babies horseback riding....

On Mondays, one of my favourite things to do now is to take the toddlers to see the animals at the first farm. The first time that we all went by the chicken coop, as we were standing there, suddenly the donkeys came over the hill towards us. For some reason, it struck some of the babies as a scary sight, and one by one, they started to cry. We gathered them up together, and we walked over to the riding pasture. I thought for sure that they would also be afraid to ride the horse, but no, each one was very eager to climb on, and each one rode the horse sitting very still with complete joy. Yesterday, I had the privilege to ride with them, and I think that part of what they love is to be up so high on the horse. They loved looking around, and maybe it was nice for them to finally get a better view from higher ground. And lastly, it is interesting to me how even a baby can tell the difference between a horse and a wild donkey, and loves and trusts the one, and fears the other.

Good friends and many gifts...

Sometimes we are amazed at how the support for Lar Feliz grows. Yesterday, Paul and I were invited together with some of the kids of the project to a big birthday party of a Dutch woman who lives in Holambra. I have seen her often in town and knew that in the past she helped us several times. About three months ago, she got to know one of the children and she really started to give more to the project, clothes, and material, everything she can do for the little boy. Not only that, she talked about the project to all of her family and friends from the Dutch and Japanese communities in Holambra. These were folks that Paul and I also knew, of whom we had tried in the past to get more involved in helping the project. Yesterday, at the big party, they were all there, and they gave as part of attending the party, immeasurable gifts of supplies, including a stove, mattresses, food, and money to the project. There were so many things that a truck was needed to haul it to Lar Feliz. They had heard about our work from one of their own, our Dutch friend, and in return, they gave generously more than if Paul and I would have talked to them about the project.

Facing our giants....

I wonder how David felt when he had to face Goliath, if he was shaking in his sandals or if he had no fear, but only confidence. His battle plan was simplistic, he fought how he knew. He didn’t use the armour of the king that he wasn’t accustomed to. He went in simple clothes and stones and a sling. But one thing was different than the other soldiers: he went in the name of the Lord, simple trust, simple battle plan—big victory. Today on this Sunday, as we pause from our battles with the giants, we can remember one thing. We are not alone, and in the name of the Lord, we can beat the giants.

2 Cor.5;14 For the love of Christ compels us....

Usually I do not remember my dreams at night, but this night I saw myself speaking in front of all the children of Lar Feliz as well as the judge, DA and some other people. At first I couldn’t even understand what I was saying, but then at the end the message was clear. I was talking about the verse in 2 Corinthians 5. There it talks about the love of God compelling us. Maybe take a minute if you have a Bible and look up this verse( verse 14) in the New Testament. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus we do not have to “Die” again. That tremendous love pushes us to do what we do. Looking at the children of Lar Feliz, with all their terrible stories and suffering, my prayer for today is that the Love of God will compel them, not the pain, hatred or revenge. My prayer for my life is that God’s love will compel me to do what He wants me to and that through my life people will see Him.

But rather seek you the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added to you Luke 12; 31

Yesterday I was talking to a friend of the project who comes to visits once in a while. We talked about all kind of stuff, including the economical crisis going on right now. He told me that he had lost so much money in stocks etc. Then he said to me; your responsibility is also very big, so much money to be spend each month!
I thought about that for a bit and answered; when you look at the facts, day to day and all the money that needs to come in, then it would almost be an unbearable burden. Looking to the amount of 25.000 dollars that we spend each month, just for the shelter, plus the amount we need as a family, since we do not get a salary, but depend on gifts, is a scary thing.
But throughout 20 years of being on the mission field, I have learned that at the end we do not depend on economical prosperity, but we depend on a Heavenly Father who owns it all. So we need to take the focus of the money and other needs and problems and put our eyes on the One who provides. He does not only provide in our monetary needs, but also gives us love, peace, patience, understanding and above all SALVATION.

THNKA YOU LORD FOR OUR TEEN-AGERS!

Yesterday during our weekly meeting our staff were sharing that three of our teen-agers were having a problem. Earlier in the week they end come up to them and told about a girl that lives in the neighbourhood and rides the bus with them to school.
“Tio(uncle), she has hardly anything, no clothes, shoes, no nothing!” Can we not just get some of our things and give it to her? So they got together and each got of the things out of their own personal closet, together with some stuff of Lar Feliz and the next day they carried the back to the bus stop. The mother of the girl was waiting at the bus stop as well, so one of our girls, M, asked the mother if she would be offended if they shared some of their possessions with her daughter. Shyly the mother responded that she wouldn’t be and received the bag for her daughter.
What an encouraging story! Sometimes we think that our kids only think about themselves. Thank you Lord that you are working in each of their lives!

