.png)
Four years ago, a young, single mother brought her four children to the Las Palmas Children’s Village. She was desperate! Her children were very small – the youngest about one-year old. The story tumbled out.
The father of the children had abandoned them. He did not believe they were his. There was no possible way the mother could care for the children because she didn’t have an education or a job or a family. You see, she was also an orphan. Not knowing what else to do, with a heavy heart she brought her children to Las Palmas with the hope that they would be well taken care of and she could get her life together.
The children were taken in and soon adapted to their new surroundings. Sponsors were assigned to the children and they began to thrive. As for the mother, after leaving the children at Las Palmas, she determined to prepare herself and do something with her life.
She hoped that maybe she would one day be able to take the children back to live with her. So, she went to school and finished her secondary education. Then she enrolled in and completed vocational training as a hair dresser.
With that skill, she was able to rent a place to live and start a business right in her own home. As she made progress in improving her life, hope increased that one day she would be reunited with her children.
That day came recently. And it was a bitter-sweet day when she arrived at Las Palmas with the request to take her children home. Yes, as you can imagine, there was deep emotion on the part of the mother, the children and the house parents.
Being permanently reunited with their mother didn’t happen immediately for the children. The court had to approve, and the Las Palmas director, Samilin, needed to visit the mother’s home to evaluate the living conditions. Samilin was happy to find the home to be a suitable place for the children, complete with beds prepared for all the children and a new puppy dog. This she got for them because of their love for pets. She wanted the dog to be waiting for them when they arrived home.
When all arrangements were set, the mother came for the kids. It was a time of joy and sadness. The house mother cried for three days because of the deep bond she had established with the children.
This is the nature of the ICC model – deep bonds that positively effect the growth of the children. And YOU, the ICC family of supporters make this possible!
Sharon Fleck, ICC Children’s Services Director, shares her perspective on this. “We don’t know how long we have children under our care, but we hope that we make a big enough impact on them that they will always have that in their minds later on. They have been introduced to Jesus, and we hope that the Holy Spirit will continue to work with them and that they won’t forget what they have learned while they were with us even though they were little.
"I hope that the mother will realize that these children were well taken care of. She greatly appreciated the fact that we were able to help her through these difficult times when she couldn’t care for her children. Who knows what influence that will have on her? We don’t know what the end result will be. But hopefully her experience with us will be a positive one of knowing what true Christianity is. We don’t know what the end of that story will be.”
This Christmas, as that little family enjoys the holiday together, may we all remember that “hope realized” is one of the greatest treasures that God gives to us. Thank you for all you do to inspire and instill hope into the lives of “His Kids!”
