“For this child I have prayed; and the Lord has granted me my petition which I made to Him. Therefore, I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” I Samuel 1:27-28
Newsletter from Place of Hope Africa
Since the day we received Sthembiso, it was a miracle. Technically the social worker at the clinic where he was left should have phoned the police. Instead, she called Mama Xaba, a retired nurse who is on our board to ask if she was able to take a baby. She replied no, but she knew someone who was. We knew the Lord had brought him to us for a reason.
Sthembiso was only 3 weeks old, due to his age the law required that he be taken to the hospital to be checked over and tested. Marie would go visit him as often as she could. The doctor in charge of pediatrics commented that she really cared about him, and actually looked him in the eyes instead of just coming to see the latest orphan that was abandoned. It took 6 weeks before he was returned to us with the proper paperwork.
In October 2015, we had to return to the states to renew our VISAs. As we were preparing to leave, there were 2 young men who for some reason decided that they were going to do the work of Satan and cause problems in our ministry. We had already had all but 6 of our children back with their families or on to long term foster care facilities. The final 6 were to be placed all together and when we returned 3 months later, they would come back to us. While we were gone there was an upheaval with other social workers and they put the children in different places, including sending Sthembiso to another foster home. Upon our return, we were able to get Sthembiso for visits, he was overwhelmed and traumatized. We are thankful his social worker at the time and his current social worker realized that he needed to be with us. After Sthembiso turned four years old, he was placed back with us. You have no idea what a little one goes through during something like this, and it was a long time before we could be out of his sight without him constantly asking if he had to go back to the other house.
We have been asking for you all to pray with us for our permanent residence exemption. Sthembiso was the compelling reason for the basis of the application. After three years of waiting for our response, we were very disappointed to see that we had been declined. Unfortunately, we did not know at that time that Sthembiso had Asperger’s, which adds a whole new level to things. The minister said there were plenty of foster homes available for Sthembiso to go to. Can you imagine the trauma for a nine-year-old with special needs who has experienced love and stability for most of his life to be uprooted and put under the care of someone who does not understand his special needs? Very few professionals, let alone the normal public have any idea about Asperger’s.
Our lawyer has said that we can appeal to the high courts to get the decision overturned, and time is of the essence. The cost can run up to R150,000.00 ($10,000.00). We are thankful for a group who have agreed to put up the funds, but we do need to reimburse them as much as we can raise. A question that keeps coming to our mind is, “How much is a life worth?”. The Lord has promised Sthembiso to us, and that is what his name means. His life will go on a downward spiral if we cannot get this paperwork overturned and adopt him. Please be in prayer as to what the Lord would have you do to help.
~Marv and Marie Bjorklund, Place of Hope Africa
Marv and Marie Bjorklund, partnered with TRC Ministries, operate Place of Hope Africa. Their mission is to provide emergency housing and care for children in South Africa who have been affected by AIDS, neglect, poverty, substance abuse, and more.