Marvin Kramer, a Jewish lawyer in Israel, answered the phone and a man’s voice said:  ‘You don’t know me, but you knew my mother 20 years ago.’  This would have sent a shiver of fear to many men.

Marvin was intrigued.  ‘Who is your mother?’

‘She was pregnant, a teenage prostitute on drugs and you counselled with her 2 or 3 times.  She never came again, but she thought about what you said and she decided to keep the baby.  I am that baby.

‘My mother believed what you told her and stopped taking drugs, stopped prostitution, and started a new life. 

‘She went back to her family, got an education and a degree and found work.  I just wanted to thank you.’

That was just a few moments in Marvin’s life.  His counselling is part of what he does for a pro-life charity he founded: A Future and A Hope.  The charity seeks to help pregnant young women keep their babies.

As in many other countries, abortion is available and in Israel more  babies have been aborted than the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. Yes, dear friends. 

We met Marvin and his wife Orit (pronounced or-eet’ ) several years ago at the evangelical church they attend in Haifa. 

Recently we spent an evening with them.  They are quiet, unassuming people, full of good humor, but also deeply serious about their Christian faith and putting it into practice by saving the lives of babies who would otherwise be aborted.

Orit told me that at one meeting a man came up to her and demanded to know how many babies they had saved.  ‘We don’t keep numbers,’ she said.  But mothers have shown their gratitude by sending them many baby pictures, including several sets of twins! 

Some women who are counselled never get in touch again and they don’t know the outcome.  God keeps count!

They do not beg for money.  Marvin decided from the outset that if God wanted this work to continue, He would supply the money, and they would never have to beg. 

A Future and A Hope is a registered charity in Israel.  So far, it is not registered in Britain, which takes time and money to do, and I’m sure Marvin and Orit have plenty of more important things to keep them busy. 

So if you are looking for a tax write-off, maybe their charity is not for you.  If you are looking to God, why not trust Him ?  He can take care of your finances better than you do, with or without a tax write-off!

The charity not only counsels young women, but helps them survive financially through pregnancy and in that crucial first year of the baby’s life.

The Kramers are not begging for your help and neither am I.  But I am putting this out there as an opportunity for readers who might wish to help in some way. 

Our lives are short, not much time to lay up treasure in heaven for all eternity.  I know that many charities are not worth supporting and are run by people taking huge salaries and enormous benefits.

A Future and A Hope is not like that.  We have known Marvin and Orit for some years now.  I have been to their home, which is a nice apartment, but is not a palace.   They are not enriching themselves on the back of the gospel, as so many others are doing.

Orit told me about seminars they held in Jerusalem, teaching Christian Israelis about sexual matters, including how to present the facts of life to their children.  Some of the listeners begged them to come back and teach more people, and said they had been embarrassed to bring up the subject in their families.

The Kramers, on the other hand, have always been open with their children about the facts of life, endeavouring to teach them from an early age and from a Biblical perspective.

 Now they are planning on putting out booklets in Hebrew about this subject, approaching it from the point of view of different age groups.   

There is an enormous need for this information in our age, when young people are exposed to far too much, and many parents have no clue how to handle it or how to guide their vulnerable youngsters  and keep them safe. 

Orit has an M.A. in counselling and speaks in schools in different cities, not only in Jerusalem, from the 5th grade all through high school. She also spoke to a group of professional family counsellors in one of the universities  in Israel, when she was asked to share about the New Testament perspective on family issues.  

Marvin and Orit have shared together both in Israel and abroad  about their work, and encouraged pro-life centres in different countries as well. 

So, dear readers, I hope you will consider joining Marvin and Orit in their work (and sharing in their no doubt great reward!).   Here is their website: https://afutureandahope.org.il

And this link from a kehila (church) news site explains a bit more:  http://app.kehilanews.com/a-future-and-a-hope