Biscuits and unity- SHINE still shining.

At ”SHINE” the work continues. The last months we have seen several courses run especially for the women of the community; we have done some in the culinary field and we also recently just finished a course in making fruit soap. It is vital that the women of the community learn skills and can support their families. Many of the women have been involved in drugs and prostitution, and now need another way to get an income. Others have husbands who have turned away from drug trafficking and other illegal means of earning money, and these women can now be a part of providing for their families in an honest and dignified way.

The various team that have come to help us out in the community have been a great blessing to us! Apart from the practical help they have given, it always blesses us when people come and receive the love and heart of God for the people of Oitão Preto.

We are also seeing the Christians in the community come together. It was amazing to see one of the meetings we had where the traditional Assemblies of God brothers sat side by side with the tatooed surfers for Christ. This is part of what it’ll be like in heaven! And unity of the body of Christ is the key to anointing!

There is still a long way to go…in the recent months we’ve seen people very dear to our heart die as a consequence of the lives they have been living. But we believe that we have the answer and we know that Jesus’ heart is to see a transformation of this community! You are part of that! Keep interceding for us!

Street worship.

At times it seems the kids worship the streets. . . and often we sek strategies and solutions for the kids and discover only frustration.. . one thing is for sure - Our God is worthy of our praise! We have begun to spend time in the places where this kids most often congregate, to simply pray and worship God - to reclaim the land that Satan has stolen. The fascinating thing is that we discover that as we take our eyes off the kids themselves, more kids come and want to be a part of what we are doing. Pray that we will hear His voice and demonstarte His love as we seek HIS solutions on behalf of those He has called us to love!

Points for prayer:

• For new staff
• For support for staff members
• For the work of Shine as it continues to build on the foundation of God's love
• For the students of the night school (ENVIA) as they hear God's voice for the mission God has for each one.
• For the boys,their families and their dreams as they seek God for their next steps in restoration
• For strength courage and perseverence for staff
• For the prayers and preparation beginning for next years DTS

Believing in the restoration of families.

The work of supporting the families of the boys who live on the farm is a great challenge. The boys are facing it with faith! They visit their families, and we we regularly invite all the families we work to the project for a family meeting, which is a time of fellowship and investing into their lives. It is great to see the boys’ families come and the boys grow in their relationships with them. Last time all the boys gave their families a present which was a miracle.

One of them, however, is facing some serious challenges. When he was at home years ago, His mother used to tell him: "Quickly, run away, your father is coming home!” Usually he would obey, and thus began his career on the streets aged 8. However, sometimes, with his heart full of fear, he would not go. Instead, he simply hid under the bed for days from where he witnessed horror after horror. This story is not complete yet, but the accompanying fears are still real, and from these fears come fears about the future which paralyze this young man.

God is a God of justice and love. He will see justice done! We pray that this family will see forgiveness and the power of forgiveness to bring restoration.

Journey with us in prayer!!

Prayer points:

• New staff.
• Support for staff.
• The work of ”SHINE” that works in the community.
• For the students of the night school (ENVIA), that they can hear God’s voice for what He has for each one of them.
• For strength and courage for the staff.
• For the DTS next year.
• For the boys and their families.

”I am a thief”- the challenge of bringing identity to those in prison.

"Write down on the piece of paper we are giving you your strengths and your weaknesses". These were the instructions Fabiano, in his broad Brazilian accent, gave to the 20 some inmates of the youth prison. Imagine his shock when the vast majority, with a mixture of bravado, embarrassement, and bewilderment, showed that they don't know how to read and write. The majority of these boys are not street kids, but kids from different spheres of society. Those who express themselves with clarity need Fabiano's help to write. One of them says of his strengths: "killing", and of his weaknesses: "I steal". Another one says: "I am a thief". There were two thieves crucified with Christ- one a thief, the other hanged for stealing. Both died that day, one however, was saved.

The team in the prison prays and seeks God to know how we can expand this ministry to help the inmates discover their God-given purpose, and to be able to accompany them when they are released. We desparately need workers- it is a mammoth task!

Pray for strength and clarity for the prison team.

