Last week I was in the middle of working on the house when two women showed up at our gate. They were carrying an infant. When I greeted them they told me they had been directed to us by the police. Apparently they had discovered two young children that had been abandoned.
The oldest is a four year old girl, and the other is less than a year. One of the women knew the family of the father. The father had been in jail for raping the 4 year old, but had either been released or escaped and has since disappeared. (Escape from jail is actually relatively common. I'm guessing there might be "ways" to arrange it.) The mother has also disappeared, leaving these two children on their own.
The woman in pink took the two children in 3 weeks ago. She wants to keep the baby, presumably for the grant money she can receive. But she claims she doesn't have time to look after the 4 year old. Understand the 4 year old has been molested repeatedly by the father. Of course, how would someone have time to look after an infant but not a 4 year old? Obviously there are some ulterior factors at play.
Lois took these women to the social workers, as we don't take any children without going through the appropriate channels. While there we were asked to take 4 other children. These children actually spent a night here at The Village a couple months ago. Their situation at home has been researched and determined that it is not suitable for them. They are orphans but there are some relatives with whom they had been staying.
Since leaving us they have been in the care of another temporary home in a town about 30 minutes away. The oldest girl is 12, and in the short time here it was evident to us that she is already too streetwise for us to accept. The photo on the right was taken by Bob, as Brian, Lois and I discussed how best to proceed with accepting the children from either situation.
Regardless of whether we are able to accept the children from either situation, it will present challenges. The 12 year old is most likely already sexually active. The 4 year old obviously has been violated in a way that will likely affect her for the rest of her life. Both could potentially bring issues and baggage that will affect the other children we already care for at The Village. So we could use some intense prayer for wisdom and for the sovereign protection of God over our ministry. And these children are especially in need of prayer, as their lives have been screwed up in so many ways beyond their own control.
We will pray for you guys to have wisdom for this sad and difficult decision.
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