Baby house...

A few blogs back we wrote about the new baby house we are going to be building. We are excited about it because we are desperately in need of more space. Jill has been doing a great job of training the staff and also applying the new things she has learned during the course she started doing. Right now the baby house has;
3 babies under 1 year old,
4 between 1 and 2 years old,
4 between 2 and 3 years old,
2 between 3 and 4 years old
1 boy of eight with special needs.
Raising all these children can be a challenge of course. Imagine all that is involved, feeding, bathing, correcting, potty training, etc. Some babies are in their “terrible two’s” but them some are in their terrible one’s or three’s. During the day there are all kind of activities like; school activities, play room, horseback riding, pick nick, music hour etc etc . The new house will be so wonderful, because during play time the children can be divided up in ages more. The land has been prepared for the construction. Hopefully next week we will start building. The baby house has three monitors around the clock, plus a cleaning lady for 44 hours a week. It is hard to believe that the baby house started with only one monitor 8 years ago. We have come a long way, but still have a long way to go. Pray for Jill while she coordinates all this and also for those 10 women who are caring fulltime for these wonderful gorgeous children.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU FIND A PARKING SPACE?

“A man was driving around a parking lot in a big hurry trying to find a parking space. He was worried because an important meeting would start in about 5 minutes. In a panic he looked up to the sky and said; “God if you help me to find a parking spot I will go to church every Sunday and I will stop using bad language”. He had just said that when he noticed an empty spot. He quickly parked and looked to the sky one more time and said; Never mind God, I just found a spot!

I think this little joke speaks for itself. This is often how we talk to God. When we need something we ask for it, but after our prayer is answered we act like God had no hand in it.

Today I would like to ask for prayer for F, a boy of 8 years old. He and his 2 sisters and one brother have been with is for a couple of months. His mother abandoned them for another man and is taking care of the children of the other man. Yesterday F. told he wanted to live with his mother. Moments like that are so sad.
An exciting point is that we will finally be able to put regular internet on the farm. Wow, 10 computers with internet, just imagine all the negotiation we can do with the children!!

Plant as many seeds as you can, and some of them are bound to grow

We have a little garden in our yard. One of the things that we love to do as a hobby is to plant different seeds to see what will grow. Many friends and family send us different seeds from Holland and the USA, and also we actually plant Brazilian seeds too sometimes. One time, we planted beautiful flower seeds from Holland that grew and stayed, but there were other flower seeds that didn’t grow. We planted lots of vegetables from Brazil and America, and once again, yesterday we decided to try to plant delicious sweet corn from the USA. The last time that we tried to plant it, we had a very dry season, and what came out of it was about 5 funny looking ears of corn that did actually have a good taste. We planted grapevines, and Passion fruit, and herbs. Sometimes, they would almost take over our little garden. In life, we plant different seeds. Some of them take root and grow, and others never see the light of day, but stay dead in the ground. The important thing is to not give up, but keep planting. Plant as many seeds as you can, and some of them are bound to grow.

DO NOT WORRY, JUST PRAY....

Last night during the church service, one of the two sisters who were orphaned for several years came to sit on my lap. She is a very sweet girl, though somewhat unpredictable, especially with her difficulty in trusting women. The last year had been a difficult one for her in that an opportunity for her to be adopted she threw away because of her fear of women. I could understand at the time, she just wanted to stay at the project, but I couldn’t stop myself from worrying what would happen to her next. Would she be moved to another orphanage or could we find someone who would adopt her, or would she stay at the project? I was remembering this past year of difficulties when suddenly, a bracelet that I always wore caught her eye. It was a bracelet that had been given to me from a friend to remind me not to worry. On it was written the verse Philippians 4:6: “Don’t worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God your need and thank him for all he has done.” I wore it so often that the letters were worn out. She asked me,” Tell me what this says!” It was like the Lord was reminding me again, “Don’t worry!”

Dancing babies!!

The last week I, Jill have been spending my days at the baby house because at the moment our place is brimming full of babies and toddlers. For those of you who have ever worked in a nursery or crèche know what a wild woolly experience it can be. It is like being on a rollercoaster, heights and trepidation one moment and then descent, excitement followed by relief. Our workers, God bless them, have their hands full, and many times could use an extra pair of hands to help. We have started since the beginning of the course on childcare to use songs and music, stories to help pass some moments in a delightful way. Yesterday was the birthday of one of our workers so we brought the babies to the party in the afternoon. There was some nice music on and Renato, one of the one year old twins really began to do some smooth moves which caught the attention of everyone in the room. It was such a moment of joy at the end of a very hard week, and who would have thought that a dancing baby would be the life of the party.

CAN I SWIM?

Yesterday one of our 9 year old F. was burning up with a fever. He stayed home from school and even went to the doctor. When he got back he proudly confirmed that he had to have a shot in his behind. I was sitting behind a desk and he laid his hand on my shoulder. Wow, I said; your hand is hot!” No; he replied it is cold. When a couple of minutes later I was standing at the pool, watching some of the kids jump and dive, I felt that little warm hand again. “Can I swim?” Then I understood why to him his hand was cool and not hot!!

Pray for this weekend! Sunday morning we will be having a service, and there will be some other visits as well!

SITTING ON THE LAP OF JESUS

Yesterday evening we were sitting at the dinner table and remembering some of our family times. When Elisa and Jeremy were a lot smaller they would always argue about the chair they would sit on during dinner. One day Jill decided to resolve this problem and set another plate. She told the kids that from now on the chair they would always argue about would be the chair for Jesus, Elisa as smart as she was got up and sat down on the chair anyway. When Jill asked why she did that she answered: I want to sit on Jesus’ lap.
In order to be the happiest we can be in our life’s we need to stay close to Jesus. The Bible tells us that we need to become like children. Only when we are close to him can we obey and follow Him.
Yesterday the teen-age girl was transferred back home to her mother. Pray with us that she will use this opportunity to stay close to Jesus.

Pray for our staff..

Friends are nice….
Today I was thinking about how many friends Lar Feliz has made over the years. Literally people from all over the world have been here and have blessed the children some way or other. Lately more and more people from Holambra and Jaquariuna are getting involved. God has really blessed us. We need all of you in order to do what we do!!
This week has been a better week so far. The kids are going to school and are doing what they are supposed to do.
Today I would like to ask you to pray for our staff, one of our staff, Martha, had to have surgery, so pray for a quick recovery. Also Astério, our coordinator, is having some health issues, so pray for him as well. Working with so many children and teen-agers can be really exhausting.

The start of a new baby house...

This month we will be starting the construction of the new baby house. Right now we have 14 children living in a two bedroom, one bath house. Too small, too tight!! There are also still three babies on the waiting list. We will be building a home with 4 bedrooms, three baths and lots of room to play etc. The total cost of the home will be around 45.000 dollars and so far half of that money has been pledged. We are excited to finally start the building. Pray with us that it will all go smooth, and that people will get excited to help.

A NEW HOME IN ARTUR NOGUEIRA?

As many of you already know, a couple of months ago we were asked to take on the shelter in Artur Nogueira, a home with room for 20 children. Since the home is not that far away and it would be an opportunity to help another 20 children, we agreed to take it on but with some conditions. We asked for a certain amount of financial aid from the town, and we also wanted to start afresh with all the workers, otherwise we would inherit a history of owned vacation time etc of 25.000 reais.
While we thought it was all organized, it suddenly changed because two other groups were interested in taking it on. No problem, it is not like we do not have enough work. But then last Thursday we got a phone call from Artur Nogueira and it looks like they still want Lar Feliz to take it on. I told them that we will need at least 2 weeks in order to organize everything before we can actually take it on. So… my prayer is that if this is the right step to take, the door will stay open, but if it isn’t that somehow the door will be closed. Pray with us?
We have heard a lot of feedback on the blog, it seems like many of you are enjoying it. So to have an idea how many are reading it, we would like to ask you to become a follower of the blog. On the right side of the blog, under the pictures of the already excising followers, there is an option to become a follower! Thanks!

In the darkness we lose our way!!

Yesterday was a nice and relaxing day. Jill started doing a course about working with young children. She enjoyed it. The course will be once a month for 4 hours, until the end of the year. She will then pass that on to the staff of the baby house. Wonderful! In the afternoon an older lady came to the project with all her puppets and stories and song. She explained again to the children how God created the earth and that after it all went wrong, He sent His only Son to this earth to die for us and then rise again. It was so amazing how this lady could keep all the children quiet and interested. At the end she asked the children the following question. Is it hard to do the right thing in the dark? The kids answered yes, because you cannot see anything. ‘Right” she said, that is the same way if we disobey God, we will be walking in the dark, and it will be impossible to found our way and do the right thing. Amazing truth!! Let’s stay in the Light!!

women's tea and "HELP"

Very Special
The 8th of March was international women’s day. Jill wanted to do something really special for the girls and the women staff of Lar Feliz. Yesterday afternoon she organized a “Special Tea Party”. The mayor of Holambra, Margareti Groot, , was invited, along with some other wonderful women who sang and prayed for the girls. It turned out to be such a special time for everyone. The food was delicious and Jill, together with some of the staff, made the dining room look real nice. The women all got a plant and the girls a nail polish. God thinks that every person is so special and the girls were treated very special during the tea.
While the girls and women were having their tea, we men took care of the babies!! What can I say? 15 children under 3; HELP, I guess is the right word!!