Pray that God would raise up more workers.

Victory and tears.

The past few months we’ve seen many ups and downs. We’ve rejoiced at the victories both in Oitão Preto and on the farm. We’ve cried over lives lost. We thank those of you who have stood with us in prayer! Without God there truly is no hope, but with Him miracles happen!

”Shine”

Finally being able to work out from a house located in the community is a great victory! We have had services and prayer meetings there, as well as working with different groups in the community. SENAC (a private non-profit organisation focused on offering courses to all of society) also held a 3-week course in the house on how to make sweet and savoury snacks for parties which went really well.

We do, however, realize that we are in a spiritual battle. What we need more then anything is to see more intercession and worship come forth from the house.

”Sítio Graça”- the farm

The farm is going well. Everyone was very excited to see Peter and Selma return in March after a well deserved time of holiday and networking. This year holds exciting challenges especially for Paulinho and Paulo who are taking steps to pursue their dreams. Paulinho is hoping to go to a Bibleschool in Norway and Paulo is wanting to do the YWAM Discipleship Training School in Salvador with the outreach in Africa. Do pray for them, and should you want to contribute financially do get in touch with us! The other boys are also blossoming and walking into the things of God.

We still need to see more staff join Peter, Selma, Fabiano and Dayane. We long to be able to give more boys, who are currently living in hopelessness on the streets, the opportunity to get to know Jesus and be transformed by the grace of God! Pray for committed people to join us! We believe that God has much much more for us.

The reality which shakes us.

The last few months have really shaken us up as we’ve received news of 3 of our young adults being killed. The two young men and young woman were all well known to us, and we had worked very closely with all of them; visiting them on the streets and getting to know their homes and their families. One of them was one of the first boys to ever live on the farm. The two young men got killed fleeing from the police, the young woman was stabbed to death. The stories are grusome. They reflect the reality of where the children, adolescents, and adults who live on the streets are headed unless something changes.

Thomas (one of the boys who spent a long time on the farm, but decided to leave) is painfully aware of this. One Sunday he turned up at church petrified. He knows that it is only a miracle that he is still alive. After getting out of youth prison his life has been comsumed with crack and armed assaults. After chatting with him for a long time we left him with the leaders of ”Lar da Paz” (the church’s drug rehab centre)…Pray for him.

Another boy very close to our hearts is now in prison serving a 30 year sentence for murder.

We choose to hold on to hope!

In the face of all of this it is easy to loose hope. But we refuse to give in to the hopelessness! As long as there is life there is hope!

We choose to keep remembering the victories in the lives of the boys at the farm, the house in the community, and the story of Graziela (a teenager from the community with severe eyeproblems) getting free treatment for her eyeproblems and doing a course.

Stand with us in prayer:

• pray for the work of ”SHINE” in the community of Oitão Preto.
• pray for ”Sítio Graça”- the farm- for staff, the boys, and guidance.
• pray for the kids and adults who still live on the streets.
• pray for Thomas- that God would redeem and restore him.
• pray for the staff of the project, and that God would bring ”more workers for the harvest”.

A good ending to the year and challenges ahead.

We are well into 2008, and so we do wish all of you a Happy New Year!

We had many good parties over Christmas in Oitão Preto for the various groups we have with the people there. With the men we played football at Gerardo Bastos (a company one block away from the project which works with car repairs and has a football pitch they let us use) followed by hot dogs and a powerful testimony from our staff member Fabiano. We saw about 30 of them come, many drug dealers which was good.

We also did parties for the children and the women who are involved in our project to set up micro businesses to enable them to support their families.

We are in the process of trying to rent a house in the community to run courses and have our activities in. As usual with these things, it’s a battle. But we believe that God is in control and we know that being there, as a light physically situated in the community, will have a huge impact on everyone living there and all the activities that go on there.

Please stand with us in prayer:

• pray that we can get the house in the community
• pray for Andrew and Claudia as they head up the work in Oitão Preto
• pray for the work with the children, women, and men
• pray also for the farm, for God to be with the staff and boys and that they can daily grow in the knowledge of God
• pray for the city centre work, that God would open doors and guide the work
• pray for structure for the prison ministry, that the Truth would set these young boys free.

