When we moved to the village it didn't take long to meet a young boy with a big smile named Budi. Although a little older than our kids, he was always ready to play. As time went on I found out his parents live in Malaysia and he hasn't seen them for six years. They simply left the country, and their kids, in search of money. Evidently, they care very little for Budi and his little 5 year old brother. In his parents absence, they have been pushed off from relative to ralative. They used to live with their grandmother, but she couldn't keep up with cooking for them so 9 months ago he came to live with his single aunt who has a daughter of her own. This is quite a heavy load for a workng woman, but things seemed to be going ok. Then we noticed things disappearing from our house. Money, toys, clothing, and then the ATM card. After the last thing was taken we knew it was him because it was there before he came and when he left it was gone. It turns out he has stolen several things since he has been in this village; including a cell phone and some money from a church offering. When we confronted him on it he denied everything with tears but then continued his lifestyle of deception that evening by lying again to his aunt, who beat him with her shoe and then sent him back to his grandmother the next day.
Now who is to blame? Can you blame the boy who has had no stable role model or consitent instruction? Maybe we are for leaving things lying around that could easily be taken. Maybe his aunt who didn't want to deal with the trouble of trainng and teaching him. Or maybe his parents who didn't want the responsibility of training their own kids but instead left them to be raised by others. Anyway, stories like this break your heart because the brokenness that took place when his parents left him continues a ripple affect that injurs everyone who comes in contact with it. What will be the future for Budi? It doesn't look very promising. However, a better question might be, what will be the future of the relationships you are involved in now?
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