As Christmas is just around the corner, we are busy searching for and visiting families of the children. On Monday, December 12th we loaded up the van with 3 boys who were from the same area. We were being led by their memory and prayers. It was a three-hour drive to the area they were from. Once we arrived it was time to start narrowing down our search. One of the boys remembered where his father's shop was and we were able to locate it. His father no longer worked at the shop but the lady working there was familiar with his father's name and connected us with someone who might have his phone number. His father was fishing on the lake and when he received the phone call about his son being there, he immediately came to shore to meet us.
It was a joyful reunion! A crowd was forming of people wanting to see what the celebration was! The mother cried and cried when she saw him! She had thought for years that something horrible had happened to him.
Years ago, he had run to the streets trying to escape an abusive grandmother. The things that she threatened him with made him too afraid to make the journey back to his family for fear that she might find him. He lived on the streets for over five years before joining our family in 2020.
He will stay in contact with us while spending a week with his parents. Then he will come back to start school again in January. We will walk with him as he continues to build a relationship with his family. What he is doing is not easy, but it reveals his God-given desire to know and be known by his parents! It means he had not hardened his heart as some do when they spend years having to defend themselves. We are so proud of him.
This wasn’t our only joyful reunion for the day! We were also able to locate another boy’s parents with a similar story. His parents were both Christians and filled with joy, happiness, and disbelief as they welcomed their son back home! They said this is the Lord’s Christmas gift to them, to have their son home for Christmas.
The third boy was very young when he was separated from his family and we were not able to locate his parents. We left an announcement on the local radio station with our contacts, so now we will pray and wait to see if someone hears it and can help us locate them.
This is why we do what we do. Some children will never be able to go back to their families because of dangerous living situations. There is always a possibility for reconnection for others, and we will do whatever we can to walk with them and support them.
When you give through Love and Care you are not just feeding children and helping them get an education. Your support also goes into finding, reconnecting, counseling, and reuniting children with their families.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will be doing a lot of traveling in search of families and family connections. This requires gas, food for the journey, paperwork costs, and other unexpected expenses. We can't do it alone and appreciate any support given.
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