Christmas Greetings!

We want to wish all of you who have participated, prayed, contributed, encouraged, supported, laughted and cried with us, shown friendship, received God’s heart, and stood with us this past year: A VERY BLESSED CHRISTMAS and a 2008 full of PEACE and victories in the Lord!

In this season where the focus is so much on material things and traditions, we want to remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ, who when he became an adult died for our salvation and rose again to give us life. And it is this HOPE we want to bring to those who are lost and broken here in Fortaleza.

We hope you feel a part of what God is doing; through YOUR prayers and YOUR support YOU are a vital part in us all seeing God’s Kingdom grow in the city of Fortaleza!!

The photo is from our Christmas celebration last year. As you can probably imagine, Brazil not being the coldest of countried, it’s a plastic tree, but it brings in the Christmas atmosphere.

Lots of love from all of us at “My Father’s House”.

This is our team at the end of 2007.

2007 has been a year of many changes for us as a project. We have seen many goings and comings of staff members. And so as we draw to the end of this year, we thought it would be nice to give you an update on what our faithful team of staff looks like so you can hold them up in your prayers:

Peter and Selma Thomas- are the faithful overall leaders of “My Father’s House”, and also leaders of “Sítio Graça” our restoration farm. They are currently on a much deserved 3-month furlough. Pray for strengthening and that they can find rest and peace in this time. They have a gorgeous son.

Andrew and Claudia Fanstone- lead “SHINE”, our community development project which reaches out to the community of Oitão Preto. Pray for wisdom as they head up this work. They are expecting their first child next year.

Karen and Vinicius Guerra- head up the 3-month “Night School”, which seeks to raise awareness in the local churches of missions and equip them to grasp God’s heart for missions, both locally, in their own city, and worldwide. They are currently in Switzerland doing a course.

Fabiano and Dayanne- they did the DTS on the farm this year and are now full-time staff at “Sítio Graça”. Fabiano also participates in the prison ministry, and Dayane has taken on responsibility for the accounts. Pray for God to really give them His heart, especially pray for extra wisdom and discernment during this time while Peter and Selma are away.

Jander and Melanie de Oliveira- Jander works on the farm and is a huge blessing both with the boys and also in helping with the many things that often need to be chased to get sorted out. Melanie works with pregnant teenagers with “SHINE” as well as with pregnant teenagers in Aquiraz where they live. They have one son who is super-cute!

Neide Ferreira Batista- works with “SHINE” and is also involved with the family work. Neide has been involved with “My Father’s House” on and off since 2000, and is now back with us as full-time staff.

Diego- works with “SHINE”. Diego spent a few years working at “Sítio Graça” and is now back full-time reaching into Oitão Preto.

Avisi Tshimalenge- works in the different parts of the project, using metalwork and jewellery workshops to teach young people skills, which can help them move forward in life. She is currently on leave in England.

John William Hunter- coordinates our work in the various youth prisons citywide. He is married to Rochelli and they have a little daughter.


Helyvane- works at “Sítio Graça” in the area of schooling and education. She has one son.

Michiel- has just arrived from Holland to work with us. His focus will be working in the city centre, and he plans to do a DTS later on this year.

In addition to these we have introduced you to, we have many short and long term volunteers from Fortaleza and beyond who play a vital part in seeing God’s Kingdom come to the poor, needy, despised, and rejected of Fortaleza, bringing HOPE and LIGHT to a dark and hopeless reality.

Please be praying for:

• more full-time staff
• God’s protection over those involved in the project
• strength and wisdom
• Christmas, as it is often a very sensitive time especially for the boys on the farm being far from their families. Pray it’ll be a good Christmas for them and the staff there with them!

Strategy and trust to reach pregnant girls.

The reality of the pregnant girls and women in Oitão Preto is one of violence, abuse, and a severe lack of knowledge with regards to how the body works and what actually happens during a pregnancy.

