If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36
When Mark went to install the kitchen cabinets he made, at the Lar Bom Jesus Children’s Home, he saw that the kids were all sitting on the floor while eating.
So, he bought some pine and some plywood and voilà, four 7 foot tables and benches that we delivered yesterday and today.
Thirty-two happy kids are eating dinner at these tables tonight!
Here’s the news about Murilo:
He did have a stroke, but he’s doing OK, thank God.
He had been driving, when he passed out. The car hit the median and his wife stopped it with the emergency brake. He got to the hospital quickly and they were able to stabilize him.
He’s in pretty good spirits; he’s shaken up, but trusting God through this. He’s going to have to rest and take it easy for a while and that won’t be easy for him. During this time, his son Marcos will be in charge at the rehab.
The best news of his day was to hear that many of you are praying for him. We were very thankful to be able to tell him that, and so relieved to know he’s on the mend.
Thank you so much for your prayer.
While you also cooperate by your prayers for us [helping and laboring together with us]. Thus [the lips of] many persons [turned toward God will eventually] give thanks on our behalf for the grace (the blessing of deliverance) granted us at the request of the many who have prayed.
(2 Corinthians 1:11 AMP)
What is driving in Brazil like? Feeling brave? Pothole Madness gives you a first hand look!
Last year was a big hit with the Carnival-like party for the kids in Aningas. It’s a kind of Sunday School picnic, which rewards the kids that faithfully come out on Sunday nights and gives us a chance to make lots of new contacts with kids and their families.
Rita had found a place in Natal that rents those blow-up games/activities that the kids are crazy about, so yesterday we went to check it out. First, we took Jaise to the hospital for a treatment. Then, we headed across the city and the girls went in to get the prices. We have learned to keep our Gringo selves out of the picture when we want the normal price on anything! Working with a budget, the girls did an amazing job of choosing seven games.
Keeping in mind that, Lord willing, Shad and Jillian will be here to help us, we reserved the date for the end of December. The girls brainstormed having popcorn and ice cream and Jaise said she’d love to do a face painting table.
We had such a fun day together, thinking of all the things we can do to make this a celebration of our love for these kids and this community, and it’s a pleasure to share this happy news with you!
The light in the eyes [of him whose heart is joyful] rejoices the hearts of others, and good news nourishes the bones. (Proverbs 15:30 AMP)
The Lar Bom Jesus is a children’s home. We have known, and worked alongside, Cleide since 2007. We were so excited to see the new place that God provided for her and the 33 kids she has taken off the streets.
We were concerned when we delivered a truckload of food and had to store most of it on the floor in the kitchen, though. Cleide was using two shelving units that Mark had made for clothes, but the kitchen really needed cabinets.
So, it has been déjà vu for Mark these past few weeks as he worked, once again, with kitchen cabinets! Van and Leandro, from Aningas, helped him build the cabinets, load them in the truck, deliver and install them.
Cleide shakes her head and laughs, because God gets everything they need, and even delivers it to their doorstep! For Mark and me, it just never gets old, seeing a living and loving God at work. Just like He promised.
Although my father and my mother have forsaken me, yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child]. (Psalm 27:10 AMP)
Today I’m just putting one foot in front of the other. I have no great new ideas and no special abilities for getting kids off the street. I woke up feeling weary, and these streets seem dingier than ever.
We have this little pep talk routine, Mark and I; we remind each other of God’s Promises and the blessings we’ve seen. We look back over the years and count the things that God has done.
But this morning–amazingly!–it was a street kid who put me back on track. He said, “You do your part.”
It’s that simple. Our part is to tell them the sweet story of Jesus, and love them with His Love. And keep doing that, no matter what, day after day. The blessing is God’s part.
If you know me at all, you know I’m not very coordinated. So, I need to focus on each step or I’ll trip on all the things that are in the way. I need to concentrate on God’s Word, and I need to keep my eyes on the goal: the blessing that God promises. IF we do not quit.
So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. (Galatians 6:9 HCSB)
My son William is 15 years old. His life is about school and friends and his dirt bike.