I want to be a reservoir.....

Yesterday a company started digging a new water well at the farm. They will go as deep as 360 feet or until they will find enough water. During the process all the dirt comes up enable to make room for the pipes that are being put in place. Then, hopefully, the end of the process will be lots of fresh clean water coming up. This well is a donation from several companies to the project. It would have cost us about 17.000 dollars to do it ourselves. God’s faithfulness! The digging of the well reminded me of the verse in John 7; “out of the believers heart will flow streams of living water”. If the Spirit of the Lord is at work in our lives, we will become reservoirs of the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. The following phrase I found in the net;
"We should seek to become reservoirs rather than canals. For a canal just allows the water to flow through it, but a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing, then it can communicate without loss to itself. In the church today, we have many canals but few reservoirs." (St.Bernard of Clairvaux - 12th century)
So my prayer for today is; Lord, make me into a reservoir of your Love, Power, authority and peace. Help me to stay close to you while passing it out to others. The more You fill me up, the more “dirt” I want taken out of my life.
Today 6 boys will be moving to the new shelter in their home town. Pray for a smooth transition and adaption.

Let's talk about the color of my hair.....

Sometimes I wonder; Will having 69 kids live with us effect the color of my hair and the size of my bald spot? If it does then I am in deep trouble!! Being the “parents” for 69 children is humanly speaking IMPOSSIBLE. They need so much love, care, attention, instruction, stimulation, encouragement and correction. Looking at all these children; hearing about what is going on at the schools, in the houses; Seeing all the bills that come in, but also all the money coming in. It just proves to me over and over again that our Heavenly Father cares. Humanly speaking this burden would be too heavy for anyone. But with His help all things are possible. The bible even says in 2nd Corinthians 12; 9 My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. So my prayer for today is; Lord I am weak… show your power through me!!

I NEEDED THAT REMINDER!

Yesterday night, while trying to have a peaceful night with the family, I got a call from one of the staff. Pastor, please come in because some of these boys are out of control. I went…so mad. I was tired of always having to go in at night to resolve their problems. Why couldn’t they just obey? Why couldn’t they just do what we say? I got there and sorted out the problems. 3 young boys had pierced their own ear; K’s T-shirt was covered with blood. Another teen-age boy had argued with a monitor. Another boy was getting into trouble because just could not stick to the discipline that was given to him. I was mad at him, he yelled at me. At the end he got quiet, agreeing with me. He put his head in his hands and asked; where will I go? My mother doesn’t care! Will I just rot away here until I am 18? Those are the moments I really cannot say much. Those are the moments when you remember; this is the reason why we are doing all this. This was the night I was reminded again that ONLY our Heavenly Father can make a difference in the life’s of these kids. We just need to obey!!

a new home....

Yesterday the judge decided to transfer two of our teen-age girls. That will be a great help for the monitors and even the other children. The challenge now is to find another place for them. So we would really appreciate your prayers about this. We would want to find a place where they can grow and change and be happy! This week will be a week with many teen-agers leaving. 6 boys will be going back to their home town since a shelter was opened there. Another girl left today also because her home town opened a shelter. So this week instead of lots of kids coming, many will be leaving!!

I WANT NO BIRTHDAY PRESENTS!!

This morning at 7, while taking the kids to school, a woman was waiting for me with an envelope in her hand. This woman works at the nursing home of Holambra. She handed me the envelope and shared that one of the ladies in the home had her birthday party and has asked for donations for Lar Feliz instead of presents. What a sweet thing to do. In total about 200 dollars was raised. The little things in life can make our day!
This coming week we will have to resolve some issues with some of the teen-agers. Pray that we will suggest the right steps to the judge and that she will make the right decisions together with her team.

Let's use our talents....

