Good news about Cesar

As of this past Saturday, I was ready to begin an intense fight as an advocate for this little boy.  I have not been able to get him off my mind since I met him on March 6th.  But...Praise the Lord!!!  Yesterday, I received some encouraging news about little Cesar.  Thank you so much for your many prayers for this precious boy.  Please continue to pray for him.

I am simply going to copy the letter DeeDee (my teammate) sent me, since she saw him first hand.

Hey friends,

Just wanted to pass along what I believe is really positive news related to the Cesar updates.  At the end of last week, Ricardo went into town to help sign all the papers to get Cesar released from the hospital and passed on to a new guardian.  I got news today of how that went. 

Apparently, PGN (equivalent to DCS) was not in favor of sending Cesar back to the same home.  So Cesar´s mom suggested one of Cesar´s uncles named Crisanto who lives in the same community.  Crisanto and his wife Carmelina agreed to be Cesar´s guardians for the next year or so (I´m kinda unclear about the time commitment).  Meanwhile, PGN has committed to doing an "intervention" with Cesar's mom to help prepare her to receive Cesar back into her home (not sure exactly what this intervention will look like... but sounds positive).  Also, PGN will continue to monitor Cesar's progress at his new home.  

I thought this news sounded good, but I was still very skeptical.  And I was eager to see Cesar in his new home. So this afternoon Marcelino walked with me to visit Cesar.  As we arrived, we saw Cesar walking hand-in-hand with Crisanto's wife Carmelina.  She also had their little 3-year-old boy with them (a great playmate for Cesar and actually his same size!).  Truthfully, she was probably one of the most friendly women I have ever met in the Valley.  Her husband came out too and was very welcoming.  They seemed to be a very sweet, educated (both spoke some Spanish) family, and they gave me confidence that Cesar would be well taken care of.  They even had a fence around their yard, which will hopefully help discourage Cesar from trying to run away (which he hopefully won't even try to do if he's being cared for properly).  

They invited me back another day when we could sit down and chat longer, and of course, I plan to do so before we head back to the States in a few weeks.  

I hope you enjoy the pictures.  I never cease to be amazed at the transformation that has happened in the life of this sweet little boy in exactly two months.  Thanks to God, and to the help of Beth and Katy, Cesar has been given another chance at life!  The second picture is of his new parents... of course they're not smiling, but they seem very happy to have him as part of the family.

I hope you all can rest well tonight and lift up praises to our Father for this good news.  After I left Cesar's new house this afternoon, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.  God is good.

Blessings,

DeeDee