Christmas in the community.

We had two main Christmas celebrations in the slum to bring some joy and presents to those who otherwise wouldn’t have, and also to bring the real meaning of this special time of year. We had our usual children’s Christmas party where 150 kids from the slum came and were entertained with games, music, dance, drama and puppets. Before they left they had a nice meal and each received a present. At the end 13 of the children came forward to give their lives to Jesus and all left joyful, feeling loved and special.

On Christmas day we also managed to reproduce one of my favourite parables in the Bible that I have wanted to do since I arrived in Brazil – the parable of the Great Banquet. In one of the squares in the slum overlooking the sea and the big luxurious 5 star hotel over the road we put up Christmas lights, tables and chairs and invited “the poor, crippled, blind and lame” - those excluded and forgotten in society. The poor, addicts, drug dealers, prostitutes, and street children came and we served more than 100 people at the banquet. The whole community was involved with the ladies cooking, people setting up and lending chairs and tables and even the drug dealers giving money to provide the drinks, which we kindly reclined. After the meal the children and teenagers presented two dramas of how Jesus can transform lives. It was very powerful as they had lived out their role in the drama in real life and where the children of the drug dealers, addicts and prostitutes; presenting God’s light and truth to their own parents.

Pray for a transformation in lives in this community.
(Andrew- leader of “SHINE”)

Jesus at work on the streets.

Yesterday I saw Jesus at work on the streets. This was in the form of Fabiano specially, but also in Peter. Fabiano and Dayanne are the couple who work alongside Pete and Selma here at the farm.

We drove through what Pete said were very dangerous areas, but then he said it is really all like that. When we arrived at the square (blessedly in the shade) it was to find two, a boy and a girl, lying on a tattered foam mattress. Another young guy pointed out the mattress to me and I asked him if he ever slept in such comfort. He replied that if he slept on that mattress he would be killed. It belonged to the boss who turned out to be the young girl asleep on it just then. She never did wake up in the two hours we were there.

What struck me most about these two was their absolute filth. I have been on the streets here before but never seen anything as bad as this. D*, the lad, was roused. Fabiano immediately sat on the ground next to this prostrate figure, donned gloves and proceeded to clean this boy's feet, which had some nasty sores on them. D* let him do it. He washed them, applied iodine and goodness knows what and plastered and bandaged what he could. He then cut his fingernails and cleaned them finishing up with cleaning his ears.

I sat and watched just amazed and very moved. Peter had said that these on the square are the ones who have no hope and are the lowest of the low. Pete knows they can do little for them in terms of ever bringing them out here to the farm, but they can show that they care and that they love them.I had been reading about Jesus washing the feet of his disciples the previous day, a passage which always moves me. I had not expected to see it put into action literally. As Fabiano was doing this several others joined us including many of the curious mostly older public who stood or sat around watching or talking with some of us.Fabiano continued his work, bathing sores, bandaging, cutting nails, including those of the girls who joined us.

In the meanwhile Michiel (from Holland) shared the Lord with a group of older men. Pete hugged and talked, impervious to the dirt and squalor. The look of delight when these guys saw Pete was stunning. Their eyes just lit up and they rushed forward with huge hugs. As Pete's Mum I received my own share too! But there was another wonderful aspect to this morning and to the whole day. We took some of "our" boys along with us… When I was here two years ago it would have been impossible for such a thing to happen, but such is their growth that they are now part of the team.

Both at the square and in the late afternoon at the beach, they greeted friends with whom they had lived themselves on the streets. They talked with them, laughed with them. I asked them how they felt about going to the streets like this. Were they glad not to be there? Their answers were that they were very glad not to be there and just feel so sad for those who are. Jesus has transformed these lives. Please pray that as they grow older, two are now 19, that they will really know the presence of the Lord in their lives. If we think of how weak and watery our own lives can be in Christian terms, how important it is for them that they have deep knowledge of him. Pete allows them to make their own decisions in many things these days, they do not always make the right ones. We do not want to see them lost.

Can you take more? Not much! We went on later to the beach. Here the tourists walk in their lovely clothes to their lovely hotels and apartments directly opposite the beach... The two co-exist. Except that the police do not want them there and beat them so badly that they are left to die. Not one coke bottle was in evidence. They now all smoke crack and lots of it. Much more expensive and much more dangerous… Fingers are burned where they heat up their crack. Their bodies are emaciated in some cases. One tremblingly eats a small lump of cheese. Some of them do not stir on the floor. The girls stand around, 13, 14 15 years of age, in their very tight very short shorts and their very brief tops. A real contrast to the girls we saw in the morning all of whom were so dirty. These are all prostitutes, but not for these boys. These are for the men who hang around all the time, many of them European. Their faces are so pretty. It is heart breaking. One girl in the morning had asked with tears, if they were going to open a girls' home. This has been a desire…but it cannot happen without life committed staff.

(Written by Mary Thomas, visiting from England).

Bearing fruit and touching lives!

Happy New Year! We start off 2009 by thanking all of you who faithfully pray for and support us! What we do is only possible by people partnering with us in building the Kingdom of God here in Fortaleza.

So much GRACE!

It is amazing to see how the boys on the farm are growing up into fine young men of God! Paulinho continues at the music school in Norway being challenged in new ways and learning what it means to have snow in winter.

Mardonio who has lived with us for 3 years said this when he came from a home visit over New Year: "About midnight I went out of my house and went to a party. There were lots of people and I started drinking. Don’t worry, only Coca Cola! They were a group of young people from a church near my house. I knew one of the girls from when I was younger. I didn’t know she was a believer. She asked me if I would go to the youth group meeting on Monday – but I said I would already be back home (on the farm). See Aunty (he said to Selma), your prayers are not in vain!"

“Sorry Claudio, but the work on behalf of the Hakani Indian tribe does not receive volunteers in January . . . so we will have to keep in touch with them to work out a time later in the year for you to go to Brasilia to serve . . . but do you want to go to the church Youth Camp in a couple of weeks time?” “Ora! Claro” (You bet, of course I do!)
(Claudio who is 17 is of Indian descent and has an amazing servant heart and wants to serve among Amazon Indians during his holiday times.)

These are just a few glimpses of the fruit we see in these boys’ lives. Hemerson and Paulo are also doing well. Continue to pray for them and the staff at “Sítio Graça”!

An open house for open hearts.

We regularly open our city centre house to receive kids who are currently living on the streets to spend time with them; showing them the love and care of God through showers, meals and sharing the Word of God with them. Here are a few comments from some of these kids:

“Can’t we come to the Open House every week?”

"Vanessa? Is that you? Of course we’ll let you know when there will be another girls meeting in the house . . . but don’t let that fight with Anna stop you two being friends”. (This is a snippet of a phone conversation with Vanessa, a street girl who is 15. She calls us collect and has really started to open up about the extreme sadness she faces in her life.)

Hold us up in prayer!

These are just a few glimpses of what is going on here at “My Father’s House”. We are desperately in need of your prayers! Here are some prayer pointers for you:

• For God to break in to lives with revelation of His love and Truth which sets free and transforms!
• For more quality staff so we can minister to all those who are so hungry for something more then what they’re living.
• For the current staff- for strength and perseverance and that they would encounter God deeply on a personal level so that they can work in His strength.
• For the boys on the farm, that they would keep dreaming and going deeper with Jesus.
• For the different parts of our ministry- the farm, the street work, the open house, the prison work and SHINE (community development work).

We bless you in this new year! Please don't hesitate to contact us via email casademeupai@hotmail.com if you have any questions or want to know more about what we do and how you can get involved!