India (MNN) — It has been a very difficult year for
Hopegivers International . Their chief aid recipient Emmanuel Mission International, had their licenses revoked. Key staff members
and leaders were arrested. As a result of efforts to shut down the humanitarian work, many orphans under their care in Kota were forced out into the streets.
While all licenses have been reinstated, they continue awaiting the return of these children, says the Chief Operating Office of Hopegiver's
Michael Glenn. "We lost (nearly)1,500 of our 2,000 plus students in the
main orphanage in Kota. But, they're
coming back and now we're over 700 there. And, we do have concerns. We don't
know what happened to all these children and we know that they can be pushed
into prostitution, or boys thrown out into the streets to be beggars or pick
pockets."
This wasn't something Hogegivers wanted to happen. Glenn
says, "They were kind of driven out by the opposition. They wanted to shut
this thing down. So, they did everything to push these kids out or send them
away."
While the number of people in their care has gone down,
ministry wasn't diminished. "None of the pastors left and walked away. So,
now we're just out there pulling these children back in," says Glenn.
Hopegivers is in the process of re-establishing their headquarters in
Delhi, while maintaining a strong presence in Rajasthan. "We're finding out more
and more that now the national government and other religious leaders are
better aware of who we are and what we're about and knowing that we have to
stand together strong to face the enemy of the persecuted church."
The crackdown by local radicals hurt financially. Glenn
says, "We're going through a transition of trying to be more organized,
more disciplined. We've had to downsize our staff a little bit. So, we do need
the financial support, but prayer is the most important thing."
Hopegivers supports thousands of orphans, schools, 20,000
churches, a hospital, seminaries and more in India, Malawi and Haiti. Despite the persecution they
continue reaching out with the Gospel.
