Joevani

In October we got a referral for five kids on Mactan, where the airport is. The story was that their mother died after giving birth to James in December, 2006. The children were devastated, as she was a loving mother and the stable force in their lives. Their father was a drunkard and had six more children with two other women, which added to the children's grief and suffering. In September, 2007, the father died. Although there may have been a sense of relief, the children were traumatized to lose their father as well, and a feeling of total desperation swept over the eldest child, Joevani. Joevani was 16 at the time. He felt the extreme burden of how he could possibly care for his four siblings. An Aunt, living in extreme poverty, offered to help them but she did not have the resources to care for an additional five children so Joevani dropped out of school and his daily routine was to go to the nearby dump to look for morsels of food or anything he could find to sell, just to care for his siblings. Thankfully, he did not resort to stealing but instead, went to that filthy place every day just so his siblings wouldn't starve. Consequently, Joevani became very ill. A pastor of a small Protestant church in the community knew about the family, as they attended his church on occasion. Joevani was the one who brought the children to church, if he was able. When the pastor and his wife heard that the children were starting to get sickly, they took them in to their home, even though they have six children of their own. They did not have the means for such an undertaking, but were moved by compassion to do what they could. There simply was not enough room for all of the children, so Joevani slept on a narrow wooden bench in the church, which was better than nothing, but must have been terribly lonely for him. (The pastor's wife is a sister to one of our house parents so that is how we became involved in the children's lives.) Since we were full at the time, and unable to take them in, CSC intervened and gave them food and clothing until we had room for them at the Shelter in late November. Paul and I visited the children at the pastor's house before they came to live with us, and Joevani just stood in the corner, hunched over with his head hanging, never looking directly at us. He looked much older than 16 years of age, and as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Shortly afterwards, we brought him to the doctor and he was started on medications for pneumonia. The following day the pastor's wife called with panic in her voice to inform us that Joevani was unable to walk. He was so weak that he couldn't even get up from the bench. They rushed him by taxi to the hospital in Cebu where he was admitted for severe pneumonia and other complications from a kidney disease. which caused temporary paralysis. Joevani was admitted as a CSC kid that day and the rest of the siblings came the next day. He was hospitalized for a week. The eventual diagnosis was that his illness was exacerbated by tuberculosis, in addition to the parasites that robbed his body of nutrition. Joevani was later told that he would live at the Wally Johnson Teen Home, as it was very likely that he would not be adopted, since he is nearly 17. He knows that his siblings may be adopted without him. He told us that he doesn't care if he never has a mother or father again, but he asked us if he could possibly have an education. He dreams of being an engineer. Joevani visits his three siblings at the Shelter whenever he has the chance. He is attending our Children of Hope school for the remainder of the year, in preperation for returning to high school at some point. Joevani struggles academically, as he had such a slow start in education, but with his determination, and the patience and dedication of our teachers, we hope to give him every opportunity possible to do something with the potential the Lord has given him. The children from the Shelter eat lunch at the home during their school day, so Joevani goes to the Cherne House where his siblings are living. He wants to spend as much time as he can with them. They adore him and it's obvious that he is very protective of his sister and two brothers. How wonderful that he no longer has to worry about them, however, as he knows that they are lovingly cared for at the Shelter. (Sheila Mae is 9, Jayson is 5 and James is 14 months old.) Sheila Mae was at camp with the Central Team in February. When Sheila Mae was about 3 years old she had a terrible abscess of her jaw, which left a disfiguring scar on her left cheek, and destroyed the teeth on the bottom on that side of her mouth. One night after hearing many stories from Pastor Chuck and Turnip, she asked the teacher in her tent if there really is a God. The other girls in the tent were enthusiastically telling her that most certainly there is a God. A look of sadness came over her and she asked, "If there is a God, why did He make me so ugly?" We would appreciate your prayers for Sheila Mae. She will be seen by a plastic surgeon in the near future, and we hope that the doctor will be able to restore that area that makes her feel so self-conscious. Joevani was moved to tears after hearing the many stories at camp. He told several of us that he believes in God and knows that Jesus Christ is His Savior, but being in the midst of everything going on at camp made him realize what a miracle has happened in his life, and that he is so thankful that he and his siblings were rescued by Children's Shelter of Cebu. There is another sister still living in Mactan. Jenevie is 14 years old. She has had some very difficult and traumatic experiences that would make it extremely hard to have her at the Shelter or the Teen Home, so for now, she is living with her Aunt. Naturally, Joevani is very concerned about her, but realizes that he is not able to help her at this point. Thank you for your part in helping us care for Joevani and his siblings. Without the support of people that love this ministry to the homeless, neglected and orphaned children in the Philippines, we would not be here to help them and to this day, Joevani would still be digging through the dump in Mactan. Worse yet, he may have not survived.