A Birthday Celebration For A Street Boy

By Adriana Ruiz - Master's Commission Brasil

When you hear about a “Birthday Celebration” what are you expecting to see? I know the first thoughts for most is cake, candles, balloons and gifts. Yet better than the decorations, is the presence of those who love you and celebrate your life. Your friends and family are there and at the end of the night you blowout your candles and make a wish. Birthday celebrations have a different meaning in the streets of Brazil; actually it has no meaning.

Kids that live on the streets know that no one today is celebrating them, instead of having a cake they have paint thinner and instead of having candles they have cigarettes. Our reality doesn’t compare to the streets reality, because it’s so different it seem that we live in different dimensions. While we think that a six year old should be at home being loved by a family and having fun as a child, there is at the same time a six year old boy who is on the streets, wanting a blanket and a bottle of paint thinner to not feel the cold. When one of our kids, Hugo who is eleven, had his birthday he said, “The gift I want is just a big hug from you Auntie.” Many of these children have no mom or dad, no real friends to celebrate with them; the truth is they have no reason to celebrate their very lives. They try to survive everyday from the pain of not being love. They don’t want to exist, since they are already dying on the inside.

The great thing is that last night we went to Andrades’ street to celebrate Tico’s birthday. We brought a big chocolate cake, we sang happy birthday and we told him how loved and precious he was to God. We reminded him that God has not forget him no matter what his reality is showing him. We believe that he felt that God was celebrating him as a son. For us it is an honor to be able to see that maybe there are two different dimensions, but in reality there is just one God!!

Tucking a child away to sleep - On the sidewalk

Have you ever tucked a child into bed? If you’re a parent or you’ve baby-sat or perhaps you have a younger sister or brother, you know what I’m talking about. You pull the warm blankets tightly across your little one and tuck the edges around the bed, making sure they are nice and cozy. Perhaps you read a story or sing a song to lull them gently to sleep. You kiss their forehead and bid them goodnight as you lightly close the door behind you. Right?

Today I watched as Marianne (from Norway), one of my teammates with me in Master’s Commission Brazil, tuck a sweet little girl away to sleep. However, her bed was not a warm and cozy one at all. Instead it was the hard, cold, wet sidewalk of a third world country.

Marianne did the best she could to lay the sleeping child’s head against the cold sheet metal wall of the store we all had gathered under in attempts to avoid the rain. Ah yes, the rain, not to mention the thunder and lightning. My God, I have never been in rain like that before. The wind gathers the pelting drops and mercilessly slaps them against your face and body. The thunder shakes you to the core. Yet, Marianne held the child inside her sweater as we sang “Mighty to save” together for her. She was fascinated to hear the song in English and asked us to sing it over and over again.

I tell you my friends; this was not your average lullaby moment. When it was time to go, the little girl had finally fallen asleep in Marianne’ s arms. I swallowed hard to hold back the tears as Marianne laid the sleeping girl on the cold, wet sidewalk alongside a little boy, also fast asleep. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen.

Guys, this is the world we live in! If no one will stand up and do something about things such as this, then how can we expect there to be a brighter day? – Sara Ribeiro, MCBrasil Student

What? – A Segregated English Class?

We are ever learning the realities of living within a nation divided by distinctions of social-economic and racial class. It's a complicated reality where most Brasilian citizens seem to easily avoid confusing the invisible boundary lines. Here in Brasil we have discovered the subject of social class distinctions are easily out maneuvered, because somehow every one seemingly accepts their assigned class positions, regardless the benefits or lack thereof.

For reasons we yet don't fully understand, we live on a street that has an unusual mix of both social-economic classes, which is actually kind of weird because judging by their homes and professions we are very curious as to how some of these families have escaped the nearby slum neighborhood. In the context of social-economic class segregation, what on earth are they doing living on "our" street?

In the meantime, while we look for opportunities to discover how they've escaped from the slums, we thought it a brilliant idea to offer all of the kids on our street free English lessons (our way of being good neighbors). Great idea! Right? … we thought so too, especially since we know people are willing to pay premium fees for native English speakers; and especially for the eight displaced slum children whose parents are barely able to put enough food on the table. English lessons for these children could be their ticket out of the lowest social class bracket.