One 16 year-old girl Melanie and Mirjam met, as they joined with the SHINE team, was covered in bruises. She was also probably already 3-4 months pregnant, but couldn’t say for sure as she hadn’t been to the doctor. She already has a one-year old. As the team showed her and the other girls a book with pictures of how the baby grows and develops inside the belly, it was very clear that this is totally new stuff for them. Yet, it did catch their interest.

Thank you for praying for God to reveal a strategy of how we can be reaching the pregnant girls in this community! As we go in there it is becoming very clear to us that we need to use visual aids to teach them and educate them. One idea is to make cards with pictures of how the baby looks in the belly, one for each month, and on that include a Bible verse and something about the project. It is important to give them something to remind them of what we talk with them about.

Actually this work we do with these young mums is really focusing on restoring families to the way God intended them to be. The violence, drugs, prostitution, and brokenness are what drive the children to seek the streets as an alternative, and so we want to see their families restored so that they never consider the streets as a place to make their home.

Continue to remember this work in your prayers. Pray that we can show these girls that we care so much that they will care what we say.

And pray for them to grasp the acceptance of a loving God of them.

Farm Feature- Micah

Micah is a boy who is now starting to have hope for his life, and who is learning what it means to be loved. He is a lovely boy, and it has been amazing to see the transformation God is doing in his life. Here he shares a bit about himself:

“My name is Micah, I am 17 years old. My mother lives with my brothers and sisters. I have 10 brothers and sisters. Today I live at Sítio Graça, My Father's House, because I used to live on the streets. I like to play football and paint. I also like to think. I am a very organised person! It is my dream to have a family. I really want God to continue forming my character.”

It moves our hearts to hear these boys we love so much express their dreams, and actually dream. Micah was in a sense forgotten on the streets, but God saw him and God has given him hope again. Be praying for him. Pray that God continues to form his character, and pray that as he grows with God in character and knowledge of Him, that his family can be reached and restored by the love of God.

Increased openness in the closed places.

It is so amazing to see how the boys in our discipleship groups in the youth prisons are opening up and asking questions. These are boys who have gone through life surviving by staying tough, boys who don’t believe in showing insecurity. Seeing them changing is amazing, and it is only because of the power of God touching their hearts. Praise God for the breakthroughs we are seeing!!

We have seen a good team of different people come together to minister in the youth prisons, and we are seeing even the most closed prison now approaching us and asking us to come in and work with their boys. When this happens we have even more freedom to come in and preach the Truth, the truth that sets free!

Telma, one of the staff of YWAM Fortaleza is involved in the prison work, and here she shares a bit of how she experiences it:

“…this Thursday was my second time going to the youth prisons. To see those boys locked up like animals broke my heart, because I knew that God did not created them to be in that place. He created them to live in freedom, free from the cells and also free from sin. We do our work in a room that is locked with security guards in case they try to escape. When they are thirsty they need to ask for water, and receive a big bottle of it. They have to drink directly from the bottle because they don’t receive cups. And when they drink, they drink as if it was the last water they had. This made me so sad to see. Maybe you wonder what the problem with drinking water this way is. My point is that so often we don’t value what God has given us, and we don’t give water and bread to those who hunger and thirst for God. Seeing that scene reminded me of how much we as Christians have to give people, and how often we keep it to ourselves, and how our lives are far from simple. I think we need to go back to simplicity.”

At the moment we are looking to using some material in our discipleship groups from the Saddleback church, which goes through eight steps in growth and healing in Christ. Please pray that we as a team can get a good grasp of that material and all be on the same page as we go in to share and teach the boys.

Pray for John as he coordinates the prison work and seeks to draw all those involved together to be unified!

Pray for us to stay humble and dependant on God as we go in, and that we will always seek to know His heart and His plans for every single opportunity we have.

Existing in a life without hope- the mothers of the next generation.

The community of Oitão Preto has always had a large number of pregnant girls and women. Due to the harsh reality of the community, their reality is far from simple. These women are very much on God’s heart!

