Ella update!

an update following my previous post...wow!!!

You won’t BELIEVE what happened today. Long story short, we were able to buy Ella’s ticket for 360JD (the cheapest I was able to find online was 640JD) thanks to a Sri Lankan angel with connections @ Royal Jordanian. She flies out in’shallah 15 Dec. AND Ella and I met with a pro bono human rights lawyer we learned about who, with Ella’s permission, called her former employer and gave him a choice of either handing over her papers and dropping all charges against her without compensation (the $800 he had asked for that we were trying to raise) OR having his and his son’s butts hauled into court for multiple cases of rape and sexual abuse. YES!!! He was speechless…hadn’t known prior to that that his son had raped her too…and in the end he said he’d think about it tonight and give her a decision tomorrow. The lawyer feels confident he’ll agree but we need to PRAY!! Pls pls pray for his heart and decision tonight.
The beautiful thing was that after sharing about their conversation, the lawyer looked straight at Ella and said “What this man did to you was WRONG and we will FIGHT for you.” I just started weeping, am again now writing this. Seeing someone care enough to fight for her! And Ella turned and looked at me, her eyes just SHINING and said “Ate, God did it! He gave me the JUSTICE!” She just knows he’ll give in, that he’s scared, but even without his decision already justice is being done. I had no idea up til then how completely injust it seemed to her that all these people were raising money to pay off a man who had wronged her so horribly…today made me want to go to law school. I think I want to be a lawyer.

On the way out to the taxi, Ella started talking about how her family could use the money that was meant to go to this man…she was DREAMING out loud…of having enough to start a little market or buying a motorcycle taxi and hiring a driver…the possibility of being able to provide long-term for her family while staying in the Philippines…we’ve already raised ~$650 in addition to the money spent on her ticket and more’s coming in…so let’s dream WITH her and do what we can to see it come true.

So praise GOD!! WOW. And keep praying esp for tomorrow!! The lawyer will call me as soon as she hears from him, and if he doesn’t call her she promises to call him.