But sadly we've learned that our generous offering for free English lessons won't work for all of the children on our street. – Why not? Why can't all of the children on our street attend the weekly class? – Because it will require us to conduct two completely segregated classes mirroring the social-economic class realities of Brasil. And it seems we may be the only people who care.

So for now, because teaching segregated English lessons are impossible to our minds, we will continue offering free lessons for whichever children come first. Fortunately for them, the children whose parents recycle trash showed up first, and by default the unspoken societal rules means they own the class. And without the slightest hint of objection the middle and upper class kids have completely disappeared. Go figure!

While some of our Brasileiro friends either admire our efforts, others giggle at our naivety. Although we refuse to feel stupid for even trying, we are saddened by such harsh realities in the year 2009. – To live and die without enjoying the benefits of the most basic of equal opportunities is a horrible reality for any child born into poverty. – Because of your prayer and financial support we know of at least eight children on our street that will be given an opportunity to learn English. Your money really does matter.

Don’t look past the person in front of you

In our discipleship ministry, Master's Commission Brasil, we believe that change begins now, here, and together with you! With your monthly sponsorship, every young person engaged by our discipleship training is a divine appointment where we have an opportunity to instill confidence that someone cares what they do with their lives. Every day we are working to create as many alternatives as possible to gang involvement, violence, sexual experiences, and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.

We have seen many times over how a life can be altered with as simple as a single phrase, an encouraging word, or an act of kindness. – All of our staff and interns have personally realized the blessings of having someone enter our lives by a divine appointment, if only for a moment, to make a lasting impression for the rest of our lives.

For me, I can remember my fifth grade teacher, old Mrs. Barton. Every student on campus was convinced that she was the nastiest old woman on the planet and would hide in the teacher's parking lot to witness her daily landing on her broomstick. – But I knew a different Mrs. Barton. The Mrs. Barton I knew was as tender as she was tough and would spend her lunch and after school to help me and others with homework or just let a boy trying to become a man simply hang around. I can't tell you everything she said to me, although I do distinctly remember something about her "whoopin my behind"; yet there was never a visit where I didn't walk away convinced that I could conquer the world. Mrs. Savannah Barton believed in me before I ever believed in myself, and her thumbprint remains on my life to this very day.

And then there's the vice principle Mr. Sagers. Thinking about it now, and although it was never said then, I am convinced this man had a deep and intimate love for Jesus. There was something about him. I suppose just because he was the vice-principle in charge of discipline everybody was afraid of him, (it's funny how I seemed to always end up in his office), but there was something really special about Mr. Sagers. – Aside from telling you it was a "divine appointment", I can't explain why out of the entire school he asked my brother Philip and me to work for him on weekends, pulling weeds, and painting and picking up trash at an apartment complex he owned. I clearly remember how well paid we were as preteens in the late 60's. Geepers, that dude paid us some serious cash! – But more important to that, was how without saying a single word, there was something he gave us that even then I knew was more valuable than cash… he showed us a dignity and respect that I don't remember ever receiving from an adult. And it felt good too!

Mrs. Barton and Mr. Sagers may not know until we get into heaven how their acts of kindness have changed two lives. (My brother Philip is the superintendent of high schools in Sacramento; and a darned good one too! I wonder how much influence Mr. Sagers had on him.) Their unselfish kindness has made a defining impact on our lives.

As well, we are here in Brasil on a special assignment to influence and impact the lives of as many people possible; but without you it'll be tough. With your monthly support you are deciding to join us in as many intersections of life that we can get into; to be instruments of grace and unconditional love and acceptance… if only for a brief moment. And for as many as we can enroll in our discipleship program, you will be working together with us to interrupt dysfunction, launch a life in Christ or restore and heal with tenderness and words of kindness. I seriously doubt Mrs. Barton and Mr. Sagers knew what the outcomes would be for our lives, but we're wonderfully blessed that they didn't drive through our intersections without stopping. – Will you pull over to the curb and become a monthly sponsor?

We're Interrupting Their Dysfunction

Your partnership with Master's Commission Brasil is literally interrupting the cycles of dysfunction in the lives of hundreds of children every week. It's like this: the realities of racism and discrimination here in Brasil are significant considering the vast majority of people living in some of the world's ugliest and most dangerous slums are of African descent… in other words, they're black!

