yonas

this week i was planning on posting a funny little occurrence i wanted to tag onto the Florida posts....more to follow on that next week. 

 

today, instead, the greater news worth mention is the super exciting way we received an update on our sponsored child, Yonas, just last week.  you all remember Yonas, right?  i've mentioned him lots since 2010, and specifically here and here.  as a result of those posts, other families heard about Yonas and wanted to help his situation too.  that means seven families now contribute to his sponsorship and hold him up in prayer and love him from far...cool!!

 

anyway, so, here's how it went....

friends of ours just spent the past month in Soddo, Ethiopia, as part of a journey their family is taking across the world.  they were there working at a hospital using their physician skills and giant hearts to encourage the staff and impact the patients they cared for, not to mention the huge impact this must be having on their four sweet kids who are soaking up this experience as well.  i was so stunned to learn that they would be going there, to that city, as it happens to be exactly where AJ is from.  crazy...in conversation about Ethiopia, i mentioned how i'd just received word on our sponsored child, Yonas, who had recently been sick and required medical care.  Yonas is HIV+ and has been taking ARV medication since his diagnosis, however the recent mention of illness had us concerned and it was on my heart and mind.  after some time passed i heard from Rose by Facebook.  she mentioned that she'd been speaking with a friend from Addis who suggested they try to find out more info on Yonas and see if there was some way to connect with him to receive firsthand news on his condition.  this blew me away.  Rose and her family were now about about six hours away from Addis in Soddo, plus she was busy in her role at the hospital, not to mention the parenting of her four kids, but that did not deter her.  she set to work with the little information i had given her and basically, over the course of several weeks she tracked down the gentleman who facilitates our sponsorship of Yonas.  this was not easy.  she had to dig and turn many stones all before finally reaching this contact.  they connected by text and agreed to attempt to connect on the last few days when they returned to Addis, prior to leaving Ethiopia for the next destination on their journey.  well, down to the final day and final hours of daylight left in Addis, we had not heard any positive news and it looked as though the connection might not happen after all.  that morning as our family prayed before breakfast, i specifically asked God for a last minute miracle to allow us to communicate our love and care to Yonas.  i knew it was already afternoon in Addis, and the hours were passing quickly.  i also knew how much difficulty i had making timely connections with contacts in Ethiopia.  it didn't look very positive...so, my kids hopped on the bus for school and less than thirty minutes later i received a Facebook message from Rose. she said they were on their way to meet the contact person after all.  i could not believe the news.  then, minutes later my phone rang, and it was Rose on the other end, loud and clear, apparently in a vehicle with all of her family, on their way right then to meet Yonas at a hospital some thirty minutes away.  in a van, all six of them, on their way to meet our dearly loved sponsored child, at some vaguely known location...all because they cared!  like i said, they have giant hearts~ compassionate and giving hearts filled with the love of Christ for a child they'd never met. wow.  so, the tears came then.  i stood in awe.  first~ of a God who truly 100% has a heart that bends to the orphan.  a God who knows each one by name, a God who had not forgotten sweet Yonas in his plight, and was allowing us to step in and demonstrate care and love to him in that very moment.  God heard my prayers that morning and undoubtedly was orchestrating the course of events on that final day of possibility.  He is above all things, and i always take comfort in knowing that.  He used R&R and their family in their willingness to love sacrificially and also displayed His great care about the details of our lives in the entire process...so moving...

Rose called shortly after to tell me they had just met with Yonas. 

here is her Facebook picture from later that day...my heart...

 

 

they had pictures, video, and some news on how he was, even though some of the information seemed to be inconsistent and slightly confusing.  undoubtedly "stuff" always gets lost in translation, but overall they seemed thrilled to report Yonas appeared healthy and well and very typical of a robust 15 year old boy.  we aren't sure he knew how much he is loved by families here in Canada~ i hope now he knows more than ever. 

 

 he was there at this medical facility receiving necessary dental care, and seemed to suggest he was doing okay and taking his medications regularly.  they gave him a few special treasures, communicated our love for him as best as they were able, and prayed with him before leaving.  i can only imagine what he was thinking...

 

 

he really didn't know how to speak English, they said, and so i'm hoping it was clear to him through translation that he had been pursued, was deeply loved and being prayed for by many back in Canada...i hope he laid his head that night and felt the love of his Heavenly Father in a more real way than ever before.  i continue to pray his future feels hopeful to him, and that we will continue to see evidence of our support in tangible ways.  that he grows and thrives and becomes the young man God intends.  i hope and pray this with all my heart.  Rob and Rose~ we are forever grateful for this extra large effort you made on our behalf, for Yonas....bless you!!  Jeff and I had a conversation later that night about our many amazing friends.  such beautiful examples of lives lived well and for the service of God.  amazing....thanks so much! 

 

one of the sponsor families summarized our thoughts in a prayer a while back..."We ask You to continue to shelter and provide for Yonas, confident in Your vast and effectual love for him. Your love for the fatherless reassures us, may it be as a warm quilt, tucked close around him. Show us if there are other ways Yonas may be cared for, we pray, amen."