Dreams Come True

Mareeswaran had always dreamed of riding a bike but never thought he would have the opportunity. His father had died when he was an infant, so, without a father and being extremely poor, with a mother who could not care for him, his hopes of riding a bike seemed out of his grasp. He longed for such a wonderful experience. To many abandoned children in India, a dream such as riding a bike, which might seem commonplace, is completely unattainable. 

Fortunately, Mareeswaran was welcomed into our Laymen Ministries India Children’s Home. Moses Samuel, orphanage director, brought his bicycle to the boys’ home so that Mareeswaran could learn to ride it. To Mareeswaran’s astonishment, he learned to ride in just one day! He thanks God for this opportunity. Most important, Mareeswaran has learned a lot about Jesus and His love while staying in our home. “I surrender my life to Him. I would like to follow Him and inherit eternal life,” says Mareeswaran.

Something as simple as riding a bike brings joy to these orphan boys. It is our goal to have the children’s home be a real home—a safe place to be loved, encouraged, educated, and taught good values.

A brief history

Operated by Seventh-day Adventists, Laymen Ministries is a self-supporting missionary organization. Since 1985 we have been producing mission-focused magazines with thought-provoking articles designed for the laity dealing with current issues and practical experiences. It started out first as a newsletter, then progressed into a quarterly pamphlet, and today is a full-color magazine.

We support mission projects and missionaries around the world. We currently work in seven different countries and have a wide range of mission projects, such as building schools for indigenous children in various countries, running an orphanage in India, teaching health and hygiene along with the gospel message to people in Nepal, operating prison ministries in Romania and the Philippines, and producing TV programs both in India and here in the United States.

In 2017 Laymen Ministries India secured a building and land in the far southeastern tip of India in the state of Tamil Nadu from the Southern Asia Division. The facility had been empty for a few years. It had been designed to be used as a community outreach center to train people from the local villages—youth in computer technologies and women in tailoring and sewing—to support themselves. The people who had this dream were never able get the center operating, and then the project sponsor passed away. The building and land were offered to Laymen Ministries India.

Now children who once slept under bridges, ate from garbage piles, or came from abusive situations have opportunities. 

We immediately turned the facility into an orphanage for boys. Director Samuel was himself raised an orphan. He worked his way through school and university, obtaining a business management degree. He had a desire to help orphans, just as he had been helped. He had 25 years of experience as an orphanage director before coming to work with us. He and his wife, Sonna, along with a few paid helpers, set out to make this a model orphanage in the state of Tamil Nadu—and today it is.

But we faced a problem. Although this home was only for boys, we were getting a lot of requests for girl orphans to come. The government mandated that we needed a separate living area for the girls, sharing only the dining area and the study hall. So we set out right away not only to expand the boys’ quarters but to add on the necessary rooms and dormitory for girls to comply with the government regulations. This, of course, was a considerable investment of means, but through our faithful donors God graciously supplied us with what was needed, and today we have a complete faculty capable of having both male and female orphans. And by God’s grace we also have a community outreach to the local villagers, offering tailoring and computer classes, just as the original owners had envisioned.

Patience pays off

Joseph was only 15 years old, but his distended belly made him look much older. This was the result of alcohol consumption and tobacco use. Joseph had lost his father in a family fight, and he had been living in the home of a relative, where he had learned to use alcohol and tobacco. Later he lived in an orphanage where he was made to sleep in the corridor of the dorm because he wet the bed. One day his maternal grandfather found him lying miserably in the corridor in a heavy rain. He quickly informed the government authorities about the situation, and consequently, the government sent Joseph to us.

Upon observing his physical condition, some people were against his admission into our home, but Joseph did not have anywhere else to live. Jesus says, “And the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37), so we took Joseph into our home.

In the beginning it was difficult to reach him. He cut himself and intentionally bruised his arms and legs. He would purposely disobey. But slowly, as he was shown love and acceptance, he started to change by God’s grace. The boy who did not have any interest in his studies now has plans for his next grade level. He is currently in tenth grade, and his first government exam is just ahead. We are giving Joseph an expert teacher to help him prepare. Please pray that God will bless this young man!

These are just two examples of the kinds of situations our children’s home deals with. We get children from many different walks of life. At the time of this writing we have seven girls and 15 boys, with more coming soon. The stories we could tell regarding where some of these children come from—it’s a sad testimony! But now the children who once slept under bridges, ate from garbage piles, or came from abusive situations have the opportunity for a good Christian education, wholesome food, clean environment, and, more than anything else, a loving Christ-centered family-style home. Please pray for our children’s home.