Release

"But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; 

and when he saw him, he felt compassion,

Luke 10:33

Release
All the players that needed to be assembled gathered at Esther's village.  My heart dropped as we rounded the curve and I saw that her home was not locked up as it had been the past few days.  Esther was in the village.  Thank you God!
The mother saw us and immediately withdrew to hide but eventually she was compelled to sit and talk with us.  Her family and the government case worker started discussions while the rest of us kept the kids and the demon possessed aunt busy.  After a heated discussion, the decision was made that we were to leave without Esther.  The mother clearly did not want to let go of her.  When I heard this every cell in my body cried out at this injustice.  I looked at the team leader who had stayed back with me and we both said in agreement...NO WAY!  We do not accept this answer and we are not leaving without the child.  We then decided it was time to enter the conversation.  I held back just a bit, fighting with my own insecurity.  Should I go over and try to talk with the mother? What difference could I possibly make?  I don't belong here?  Now, thankfully the protector in me decided to fight the insecurity and I walked over to the discussion.  I could see the women all circled around the mother who was seated in a hammock hanging below a raised hut.  She was crying and repeating over and over that she would not give up Esther.  Now as I walked up I was immediately aware of her daughter who had come with the family group.  Esthers mom had been estranged from her adult children for a while and though they were all present, none of them seemed to be the least bit compassionate about her struggle.  Okay, understandably so, but they did not have knowledge of the extent of the child abuse issues so understanding that, I saw that it was strange to see them so clearly emotionless at her tears.  I felt immediately compelled to move past the crowd, kneel in the mud beside her and wrap my arms around her.  She didn't understand my words, but she understood my touch.  I said I was so sorry she was afraid to be alone.  I told her I understood the fear of not being able to provide for herself.  I held her and whispered a prayer from deep within my spirit in her ears.  At this point, the miraculous began to happen.  The daughter was moved with compassion for her mother and the whole atmosphere shifted.  Tears welled up in the daughters eyes and she began to speak more compassionately to her.  After about two minutes the mother grabbed Esther's hand and gave her to our team leader!  Miraculous!
There was still much to do, papers to sign, negotiations for how much she was able to see Esther in the future etc. etc.
At one point I looked over at the team leader who is still a young woman yet so wise and wonderfully gifted at this ministry, sitting in the dirt with an Apple computer open, patiently detailing the agreement and in the background I could see Kristen our teenage Canadian Missionary playing Monkey in the middle with the demon possessed aunt who was barking and growling.  I thought of course...this is just another day in the kingdom right!  Everything seemed to be going well until the mother demanded to go with Esther to her new home!  UGH!  Yes that pretty much describes how we felt.  That and are you kidding me?  We managed to get her to agree to spend only one more night with Esther and the next day she was to release her to us.  It was one of the hardest things we had to do...even harder than driving down a road with land mines but we left that day without Esther trusting her once more to the care of our heavenly father.  I held her and prayed for her that God and his heavenly host of angels would protect her and then gave her back to her mother.
There was still much to do, several hours more of driving from town to town, printing contracts, getting signatures, discussing with every family member the details of Esther's release.  It was after midnight when we finally pulled up to the hotel.  We knew that we had to be up before daylight so that Esther's mother would not have a chance to cross the border with her again so exhausted and hungry after our dinner, which included pringles and some really bad chocolate chip cookies, we fell into bed and tried to get a few hours of sleep.
Tired seemed to be the key word here but sleep for me, was impossible.  I stayed up all night praying that Esther would be safe and thankfully, so many of you stayed up with me.  The texts and emails from family and friends poured in and I knew that a great cry was going up to heaven on behalf of little Esther.  I have never felt so supported with love and prayer as those few hours.
You see, I think this was really the key to Esther's release.  The mother needed to feel understood and supported.  Her brokenness, rejection,  fear,  and loneliness were what drove her to do what she did and when those issues were addressed, she found the courage to let go.  Now I in no way condone her actions but I understand her pain.  Release came when she was surrounded with a spirit of compassion and acceptance not for her behavior but for her.  I am not sure what will happen with the family but it was at least nice to see the beginning steps of reconciliation.  I believe it is in Esther's best interest for her mother to heal, for the family to mend as well,  and for the generations of hatred and darkness that have plagued them to finally come to an end.  This is the beginning of the more we can ask for or imagine miracle of Esther's release.

Love from the road,

Julie