Oitão Preto- reaching out to the community

One of the areas God has put on our hearts is to reach out to the children and adults who live in the community of Oitão Preto. It is one of the slums where there is a lot of drug dealing, drug abuse, violence, and misery.

Every Saturday morning we head out to bring the love and hope of Jesus Christ to the people who live in the midst of discouragement and dispair. We visit specific families, bringing discipleship to those who have accepted Christ, and a listening ear to those who are going through tough times. And as we wander through the roads of the community we minister to the drug addicts and the street teenagers.

Last month through the arrival of a team from Hawaii we were able to also offer medical and dental assistance, and we saw hundreds of children and adults be treated with dignity as they not only received healthcare, but also heard the word of God. We still meet people who were blessed by the care they received and we are seeing a change for the better in the community.

Every wednesday we have a group of children from the community come for discipleship at the project, and these times of investing into the lives of these 12/13 year olds is so valuable. They see people using and selling drugs every day, and through working closely with them we hope to be a part of preventing them from becoming the future drug dealers and users.

Pray for us as we invest into this community. The needs are great, but we serve a great God! Pray especially for the starting of a full-time work there next year.

 

Bringing FREEDOM to the captives.

As we sat with the director of the prison, he shared his heart with us: "Some of the boys are so cold and show no remorse for the most horrendous crimes. It scares me. We need God in this prison."

We are at a time where God is opening many doors for us to minister in the youth prisons in the city. Last week we went into two prisons with a DTS outreach team from Norway. It was amazing! As they presented you could tell that the boys were moved, and as we invited them to respond many came forward. There is a real hunger for God in these boys' lives. One boy gave his life to Jesus a month ago, and he was the first to respond in his prison. He is a very coragous boy and you can tell that Jesus transforming his life.

Another time I was talking to a boy was in prison for killing a man. As we talked about freedom, he came to the conclusion that even out of prison he isn't really free "you always have to keep looking over your shoulder in case someone comes to get you" was his reflection.

One boy who was about to be released asked me if I thought God would protect him from the family of the person he'd killed. I said I believed God was with him, but that what he should ask for was for God to give him an opportunity to ask forgiveness from the family. His response was "that is what I most long for. To be able to express to them how sorry I am for what I've done."

These are just a few glimpses of what is going on in the lives of these tough, often quite scarey boys who are in prison. They are human, and they feel. And deep down, what they long for is not just physical freedom from the prison, but a true freedom which can only be found in God.

Pray for this work! Last week one of the coordinators for the board of social services in the city told me he wants us to go into all the prisons. It's amazing to see how God is opening more and more doors. We don't have the capacity, but we are willing to go wherever God would lead us. So pray for God to bring more people with a passion and heart to reach out to the imprisioned. And pray that we won't limit ourselves, but go for it.

 

Triage- starting the road to restoration.

This week we started a triage with two boys. For those of you who are already thinking "what does that mean?", the triage is basically 10 days the boys we want to take to the farm spend in the city centre property. It is a time for the boys to show us they really want to leave the streets, and a time for us to get to know them better and evaluate if they are ready. The triage phase is a very intense stage both for boys and staff, but it also brings great joy to us who work on it as it´s a time where we can literally take boys off the streets and give them another option. Sat here writing the boys are at the football field playing football. They are 12 and 14 years old and have both spent a considerable time on the streets involved with drugs and street life. Now they have a chance to change the direction of their lives. One of them, David, is a very determined boy. The first thing he said was that he is going to hold on tight to this opportunity "because if I decide to leave, who knows when I´ll get the chance again". At the triage the boys get stuck into an agenda as similar to the one at the farm as possible. The space here is obviously a lot smaller, actually during a triage it seems as if the property here shrinks, but I think it´s more the fact that we don´t usually have two adolescents here 24 hours a day with all that that entails. They have a discipleship time, time for school activities, cleaning, practical work, and also, needless to say, time to play football (this is after all Brazil). The evenings we spend doing activities with them and having a more chilled, family like atmosphere. Today we got a huge donations of apples, so I am thinking I´ll make some apple crumble with them this evening (similar to apple pie). This is day three, so we are still in the early stages. It´s good though. Today as we did a group time with them they were both visibly moved as we talked about their mums and things that had happened in their lives. God is already starting a work of restoration and healing in them. And we hope and believe it´s a process which will continue. Prayer pointers: - Protection. We are in a spiritual battle! - For the two boys. That they would persevere and be open to God. - For strength, passion, patience, unity and perseverance for the staff. - For God to prepare the staff and boys already on the farm.

