I watch Little A’s mother look at her son with tears in her eyes. She hugs him tightly and then hands him to our Nepali translator R, and quickly walks away. She doesn’t look back. She keeps walking with all the strength she has within her. Her friend turns back to get a final look at Little A. Little A can feel the separation from his mother and starts to whimper. My teammate Kristy stands there with tears in her eyes. R & S also stand there crying. I stand there in disbelief unable to process what just happened, wanting to cry but knowing I had to remain strong for Little A. I take him in my arms and try to comfort him while everyone processes the moment. We are at the zoo, so I bring him to the geese and try to keep him from crying.
The worldrace comes with many unexpected experiences, but I never thought I would experience this exact moment during my race. When my team was told that we would be going into a brothel to do ministry, I didn’t know what to expect. We intended to go into these bars to share the gospel with the women who worked in them and offer them a way out of this lifestyle.
When we went into the bar that day, we were met by 3 beautiful women who were curious why we were there. It is uncommon for 6 American’s to come down into these dark, dungy bars. But we were tourists “looking for a cold soda to drink”. Women don’t typically go down into these types of bars. The bar had several stalls and was divided by 5 feet walls. They had a menu where we could order food but they also have a special menu where men can order the women to do specific things.
We sat down and we introduced ourselves to the girls. We shared that we were tourists and we were looking for some sodas to drink. We started talking to the girls about our lives when one of the women named A shared with us that she had a two year old son. She went and got him and we got to meet him. A few minutes later she started having a serious conversation with R. I was very confused of what was happening. S (R’s sister) tried to translate the best she could on what was happening but after we left, I learned that A knew that this environment wasn’t best for her son and wanted to give him to us. Let me say this again…SHE WANTED TO GIVE US HER SON.
R heard the urgency in A’s voice, and knew she had to help her. She told the girl that if she was ready then tomorrow morning she could meet us at a coffee shop and we could discuss details on rescuing her son. R shared that many women talk to her and plan to meet but never show up. We prayed all night that the woman would show up. Our intention wasn’t just to rescue the Little A but we also wanted to rescue his mother. We prayed all night that she would come with her son.
Our ministry host, B, runs a home for rescued mothers and children. The mother is given a few months to learn skills that will help her start a business that will help her make income to support her child. B shares the gospel, gives training, and provides them a safe environment to restart and be a mother. We wanted to share this option with Little A’s mother so that she could stay with her son instead of having to leave him.
We got a call the next morning telling us that the woman had called and she still planned on meeting at the coffee shop. She came in with her little boy and a small bag containing his clothing. She was ready to give us her son. During our time together at the coffee shop, we explained to the mother that she didn’t have to leave her son and explained she could stay with B. Little A’s mom said she was ready to leave the bar but she wants to make more money before she leaves. While she wasn’t ready to leave yet, she was willing to give us her son. We decided going to the zoo would be the best place to sign papers and have her release her son to us.
I’ll never forget the look in her eyes as she hugged her child for the last time. You could see the love she had for her son by the way she looked at him. I’ll never forget when she handed her son to R knowing she had to walk away. That had to have been the hardest moment for her. Knowing she was doing what was best for her son; to give him a better life. The environment the boy was living in was unsafe.
I stood there watching R hold Little “A”. She had tears streaming down her face. I looked at my teammate, Kirsty, who stood there with tears in her eyes. I stood there unable to process the reality of what just happened. All I knew was that Little A’s world had just completely changed. I picked up Little A and tried my best to distract him. We looked at the ducks, hippos, and tigers to calm him.
Little A eventually fell asleep and I was asked to hold him. I picked him up in my arms and held him as he slept. The reality of the past 30 minutes hit me hard as I held him in my arms. It was in these moments I was filled with compassion for this sweet sweet child. I wanted him to know everything was going to be okay, and that he was going to be taken care of. In those moments I prayed for his mother; I prayed that she would come back and join her son in a new life.
R’s family decided to take in Little A. She expressed to us that she wasn’t sure how she was going to provide for Little A but she trusted that God would provide. Little A needed to go to the doctor for his health, needed clothing, diapers, and new shoes. Hearing her financial situation and understanding how costly it is to take care of a 2 year old we started earning money to help the family with these new and unexpected expenses.
Please continue to keep Little A’s mother in your prayers. Pray that she would leave the brothel and that she too can find freedom from the environment that she currently works in. My team has high hopes and expectations that she will be reunited with her son.