Although the typical Brazilian would argue the issue of racism and discrimination, mostly based on their personal feelings regarding race and ethnicity, the overwhelming fact is clear that these social ills exist in abundance despite their denials. And it would take less than 30 seconds to prove my point. Simply look around. Who is driving cars and who is pulling recycle wagons through the streets? Who is sitting in offices and who is sweeping the streets for less than $2 a day? – Advertising billboards silently remind people at every glance what "tone" is most important. Take a peek into any restaurant and you'll almost never see a "black" couple enjoying the savors of Brazilian cuisine. And to help any of you get beyond my definition of racism; let's simply call it "a black child's reality". Ok? Forget my use of the word "racism".

So what's the point? Is it to prove that Brazilians are racists and segregationist? Nope! That's not the point. The point is that millions of children growing up in Brasil have not only the curse of poverty to contend with, but the fact that they are Black makes their likelihood of escaping the cycles of dysfunction even more impossible, if not for God. And that's where Master's Commission is working to make a difference.

Through Master's Commission we are working to transform the lives of children in the poorest communities of Brasil. Our focus on helping children transcend the cycles of limited opportunity is accomplished through developing them into morally grounded, English speaking, and academically accomplished young adults. The fact that they are Black is inconsequential to our commitment to working with the poorest children in the Brazil… we'd do the same if they were all white children; but the reality is that they're not. And we are attempting to describe this social reality to you because we desperately need your help and the willingness to acknowledge that our world is filled with historical proof that racism is real; and that together for these children we can make a difference.

A Strategy that Equalizes

A central part of the Master's Commission strategy provides children the opportunity to learn English. These are children who without a solid education or college degree are destined to repeat the cruel cycles of poverty and dysfunction associated with poor communities. We believe that by learning English children will be able to take advantage of surging employment opportunities through their ability to speak English as a second language.

Can we count on you to support our ministry every month? – With the question of destructive racism in Brasil, I am very much up to a debate; but that debate must take place here in Brasil; in the middle of a real favela (slum) where we are going to be escorted by gun-toting mostly Black teenagers willing to allow you the opportunity of visiting their reality. – Oh, there's no need to be afraid… they won't hurt us… they're our English students.

Gustavo's Story - so far

By Jocelyn Moore

I’ve known Gustavo for half of his life – the better half - meeting him almost ten years ago on our first Master’s Commission missions trip to Brazil. We stayed in touch – visiting the Restoration House for ex-street boys where he lived and sending cards and letters. He has become very special to our family – having brother status - and is now an important part of our Brazilian team as a second year Master’s Commission student. Watching the growth in his life this year reminds me of why we are here and that all of the challenges we’ve faced and are still facing are completely worth it. I am so proud of Gustavo and want to introduce him to you through excerpts of his story that are part of a book project about the lives of our remarkable Brazilian Master’s Commission students who are not allowing the deprivation of their pasts to determine their future, but are being used by God to inspire and bring hope to others.

The city of Contagem, forty-five minutes west of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, is the second most populated city in the state with over a half-million residents. It was in this city that Maria Aparecida gave birth to her first child, Gustavo Felipe Juventino, on April 19th, 1989, when she was just fourteen years old…. A few days after his birth, she took Gustavo to her mother’s house and left him there with his grandmother, Dona Laura, in a tiny three-room house with her nine brothers and sisters. Gustavo did not see his mother again until he was twelve.

Dona Laura’s house was an old brick structure that stood isolated near the borders of a favela. There was no front door, so they had an old couch that they stood on end against the doorway at night. There were no lights – no electricity at all – so the family spent their evenings in darkness. Gustavo slept in a tiny room with his grandmother while his aunts and uncles, all nine of them, shared another bedroom.

Gustavo - a year younger than his uncle Wanderson and almost ten years younger than the others - was Dona Laura’s favorite, a fact that caused jealousy among her children and led to them abuse him when she was absent. His grandmother protected Gustavo when she was at home, but as Dona Laura had to work for twelve hours a day and left her grandson in the care of his aunts and uncles, he experienced their jealousy through frequent beatings. What further escalated their rage was the effect of the drugs and alcohol that were constantly in the house.

Dona Laura worked as a zeladora or janitor at a Catholic school in Contagem. Feeding eleven on a zeladora’s salary was inadequate and the family was often hungry. Gustavo remembers a time that when there was nothing to eat for three days, so his uncles – knowing that young children are not viewed as a threat and can more easily gain compassion, sent him door-to-door to the homes of neighbors to ask for food…

… The most defining characteristic of the home Gustavo remembers as a young child was anger. Anger was the underlining attitude in every family transaction, ….The stress of poverty, blended with deprivation, drugs and alcohol was a recipe for conflicts that created misery - especially for those too young to fight back. Gustavo and Wanderson, in efforts to escape the small house where an annoyance from the younger boys stirred up the wrath of the older, spent their days running the streets of the neighborhood unsupervised…

… Life with his older relatives became increasingly difficult for Gustavo and his cousin Wanderson. Gustavo knew that he couldn’t take it anymore, the anger he experienced everyday had made residence in his heart and tormented him in a way that made life unbearable. When anyone looked at Gustavo, he was quick with a harsh remark. At seven years old, Gustavo and his eight-year-old uncle Wanderson made an impulsive decision. They took a bus, free for young children, and escaped to the bairro of Eldorado just 30 minutes away to begin their lives as meninos de rua – street kids.

Brazil has an estimated 10 million children, some as young as four-years-old, who make the streets their home. Like Gustavo and Wanderson, many are fleeing intolerable home situations and see a life on the streets as their only option to improve their lives. Others leave to escape the pressure and violence of the gangs in the slums that recruit young boys who are too young to be prosecuted. Children may even be seduced by the ideal of freedom from rules and curiosity of the larger world outside of a tiny barraco - home- in a favela. What these children in their desperation do not take into account are the dangers of street life and the many people who are quick to exploit unprotected children… (End of excerpt).

After three years on the street, Gustavo ended up at the YWAM Restoration House in Belo Horizonte where I met him and he immediately secured a special place in my heart.

It’s fun to watch Gustavo working with children in church settings and in outreaches. He is passionate in ministering through drama and is patient with teaching new team members. Gustavo’s English is good enough to help with translating and he has grown in areas of responsibility. As I write this, he is the team leader of our MC group who’ve been ministering at a church camp for the past few days. Gustavo has two dreams – to go to college to study physical education and to run a Restoration House for street kids. We are committed to setting up opportunities for our MC students to be stretched in situations that enlarge their world and help them gain valuable experiences that will prepare them for the call that God has for their lives.

We think that Gustavo is ready for an opportunity to increase his fluency in English and receive training in working with children and youth through a trip to the United States this summer. We would like to bring him with our family in June and have him attend some training conferences and camps while he is there. Richard is in the U.S. now and is working to secure some opportunities for Gustavo – and I’m looking for individuals or groups to help him get there. We need to raise about $2250 for his travel expenses for the summer – less if anyone wants to donate frequent flyer reward miles. We are still trusting God for the finances to bring our family to the U.S. this summer, but we want to believe for Gustavo too. If you would like to help with a donation of money or frequent flyer miles, we’d appreciate whatever God leads you to do. If you would like to hear more of Gustavo’s story and would like to invite him to share at your small group, church or youth group – please let me know so that we can set something up.

Even with the economic crisis, I have already seen God’s faithfulness and provision for our family and our team and I know it’s because His people trust His voice and respond. I pray that God is blessing you in your life, your family and your work and is using everything – even the challenges you’re facing – for His glory as you learn to more perfectly follow Him.

Deus e Fiel – sempre!
God is faithful – always!

Jocelyn

P.S. If you’d like to give a donation for Gustavo through Paypal – simply use the link on this page and leave a comment or email me to insure that it gets credited to his account. If you want to help with our trip (Richard, Jocelyn, Rebekah, Adriana, Sean or Chris) please indicate that too.
If you’d rather send a check – or you have miles to donate, please email me for our mailing address in the U.S.

“Please, don’t come here for Christmas.”

Paulo Vitor, affectionately called, "PV" by his Master's Commission Brasil teammates has spent the last two and a half days in the hospital after suffering through a series of epileptic seizures within a very short period of time. Friday evening alone he suffered a total of four seizures; the same night of MC's annual Christmas party that signaled the official winter break offering three weeks of freedom.

