Empty Money Box

As I opened the money box, I was surprised to see that it was empty. It was the first Monday of the month and I had gone into the office early to get the staff salaries and rent ready. I looked into the box in disbelief. I called for Tola and Coy, two of the young men from Heritage House who work at the school as security guards, to come. Tola came around the corner and I asked where Coy was. He told me that Coy had not been there all weekend long. I stood in disbelief as my mind whirled and I realized that Coy, one of my Khmer "sons," had robbed the ministry.

Coy's father, an ex-Khmer Rouge solider and cadre leader, was murdered when Coy was 10 years old. His father was a shaman for their village and had made alot of enemies in his past. Coy and his siblings heard the gun shots from a few hundred yards away, but he was dead by the time they reached him. His mother immediately abandoned the family and moved to Thailand. Coy's sister, the oldest of 11, had married a pastor and tired to care for the younger children, but they did not have the resources to care for them properly. So, Coy, and three of his younger siblings, Krum, Yaht and Srey Ma, came to live with us at Heritage House. They have been a part of our family for over six years now.

For a week, Vutha and I tried to contact Coy. All of our attempts failed and we grew more and more frustrated. We spent a week on the emotional roller coaster of guilt, "how did we fail him?," to anger, "how could he do this to us?", to prayer, "Father, help us and protect Coy!", and over and over again. Finally, Coy's brother-in-law, the pastor, got ahold of him and called us. We scheduled a meeting and prayed that he would return.

I finally got the call from Vutha saying that Coy, his brother-in-law, and two other men were at his house and wanted to meet with me. As I walked into the room, every eye was on me and I knew that the first few words were critical. Coy stood as I walked in and bowed in Asian respect. My emotions were overwhelming and I really did not know what to say or to do, so I did what came natural, I hugged him and told him that I loved him and that, more importantly, Jesus loved him and wanted to forgive him. The tension in the room immediately lifted as the presence of the Lord filled that place.

We talked for over an hour and Coy returned the money that he had not spent (about 80%). We have scheduled a payment plan for the other 20%. One of the men who was with Coy was not a Christian and could not believe how we reacted to the situation. In Khmer society, things would have been much different for Coy. I was excited to see how Vutha handled the situation as a Khmer Christian, a pastor, and a father to the Heritage House children.

As we finished our meeting, we prayed for Coy. When we were done praying, Coy fell into my arms and wept openly asking for forgiveness. This is against everything in Khmer culture, he is a young man, and they do not cry and no one here asks for forgiveness without the grace of God coming on them. I wept with Coy and I rejoiced in his humility and the fact that he was once again right with the Father.

Coy is living with his sister and brother-in-law again. We all felt that was best for him at this point. He called Sterling last week, they are good friends, and talked for awhile. Before they hung up, he asked that Kristen or I call him sometime. I was out of town, but Kristen called and they had a good talk. I will call him tomorrow to check on him.

"...love will cover a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8), and I am thankful for that. I am thankful for the love of Christ that forgives and covers my sins, I am thankful that he can pour out in my heart an attitude of love toward a young man who made a bad choice. I know that this is part of the dealings of God in Coy's life and that Coy's future is going to be a good one as long as he continues to humble himself to His Savior.

This orphanage thing can ripe your guts out at times, but I praise God for His goodness and faithfulness in my life, in Kristen's life, and in the lives of the children at Heritage House. He is good!