This past Sunday, many of us took time to honor that special someone who taught us how to ride our first bicycle, change our first tire, catch our first baseball, and get through life without calling a plumber or asking for directions. Father’s Day was celebrated in 52 countries around the world, from Cuba to Greece to Afghanistan.

Reencontro is saving the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in Mozambique.

The Bible has some important things to say about the value of godly fathers. “A righteous man who walks in his integrity – How blessed are his sons after him.” (Prov. 20:7) Even the Trinity itself is described in terms of a Father-Son relationship.

Sadly, many children have never known a father’s love. Some are orphans, others abandoned, others imprisoned in a home life wrecked by drug and alcohol abuse. The absence of a father figure helps to perpetuate the cycle of poverty in countries where even healthy, intact families struggle to get by. That includes Mozambique, where Cross Catholic is working with a local ministry called Reencontro to provide shelter, food, clothing, health care, and emotional support for AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children.

Thirteen-year-old Alicia came to Reencontro after her father passed away and her family was thrown out on the street. The Catholic-led program gave Alicia’s family a place to stay, saved her little sister Lidia from severe and incapacitating malnutrition, and enrolled Alicia in a Catholic boarding school, where she has learned to trust in her heavenly father to supply all her needs.

“I used to think that I wanted to become a nurse, but now I feel that my vocation is to become a nun,” Alicia said. “So in the future, I want to dedicate my life to the service of the church and to those who suffer.”

Click here to learn more about how Cross Catholic is reaching out to fatherless and vulnerable children.

Working with the poor, we often hear a lot of heartbreaking stories from the countries we serve. One of our project officers recently commented that sometimes it feels like there are more needs than we could ever possibly meet. What gives him hope are the success stories of people whose lives are changed through our work. Below is an uplifting story we recently received from our mission partner Fr. Marc Boisvert, a benevolent priest who runs an orphanage for 651 orphaned and vulnerable children in Haiti:

This photo was taken the day Fedlin (left) finally joined his brothers at Espwa. Bonhomme (center) and Bussco (right) are very happy to be reunited with him, having been separated for four years!

One afternoon, a mischievous boy at Eswpa Village decided to go for a joyride — on Fr. Marc’s horse. It was fun for 16-year-old Bonhomme while it lasted — that is, until he fell off and broke his wrist. But it’s amazing how God can work things together for good. His worried brother, Bussco, 14, accompanied Bonhomme to the hospital when Fr. Marc took him to get a cast. During the hospital’s intake questions, Bonhomme was asked, “How many siblings do you have?” Both brothers burst out crying. It was the first Fr. Marc learned of a third brother. When Bonhomme and Bussco were sent to live at Espwa four years ago, their 9-year-old brother, Fedlin, was sent to be a restavek — a child servant. They hadn’t seen or heard from him since. He would be 13 now.

Fr. Marc asked the boys, “Would you like your brother to come live here?” With hope in their tear-filled eyes, they said, “Yes!” So Fr. Marc asked around, and was able to locate the home where Fedlin lived in servitude. He found out the boy had been sent to this family in exchange for his schooling. But, like most of the nearly 300,000 restaveks in Haiti, the deal never transpired. Fedlin never saw a classroom, but lived the harsh, backbreaking life of near-slavery.

Fr. Marc pled with Fedlin’s “aunt” (owner), who at first refused to let the boy come live at Espwa, but she eventually consented. The brothers were ecstatic to finally be reunited after so many years apart. Fedlin was soon enrolled in the first grade at Espwa’s primary school. He was out of school for so long he will basically be starting over; but he will finally get an education. And he is finally surrounded by people who truly love him and have his best interests at heart.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Fr. Marc Boisvert’s ministry to hundreds of orphaned and vulnerable Haitian children.