International Sanctuary Ministries, Inc.
sanctuaryministries.org
office@sanctuaryministries.org
PO Box 2238
Abilene, TX  79604

By Loretta Fulton

It started with a desire to do more, like most good ideas that eventually grow into something much larger.

Back in 2011, Matt and Cheryl Merritt decided they wanted to do more than just support the ministries at their home church, Hillcrest Church of Christ. Specifically, they were looking for a ministry outside the United States that was committed to “pure religion,” as defined in James 1:27:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Matt started googling ministries that fit the description. Lo and behold, he came across something called “Sanctuary Home for Children,” with the home located in India. The ministry also assisted widows in India. A perfect fit. As Matt scrolled down the page, he was in for quite a shock.

“I saw that they were based right here in Abilene,” he said.

Isaac Palaparthi, center, visits in the home of Cheryl and Matt Merritt. On the screen is a photo of children at International Sanctuary Ministries in India, which Isaac serves as director of operations.

The Abilene connection was Amanda Pettit, now Horner, who attended a church in Hondo, west of San Antonio. Her church was helping support an evangelist in India, Isaac Palaparthi. Amanda later moved to Abilene and continued her connection with Isaac. 

She had recently come into some extra money and asked Isaac how she could help him in India. He suggested helping children. Amanda agreed, and Isaac opened an orphanage in his home with five children. Amanda started the nonprofit Sanctuary Home for Children. The counterpart in India is Truth Ministries Social Organization. Both are nonprofits, which makes it possible for Americans to safely send money to help in India. 

It didn’t take long for Matt and Cheryl to get involved once Matt discovered the ministry and its work. The name, “Sanctuary Home for Children,” has now been changed to International Sanctuary Ministries, Inc., to reflect the range of services now offered.

Isaac by a river in India.

“We’ve grown in scope,” Matt said. 

That’s an understatement. The ministry was founded in 2007. Isaac, now 63, has been director of operations from the beginning. The ministry now sponsors a home for orphans and children who have been neglected and also supports widows. Extended ministries include drilling water wells, supporting local ministers and evangelists, sponsoring a slum area that has been renamed Hope Village where children are fed and taught, and assisting a group of Christians who live in a leper colony. 

Isaac comes to Abilene about once a year to meet with current and potential donors and to visit one of his daughters, Jony Palaparthi, who is a dentist at the Middleton Unit, a prison located north of Abilene. Jony got her education in India and then came to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Abilene, where she lived with the Merritts while earning a master’s degree in public health. After adding a dentistry degree in the United States, Jony was employed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. 

Isaac currently is in Abilene June 29 through Aug. 2. Always joyful, Isaac delights in telling the story of the ministry’s work. And, he is always appreciative of the people in Abilene who support the ministry. 

International Sanctuary Ministries in India

“I am ever and ever grateful to the donors and the people of Abilene,” he said. “Through these wonderful Abilene people, God is glorifying in India in reaching the needful people and in bringing souls to Christ.”

Once Matt and Cheryl got to know Isaac and his work, they were hooked. They joined the board of directors in 2012, a year after learning about Sanctuary Ministries. Matt is now the president and Cheryl, a CPA, is treasurer. In 2013, they made their first trip to India, along with their two children who were 14 and 11 at the time. They made the trip despite concerns that they eventually were able to put aside. 

“We felt God was telling us to go,” Matt said. 

Left to right, Isaac baptizes a woman, children in a classroom, a widow that International Sanctuary Ministries assists.

They still feel that way and made their fifth trip in December 2024. They have watched Sanctuary Ministries blossom since Matt’s original discovery in 2011. The first orphanage was in Isaac’s home, but later moved to a another facility in Tenali in the southeastern part of India on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The home was crowded and didn’t meet government regulations, Isaac said. 

A donor in Abilene and a donor in San Antonio combined their resources to buy five acres of land about 10 miles outside of Tanali for the ministry’s new location. In 2023, three two-story buildings were constructed on the land to house the home, school, and offices. Currently, 40 boys are housed in one dorm and 42 girls in another. Additionally, 30 boys live in the former home in Tenali and are bused in for school. The rest of the five acres currently is used to grow bananas and coconuts. 

If funding can be found, plans are to build a separate school on the five acres, freeing up space  to house more children. Sanctuary Ministries also has been approved by the government of India to add a secondary school if money can be raised. The elementary school, which opened in fall 2024, also is accredited by the government. All classes are taught in English, which gives the children an advantage when it comes time for college or getting a good job. 

In Abilene, Matt, 60, is owner of Encore Audio, an audio/visual company that helps people stage events. Prior to that, he was a teacher at Hawley High School from 1992 to 2001. 

Isaac was born in Kanagalavaripalem, India, and moved to Tenali in 1988. He and his wife are parents of three daughter and one son who helps Isaac with the work in India. Whenever Matt and Cheryl go to India, they stay with Isaac and his family. Not only is Isaac’s family hospitable, but the Merritts have found the people of India to be, as well.

“They are great hosts when we go there,” Cheryl said.

Isaac no doubt says the same about the Merritts and other Abilene residents who support International Sanctuary Ministries. He enjoys his trips to Abilene to visit his daughter, to connect with current donors, and to meet with potential supporters. 

“I am appreciating the Abilene people’s kind hearts and their concern and zeal towards the orphans and widows,” he said. 

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene