Article

Why do people mock me?

“Why do people mock me by calling me ‘son of a Christian’?” It’s a good question, and one that 11-year-old Nur asks his mother regularly.

Sadly, his question goes unanswered. Most Muslim-background believers (MBBs) in Bangladesh belong to simple house church groups and receive little discipleship training. When the family experiences pressure from their Muslim neighbours for leaving Islam, they lack the confidence to defend their faith. And when their children ask questions, they don’t know how to respond.

Many children in Bangladesh experience illiteracy, malnutrition, unsafe water and lack of hygiene, resulting in poor health and stunted growth. This is especially true of children from MBB families who are often denied access to community facilities because of their faith.

Faced with these issues, some MBB parents prefer to send their children to a Christian shelter home to provide better care for their physical needs while giving them the chance to grow in the Christian faith.

Open Doors is able to support this home, through partnership with the Prime Evangelistic Church in Kewchala, Gazipur, providing food, clothes, books, utilities, teachers’ pay and other related expenses.

We praise God that he has provided (our children with) a place where they can practise their Christian life.

A home from home…

The home offers sanctuary to 36 children, aged six to fourteen, selected by different organisations and denominations. All of these children come from MBB families except for two who are from a tribal background. There they receive a good education, nutritious food, and spiritual training to develop their faith in Christ.

“Without this shelter, our children may end up illiterate like us, “shares one of the grateful parents. “Worse still, they may have to start working or run away from home. Their peers may morally corrupt them. They may not learn who the true God is. They may die for lack of food or shelter. This is happening to other children in Bangladesh. But we praise God that he has provided our children with studies, food and shelter. He provided a place where they can practise their Christian life.”

Apart from physical and spiritual nourishment, some children stay at the shelter because of persecution. Such is the experience of Bristi, a fatherless girl whose mother works long hours. “After I received Jesus, I could no longer keep my daughter in the house” the mother shares.”Our neighbours would assault her every time I left for work. She’s better off at the shelter home where she can study and live in safety.”

Open Doors supports MBB families in a number of other ways, including regular seminars for couples to strengthen Christian marriages. A children’s camp runs concurrently with this for the younger members of their families and those who belong to the children’s home. It’s a place of great fun and fellowship.

Source: Open Doors

Pray now…

• For the children, that Jesus will become their role model from an early age.
• For the teachers and leaders running the home, that they will help the students become firmly rooted in their Christian faith