Evanilson was 15. His life was about living on the streets, drugs, crime and running away from danger. This week he was killed, when all of those things that made up his life caught up with him.
I remember the first time that we took him to the rehab. They asked him what drugs he did and his response was, “Anything and everything anyone puts in front of me.”
The last time I saw him was on the street corner in Petropolis. I gave him a bag full of sandwiches and filled a bottle with juice and watched him walk away and around the corner.
God help me to love more and go after the lost, like today might be the last time I see them. Because it might be.
Jesus said: We must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. (John 9:4 HCSB)
I hate when we’re on the streets and the kids run up to us, all at once. It means bad news every single time.
So, yesterday, when I saw them all running at us, as soon as the car stopped, it seems like my heart stopped for a tick, and then, resolutely, started again. I braced myself.
“Tia, did you hear about Raniere?”
“No, I haven’t heard.”
“They killed him with a screwdriver in his neck.”
We met Raniere the same day we met our firstborn son in Christ, Clessio, at our stop in Petropolis. That day Clessio told us, “Raniere is a good kid.” Two years later, after Clessio left the rehab and shortly before his death, Clessio visited Raniere and urged him to go to the rehab. And he went. We took him twice to rehab and he never stayed more than a few weeks. He just couldn’t stop using crack.
I know why they all ran to tell us the news yesterday; we are their connection with God. And in their hearts they are scared and pleading for this not to happen to them next. They all know that if they continue using and living on the street they will die soon. They all have an accurate picture of their condition and its outcome. But, they cannot stop.
We don’t hesitate to tell them that they could be the next to die. We warn them in a way that you might think is unnecessarily hard. But we’re crying when we tell them this. It’s just that love compels us to tell them straight and clear. They deserve to know what the end is, in this life, and for eternity, if they don’t accept God’s lifeline of Salvation and freedom from drugs.
The heartbreak I feel at their condition doesn’t lessen with time, but rather, it seems to increase. I have pleaded with God to have His heart and His love, and so I really shouldn’t be surprised that I feel their despair and loss and hurt so acutely.
Days like yesterday leave me drained, but better focused on the goal. Once again, death speaks to me and these kids and I start praying more. Once again, God reminds me that this is a war that must be fought on our knees. God is the answer. Jesus is the Way. Please fight for these kids. Pray.
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasting: for in that we are put in mind of the end of all, and the living thinketh what is to come. (Ecclesiastes 7:2 Douay-Rheims)
Who doesn’t love an epic love story with the happiest ending? The Hero is Royal and He’s perfect. The heroine is enslaved and dirt poor; she has no looks, she’s dirty and weak, but He is crazy about her.
She is hidden, but not from Him. He sees her when no one else does. He removes every obstacle between them. He gives everything He has to claim her, and defeats the enemy that wants to see her dead. Then, He goes right to her, takes her out of the filth, dresses her in beauty, and tells her to shine. Swoon. That’s what God–yes God!–does for the lost. That’s what He did for me. That’s how much He loves.
That’s why, when we go out on the streets and in the favelas, we love to call it ‘Treasure Hunting.’ It really helps me to understand just how precious every soul is, to God, no matter what condition they’re in. It helps me to look past their physical needs and see what Jesus sees. Some days I do much better than others, conveying this. Other days, my “shine” is dim. But God never wavers, never falters. And my dull days don’t surprise Him: my perfect Hero. The treasure is all around us, God alone has the map, and The Lord Jesus Christ already paid an incalculable price to claim it.
Today, I’m praying that we find treasure that He longs to redeem. The kingdom of heaven is like something precious buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44 AMP)
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt [to the Babylonians] for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba [a province of Ethiopia] in exchange [for your release]. Because you are precious in My sight and honored, and because I love you, I will give men in return for you and peoples in exchange for your life. (Isaiah 43:3, 4 AMP)
It’s a place where God can come in to break the chains of their addictions and break the chains that bind them in sin.
Mark speaks about discovering Murillo’s rehab center and helping those with drug addictions.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1axtkACN9aY]