Stories from the Field

April 2004

The True Love of Family

It took many years for Henri, a French Creole born in France, to grasp the heart meaning of the word "family." Henri's mother died after his birth. His father couldn't care for him, so Henri and his siblings wound up in abusive foster homes. One set of foster parents tied Henri in a dog pen and fed him like a dog. Another couple made him eat from a pig trough. When they were displeased with him, they would beat him.

After Henri great up, he got involved in crime and spent time in prison. Later, he moved to the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. At a house church there, he accepted Christ as his Savior.

"I began to feel love where there had been hate," Henri says. Today, Henri is married to a nurse and runs a Christian video store. He works alongside International Mission Board missionaries Al and Judy Gary in sharing the gospel with French Creoles in Guadeloupe. Pray with them that many other French Creoles will join Henri as part of God's family, too.

Reprinted from Missions Mosaic, February 2003, p. 30.
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