Melanie, who works with pregnant girls in Aquiraz, also as part of YWAM Fortaleza, came to see the reality of Oitão Preto. Her aim being to get to see for herself the desperate reality there, and see how God wants to use her experience to reach the girls who live (if you can call it living) in this community, be it working directly with them, or helping give valuable information to the staff who faithfully go into the community week after week.

Here she shares a bit of what she experienced:

“Last week I went along with the team from YWAM that visits a big favela [Oitão Preto] every week. I had been asked to come along to see how I could help them with the pregnant teens they see there. The favela is close to the tourist area, and so there are many prostitutes and street children/ teens that live in this favela. The situation here is really difficult. In the short time I was there I met at least 3 pregnant girls, often still doing their ´programs´ (prostitution) in spite of their big bellies; they’re still on drugs (glue, solvents/crack), and they’re not doing any prenatal care (which is for free). The girl I spoke to was already 23, and pregnant with her 4th child. She was obviously on some kind of substance and didn’t care a bit about her pregnant belly and what was inside it (her own words). She has no idea how long she had been pregnant, but she already decided to simply leave her child at the maternity of the hospital. It is obvious that there is a lot of work to be done here, and I am thinking and praying about how I can help the team that works in this area almost daily. Unfortunately we had to leave early as they started fighting (physically). This is a totally different world, and you can’t imagine it if you haven’t seen it with your own eyes. The situation here is very different from that of the community in Aquiraz where I am used to working, so it is a really big challenge.”

Pray for the work with these girls. They are giving birth to the next generation and we are able to impact how these children will grow up!

Pray for Melanie as she seeks God for the way forward with regards to this.

And pray that God would raise up a strong team of people to minister to these girls who don’t really live, they just exist, trapped in a life that is so dark they have lost all hope!

Farm Feature- Jonatas.

God is doing amazing things in the boys living at Grace Farm (Sítio Graça in Portuguese). In these “farm feature” sections you can get to know them a bit better in their own words…

“My name is Jonatas, I am 18 years old. I have a mother and father, sister, brother and a niece and nephew. Today I am living at Sítio Graça, which is part of ”My Father's House”, a ministry of YWAM, Youth With a Mission, which cares for street boys. I am one of those boys. 4 years ago I was on the streets using drugs, begging for food and money, stealing ... each time the police would see us using drugs they would beat us as if we were animals. But I grew tired of this life and at this time someone from ”My Father's House” found me and asked me if I wanted to change my life. My first answer was yes, and so I went to the sítio. There I met this guy called Jesus and my life was changed. This is why I am here: To know Jesus and to make Him known – speaking of His love for others. OK, I like to paint, play the guitar, do acrobatics and play football. Of these things, I like best to paint and do acrobatics. I have some weaknesses, I'll just share one – girls, I really need help in this area, please pray for me, I would really appreciate it.”

BE PRAYING for JONATAS!

Lots of workshops and Grace…and a bit of Noah.

A few weeks ago we said goodbye to a group from Grace Fellowship; a team of 10 who have blessed us with their grace and servant hearts. The team came to build us a workshop and left having nearly completed two; one for metal and the other for woodwork here on the farm. The photo shows Avisi (one of our amazing staff) teaching some teenagers at a workshop in another project run by YWAM Fortaleza.

This is the third time the team have come down from Connecticut, and we pray that this relationship will continue! We are amazed to see how much the boys are impacted by the willingness and love shown by folk that come to serve us here. The team was able to go to a youth prison, be involved in the work in the slum of Oitão Preto, and visit the streets and our friends who have made it their home. They were even able to go on some family visits to deliver two pigs to the families of Paulo and Mardônio who live here with us. We praise God for the relationships we have with all of you who love and support us and the work we are doing here.

We are busy building here on the farm. With workshops and reforms to the existing building, I (Peter, leader of the project) have often said in recent days that I feel a little like Noah - building with no sign of rain! But we believe that God is continuing to allow us the necessary time to build a strong foundation for the many years to come and generations whose lives will be transformed.

Please pray for us to have the wisdom to know when to bring more boys so as to further enhance and not destroy the work that is being and has been done in the lives of Hemerson (Jonas), Claudio (Mateus), Paulinho (Jonatas), Mardônio (Micah) and Paulo (Timothy).

