A few days ago I walked into the living room of our host’s home to find a young man I had never met before sitting on the couch. He looked tired, completely worn out, but you could tell for the first time in a long time he was relaxed and had a glimmer of hope. I watched as he played with our host family’s baby boy and saw how unnatural it was for him to smile like it had been years since he had done the motion. He looked me in the eyes seeking for conversation but his inability to speak English and mine to speak Shona kept us tangled in a language barrier. Pastor David turned to me and began to fill me in on the situation.
Philadelphia, the young man, was 18 years old and had been living on his own since he was around 10 years old. When he was only five, he lost both his parents to cancer and went to live with his grandmother who shortly after passed away. Orphaned, he was then relocated to the rural areas of Zimbabwe to live with relatives of his grandmother. There he tended to cattle, and worked in other agricultural practices all the while being neglected and unappreciated.
Soon he was abandoned all together and found himself living on the streets with the other boys at a young age.
He grew up, unable to go to school, with no family, and no hope. In his teen years he fell into drugs, the common culture of the street life.
But this wasn’t the boy Pastor remembered from years ago. Pastor had been great friends with Philadelphia’s father, a man who was intelligent, driven, respectful, and an amazing father, husband, and friend. Pastor recalled Philadelphia being much like his father, very bright, with a lot of potential. But after Philadelphia’s grandmother passed, Pastor lost all contact with him and had not heard from the boy since.
When Philadelphia got older he set out searching for Pastor David, remembering him from his early childhood. He tracked down an address but when he arrived at the home he was greeted with devastating news that the family had moved to an unknown location. Then last year in December, Pastor had a dream in the night that Philadelphia’s father visited him and asked him to help his suffering son. Following the dream, Pastor began searching for the boy but couldn’t find him anywhere. Then on Monday, as Pastor was looking for a van to take him home from town he spotted a young man who looked familiar. He called out to him by name, “Philadelphia!” The young man turned, slightly confused and walked over. Pastor asked “Do you recognize me?” He starred for a moment before he realized who was standing before him and he said”Yes, you are my Father’s friend!” And they wept together.
So here we are sitting in the living room celebrating this beautiful reunion and Pastor runs to his room and comes back with a box of picture albums. He begins frantically searching through each one flipping through the pictures looking for a specific one. Then he stops, he pulls out a picture with a huge grin on his face and says that’s them! It was a wedding photo of Pastor and his wife, Naomi. Philadelphia’s parents were standing behind them and Pastor was holding baby Philadelphia in his arms! Pastors eyes lit up as he remembered the amazing qualities of his dear friend and as complete joy rushed over him that he was reconnected with this young man who had been lost years before. Pastor immediately began seeking ways to help Philadelphia and has planned to move him into the home with the family. Unfortunately at age 18 he has had no education. But the story gets better. For ministry we went to a local high school where two of the girls on my team gave a motivational speech and preached. Afterward pastor told the school Philadelphia’s story. And the response from the principle of the school was amazing!!! He offered to give Philadelphia free education at the school, all he had to do was get his books and uniform! Unlike America, education is not free here. Many family’s struggle to send their children to school, and in Philadelphia’s case, struggling to make it on his own as a child meant school was no longer a priority. But God has plans for this young man’s life, and this is only the beginning! Praise God for this perfect reunion!
Please keep Philadelphia, as well as Pastor and his family in your prayers.
