You all know how the best part of
my trip to The Philippines was meeting Aldrin and knowing that God put him in our path for a
reason. You know that he stole my heart,
perhaps more than anyone I’ve met around the world before. Today I found out news that made my heart
sink into my toes
Aldrin went back to the province
he came from before he was sold into trafficking.
I received an email from the
school’s social worker telling me that she had been in contact with Aldrin and
had told him he could and should join Cautro Christian School so that he could
continue his education. He told her that
he had plans to leave and head back to Cebu where he is from. That he would be accompanied by a cousin back
to the province on Wednesday and he would live with his father and older
brother and sister. She confirmed this
to be true with the family he has been living with and even though she strongly
encouraged him to stay and finish his education he said he wanted to go home
because he missed his siblings. That he
would finish his schooling there.
And now hes gone……….
It was hard to say good bye, but
easier to trust him into God’s hands when I knew he was near KIM and connected with them and for
sure being taken care of and influenced by strong Christian people. He was known and he wasn’t going to slip
through the cracks. He wasn’t going to
find himself trafficked back into slave labor.
He was safe.
Now he isn’t connected to KIM.
He is far away. He may have no
Christian influence save the Bible we left with him. While I am assured that Glysene the social
worker will be contacting and informing the local Cebu child services to do a
home study and check on his situation and tell them of his past and that she
will be contacting him to be sure that he makes it safely, it’s not the
same. I do not have the same connection
with him or the same ability to be in contact about his situation. Basically, he’s out there and there is little
chance I’ll ever see him again and little chance I’ll know what happens with
his life.
Will his heart be opened to the
Lord and will he have a relationship with Jesus? Will he be trafficked again? Will he finish his education? Will he be hungry? Will he be loved? Will he be cared for?
I may never know the answers to any
of these questions….
Yet…..I still must trust him to
God’s hands. Even now, even though it’s
much harder.
God did not cross our paths with
him for nothing. God loves him a million
more times than I do. God will not leave
him or forsake him. God makes everything
work together for Aldrin’s good.
I know all of these things in my
head, but right now my heart is having a very hard time feeling it.
Please continue to pray for
Aldrin. Pray without ceasing for his
safety and most importantly that he comes to know the Lord as his Lord and
savior because no matter what that is what is most important in his life.