At a tender eight years old, Paulo Vitor was left at the front door of a restoration home for street boys and has not seen anyone in his family since. He has struggled with self-worth and believed that the color of his skin and his background were impossible barriers to overcome. Now at 23 he continues to work hard at overcoming the insurmountable social and cultural realities that demand he stays in his social class based only on the fact that he was born in a slum and the color of his skin.

As the time grew closer for the Christmas break, Paulo Vitor with anxious excitement told everyone who would listen he was going to visit his auntie that he had not seen since he was a small child. Finally, he thought, there was a connection to family.

Paulo Vitor's episodes of seizures began this past Tuesday and are being credited to hearing from his only known relative, "Please don't come here for Christmas." – As he received this disappointing news, Paulo Vitor weeping bitterly dropped the cell phone as he slumped to the floor. "I've known 'PV' for twelve years growing up together in the Restoration House", said Sidney Pereira. "Never have I seen him cry; not once", he continued after holding "PV" with brotherly affection while he wept uncontrollably.

Paulo Vitor's life is a story of rejection and abandonment if not for the compassionate ministry of Youth With A Mission – Belo Horizonte. Few people doubt Paulo Vitor would still be alive today if not for YWAM. – Another miracle in itself is the fact that he is now in the Master's Commission Brasil ministry training.

Paulo Vitor's" life would be an extremely more difficult and miserable story to tell if not for the faithful support of people committed to the spiritual development of young adults. It would be far more complicated than simply helping him work through the present disappointment of hearing, "Please don't come here for Christmas". – In spite of the odds working against him, Paulo Vitor is learning how to believe God has a great plan for his life. He has earned the respect of his peers for his consistent walk with the Lord, his diligence to every task and assignment and has grown tremendously in confidence and relationships.

With the Lord's help Paulo Vitor is going to work his way through this disappointment as he has already worked through others. But it makes a tremendous difference when friends like you take it upon yourself to actively participate in another person's life. The difference in Paulo Vitor's life has been you. Will you continue to give so that Paulo Vitor and others like him will have the opportunity of escaping the complex realities of not only being born in poverty, but born in a society and culture where being Black automatically works against you? Please continue to send your financial support to MCUMI Brasil – PO BOX 279512 – Sacramento, CA 95827-9512 or DONATE NOW using Pay Pal's secure on line service. The difference is a life transformed.

Prosperity: "A Key to Wealth"

“… where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.” – Acts 14:22 NLT

What we see here is that the discipleship training given by Paul and Barnabas very specifically included some rather harsh realities that we don’t often hear about in our post modern Christianity. There is no doubt whatsoever that their preaching embraced a message of prosperity and blessing; the difference however, is that their message of prosperity was accurately founded in the context of eternity, opposed to what so many “believers” are being fed these days, “prosperity in the context of birth and death while living on this planet.

Today’s definition of Christian prosperity lands frighteningly close to the adage which proclaims, “He who dies with the most toys wins”, which if we’re honest, we know isn’t true at all. In fact, these two realities of “prosperity” are not even found in the same universe. So that’s probably why Paul and Barnabas were not in the least shy to stress to the new believer’s understanding, “they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.” – Geepers! That doesn’t sound very nice at all. Why did they need to add such unwelcome news to the New Believers Class? Ouch!#@$!&^*! – Why didn’t they just come right out and say, “He who dies with the most toys just might end up loosing and become a likely candidate go to hell”? How’s that for being blunt?

But, let me briefly argue my point. I don’t think that it was so much that Paul and Barnabas were insisting that we must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations as a result of their own perverted reasons for wanting to see Christians suffer. Golly, that was hardly the case at all. What I suspect they were saying was that not only must we enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations, but that we should actually expect and anticipate tribulation and persecution as a normal and essential component in our journey of faith. – If anyone knew what they were talking about, certainly the Apostle Paul did.

The misnomer is caused as we have redefined the description of prosperity to mean; the condition of being successful or thriving; especially economic well-being; which works fine for those outside of the body of Christ, but creates enormous conflict for those of us trying to live for God. Prosperity defined in Paul and Barnabas’ new believer’s class actually had very little to do with a person’s title on their door, six-digit incomes, multimillion dollar suburban tents with large screen TV's and camels with turbo prop enginess strapped to the rear hump.

The prosperity taught by Paul and Barnabas was about intimacy with God and being aligned with His purposes and will for one’s life… and that included suffering, personal cost and sacrifice (aka: “many tribulations”). What we see in this passage is that Paul and Barnabas correctly taught that “kingdom people” will experience trials, suffering and not always an instant victory. God did not promise a life without struggle. In truth, this text reminds us that victory only comes through battle, and triumph only follows trials.

And “many tribulations” is not because God doesn’t want us to have stuff; Jesus already explained in Matthew 6:32 that God already knows about our need for stuff. But instead, in His sovereign will and wisdom, it has been so appointed that we enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations. The truth be told, there is no remedy for this appointment, the matter is already fixed and cannot be altered. It is a part of God’s sovereign plan that has already determined that for all who would live godly in Christ Jesus, would experience tribulation. But why? Why is that necessary? That’s probably the most essential question to be answered if the church in America has any hope to right its current course of self-absorbed preoccupation with none other than itself.

With the current message of prosperity, what’s being left out is the part about a disciple's responsibility to take up their cross daily. When we signed up to live for Christ these were the terms that we agreed on; when we sat down and counted the cost, it was a part of the deal. The difference is, Paul and Barnabas told their disciples up front about this requirement…. many Christians in the USA have yet to be told that their experience in Christ will by necessity include many tribulations.

And it doesn’t matter what rank you’re entitled to in the body of Christ, it is the reality of both leaders as well as the soldiers in Christ’s army to experience many tribulations in their journey through this earthly life. Paul even reminds us in his letter to the Thessalonians when he wrote: “so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.” 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4. – And, let us not forget that our own Savior did not expect from the apostles any harder service than what He himself experienced, and neither did the apostles expect from the early believers.

Concerning prosperity, the rest of the story that desperately needs to be told is that it is entirely true that we must count upon many tribulations, with the encouragement that proclaims we will get through it. A balanced view on prosperity will proclaim that our tribulations are a type of Red Sea, and that the Lord will open a way through it, for us to pass over.

Prosperity in the context of eternity allows for Christians to go down into trouble, but because of our God, we will come up again. We shall not only get through it, but get through it into the kingdom of God, which is of a much higher priority and value than merely being blessed in the abundance of material stuff, safety and comfort. – The truth is “many tribulations” have more to do with the reshaping and redefining of our character which determines the outcomes of our eternity. – I think from an eternal perspective, God actually knows what He’s doing by allowing us to experience “many tribulations”. Isn’t it about time we adjust our program to His?

We’re Interrupting Their Dysfunction

Your partnership with Master's Commission Brasil is literally interrupting the cycles of dysfunction in the lives of hundreds of children every week. It's like this: the realities of racism and discrimination here in Brasil are significant considering the vast majority of people living in some of the world's ugliest and most dangerous slums are of African descent… in other words, they're black!

Although the typical Brazilian would argue the issue of racism and discrimination, mostly based on their personal feelings regarding race and ethnicity, the overwhelming fact is clear that these social ills exist in abundance despite their denials. And it would take less than 30 seconds to prove my point. Simply look around. Who is driving cars and who is pulling recycle wagons through the streets? Who is sitting in offices and who is sweeping the streets for less than $2 a day? – Advertising billboards silently remind people at every glance what "tone" is most important. Take a peek into any restaurant and you'll almost never see a "black" couple enjoying the savors of Brazilian cuisine. And to help any of you get beyond my definition of racism; let's simply call it "a black child's reality". Ok? Forget my use of the word "racism".

So what's the point? Is it to prove that Brazilians are racists and segregationist? Nope! That's not the point. The point is that millions of children growing up in Brasilian slums have not only the curse of poverty to contend with, but the fact that they are Black makes their likelihood of escaping the cycles of dysfunction even more impossible, if not for God. And that's where Crianças com uma Promessa is working to make a difference.

Through the Crianças com uma Promessa program, we are working to transform the lives of children in the poorest communities of Brasil. Our focus on helping children transcend the cycles of limited opportunity is accomplished through developing them into morally grounded, English speaking, and academically accomplished young adults. The fact that they are Black is inconsequential to our commitment to working with the poorest children in the Brazil… we'd do the same if they were all white children; but the reality is that they're not. And we are attempting to describe this social reality with you because we desperately need your help and the willingness to acknowledge that our world is filled with historical proof that racism is real; and that together for these children we can make a difference.

A Strategy that Equalizes

A central part of the Crianças com uma Promessa program provides children the opportunity to learn English from our native speaking interns. These are children who without a solid education or college degree are destined to repeat the cruel cycles of poverty and dysfunction associated with poor communities. We believe that by learning English children will be able to take advantage of surging employment opportunities through their ability to speak English as a second language.

Can we count on you to support our ministry every month? – With the question of destructive racism in Brasil, I am very much up to a debate; but that debate must take place here in Brasil; in the middle of a real favela (slum) where we are going to be escorted by gun-toting mostly Black teenagers willing to allow you the opportunity of visiting their reality. – Oh, there's no need to be afraid… they won't hurt us… they're our English students.

Our Focus is Children and Youth… Not Moola!

Late one evening D.L. Moody, the American evangelist of the 1800's, arrived home from speaking at a meeting. Emma, his wife, was already asleep. As her exhausted husband climbed into bed, she rolled over and murmured, "So how did it go tonight?"

"Pretty well," he replied. "Two and a half converts." – His wife laid silently for a moment pondering this response, then finally smiled. "That's sweet," she relied. "How old was the child?" "No, no, no," Moody answered. "It was two children and one adult! The children have their whole lives in front of them. The adult's life is already half-gone."

That brief conversation over 100 years ago between Mr. and Mrs. Moody has today become even more true when we consider the fact that fully half the world, and especially in developing countries like Brasil, are children and teenagers. – So logically, our ministry focus remains to be on Children and Youth. And what makes our focus all the more urgent is that mission's research continues to prove that almost two-thirds of the people who give their lives to Christ do so before the age of eighteen year old. Saying it differently; thirteen out of every twenty Christians accepted Christ as their Savior when they were a child or teen.

With your help, we will continue to focus our ministry on children and youth. As far as the money is concerned,… and it is a very necessary concern, we will trust you as partners and supporters to continue making investments in the lives of children and youth by your generous monthly gifts. As a ministry team it's really difficult to focus on children, youth and money. I guess that's why we're called "partners". Your part enables us to do our part. And there you have "partners". - Thank you for being a wonderful partner that we can count on to help us do our part with ministry to children and youth.

To learn more about our ministry to children and youth, visit our new website at http://children-brasil.org

Please,... not too much of Jesus!

This global economic crisis is possibly serving as a very good litmus test gauging the depth and sincerity of countless Christian's living in America. In fact, it's ironic that our currency continues to proclaim, "In God We Trust" – Oh, really?

Last year our dear friends, Greg and Alba Perkins gave me a copy of the book "Good to Great in God's Eyes", by Chip Ingram. Great read! I highly recommend it. – I've been recently going through my second reading and was recaptured with his comments as he wrote, "The Dream Will Cost Your Life". As I re-read the section several times I thought this could be a tremendous encouragement to a wonderful bunch of people, (that would be you) that we love and care for deeply. - This crisis facing our nation can actually be one of the greatest opportunities for us, the church, to show ourselves strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. – Are you ready to receive a different dream? – Enjoy Chip's comments.

"The Dream Will Cost Your Life"

Imagine how futile and ridiculous the ministry of Jesus looked as he hung on the cross – a preacher who didn't exactly find success; a miracle worker who suddenly couldn't work a miracle; a loser of epic proportions. But Jesus had said that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single seed. If it dies, however, it brings forth much fruit (John 12:24). The dream, it seems, will cost us our life.

This is one reason that most of us don't want God's dream. The dream will cost us our life and appear to others as the height of folly just before God accomplishes the impossible through us. There will be a time in the process of God fulfilling his dream placed in your heart when he will take you all the way to the edge, and you must die. (Sound familiar?)

Every dream passes through the cross. Every dream takes you to where you let go of everything and everyone, every agenda and expectation, and then it is only as the Lord resurrects you and your dream that you can go on.

