Heaven's Family Magazine
July 2015 Issue

Fabricating His Future

A young man builds a new life after being orphaned by tragedy

CJ McDaniel, Education Ministry

Lavan Lajan, building a future for himself

Lavan Lajan, building a future for himself

Seven-year-old Lavan and his two younger sisters did their best to cope with the tragic loss of their father. Their mother, however, couldn’t cope. She not only lost her husband, but the only means of support for her already-impoverished family. So she simply disappeared, abandoning her three children.

Thankfully, a local pastor named Jeyachandren, and his wife, Thanushanki, took Lavan into their home, along with 16 other orphaned boys. They also found an orphanage for girls that accepted Lavan’s sisters. It was yet another trauma of family separation for the three children, but at least they weren’t forced to live on the streets.

Over the ten years since, time has healed some wounds. Lavan has attended school and acquired better childhood memories, such as taking trips to the local zoo, playing with his 16 brothers, and caring for puppies. His new mother and father also introduced him to Jesus, and Lavan loves and serves Him.

As he approached adulthood, Lavan knew he would need to move out and make it on his own. But with 16 young men to feed, his adoptive parents had no resources to equip Lavan with marketable skills by which he could earn a living for himself and, one day, his own family.

That’s when Pastor Jeyachandren contacted Heaven’s Family through one of our trusted Sri Lankan partners to ask if we could help send Lavan to an apprenticeship program where he could learn some skills he would need to find a good job. After hearing about Lavan’s character and desire to learn, we agreed to meet his need. Shortly thereafter, Lavan enrolled in an aluminum fabrication program close to his orphanage, and rode his bicycle—also a gift from Heaven’s Family—to class each day. Lavan’s total training costs were $389.

At left: Lavan, in his younger years, learning responsibility by caring for two dogs; At right: Lavan learning new skills as a materials fabricator

Lavan excelled in his training, and after graduation returned to the town of his birth where he found a good-paying job. In fact, Lavan’s two younger sisters have also since moved in with him, as he is able to provide for them as well.

I love Lavan’s story, because it provides a snapshot of our preferred means of serving the “least of these,” namely, by helping them help themselves. Friends of Heaven’s Family contributed to the Education Fund, which provided for Lavan’s needs for both mobility and skills training. Lavan seized the opportunity presented to him by the goodness of God, and now he is able to support himself and his sisters—a family broken by tragedy but now together again. All of that for $389…quite a bargain!

Bigger Picture:

Jeff Trotter

CJ McDaniel

Every month Heaven’s Family helps to educate hundreds of children just like Lavan. From primary school to high school and through vocational training or college, our Education Fund takes a strategic approach to meeting the needs of every child whom we serve. Through your help that supports students like Lavan, you are not only providing students with a much-needed education and vocational skills training, you are also making an eternal impact, because we’re working with partners around the world who care for children because of their love for Jesus.

Provide schooling and training opportunities for Christians around the world

$

This Month's Articles

This Month's Teaching

Parting Shot: Chick Whisperer

The well known idiom, “A little bird told me,” probably has its origins in Ecclesiastes 10:20: “Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.” This little bird appears to be sharing one of those secrets to a little girl at Jordan Orphanage in Myanmar.

Pin It on Pinterest