Snapshot from "Grace Farm"...

Peter, the director of ”My Father’s House” shares:

”On going to watch a little of Pauliho's training session for the Brazilian sport/art of Capoeira - I was invited by the leader of the group to give a word of advise to the 40 some youths involved - but to prelude this, I was presented to the group by the leader who expressed how our boys are simply well manered, well behaved, respectful and dedicated . . . . what an honour to hear those words in public - Our God has done a mighty job of restoration in the lives of these boys in the last 2 years - and promises to do more . .”

Be praying for the work at "Grace Farm" (the restoration farm part of the project where street boys can come to be restored by the love and grace of God).
Pray for the 5 boys who live there. And pray for the staff, that they would have strength and passion and a love for God and for the work, and also that more would feel the call to come and join them in this amazing work.

Intense Warfare on the Streets.

As we were getting ready to leave the Terminal da Lagoa (a bus-station where we meet a lot of street children) Marcos decided to kick up a fuss, trying to steal, making unreasonable demands, and in short wanting to manipulate the situation. Although only 13, Marcos has the street experience of an adult, and even if he is a small and very skinny boy, he has a huge temper and is often very violent.

This Friday we had a small team of people, and so it wasn’t the best time to deal with a violent Marcos (although there is never a good time for these situations). The team left the square where they had visited the street children, and headed off towards the car. Marcos and another boy decided to follow the team and started threatening all kinds of violence. It was one of those situations where you don’t know what to do.

Somehow Marcos managed to sneak himself into the van and refused to get out. It looked impossible, and so one of our young volunteers did the only thing you can do when faced with a situation like this one; he started to pray! As he prayed for Marcos’ life and the situation, Marcos started crying and ended up getting out of the van. The team promptly set off back to the project.

Getting back it is needless to say that the team were pretty shaken up by it all, and had also become incredibly aware of the fact that the war that is being waged on the streets of Fortaleza isn’t a war against drug addicted and violent little boys like Marcos, but a spiritual war. And it is intense!

To make a difference in these kids’ lives we need to fight in the spiritual realm, and we need spiritual cover as we literally step out into the enemy’s territory.

YOU CAN BE A PART OF THE VICTORY! Stand with us in prayer every Friday as we head out to the streets. Pray for protection for the team and also for God to bring His power into the lives of the young and old like Marcos, who have made the streets their homes.

If you feel like you can commit to pray for us every Friday, let us know! It would encourage us greatly to know that you are praying. Either leave a comment in this blog or drop us an email at: casademeupai@hotmail.com to let us know.

CHALLENGE for the future!!

Paulo (Timothy for those who have followed us for a while), one of the boys on the farm, has come so far from the life he used to lead on the streets. He can no longer be called a street boy, as the streets are no longer part of his life. It is truly amazing to see what God has done in his life, and how God keeps working and changing and moulding him. Paulo is a very dynamic boy and loves people and attention. He has a very transparent and sensitive heart, and he is very good at making contact with people. One of his greatest passions in life is to play football, which he is very good at!

At the moment Paulo is at a place where he is thinking ahead to his future. YWAM runs a training programme called DTS (Discipleship Training School), and Paulo is thinking and praying about doing a DTS to invest into himself (he realizes that he needs to know God more and allow God to continue to work on his character and in his life). His thoughts are that after concluding the DTS he could come back as a staff member in the future! It is so exciting to hear these thoughts and dreams coming from a boy who didn’t have any hope for the future a few years back.

HOWEVER, there is the challenge of finance. The DTS costs money, and so we hereby launch the challenge to you reading this. If you want to partner with Paulo as he walks into the future God has for him, please send an email to: casademeupai@hotmail.com , and we will get back to you with information of how to do so.

And PRAY for Paulo. For wisdom and direction as he seeks God, and God’s provision always.

Making a stand!

It is amazing how God keeps using the team that goes into the youth prisons. The other week we took the pastor of a team, which was visiting us from Gordo Alabama, with us. It was a great blessing and we saw six boys stand to receive Christ. Some of them had made a stand before, but it still takes courage to get up in front of 25 of their peers, and by standing saying ”I want to follow Jesus”.

Our greatest barrier to reaching these young boys is that they don’t want to commit to something they won’t follow through when they get out to ”the freedom”, as they call it. As we minister to them it is easy to tell by the look in their eyes that they long to have that love, security, peace, and forgiveness Jesus brings, yet they are afraid. Afraid of what the future brings, and afraid of what it means to follow Jesus when faced with the pressure, violence, and hate they encounter on the other side of the prison bars.

Please pray:
* for the boys who have had the courage to make commitments to Jesus.
* for John and the rest of the team who faithfully do the prison ministry.
* for an increased anointing and fresh creativity as the team minister.
* for God to bring strategy as to how we can continue to invest in the lives of these young men when they are released.

A jewellery workshop and cooking.

One of our great joys is to have Avisi with us as staff. She is an amazing woman of God who is trained, and very gifted, in the area of welding and jewellery making. Her vision is to start up jewellery (and also later welding) workshops, and use these to build up the self-esteem of those who participate, and also to enable people to learn a skill with which they can use to work and support their families.

She already has a workshop running in a project called “Friendly Hand”, also run by YWAM Fortaleza, where teenagers in the poor community come and learn how to make jewellery. It has been amazing to see the change in the teenagers there as they grow not only in skill, but also in self-esteem.

Here at “My Father’s House” we eventually want to see many such workshops up and running; at the restoration farm with the boys who live there, in Oitão Preto for the people of the community, and in the city centre for the many young people we work with who long for an opportunity to be something in life. However, these things don’t come about by themselves, and Avisi has spent many months making lists of materials needed and designing what the workshops need to look like.

And God is being faithful! It now seems like a company from the USA want to sponsor tools for us, and next week we have a team coming from the USA who will start building the first workshop. It is all so exciting for us and we can’t wait to see it all happen! I will keep you updated and hopefully bring you some photos along the way.

But you might be asking what all this has to do with cooking? Well, in this team that are coming to build the workshop we also have two chefs. They want to bless us by making food, but also by learning Brazilian cooking from our very lovely cook Cleide, whose food is delicious. In preparation for their arrival they gave us an offering to buy some much needed new kitchen equipment, which we have greatly enjoyed sorting out and putting in place for their arrival.

Please pray:
*for Avisi as she plans the workshops, for time and language; and for inspiration as she teaches the skills.
*for the team as they come to build and cook, that they can get God’s heart for this place.
*for God’s continued anointing and provision in this area of our ministry.

Lost girls.

Our discipleship group with the boys is going very well! Involving the girls is, however, a bit more of a challenge. Even if they might voice a desire to participate in a group, they are more resistant when it comes down to it. We really need to find a way of reaching them as they are a very vulnerable part of the community in many ways.

One good development is that Nadia has opened her home for us to come in and do a group with girls involved in prostitution. Many of these girls live with her, and so it’s a great opportunity to reach them where they’re at. It’s not really a formal discipleship group, as it’s more a matter of coming in and praying and chatting, but then that is discipleship in a nutshell really. The girls and women here have a lot of hurt and are very weary, and it takes a long time to win their trust. We need real discernment and strategy to know how to make a difference in their lives and get beyond the many barriers they have put up to protect themselves.

One of the girls we have known for a long time, Lisa who is 19, lives with Nadia at the moment. She comes from a very difficult background and has been involved in prostitution since she was a teenager. She is now pregnant and close to giving birth. When we met her again last week she told us she’d been at home for a long time, which brought joy to our hearts, yet sadness in seeing her back. However, her explanation was that being in Oitão Preto she is closer to a project run by Catholic nuns which works with pregnant girls, and can easier get help when the time comes. She has shown a genuine desire to change her life many times, and we really hope that maybe becoming a mother might be the thing that really gives her the strength to fight.

Pray for:
* for the discipleship group with the boys
* to know how to get the girls involved in the discipleship group
* for the times at Nadia’s house, that we can win the trust of the women
* for Lisa as she becomes a mother and for a change in her life