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November 19, 2020Chaotic and Confused Despair
Romans 8:28-31 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
After I changed my ways and returned to the church and fell in love with Jesus, I struggled to find out what God wanted from me. I read and prayed about it to the point of becoming heart wrenched! As I became more involved with church and serving others the anguish of despair vanished. During these years I now believe God was shaping me for his purpose and to place me as he saw fit.
Most of you know of my guardian son Abdalla here in Kenya. My hope and desire is that you come to know him more as I think his life’s misfortunes and his perseverance can touch and inspire many of us.
This week was an emotionally tough one for him. Time and time again he has found his young mother drunk and neglecting his four and six year old sister and brother. Abdalla had received a phone call from one of her neighbors saying that she had been in a fight with her boyfriend and he needed to come. He found her bleeding and drunk, in need of a hospital. She sold the small gas cooker I bought for her so she could have money for her emergency medical needs. Abdalla purchased the cooker back, then escorted his sister home with him. He could not even take any of her clothes as they were filthy with mud. His brother ran away to a neighbor for his safety. The neighbor contacted Abdalla later as to his where abouts, he then went to pick him up. They all came to my place and Abdalla cooked them dinner before they departed to Abdalla’s house to sleep. It was easy to observe he will make a wonderful father. Then the quarrelling over the phone with his mother began, demanding to have her kids returned as she looked everywhere possible to find them.
The next day they arrived for breakfast, then met with our village elder for assistance. I made calls to a few Religious Sisters for openings at orphanages. The village elder and Abdalla went to talk to the mother about the request of removing the children and she had somewhat agreed while the Elder was present. The Elder collected all her personal identifications then they returned the children. Later that night Abdalla returned to his mother’s where they got into an argument because of how she neglects the children. Each week Abdalla takes a bag of food from my place to give to her, he has learned that she sells it for her addiction and leaves the kids hungry. It is the neighbors who eventually share a little food with the kids so they can eat.
We are now waiting for an appointment with the Government Children’s office for approval to remove the children from the house. I have contacted Sister Catherine who manages an orphanage less that ten miles away. If you recall the time I wrote about Kathy, Abdalla and I visited the orphanage so we could throw a party for the children there. I requested Abdalla join us and do the cooking because I wanted him to get a sense of the orphanage. I was looking into the future for a “just in case” scenario. Sister Catherine has agreed to accept them if we get the authorization for the Children’s Office.
Now back to God’s purpose. Abdalla’s sufferings, hurts and confusions are near and dear to me as I had lived this similar scenario for years. I believe I was placed with this young man to walk with him in his distress. Unless one has lived it, one cannot truly imagine the pain it inflicts! It hurts him so much with the thought of taking his mothers children from her and he questions himself. He questions me. I know the most difficult thing I had ever done in my life was to request a court order for my loved one. I could not have ever done it without a trusted friend coaching me over the phone each step of the way into the courthouse. Now I can be that friend to coach this young man along his way. It resurfaces many personal pains for me, but I thank God for using me in this way.