"You can call him `azulino`"

When I sat down to chat the kids hanging out at the bussterminal, the first question I was asked was if I wanted a fish. I bit puzzled by what that meant exactly I asked them to explain. Quickly four glassbottles were produced containing small, aquarium sized fish in water. The boys had gone fishing in the lake next to the buss-station. They were very exited with their catch, and also because they'd heard that someone had found small aligators in the lake.

I decided on the blue fish and was promptly informed the I had to name him. Such a dilemma. I thought for a while, and one of the boys said: "I know what you can call him. You can call him `azulino` because he's blue" (azul= blue in Portuguese). I said that was a splendid name. We decided it was best if the boys looked after the fish for me, and that I would bring him some food the next time we came. I must remember to get some fishfood tomorrow.

It was such a special moment with this group of boys. We only started visiting them regularaly on the streets a few weeks ago, and I can already see trust and respect growing in them. Many of them are young, 11, 12, 13 years old, and often we find them very drugged on glue or paint-thinner when we arrive.

In a few weeks time we are hoping to open spaces for more boys to go to the farm. God is already highlighting some of these boys to me, and I am praying for God to really guide us these next few weeks as we seek to find the boys He has prepared for this next triagem (triagem= in between stage between the streets and the farm).

Stand with us in prayer:

* for the streetwork in this area of the city. It's called Terminal da Lagoa.

*for God to bring strategy as to how to reach these boys.

*for the triagem, that we would know which boys to take.

Transforming lives- "Grace Farm"

God is a God of miracles. When I think of the 5 boys we have at our restoration farm, "Grace Farm", the only response is gratefulness to God. He has truly taken these boys out of the pit and placed their feet on rock. "Grace Farm" is a restoration house where boys who cannot return to their families from the streets can come and live. At the farm they learn how to live and relate to others, and most importantly they're introduced to Jesus, the One who can tranform their lives. It is amazing to see how much they've changed, and how incredibly gifted they are. Each one of them has huge potential. It brings such joy to our hearts as we see each of them discover who they are as individuals and how loved they are by God!
The boys went to a youth camp with the church at the start of January. As they came back they were full of stories about the amazing worship times, games and activites, friendships formed, other kids getting saved and late nights with no sleep. Stuff "normal" kids take for granted. Stories of a lost childhood being found.

Prayer pointers:
-pray for the boys at the farm, that they keep being open to change and face the challenges they have in their lives.
-for the bond with their families
-for the staff to have wisdom, unity and God's heart and love for the boys, and for continued strength and patience.
-for God to provide in all areas!
-for us as we look to build more houses on the farm to be able to receive more boys
-for guidance as to when to bring more boys, and which boys
-for more staff!
-for the love, GRACE, and presence of God to be there so powerfully.

Restoring bonds- family work

"I never received love. But I want to show love to my children. In this place I feel loved." These were the words of one of the fathers who participated at our Christmas party for the families of the boys who live on our restoration farm, or who we work with on the streets. It was amazing to see how the parents shared their hearts in the group time for the parents. Many tears were shed as they spoke about the pain of being separated from their sons and daughters, and of the hardship of their own lives, yet finding comfort in seeing that they are not alone and that others share the same experiences.

Monthly we invite the families we work with to come to the project in the city centre for a family meeting. We have activites for the children while the parents have a time just for them. The times with the parents are times for them to share, cry, listen and encourage one another. We want to see them restored and discover the value and potential they have, and also introduce them to Jesus who is the reason for everything. Often the examples they have had about raising children and living as families are distorted, and so we try to bring light to them about how God intends us to relate to each other and how we can show love through limits. We also try to visit them regularly in their homes. Our aim being to encourage and strengthen, but also to get to know the reality of their individual situation so that we can seek to help them more specifically.

