Children's Court

There are many times when I say to myself, I should post a blog about that. Then life happens and I am pulled away from the computer. But this time, I MUST write.

My friend Esther was summoned to court because her "husband" wanted to have custody of his children. They have three together.

I met Esther in 2013, when  a mutual acquaintance asked me if we could add Esther's oldest child to our sponsorship program. The reasons given were that the husband was abusive to Esther and the children and that he had actually threatened to have sex with his oldest child if Esther was not willing to grant him his "rights."

The Esther I met was a quiet, shy young woman with three lovely children. Two of those children suffered problems at birth. Maxwell, the youngest, has cerebral palsy. Claire had some trouble beginning to walk but is now quite healthy.

Esther's story and the story of the children is a very very long one. The things that the "husband" did to her are too horrible even to write.

Today, she had her day in court. I am writing this blog because I want to honor God and how He works in the lives of people. The Esther I met 3 years ago was afraid of her own shadow. She never asked us for anything. It was this mutual acquaintance who begged us to take Venus as a sponsored child. Even though Esther was often unable to pay her rent or to feed her children she NEVER asked. Except for one time. At that time the "husband" had come to her place and taken all of her things - beds, seats, even the thing she cooked with. He left his family with one very small mattress.

Fast forward three years. The "husband" took her to court to get "unlimited access" to his children. In all the years I have known her I had not even met him until January of last year. He had never given his children anything. He had indeed visited the family every 6 months to a year when he came home just to "get what was his" from Esther.

I so wish I had the words to clearly explain how pathological this man is. That will be for another day.

Today Esther for the first time faced him with her head held high. Just a year ago, he brought another case to court and when Len and I went with her to the court, she was afraid to even speak to him. I looked at her and told her to put her shoulders back, take a breath and go straight to him and greet him. SHE was in charge. He was not.

Over a year ago, Esther helped me to start two women's bible study groups. Iwanted to provide a place for women to come and learn about Jesus and to have a safe place to share problems. I asked her to be my translator. She did that, but wasn't happy about it.

Long story short - she's the leader now. She has a heart bigger than anyone I know. She does not want women to suffer like she has.  We are learning to be strong together - knowing that our strength comes from God.

Once again, I digress. What I want to say is that today a strong, confident, loving mother of three faced her "demon." She answered his questions with confidence and never shed a tear. We listened to lie after lie from him and yet she smiled with confidence because she knew the truth.

I took the stand at the very end of the process. I was a little afraid. I have never testified in court , let alone a Kenyan court.  But I knew the truth, and when I swore on that bible to tell the truth that is exactly what I did. Her attorney asked questions which I was able to answer. When the "husband" asked me questions, I was able to answer. It was a bit funny. This manipulator extraordinaire saw another woman he wished to control. He clearly did not know me at all. He went after me just as he would a Kenyan woman. He asked me if I had children of my own and I said yes. Then he said to me, you are lieing - you are barren. Now, in Kenya, that should have been a slap in the face. A Kenyan woman would have shriveled up and caved. I simply said that statement was true. Then he said that because of my being barren I wanted his children.

With a twinkle in my eye I proudly said, " I am 52 years old. I don't want anybody's children."

Point being, he thought that he could intimidate me like he has done to so many women including Esther.

When I stepped down from the stand, I realized that several of the women from the Monday bible study had come to support Esther. How amazing is that??? As I walked by Mary, she said to me - you are such a strong woman. They were all astounded that I stood with my head held high and answered his questions.

If one person has been changed by my strength - I give all the glory to God. He has done GREAT things in the life of Esther and she is passing it on. God is good.