Mothers desire for their children to be taken care of, loved, and nurtured. It’s how they were created. Mothers have been given the gift of a heart that beats for their children. If for some reason a mother is not able to physically care for her children, those children still deserve and still need the love and care she would have provided. This love and care comes from a family, not an institution. Love that is stable and consistent, love that shows concern and acceptance, love that has structure but lives in freedom.  

Over the years, conversations with ministry partners, and a lot of prayer, the Lord has shifted our original vision of having small orphan homes throughout Tanzania into focusing on reuniting children who are currently living in orphanage or orphan homes with family members whenever possible. Studies which have been done about orphans and international orphan care have shown that many children living in orphanages have living family members which may include either their biological mom or dad.  

By living in orphanages or orphan homes, research has shown that children develop massive social-emotional disorders that have impact to their development as children and the effects can still be felt into adulthood. Yes, living in a orphanage is better than living on the street, but every child deserves a home. The priority would be to have children be reunited with family but when that is not possible for whatever reason, then placing them in a home where they are loved and cared for by people from the church community would be the next step.  

Our new goal is to help children be reunited with families or placed in a family from the local church where they will be loved, cared for, and raised in a stable environment. We want children and their families to experience the love of Jesus throughout this process of reunification and ultimately for people to come into a relationship with Him. We want to see orphanages emptied and closed down because all the kids were either reunited or a loving family from the church has welcomed them into their home. Although the goal has changed, our vision remains the same in that Jesus continues to call us into this partnership with Him where children are being shown the love of Jesus Christ, that He sees them, and being introduced to this free gift of salvation and relationship with their heavenly Father.