The Way Maker
Coaque, Ecuador
My name is Amber Allen and I serve with Man of Peace, an Orphanos partner in Coaque, Ecuador!
Alongside my friend Ana Sánchez, we aim to provide children and their families the foundational skills needed to succeed and restore a sense of hope in an area that has been exposed to deep trauma and devastation. That manifests itself in a different way every day, but our hope is to foster spiritual and transformational growth within the community.
It’s challenging work, but the Lord has been so faithful!
I write the monthly email updates for Man of Peace and wrote a story earlier this year about a situation we encountered with one of our kids. Wayne read it and reached out to see if he could use it for one of the Orphanos updates. It’s a story about the God whose sovereign plan is way better than our own.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to share it below and hope you’re encouraged! If you would like to follow along with Man of Peace, you can visit us on Facebook.
The Way Maker
(written March 31, 2022)
It’s mosquito season and, as a result, many of our students have been showing up with the same curious skin infection. So one by one, we’ve held their hands and cleaned their wounds. We’ve scheduled dermatologists appointments and fulfilled prescriptions, all without blinking an eye.
One day, a students showed up with a much more serious injury and our response was the same — doctor’s visits, prescriptions, travel costs, covered — whatever it is, we’ll cover it!
But, what happens when money, love, and all the determination in the world to help fix it, still falls short? This specific student is one who doesn’t live with his parents, so when it came to the first round of x-rays and doctor’s visits, we stepped in. We drove an hour and a half for the closest x-ray, met with a doctor, and topped the road trip off with his choice of KFC for lunch. He had never been more than 3 miles out of town, therefore he had never experienced a shopping mall food court. In between bites, his eyes would wander around the mall and he would repeat over and over, “Wow! It’s really pretty here!”
When we got back from the adventure, we informed his guardians, who are his extended family, that the doctor concluded it was a torn ligament which would require surgery. For a town that typically doesn’t trust modern medicine, they took the news exceptionally well. First hurdle… was cleared!
We explained the need for second and third opinions but before we could move any further, we’d need written consent from his parents. With the mention of his parents, the hope was sucked out of the room like a vacuum. We watched our student, wedged in between the wall and an aunt, listen as his family spoke sharply about his parents, their absence, and the slim chance of getting into contact with them.
As an organization, God has blessed us with the resources to provide financially what it would take to heal him. We had the resources and the love to provide, but reality hit hard when we realized… none of that was going to be enough. This child needed his parents.
So… we became dead-set determined to find his parents. We prayed, called doctors, and asked everyone and anyone where we might be able to find his parents. Wouldn’t you know that although both mom and dad hadn’t been seen or heard from in months, they both showed up to town within the same week. While we were working on scheduling doctor’s visits, God was working on the big stuff that only He can do.
After meeting with both parents, they agreed to give their consent for surgery. We invited them to be a part of the process — we’d set up the appointments, but they’d get to go and make the final call on behalf of their sweet little boy.
The next appointment, the dad attended. It was an online visit and it gave us the opportunity to invite him to the Man of Peace Centro and spend over two hours with him and his son together, before, during and after the visit.
The following visit was in a city almost 3 hours away at an incredible clinic that exists to treat under-privileged families. Instead of going with them, we packed him and his mom snacks, arranged their transportation, and sent them on their way with a calling card and some spending money for lunch.
The two following doctors disagreed with the first and concluded that surgery wasn’t necessary. Being he was young, he would be okay with physical therapy and a lot of rest. Hooray!
We watched our student limp for weeks as we searched for his parents. He knew we couldn’t make the call without them, but he continued to ask why and we struggled to explain knowing it hurt every time. It’s not okay that so many of our students have been abandoned by their parents and the fact that he had to wait in pain was simply not right.
But, you see… if we were able to just make it done and get him the surgery… his dad never would have had the chance to show up and be there for his son’s doctors appointment. Our student wouldn’t have been able to see his dad sit, listen, nod and ask questions to the doctor on his behalf.
If we had been able to make it done the way we wanted to, he wouldn’t have been able to spend a full day with his mom who he hasn’t seen in months. And, she wouldn’t have been able to show him how she cares even if in her absence it doesn’t show.
Most days we have the resources to provide what our students need — but when we don’t, God always makes a way because He is The Way Maker.
