Our Story
The Beginning- "I have nowhere else to go"
On Christmas Eve of 1996, Rev. John Isaiah and his son Joshua were driving along a misty road, when suddenly a young boy stepped out it front of the vehicle. “Take me with you,” he begged, “I have nowhere else to go.”
This incident opened our eyes to the needs of orphaned and abandoned children in the Hatton area. The Maranatha Children’s Home (MCH) was founded by Rev. John Isaiah and his wife Daphne Isaiah in January 1997 to help meet this need.
Seeking a Home
We had the vision and the children but not the resources. Most critically, we needed a home for the children.
MCH was founded as part of the Sri Lanka Village Gospel Missions (SLVGM) ministry. Brother Christopher, the founder of SLVGM’s parent organization in India, agreed to help raise support for MCH.
Brother Christopher connected us with Peter Sivakumar from Switzerland. Mr. Sivakumar donated money to rent a home for MCH.
The inauguration of
Maranatha Children’s Home took place on January 4, 1997.
God's Miraculous Provision
The lease of the rented
house ended in September 1998. Now we needed a permanent home, and God provided in two miraculous ways.
First, God miraculously helped us to purchase an old church building from the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission for the incredibly low price of one million Rupees. The major portion of the money was funded by the Anglican Renewal Ministries of Wales through the help of Rev. Geoffrey Waggatt. The balance was collected by Solingan Tamil Gospel church in Germany. Through contact with Rev. John Root, The Sri Lankan Fellowship of St. James church Alperton became a partner in this mission. Ms. Devi Chinivasagam and her late husband Mr. Adrian were instrumental in providing the final funds necessary to purchase the Girl’s Home. Brother Dominic and the Calvary Worship center also contributed towards the goal.
God Provides Again
Since the inception of MCH, both boys and girls grew up together grew up together under one roof. Once they became teenagers, the girls needed their own home. However, we could not find a suitable place after searching everywhere in Hatton. We also didn’t have sufficient funds. God provided in a surprising way.
A Hindu Priest approached us and said that he was willing to sell his house on an installment basis without interest. Just like God used the non-Christian king Cyrus to restore His temple, we believed it was God’s hand and thus entered in to an agreement, paying one million. We took possession of the property and opened the Girl’s Home on December 4, 2008.
The full amount was 3.5 million and it took us 15 months to raise the balance of 2.5 million. Thank God, now the girls have their own home.
God's Faithfulness
God has upheld MCH by His mighty hand for the past 27 years. Through the prayers and generous support of Christians around the world, the work of MCH has been able to continue. The first MCH children are now grown with families and children of their own.
We were able to meet and celebrate with some of these MCH graduates at the 26th anniversary celebration in 2022.
Next Generation of Leadership
Rev. John Isaiah and his wife Daphne Isaiah co-founded MCH and faithfully carried out God’s mission.
Sister Daphne made MCH her life’s work and was the backbone of the ministry until her tragic death in 2014 due to cancer.
Rev. John Isaiah faithfully continued to lead the ministry with the support of the director’s board until December of 2024.
In December 2024, he passed the mission onto his son, Mr. Joshua Isaiah. Together with his wife, Mrs. Katherine Getchell-Isaiah, Mr. Joshua has undertaken to lead the ministry with the same vision and guiding principles it was founded on.
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