Jill’s mother and a friend have been visiting for the last week and yesterday we took them to an outdoor “hippie market” in Campinas. I always find that market amazing. So many people, who all have different gifts and talents. Many I like and some I do not like. God has created us all to be different. He has a plan for our lives that is far better than we can even imagine. Psalm 37;5 says; “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass”. If we trust the Lord and use the talents He gave us, will enable us to do what He has planned. We will walk close to Him, hear his voice and share the good news.

Hard decisions and patience!

Another weekend… I have to say that this week was quite a frustrating week. We always have some of those once in a while. Since we have one girl that does not go to school at all, others want to do the same. Yesterday the visit with the new judge went really well. She seems to be a person that loves children and really wants to help us resolve cases. Unfortunately this one girl will be transferred to another place. Sometimes we have to make decisions like that to help all the children at the project. Pray for C, and also pray for lots of wisdom and patience for us!!

AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT...

This afternoon the judge will be coming to the project. We have a new judge since a month, so this will be her first visit. This whole week we have been making special arrangements so everything will look nice and we will be completely prepared for the visit. Not just the outward appearances of the project, but we also have a small list with points we want to talk about with the judge. After all she is the one that sends us the kids and at the end of the line she is responsible for the children.
When I thought about this for a bit, it reminded me a bit of that verse where is says that the return of Jesus will be a surprise. The Bible says; “as a thief in the night’ (I Thess 5; 2) so really we have to be preparing ourselves every day and all day, so that if today is the day we will be ready!!

RED GLASSES

The wonderful truth about our Heavenly Father is that He always looks to us through Jesus. Jesus died for our sin and those who accept Him are cleansed because of His sacrifice.
It reminds me of the story of this little boy that returns to his father after falling in to a mud bath. He was so dirty and afraid what his dad would say. The father had been looking all over for the son and when he finally found him it didn't matter a bit how dirty he was. Gently the father gave him a bath and made him all clean. God loves us so much that our mud (sin) gets cleansed of by the power of the sacrifice of Jesus. Wow, what a sacrifice, what a blessing, what a salvation!!

Lots of grey hair!!!

Today we need a portion of His unfailing mercy!! 9 children did not go to school yesterday. What a disappointment!! One child calls the other, and it is like a domino effect. So yesterday afternoon we had all the kids write on their discipline papers: “I have to obey and go to school”. Then I thought today about how God feels about all those times we do not do what we are supposed to do. What if every time we have to write 3 A4’s as a discipline? I bet there would not be enough paper in the world!

Praying in the dark...

Sunday night 5 of the boys went with Danilo, a 20 year old boy, who used to live with us and now is working for us, to pray in the evening. They went up to the area where the green house is. For those of you who have been here before, you might recall that that is a very dark area behind the woods. The boys prayed their hearts out. The next day they came and told me about it. The desire to follow the Lord and to have changed lives is so wonderful. Today I would like to ask you to really pray for Danilo and all the monitors who are working for us. Pray that they will really step up to the plate to mirror the Love of Jesus to the children. But not only that; pray they will use the authority they have to lead and correct them.
I also want you to pray for the teen-agers; Vatuze, Cristiane, Fernando and David. We need to see a break-through in their lives.

blessings....

The Last week has been a busy week, but filled with many blessings. This month we are hoping to start the construction on our new baby house. We have 15 children living there right now and it is way too small. So our new house will be about 2700 square foot big and cost about 42000 dollars. Last week one of the businesses in Holambra, who has been a faithful supporter of Lar Feliz called me in for a meeting and pledged 30.000 Brazilian reais towards the new house. (about 1/3rd of what we need)What a blessing! Pray with us that we will be able to start building without stopping.

SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY

Yesterday night was church night. When I got there the children of the project had already arrived and were sitting all spread out over the church. One of the staff was walking back and forth and said it was hard to control them so spread out. So my first action was getting the kids to sit all in one section of the church. The worship time was special and right after the pastor shared about the fact that often we worship with only our lips and not our heart. Many times we let unfinished business, arguments, fights or sin stand in the way between Our Heavenly Father and us. Then she called me forward and told the kids of Lar Feliz that if they had done anything wrong today and the farm to come up and ask me forgiveness. Some teen agers came up and asked forgiveness. Many of the little kids came up to hug me and say sorry. Suddenly I noticed that some of the little ones kept coming back to say sorry again, and again and again.

I John 1;9 says; If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It reminded me of the fact that just like the little kids of the project kept coming back to ask forgiveness, this often also happens between us and God. We keep asking forgiveness and it kind of stops us from moving on; from worshipping Him, from sharing Him and working for Him. Today we should think about the verse in I John and if we truly confess our sins, we should know that HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins