sarah Hastings for your tender heart, and for your relentless compassion that led you to taking matters into your own hands and extending the reach of God even farther.
Some recent pictures I took of Michael Angelo and his family while visiting them in their new home:
