THE APPLE OF HIS EYE.....

Zechariah 2:8, “…for whoever touches you, touches the apple of his eye.” This is one of my favourite verses of the Bible that simply proclaims how important we are to God, so much so that if someone would try to harm us, he would be doing something so grave as to be messing with the apple of God’s eye. God also protects little children, and whoever would harm them must beware of God’s wrath.

FUN DAYS.....

We are enjoying our time with our Dutch friends, painting pictures, going out to restaurants. At the end of the day, we always find ourselves laughing and talking together in our living room about our day. Usually we are going in four different directions, and it is a peaceful feeling just to get back together as a family, sitting on the couch watching TV, and eating liquorice, drinking coffee or tea. The sky is sunny and clear today, and it feels like summer though we are in our winter months here in Brazil.

BABY PARTY AT THE DUTCHIES HOUSE.

Last week, our wonderful Dutch volunteers invited the whole baby house to their guest house for a party. All the kids and staff were so excited. The babies awakened early from their naps, put on their best clothes, and after three trips I got them all there. The volunteers had as the beginning of the time a tame bunny and bird. Especially the youngest babies were quite fascinated by these. Next, they gave guarana and cookies, and let the babies draw and build puzzles. After some spilled drinks and some agitated kids and monitors, we then walked down to see the rest of the animals. The hit of the day was a turtle that kept coming in and out of the water. One of the girls would pick it up and let it dive in again and again. Each time the babies cheered, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE...

Yesterday I wrote that the judge was going to be resolving some issues with 5 of our teen-age boys. The judges and the 2 district attorneys were very upset with the boys. Not only about the fight with each other, but more so with the lack of respect for the monitors. All 5 boys will have to do some months of community service.2 were send home immediately since Lar Feliz is a place for kids that need protection and not for teens that do what they want. All in all we were happy with the way things were resolved. It shows all of the kids that they can just do things without getting in trouble. Pray with us that we will be able to continue teaching the children to respect each other and the staff.
Yesterday our 6 Dutch volunteers held a wonderful service with “God’s unconditional love” as a theme. That is the wonderful thing about Our Heavenly Father, His love for us doesn’t change because of our behaviour.

SILENCE BEFORE THE STORM...

The last couple of weeks have been so nice and calm at Lar Feliz. Wednesday a couple of the satff said to each other; Wow, it is so nice and quiet. The psycologist said, this might be a silence before the storm. And this said....
The last couple of weeks we had about 4 teen-age boys come in. Boy, trouble came along with them. We always pray that when new kids come along, the good ones teach them how to live with us. But often that doesn't happen.
Last Wednesday night we had the biggest fight we have ever seen at Lar Feliz. It was really sad
to see, because some really good kids also got involved. The judge will be resolving some of their destinations this afternoon. Pray with us for the peace of Lord to reign at Lar Feliz.

SOUP

When I first started working at the baby house, one of the women workers kept telling me that what the babies needed was soup. We had always arranged for rice and beans to be brought up for them from the kitchen to make things easier. Again and again, she asked me if she could cook soup for the babies. Finally, I convinced Paul to let them cook on a trial basis. It turned out to be a great success and blessing for the whole house. Everyday, Zilda makes a different kind of soup, and everyday, the babies seem happier and more content, and eating every bit. She uses all kinds of different ingredients, mandioca, beans, carrots, hotdogs, spaghetti, corn. I never saw so many different kinds of delicious soups in my life. One day, I had a very bad head cold, and she told me to try her soup of the day, that it would clear my head up, and it really did!

TODAY....

Today a verse from Psalm 139:23-24 to bring some calm in your storm.

Search me God and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting

BUT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER FILLED WITH LOVE...

D. is a 2 ½, blonde, curly haired little boy with round green eyes that came to us a few months ago. The first weeks, he probably only said 5 words in total, and sat quietly on my lap for a length of time. The monitors thought that maybe he was an angel sent to them because of his being light skinned, fair, and with an angelic character. As the following weeks progressed, he showed us that he could indeed be a naughty little boy as well. He pinched and hit and cried like the others do. One day we were at the farm with the animals, and I was walking with him down a big hill, and he fell headlong right into a pile of manure, face first. I quickly picked him up and brushed him off, he hadn’t said a word, but just kept walking down the hill. Yesterday as well, he fell into a pile hole that was filled with leaves and didn’t cry, but sat and waited for someone to pull him out. Sometimes in our lives, we can fall into an undesirable situation, but our heavenly Father filled with love and compassion, quickly pulls us out, sets us back on our feet and cleans us off.

SHE CAME TO WORK.....

She came to work at the baby house, together with her mother. It was one of the most difficult times that the baby house had ever seen. It was filled to capacity, with babies and toddlers, as well as a special needs boy. It was a deep struggle for all four of the staff, but especially for Cara. She was completely stressed and was losing patience during different intervals. When I entered the situation, I recognized the struggle and that feeling of hopelessness and despair that comes from never having finished the day with satisfaction that one has done his or her best. Some of the leaders of our staff wanted to fire Cara, but I saw in her eyes the willingness to try. Together we went to a course on child-care for babies and toddlers, and slowly, I saw in place of the yelling at the toddlers, a shift to listening and conversing. She didn’t lose authority, but rather increased it with love and compassion that began to flow. Last week, when one of the babies fell, it was Cara who ran, picking her up in her arms and comforting the child until the pain subsided. I saw at that moment a great change in her and was ever so glad that we decided to let her stay and learn. We are all, or should be in a process of learning.

MORE VOLUNTEERS...

Yesterday we had a group of about 30 students come and volunteer their time to Lar Feliz. They had brought paints, rollers, doors etc and started painting where needed. That indeed is such a blessing again to see the community get involved.
There still is a lot of painting to be done and there is enough paint left over to keep going. Thanks God for the many blessings!! Volunteers are a blessing. We are never ceased to be amazed at the wonderful people that he brings to our door from different lands as well as Brazilians who live in the next town.

The days fly by so fast....

The days just fly by so fast, sometimes it is hard to keep up. We have been having some trouble with the internet at our home, so forgive us if you do not hear from us much.
Yesterday we received a new little girl of three years old at Lar Feliz. We soon found out that she was thew daughter of a girl that has been with us about 5 years ago. There seem to be so much need and so little we can do. Pray with us again for the families of all our 73 children and especially the family of this 3 year old little girl.

POINSETTA

Look at this beautiful poinsettia!! This morning when I was taking out the trash, I just had to stop and take a picture of it. Yes, it is growing in our plant border and the leaves started turning red about 10 days ago. It turned from this regular green looking plant into this beautiful radiant plant. It reminded me of what God wants to do with me and you and with all this wonderful children of Lar Feliz.
Yesterday 7 of the teen-agers gave us quite a bit of trouble. A couple of them decided to skip school and hit the town. Well actually 2 hit our own town and 5 decided to go to the next town; Pedreira! For those of you who have been here, you might remember Pedreira, the town where we would take you to go souvenir shopping. Quite a walk! Pray for us and all the staff of Lar Feliz, that we will be able to have faith that God is in the miracle business!!

PASS THE SUN......

One day with the babies, we were giving some art lessons, and they were to paint a picture with the color "yellow". I told them, "Here is yellow, the color of the sun." One of the little girls said, "ok pass the sun." She forgot the name "yellow", and named it "sun". The next time, we had out the pencils, she still called it "sun". Sometimes, we have an object and we always will identify it with something else. Sometimes, it is positive, and sometimes negative.

THINGS TURN OUT EVEN BETTER

Morning of surprises--Sometimes nothing works out exactly how you plan it. Well, here in Brazil it almost never works out how you plan it, but sometimes it turns out even better. This morning we had a planned visit to the Baby house from one of the teachers from the course that I am doing. So, we bundled up the babies, and we led them to the play room that was honestly quite a mess. Together with one of the workers, my desire to make a good impression got the best of me, and we started taking out boxes of junky unusable toys, to make more room in the play area. Once we had finished, we received the message from her that she was no longer coming. After the play time, we went to the dining hall to spend some time coloring and doing some are with the babies. They colored and did some nice things and were just getting bored when Jade and Ronaldo arrived from our staff to do some fun sing-along-songs. We put our chairs in a circle, and there were smiles and laughter amidst runny noses as the babies clapped and sang. Sometimes, things don't turn out how we plan, they turn out even better.

IT IS AMAZING HOW THE LORD WORKS!!!

It is amazing how the Lord works. All in one weekend we heard that the solar system for the new baby house might be donated entirely, that the landscaping will be done by a Christian Business in town, that most part of the electrical material will be donated, and that there is big possibility of receiving used, but good, windows for the house. It feels like God is opening the floodgates from Heaven. Time and time again I realize that that is the mighty God we serve. He is in the miracle business. He cares!! Why is it so hard for us to trust Him with the small things, if He even wants to take care of the big things?

ANSWERS TO PRAYER!!

This morning I had to take some papers to a family who had gotten custody over two of our children last week. It is such a joy to see that it is a wonderful family, and that the kids are happy to be there. Those are the moments when you see the answers to our prayers. We always pray for our kids to find a good home. Tomorrow one of our other smaller babies will be adopted. Let’s keep praying… praying for good homeS for our children!!

Come Away My Beloved

For today, an excerpt from “Come Away My Beloved” by Francis J. Roberts
Thy need is deeper this time, and so I have made the testing more acute. I deepen you in the furnace of affliction, and purify your soul in the fires of pain. Lean hard upon Me, for I bring thee through to new victories, and restoration shall follow what seemeth now to be a wind of destruction. Hold fast to my hand, and rest in My love, for of this ye my be very certain: My love is unaltered.

VISITING DAY....

Friday is always the days when the families of the children visit. You can always notice that the kids are more agitated because they always wonder. Will my family show up? Some families do show up, others don't within calling. Days like this I do realize that the lifes of our children at lar Feliz are not easy. They already go through a lot and often continue to suffer because of their families.
Yesterday was a national holyday, so the kids have been home from school. About 15 children left to be with their families or foster families. Three kids are still waiting for their mother to pick them up.
Let's pray for the children of lar feliz today. For the love of the Father to surround them and to comfort them!!

FUND RAISING DINNER

There were happy children and pictures of fish. It was at Bar da Praia, a fancy family restaurant, where we held a fundraiser for the baby house, and held an art auction to raise money. For each dinner ticket that we sold, we received $15 profit, and we had a silent art auction for paintings done by Jade, the arts and cards done by the children, and also some paintings that were donated. One painting of two gold fish sold for $60, and altogether a profit of $1200 was made selling pieces of art. For us, this was quite a success. The evening was spent listening to different types of music, spending quality time with good friends. One high point of the evening was when the Lar Feliz children’s choir came and stole the show. Their happy faces and enthusiasm left an impression for the audience that will not long be forgotten. Of the guests of the evening were the Judge and District Attorney of Jaquariuna, citizens of Holambra, Duas Marias, and the new board members of Lar Feliz. The total of the profit for the baby house was $2400!

STRESSED? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

When I close my eyes I see numbers, when I open them in my office I see bills, papers and other documents. When I turn my head I see children at the door asking questions and wanting to talk. When I get home I see a two months old kitten running through the house trying to attack everything and everybody. What do you mean stressed? The wonderful thing is though that in the middle of all of these is the peace of the Lord. The Bible says” The joy of the Lord is our strength” We rejoice not because of circumstances, because that might mean that 8 out of 10 days there is nothing to rejoice about. No, I rejoice because of who God is!!

"SORRY"

It is amazing to me how even little children have difficulty in saying "sorry". Sometimes in the baby house a fight breaks out among two children, and they must be separated, and if they are willing to say they are sorry to one another, they may continue playing. Many times, it takes awhile for them to say it, and if they refuse to say that they are sorry to one another, then they must have a time out on their beds to think (and often cry) over their actions. One little boy at first was resistant to the idea, but after he learned how easy it was to say sorry and to feel better and to keep playing, he would begin to say sorry to me before he had even done anything wrong yet!

SOMETIMES WE WONDER.....

