I’m realizing how doing this little project really makes days fly by, but also helps me to focus on and remember each one of them. I am so blessed by the people that I’ve met and I am getting a little excited to see what it will look like to take this little project back to the States. Thanks for all your support, I’ll be making my way back to the States in right under five weeks. Time has really flown.
One thing I have learned is that there are times when you just need to show up. You don’t always need all the answers or a concrete plan; sometimes you just need to show up. God has been reminding me so much the past couple of days of the simple truth that He is in control and I have just loved being along for the ride. When I posted the story of Rosario a few days ago, I knew that wouldn’t be the end of it. God told me to help, but I honestly didn’t have a clue how. So I just showed up.
I drove to Rosario’s hometown which is about an hour from where I live now. I had no idea where I was going or where to find her family, I just started driving with a couple of friends. Since trying to retrieve her daughter was a legal matter, we decided the best place to start would be the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare). I met with a lady who started asking me a lot of questions. Where was the family home? How long has the girl been sick? How has she been treated so far? Who officially has custody of her? How long was she in the hospital? What was the family name? As I heard all these questions, I just sank lower in my chair and began feeling like a total failure. There wasn’t a single question I could answer.
Who just goes to a random town where they don’t know anyone to try and find a random girl that is bedridden in one of the thousands of houses? Sometimes my emotions get the best of me because I just want to help so bad, but then, I just realize how foolish I was. As my head hung, I could feel the glares from the social worker. When I looked up, her whole expression changed and was filled with such compassion. She just said, “Why don’t you just take me to the jail and I’ll do a formal interview. This girl needs to be saved and you may have just provided that for her.”
Are you kidding me? This lady wants to ride nearly an hour to visit a jail to research the possibility of helping one little girl, that she may not even be able to help? On the ride there, I was so convicted at my lack of faith. The lady told me after the interview that this was a tragic situation and that the child may even be protected by the government if all turns out to be true. I couldn’t believe it. I just wanted to bring Kim closer to her mother for her last few months, but she may be saved completely now. I was so moved, that I had to ride back. This time, I took someone that knew where they were going.
There is a pastor at the jail that just goes around to public places all day and preaches. He doesn’t have a mode of transportation, but he just shows up and starts teaching the word. He has followed the story of this family, and so I trusted he could get me to their home. We drove back again another hour to visit the family. I wasn’t quite prepared for what I saw. The pastor began to pray over Kim and she started weeping. She was so happy to have someone looking out for her, and when I handed her the phone with her mother on (I may have had to bribe a jail guard…), there was no holding back the tears. It was the first time in years to hear her mother’s voice, but she knew who it was immediately. We weren’t there very long, but I experienced enough emotions to last a lifetime.
It shouldn’t take much to help Kim, especially if the DSWD steps in until Rosario can be released and deemed a fit mother. Honestly, I don’t know exactly how I can help her because any goods or money that make it there, never make it to her. We sat with her today while she had some of the milk and crackers we brought, but there’s no telling if she’ll get tomorrow’s ration. So, for now, we just wait and pray that our social worker can work a miracle. We need to get Kim out of that home and get her treated. She needs to be close to the one person that truly loves her, her mother. Above all, we need God’s will to be done, but how great would it be to see this girl smiling and hugging her mother?
Keep praying for a miracle, because we serve a God that’s in the business…
