Tenele's story continues. I've written in past blogs about Tenele, but in case you've missed out on them, I will recap. She is one of the girl's in the home, who's had a rough life. She has a child who is almost 18 months and after moving into the girl's home we found out she is pregnant again. The initial reaction from Manzini Youth Care (MYC) is that she can't stay in the home with the baby, meaning she can't stay in the home. The suggestion was that she move home with her mother. So, this week we've had 3 meetings. The first was with the counselor that Tenele has been going to see. She shared that it would be destructive to Tenele's emotional and mental state to send her home. She didn't grow up with her mother and she isn't used to the life out in the rural areas where her mother lives. We concluded that she wouldn't stay with her mother but we needed to talk with the mother and set up a meeting to discuss possibilities of other relatives or what could be done to help Tenele. After this meeting, I was feeling very discouraged and upset about the situation and how it was being handled. There was no compassion in the decisions being made. So, I decided the only thing I could do was pray for God to soften their hearts. That God would make Tenele's situation very real to them. I prayed they would feel the pain and rejection that Tenele felt. The next day we had a meeting with the girl's home board and discussed more the possibilities of what could be options for Tenele. I felt a little better after this meeting, knowing that they weren't going to send Tenele home and I started to see compassion and concern for Tenele. God was truly working through this whole situation. So I continued to pray. So, then on Friday the mother came to MYC. We had the counselor and a Swazi from MYC meet with her. It went very well. God was definitely present in this meeting. I learned the other side of the story from the mother and we finally came up with a plan that seems to be the best for the situation. Tenele will stay in the girl's home until she has the baby. She will then go to a shelter who helps mother's and their children. She can stay there for 6 months. It will give her the guidance and help she needs to be a good parent. After the six months, the mother has agreed to take Tenele's newborn baby and Tenele and her child now, Lucia, can return to the girl's home! The plan obviously wasn't what I had thought but I think it's the best plan for her. I think she needs guidance and direction in her parenting. She is young and it will be good to be with other mother's in similar situations. She can then come back to the girl's home, go to school, and work to create a life for her children. God was in this situation, he had everything under control. There were many things through out this decision making period that worried me and I was very nervous for Tenele's future but I just had to keep reminding myself that God is in control and he will redeem his children! He will take care of them. I just need to be willing to do and go wherever he calls me!
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