We now have 41 kids here in the orphanage. We used to have 42. But, this week we said goodbye to Jesus. Jesus had been with us for over 3 years, along with his older sister Yamelit.A past judge signed papers giving Jesus' mother the right to remove her children from the albergue whenever she wished. He failed to put stipulations on this document... like making sure she had a house or room to live in, a job to provide food and necessities for her children and a clean, safe environment. When the holidays came, the mother wanted her children with her. This can sometimes be a good thing. Mothers have time to bond with their children and then work to be able to take them back home into a good situation. However, before the mother took Yamelit and Jesus home for the holidays, she confided in our director that she wasn't really ready to take care of the kids. She was still concerned that she might not have the means to provide for them. However, our hands were tied by the judge's decision.
During their time together, Yamelit decided she did not want to live with her mother. Yamelit has goals and dreams of going to the university and continuing in her education. The albergue has become her home and she is afraid of what might happen if she lives with her mother again. However, Jesus is different. He longs for that relationship and decided he wanted to live with his mother again.
We said goodbye to Jesus... a sad goodbye. Two siblings are separated. Jesus' future is unknown. We pray the mother will be able to take care of him. We pray he continues to go to school. We pray that he will remember all that he has learned and that he will continue in his relationship with Christ. We pray that he won't have to return to the albergue. We have to trust God that we have done our part and that He will take care of Jesus.