Sometimes we wonder where it is our days go. The hours seem to fly, as do the days, weeks, months, and we wonder what it was that we accomplished. So many interruptions or waiting on people or things to get done that we ourselves are scrambling to overcome our “to do list”. Many times the day is gone, and I didn’t get a chance to: reorganize my art supplies, call the older neighbour woman, get rid of some clutter in our house, feed the birds, get the laundry done, and buy groceries. So, we try to survive the next week, and maybe get some things done! Well, tomorrow is a new day!

A SECOND CHANCE

I had the privilege of going to Hopi Hari (an amusement park) with a van full of kids from the project who were not able to go with the rest of the children. They were not allowed to go the last time because they had misbehaved so badly during the last weeks. If they improved their behaviour, they would be given a second chance from our Dutch friends. So, they went with me, Jill, who is usually a softy and one other monitor, Danilo. They all had behaved better, and on this day they gave not one problem for us, but were like a van of the best behaved children. They really appreciated and enjoyed being given a second chance, like we all need sometimes. And we had one of the best days together

SAD....

Yesterday three boys of 13, 9 and 8 heard the news that their grandmother suddenly had passed away. These three boys have been with us for at least three years, but were allowed to go to their grandparents’ home almost every weekend. Sometimes there was even talk about them living with them, but that never really happened. Now the big question is; what will happen now? What will the future hold for these boys? Only their Heavenly Father knows! Will you pray for this situation?

THERE WERE MOMENTS.....

There are moments in life where all things seem to come together in a harmonious union. This morning, I had one of those fulfilling moments when Elisa’s class from school came to visit the project bringing gifts and planting trees together with each child at the project, including the babies. It was a meeting of the very rich privileged teens of the wealthy town of Holambra with project kids who were born in risk situations with almost no privileges to be had except what they had received from Lar Feliz. Elisa’s bright enthusiasm to see the children rubbed off on her friends and colleagues from school, and each one from her class participated and enjoyed the time with the children who were also able to sing a song for the whole group. There were presents, but there were such happy times and a bond formed that would not be so easily broken. Some of these teen girls were the same girls that gave Elisa a hard time in school when she was younger. Now it all seemed swallowed away with the happiness of this moment. Paul gave a speech to remind the students of how grateful they should be, and to let them know some of the stories of suffering that we have seen. There were tears in eyes, but mostly many small acts of kindness, and the desire of many of the students to come back and stay in touch.

ADVENTURES

Somehow new adventures always seem to happen in the home of “The van Opstals”. The kitten on the picture is the latest one. His name is Jonas. (I wonder why after going to the Jonas brothers’ concert)Of course everything is being monitored the first couple of days. I got a call in my office from Elisa who said had good news “Jonas used the litter box”. Jill, Elisa and Jeremy are so excited with the newest member of the family. The Bible talks about big celebrations each time someone accepts Jesus and becomes part of the family of God. How amazing, what a wonder, what a Grace!!

FRUITFUL DAY.....

Yesterday was a very busy but fruitful day. First of all I was able to make headway with getting the salaries ready and I should finish today. Then somehow I have to close the month of May. Lots of numbers and many bills etc. Praise the Lord that the money is there to pay the bills. Yesterday, just like almost every Monday, Jill took the toddlers horseback riding. Of course I had to get a picture of that for you to see. Jill does such a good job directing the baby house and organizing activities etc.
We also had a fruitful meeting with Judge and district attorneys plus both town leaderships who have kids living with us. It was a great way to meet everybody we are working with.

ANOTHER RAINY DAY..

Another rainy day today in Holambra! It is the type of weather that just makes one want to roll over and stay in bed. I am hoping for a little sun in the next few hours so that I can bring the babies out for their weekly horseback riding! Today at the judge’s office some important cases will be brought up, and the judge will decide where some of the children of Lar Feliz will go, or if indeed they will stay on. It is a very important meeting today. Please pray with us that the right decisions will be made because it will change to course of a child’s life, how the decision will go.
Today is also salary preparation day!! With Sonia gone for, what looks like, three months, Paul will have to do that. Pray for him!