Pastor Michel Jean-Claude Marin is known for many things, but everyone who knows him at all will tell you that he has a soft spot in his heart for little ones.

 

As a father to three of his own boys, he began bringing children into his household who were in need of care. Some of them were without father or mother, others had no father but their mother was unable to care for all of her children on her own and had to choose who must leave the home. Whatever the case, however he was able to do it, Pastor Marin opened his home to help those in need.

 

By the year 2010, he had much more than a handful of orphans under his roof. In hope of doing more for them and others, it became obvious that the next step was to legalize the orphanage.

 

In the book of 1 Kings, chapter 17, the prophet Elijah is told to go and be fed by a widow who lives in Zarephath. She and her son were expecting to eat their last meal and die, but the Lord promised to keep her flour and oil from running out. She trusts what the prophet Elijah tells her, and God blesses her little family with enough oil and flour to provide for them through the hard times. The orphanage was named Sarepta (which is French for Zarephath) in honor of this true story in which the Lord provides as people obey His commands in faith.

 

Now it is time to find land and gather funds to build spaces for both boys and girls to live, to create a more formal and adequate space to become an orphanage home. Although that dream has not yet become a reality, Pastor Marin continues to house children that are brought to him.