I'M IN HEAVEN....

Yesterday one of the girls came to look me up; because she wanted me to read a letter she had received from one of the boys. The letter talked about how much he liked here, that he will never forget her etc.. One phrase I really loved and it goes like this….. “When I am around you, I forget where I am and feel like I am in Heaven…” I couldn’t write letters like that when I was 15 and still can’t. I wondered after if that would not be the way our Heavenly Father was us to live with Him. In His Presence, there is fullness of Joy! (Psalm 16; 11) So being in his presence gives us fullness of Joy, which must feel like Heaven?

A WIND CHIME, A KITE AND A LAWYER

The first living experience for C. with his future family is going well. We received an email from him yesterday. He has been making a kite and a wind chime, went to the mall and the park. We are so excited about it. This Monday he will need to come back to the project and then the official process will start of lawyer, lots of paperwork etc. Pray for the little boy not to get impatient and for the adoption process to go smooth and quick!! Thanks!!

A CHEAP DATE

A Cheap Date
Many of you know Charlie, our Golden Retriever that brings much joy to our family. Last weekend, Jeremy had invited a few of his buddies over for a sleep-over, and once again Charlie was the star. While they were in the office using the computer, Charlie’s upset stomach got the best of him, making lose his dinner right there on the floor. This event provoked a reaction from the boys more potent than would a horror film. The next morning, when the boys were planning to sleep in until the next evening, Charlie came to nibble on their toes, gently waking them to play with him.
A house full of boys can be expensive to entertain for an evening, but with a friendly dog available, not so. In this day of computers and electronic pleasures, it is nice to know that the simple things like a family pet can lighten up your son’s evening, together with his friends. God is good.

THE BIG BANG THEORY!

We all heard about it, specially the last couple of weeks, because this month has been declared the month of Darwin. Well, you all know that we don’t believe in “the Big Bang” we believe that our Heavenly Father spoke and it existed. And… it was good.
I am talking about another “Big Bang” though. A couple of days ago, our driver took two new boys, brothers, with him to pick up a donation of 60 lbs of beans. After being gone a while he calls in a panic to the office. “What should I do?” The brothers are fighting in the middle of town! For some reason the brothers argued about who should help the driver carry the bag of beans. And that is when the “Big Bang” happened. The result? See the picture!

COME LORD AND TOUCH US!!

The time with the church at the project is a real blessing for the children as well as for all of us. There are about 12 people from a small church in Paulinia. Their main focus is building friendships, but every evening they are holding a small service.
Yesterday night they had prepared a small drama piece about God’s creation; beautiful, perfect. The enemy comes in and tries to destroy it all. But then it showed how Jesus safes those who accept Him as their saviour and repent from their sin. The worship time was very special and the presence of the Lord was clear. During the worship time we prayed for all the teen-agers and many tears were shed. Pray with us that this moment of intimacy with the Lord would be a new beginning for many of the kids. Several accepted the Lord for the first time. It was great!! Thanks for praying!

Waiting in hope and hope while waiting...

Waiting in Hope

In our work, we often have the opportunity to say good-bye. We say good –by to children who go back to their homes or go to new families or institutions, and we say good-by to dear friends and family who come for a visit that often goes by so fast. Learning to wait, learning to hope is often necessary for survival. Many times though, we do get to see each other again. Unfortunately, some of the children do come back to Lar, filled with disappointment that it didn’t work out with their families. It is at these times, that we try to give an extra hug, and encourage these kids that they can hope yet again. We have learned for ourselves to enjoy each time to the fullest with our friends, waiting for the next time that we will be together again, and hoping that the time will come soon.

PIZZA, ICE CREAM, WISE DECISIONS AND A LAZY DAY

Yesterday night the church visiting the church threw a delicious pizza party. The kids could eat all they want and then there was ice-cream. Wonderful. Right after dinner they organized a short service. One of the boys; I. played the guitar. It didn’t sound very good, but we worshipped the Lord and we felt the presence of the Lord. So it must have sound wonderful to Him. The message was a wonderful story about choosing God first above everything else, and doing so will lead to the blessing of the Lord.
Yesterday Jill and I worked hard in the yard, so today we have officially declared it to be a “lazy day”

Special weekend....

Another week went by… it took a while but we did receive the authorization for C. to spend the week of Carnaval with his potentially new family. God is in the miracle business. Today at 6 pm, twelve people of a church nearby will come to spend a couple of day with our children. We will start off with a pizza party and then a service in the evening. Their focus will be building friendships with the children. This is great for the kids because they will be able to get some more individual attention and love.

GOD LOVES YOU AND THINKS YOU ARE SPECIAL!

