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.