A Mother’s Love and Faith Transcends Borders and Decades
In November 2021, Brhan (22) and Tirhas (20) Habtegeres filed through customs at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport as their mother Tiblets waited with tears of joy and anticipation streaming down her face. As she laid eyes on her daughters walking towards her, she jumped up and down, running up to them for a tight embrace. It was a reunion over sixteen years in the making - a fulfillment of prayers, paperwork and a deep rooted faith that Jesus would bring her family together once again.
In 2007, Tiblets was forced to do the unthinkable. She walked for four days with two small children to escape the erupting violence in Eritrea in pursuit of a stable life. While she found temporary refuge in Egypt, Brhan and Tirhas, then 7 and 5, were placed in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. - beginning over a decade long period of separation.
Tiblets was eventually resettled in Lakewood, where she found an apartment and a job. As she diligently sent money back to her daughters, she couldn’t help but feel the huge hole in her life without their presence with her and continually prayed for a miracle. In 2018, Tiblets applied to bring Brhan and Tirhas to the United States, however, she would need to wait three more years, full of interviews and DNA tests, before her deepest longing became a reality.
While the staff at The Hope Center have known Tiblets for many years, Brhan and Tirhas have quickly become enfolded into The Hope Center family. Tirhas is now enrolled at Lakewood High School, and Laurie Kubiak, Manager of Education at The Hope Center, often meets with her school counselor to ensure she has everything she needs to be successful. Brhan is at The Hope Center most days studying English, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, works with Ruth Pangrace, long-time BHITC supporter, volunteer and retired teacher, for tutoring.
“We’re working on reading, writing and math, but we have also built a friendship,” says Ruth. “I usually pick her up at her home to come to The Hope Center. We recently saw a play together, and I’ve gotten to spend time with her family - sharing baked goods her mother brings home.”
After spending nearly a year with her daughters by her side for the first time in nearly two decades, Tiblets recently returned to Eritrea for a two-month long visit to see her relatives. When asked how she would do leaving her daughters for a few months, she confidently said, “ Number one, God is with them, and number two, so are the people at The Hope Center. They will be okay until I return.”
It’s clear Tiblets embodies a deep and profound love for her children that transcends war, separation, and the difficulty of navigating life in a new country.
And isn’t this love God’s heart for all of us as our Father? His love is a never-ending, unstoppable, never giving up love. He pursues us, even unto death on a cross, is risen and welcomes us into His presence with joy and celebration. Just like Tiblets, Brhan and Tirhas-our lives are a part of HIS redemptive story!