Friday Already, like I wrote before some kids will be going to their (foster) family for about a week because of carnaval. Let’s pray for their safety and for them to have a wonderful, meaningful time. C. authorization is still not in, but there is a big chance that it will, so I will keep you updated.
In total we have 70 children with us now. We had another 2 teen-age boys come, plus a newborn boy of three weeks. So we keep busy.Pray for the church that will be doing a program from Saturday until Tuesday!! Remember; GOD LOVES YOU, AND THINKS YOU ARE SPECIAL!

Don't let the Snake bite you!!

The scrolling line already said it… The boys found a snake by the pool. Many boys were excited, most girls disgusted and scared. Some even decided to not swim anymore for a while. It reminded me that this often happens in our lives as well. We are headed into a certain direction, doing something or becoming friends with a certain person. Then the snake show up, something happens that discourages us or makes us mad or sad. What often comes next is that we quit going to this person or stop doing the things we are doing. We base our feelings on the circumstances.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 118; 24, this is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!!!
The wonderful thing about being a child of God is that we can rejoice and be content because of who God is and not because of how our day is going. Not let our day dictate us how we feel but let God tell us how we feel.
Today we need continued prayer for C. we still do not have the authorization for him to go this weekend.

February 18th. It is all about family

C. is a boy of 9 years old. Has been with us for off and on 3 or 4 years. His mother cannot take care of him and we do not know who his father is. His aunts wanted custody for a while and he indeed went to live with one and after a month he came back, rejected…
Then another aunt took him together with a sister who is 2 years older. After 6 months he came back… rejected.
So he has been with us again for 6 months or so. A lady came to visit the project and really was interested in adopting a baby. We as Lar Feliz are not allowed to find people to adopt our babies, since the waiting list with couples wanting to adopt is so long. When this Lady met C. , she just knew that he was the one she wanted to adopt as her son. They have been building a relationship and we are now waiting for an authorization by the judge for C. to spent weekends and holidays with her. Please pray for this boy and the situation. For God’s will to be done.

February 17th 2009 CARNAVAL

This week the whole country is getting ready for Carnaval. A huge undertaking here in Brazil. Apart from all the parades and dancing etc, it really is known as a party of lots of drinking and fleshly desires. The government tries to educate the people and provides all the condoms etc, but really never touches the core of the problem which is being faithful and true to yourself and to God. Results of Carnaval are always many accidents of drunk driving, unwanted pregnancies and sicknesses.
At Lar Feliz we are preparing ourselves in a different way. We have a church coming for a couple of days to do a bible program with the children. The church will focus on the different age-groups and the volunteers will also spend the night with the children.29 of the children will spend 5 days in different families. One of those children is C., a 9 year old boy. A wonderful story is developing, but more about that tomorrow…..

February 16th 2009

Monday morning, after a weekend filled with rain, finally all the school are open again. Because of a disagreement between the government and the state schools, some kids had to wait another week before they could go to school. Last Friday we had two more teen-age boys come, they bring are total to 69 children.
This week is going to be the first week where the routine should be normal. Pray for all the children that they will adjust and make the most out of their studies. The boy D I talked about in a previous blog is not doing well at school. Pray for him too!

Rain, Rain and mudd

It has been raining none-stop it feels like. The road towards Lar Feliz are all dirt, so that has turned into mudd. so bad that the bus was not able to go and pick up the children. We are enjoying a free weekend. Nice....

February 14th. 2009

D, is a boy that was brought to us 10 days ago. The town where he comes from implored us to give him a bed. He is 12 years old and has been living on the streets for the last 2 or 3 months. After he came we soon discovered that he has no limits what so ever. Normal of course, because he is used to being his own boss. Often we all say: Lord help us. Sp please pray for D and for us. We need wisdom, patience and lots of miracles.
Today, like almost every Saturday, we will all be going to church. Pray for God to talk and touch!!

67 children and lots of grey hair...

Yesterday we had two more boys join the big family. Because there are hardly any homes that accept teen agers, towns call from all over to ask for room. We are pretty strict in accepting them, since often they are already involved in drugs or just do not want to live in a shelter. M & M joined us yesterday and seem to be really good guys. Their mother died and their father got arrested this week and put in jail. The surprise was complete when it turned out that two of the children in de baby house turned out to be their half brother and sister.

The first day of school went ok. most of the kids were excited, some where not. 1 teen age girl did not want to go at all. Lord... give us wisdom!!

February 12th 2009

Today is the first day that the kids of Lar Feliz are going back to school. Yesterday night was sooo hectic!! 67 children are living with us, about 10 of those are hard to controle. so please continue to pray that we can guide them in the right direction. Pray for, David, Cristiane, Rafael, Kaique, Kaue, Kevin, Alan, Lucas, Vatuze, Juliete.

Monday February 2nd 2009

Today I am praying for the wisdom of Salomom. Having so many teen-agers is always such a challenge. I try to remember my life when I was at that age. Help us pray!!