Prayer pointers:
- for our monthly meetings the last week of every month.
- for the families to come to the meetings.
- for us to have God's love to show to them.
- for wisdom and discernment as we share with them and seek to show them their value and potential
- for a revelation of Jesus in their lives and salvation.
- for our visits to their homes. For God to bring strategy and also means to do these visits.
- for the restoration of families so that the streetkids can return to live in homes of safety, security and love.

 

Wasting away on the streets.

The first contact with the street kids is on the streets. The tough reality of the life there often hits you in the face when you are faced with boys and girls who are skin and bones as a result of excessive drug use, and whose faces bear the marks of having lived, and of living, a life full of desparation and hopelessness.

Yesterday we went to Beira Mar, one of the tourist areas in the city of Fortaleza, and also one of the areas where the street kids hang out. When we do streetwork we bring games, drawing material, bibles and first aid equipment with us. These are great tools to make contact with the children and adolescents, and help us in drawing their attention, sharing with them about Jesus, and building relationships with them.

As we approached the group we saw Simão. He saw us and gave us a drugged grin. His main priority was to hide his bottle of glue under his t-shirt before he headed off to the sewer drain to do some more drugs. Simão has been to "Grace Farm" twice. When he is off the streets he is a different boy. In spite of being 15, he'll play for hours with toys and loves to invent games. Unfortunately numerous years of living on the strees has made him deeply addicted to drugs and streetlife, it's hard for him to get out of it.

And Simão's story is only one of many many more. The majority of the kids we work with are between 12 and 25 years old and have been on the streets for more than 5 years. We work mainly with boys, as they make up about 80% of the kids on the streets, but we have a great heart to reach the girls in greater measure also. When "My Father's House" started, the main drugs used by the street kids were glue and paintthinner. The last few years crack has invaded the streets, and is causing deeper addictions and more destruction of lives.

As we walk the streets of Fortaleza, and meet with those who have made their home there, we want to bring the love and Truth of Jesus to them. The Truth which sets free and transforms lives. And we want to bring hope and value and dignity to them, so that they would start longing for, believing in, and fighting for a life off the streets.

Prayer pointers:
vision and strategy - HOPE - housing and work for the street adults - freedom from drugs - protection for the kids and us as we work there - widsom and discernment - LOTS of LOVE to share with them!

The nations working together...Our team

The group of people working at "My Father's House" has always been a multicultural one. Currently we have people from Brazil, England, Norway and Holland working with us. It's a challenge and a privilege to work side by side to see the Kingdom of God come in this city.

As we embark on the year 2006 we have a team of 14 staff working in the city centre and at "Grace Farm":

Peter Thomas (ministry leader, from England), Selma Lima Thomas (Brazilian, married to Peter), Andrew Fanstone (leader of the city centre ministry; English), Elisabeth Christensen (staff at "Grace Farm", Norwegian), Elisabeth Håmsø (staff in city centre, Norwegian), Claudia de Oliveira (staff in city centre, Brazilian), Faith Spinks (staff both at "Grace Farm" and city centre, English), Torbjørn Tande (staff at "Grace Farm", Norwegian), Kleber Martins (staff in city centre, Brazilian), Diego (staff at "Grace Farm", Brazilian), Juliana Batista (staff at "Grace Farm", Brazilian), Nonato (staff at "Grace Farm", Brazilian), Jan and Jacqueline (married; staff at "Grace Farm", Dutch).

Prayer pointers:
unity - communication - finances (all workers with Youth With a Mission are responsible for raising their own support)- vision and passion - protection

After a long time with webpage problems, we decided to try this new thing called a blog. I hope we can be more faithful in updating it and that you as a reader and person interested in what God is doing here in Fortaleza will feel updated, encouraged and inspired.