From When Will I Eat Again to Cars or Spiderman?

Isaiah 58 instructs us to:  
Loose the chains of injustice, Untie the cords of the yoke, Set the oppressed free, Break every yoke, Share your food with the hungry, Provide the poor wanderer with shelter, and to Clothe the naked.
                                         
 

It's kind of become our theme verse around here, our heart's cry, our mission if you will.

     Some days we get to do just one of these things, others 3 or 4, but every once in awhile a miracle happens and we get to follow this passage to a T!  On most days we sew the seed of this passage & pray we'll see the eternal results in heaven or maybe get to hear good news of harvest from afar later down the road. It's very rarely that we get to SEE, with our own eyes, the fruits of our labor.  But I like to think there's an exception to EVERY rule (and please believe I can find 'em!) And Jason is that glorious, miraculous exception to ALL the rules.

      In the Spring of 2011 our interns started their journey in the Philippines in a small seaside squatter village called Baseco.  We arrived just in time to help with the daily Convoy of Hope feeding program.  We were very excited and so were the beautiful children. When all the children were just about done eating, a small boy who looked to be maybe 3 or 4, naked with the exception of a shirt, wandered into the church.  He was all smiles, which was odd because he was skin and bones, terribly dirty, and bruised all over. The missionary's wife scooped him up and said, "This is Jason."  The pastor's wife  quickly fixed him a plate and he quickly ate it and all the while they told us his story.

          Jason is actually 6 years old, not 3 or 4.  A few weeks ago he was too weak to walk to the feeding program, he was found sleeping in the street next to his mother who was scavenging for food one evening after the local market had shut down.  Manna Packs (the food we use in our feeding programs) were taken to his home to feed him until eventually this lil' guy could walk to the church where the program takes place every day.  Evidently Jason had been in absentia lately and his bruised body was likely the culprit.  Jason smiled a lot, but he didn't speak so we couldn't ask him.

          **While malnutrition can be the norm in areas like this one all over the world, neglect and abuse are NOT the norm.  Impoverished people love and care for their children just like you do, they just don't have access to the resources we have, not even the basics like clean water and acceptable shelter.

          The pastor's wife grabbed a local social worker and headed to Jason's front door to account for his tiny, bruised frame. His mother cried saying she was unable to care for him and that her new husband didn't want him and was abusing him.  Legal papers were signed right then and there! Beth  scooped him up again, took him and bathed him, and put him in the car with the team to be taken to a new children's home that had opened up just the week before!

        We drove out of the province and into the busy streets of Manila, I can't imagine what his little mind must have been thinking, but he didn't cry or look distressed at all. We took him to the Mall of Asia, in hindsight this may not have been our greatest idea as it's one of the largest malls in the world, but he didn't seem bothered.  New clothes were held up for him to choose from.  It was Cars over Spider Man from under-roos to t-shirts! We had lunch at a sushi place were the sushi comes by on a conveyor belt (this was a big day for ME, so I can't imagine for him!) He ate a full plate of chicken strips, which in hindsight was a little much for a little boy who doesn't get to eat everyday, which was evidenced by the puking incident that later followed, but still he never cried! By evening he was in his new home. In one afternoon his worries went from, "When will I eat again?" to "Should I pick Cars or Spiderman?" (I'd call that a good day, but it gets better!)

  One year later, a different set of Convoy of Hope interns, last full day of our trip, Beth and Steve Dailey picked us up and took us to a children's home and out the door ran a beautiful, happy, and healthy 7 year old Jason.  He jumped into Beth's arms and said with a smile, "I've missed you! I love you!" He showed us all around his home, he was so excited. He now speaks English and Tagalog fluently and will soon be adopted.

A glimpse into his heart:

   His mom at the children's home told us, that last week they took Jason back to his home in Baseco to try and locate his birth certificate.  Jason's biological mom greeted him and said in her language, "You may not remember me..." Jason cut her off, and said in her language, "Of course I remember you, I pray for you everyday."  Jason is special.  Jason is a miracle. Jason is why we do what we do. I cannot imagine what God must have in store for this little guy, but I am honored and humbled to have been a small part of His heavenly Father rescuing him and changing his life forever. A huge thank-you to missionaries Beth and Steve Dailey and Pastor Nolei and his family who are there in the trenches daily for all the Jasons still out there. And a huge thank you to all my supporters, without you we wouldn't have been there on that day and I'm not sure where Jason would be on this day! Salaamat pos!