Hope for the Least of These
In Morocco, children of shame are not wanted. Their young mothers are forced to abandon them because the women will have no prospects for marriage if they have already had a child. One hospital uses its top floor as an orphanage because mothers give birth there and leave their children behind. These institutional orphanages, however, offer little hope for the children’s future. In the midst of this suffering, Village of Hope was born.
This Christian orphanage used a family model, with each set of foster parents caring for no more than eight children. Each family committed to stay with the children until the youngest turned eighteen. In an email interview, board member Jack Wald explains the motivation for these parents: “Christians throughout church history have been motivated by their experience of Jesus to love people in His name. So followers of Jesus have created orphanages, fought to reform labor laws to protect women and children and men, fought to abolish slavery. Our experience of Jesus leads us to care for people in need. This is what happened at the Village of Hope.” The foster parents at Village of Hope loved the orphans with the overflowing love of Jesus.
Morocco, however, is a Muslim country. Compass Direct News explains that Article 220 of the Moroccan Penal code “criminalizes any attempt to induce a Muslim to convert to another religion.” The Christian foster parents at Village of Hope have been accused of proselytizing their foster children and have now been sent out of the country. But why? Assist news argues that the foster parents never hid their faith. They trusted God and honored the government’s stipulations “to a tee,” including “the requisite that the children were to learn about Islam as well as Christianity and to be well acquainted with the Muslim culture.” Yet despite their obedience, these loving Christian parents are being persecuted. Their children do not understand what is happening. Jack Wald writes, “A diplomat visited this past week and the children asked, ‘Don’t our mommy and daddy love us anymore?’”
Pray for these children in Morocco, who are unwanted by their society but loved by God. Pray that their foster parents will be reunited with them, and that God will protect Christians serving “the least of these” for Him in Morocco.
To see a heart-breaking video of the orphanage workers being deported, click here.
This Christian orphanage used a family model, with each set of foster parents caring for no more than eight children. Each family committed to stay with the children until the youngest turned eighteen. In an email interview, board member Jack Wald explains the motivation for these parents: “Christians throughout church history have been motivated by their experience of Jesus to love people in His name. So followers of Jesus have created orphanages, fought to reform labor laws to protect women and children and men, fought to abolish slavery. Our experience of Jesus leads us to care for people in need. This is what happened at the Village of Hope.” The foster parents at Village of Hope loved the orphans with the overflowing love of Jesus.
Morocco, however, is a Muslim country. Compass Direct News explains that Article 220 of the Moroccan Penal code “criminalizes any attempt to induce a Muslim to convert to another religion.” The Christian foster parents at Village of Hope have been accused of proselytizing their foster children and have now been sent out of the country. But why? Assist news argues that the foster parents never hid their faith. They trusted God and honored the government’s stipulations “to a tee,” including “the requisite that the children were to learn about Islam as well as Christianity and to be well acquainted with the Muslim culture.” Yet despite their obedience, these loving Christian parents are being persecuted. Their children do not understand what is happening. Jack Wald writes, “A diplomat visited this past week and the children asked, ‘Don’t our mommy and daddy love us anymore?’”
Pray for these children in Morocco, who are unwanted by their society but loved by God. Pray that their foster parents will be reunited with them, and that God will protect Christians serving “the least of these” for Him in Morocco. “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’”
– Mark 25:40
To see a heart-breaking video of the orphanage workers being deported, click here.