Over the last month or so, three of our minors have been released. For an outside perspective, this is a great deal because the boys are no longer behind bars. The sad side of it however, is that we’ve lost contact with two of them and don’t really know where to find them. That was until yesterday.
When one of the minors was released, I asked for an address of where to find him. All I got was a town and a neighborhood. Since the neighborhoods here are in the woods and makeshift houses, hidden from sight, I knew I wouldn’t have much luck taking off on my own. So I waited a little while until yesterday when I could have a couple of friends join me. The town was only about 15 minutes away, so we took off right after lunch, hoping to find something before dark. Our goal was to just drive to the elementary school and start asking around for the family.
Our first stop was a small karaoke bar. We showed them the address we had and they said they knew that area. When we asked them about the Corpus family, the immediately recognized the name and said that one of the oldest, Ryan, stayed there often. Not only did they know the name, but our first stop was a place where the boy we were looking for often sleeps. They told us he was working for the day, but pointed us to the house so we could talk with the family.
When we showed up, the family quickly welcomed us and we were able to meet Ryan’s 6 younger brothers and sisters. We found out that all the kids were in school in June, but because of financial troubles, they all had to leave school because they couldn’t afford the 500 pesos (about $10) for the YEAR’S tuition. As we talked, we found out all the kids missed school and the parents really wanted them to return. They even talked to us about encouraging Ryan, who only made it to grade 5, to return. Most boys his age are more encouraged to work and bring money in for the family, but it seemed this family saw the value in education. We all talked and decided we would make sure all the kids could return that next week and the accounts would be settled.
As we kept talking and waiting for Ryan to come in from work, our translator told the family who we were and why we cared so much for their son. As soon as the father heard this, he looked at Jodi and recognized her. Come to find out, the first thing Ryan talked about after his release was Jodi and the work she was doing in the jail. He showed his family the pictures Jodi had given him and so the family was so thankful to meet her. These are the moment you realize you’re doing something right.
That day, the parents allowed us to take Ryan with us and told him he didn’t have to go back to work. We were welcomed to come pick him up any day to continue his studies and get him ready for the acceleration program, ALS, that would hopefully allow him to catch up with the rest of the students his age. Ryan hid his face when he first saw us, but it didn’t last long until that smile returned and he remembered how much he was cared for. Having a supportive family is a great gift here, and we pray this family continues to support Ryan.