We spend much of our time and energy trying to avoid that place. We want just enough of Jesus to make us happy, just enough to give us peace, and just enough to make things go our way to fulfill our dreams and our agenda. Meanwhile, he wants to take us to the cross, where our own selfish dreams, egos, and plans for "great accomplishments" have to die. The cross brings you to a place of total and absolute surrender to all you have and all you are. You submit everything in obedience to the vision or dream God has given you for your life.

Scripture and history are replete with examples: Martin Luther and other early Reformers refused to recant their convictions even when their lives were at stake. In the early days of modern missions, missionaries packed their belongings in a coffin because the likelihood of returning to their homeland alive was very slim. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who stood for truth (and died for it) in Nazi Germany, said that "when God calls a man, he bids him come and die." Embracing God-given dreams means sacrificing the self-inspired dreams, and that's usually a painful exchange. But the benefits always outweigh the costs.

There can be no resurrection without death. It isn't fun, but it's necessary. If you don't die to yourself, then you'll operate out of your natural talents and gifts, and you'll gladly receive the praise for being smart, savvy, and hyperspiritual. That's not the goal. The goal is that God be glorified in your life by doing something impossible through someone improbable like you.

A "Civil Rights Act" with the Apostle Peter

We continue to sort through strategies for developing effective ministry initiatives in a country with literally two different worlds; the rich and the poor, which live side-by-side, yet somehow manages to maintain an ability to function on completely different sides of the planet (socially and economically). It is very fascinating to study, but even more frustrating to understand; especially understanding people who are vocationally in "ministry". They make staying on their side of the cultural wall look way too easy… almost effortlessly.

During my daily devotions I was pleasantly surprised to learn how the Lord addressed this issue of racial and cultural segregation. It was a very direct approach and didn’t require much legislation or dialogue because it was an issue of the heart... and that is exactly where God went with the Apostle Peter… a direct hit to the heart.

In Acts chapter 10 (please read the whole chapter) Peter explains to Cornelius and his guests, “Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?". – And so in Peter’s life the issue of race and segregation was immediately and eternally resolved. It was just that simple! Bam! The Lord said it and that was that! The argument was completely over.

Unfortunately this bit of news has not made its way as far as Brasil… at least not yet. And I honestly wonder has it really been understood in the United States. You see, for Peter this was not a thought or an idea that he somehow stumbled upon; and he didn’t hear it at a church growth conference or read it in a book on effective leadership. For Peter, this was nothing short of a divine revelation that caused an incredible collision at the core of his social, political and religious DNA. – This revelation hit at the extreme core of who he was as a person.

This revelation by way did not occur on the back side of a civil rights movement of any sorts; it did not come as a result of lawmakers or the actions of political-social groups… in other words, it wasn’t created because the social climate had become such that it only made sense to “switch over”. No! This was by divine revelation from God, which leads to my point: how many pastors, missionaries and post modern religious leaders currently in pursuit of growing multicultural ministries are doing it in response to a direct and personal revelation concerning the value of man; regardless their color, race or ethnicity? If not by revelation, then what are their motives?

How many of today's current church leaders have had the core of their cultural beliefs severely shattered and humbled by a divine revelation similar to the Apostle Peter? - Maybe that’s the reason why the church in Brasil has not yet been able to successfully bridge the deep social-economic canyon that exists today. In the United States, where it is currently fashionable to grow a “multicultural” church; for those who have yet to receive a divine revelation, what could their motivations possibly be? It certainly cannot be because it is the fashionable thing to do… can it?

There is ALWAYS a more difficult perspective

While living away from "home" on the missions field, it has become a tremendous challenge to watch our $25 to $50 monthly sponsors dissipate as the US economy continues to take its toll on who politicians have tagged "Main Street" Americans (Why does that label not feel right?). - For you as well as ourselves, we are praying and hoping there will soon be an end to the difficult tailspin affecting so many families.

With that said, here in Brasil we are reminded daily that as difficult as it is in the USA, there's always a more difficult perspective of reality. For example, we can walk less than 90 seconds up our street and find people living in conditions that virtually still don't exist in the United States. We can walk about 7-minutes and find ourselves in the middle of a slum settlement resting in the shadows of a luxury mall that I can guarantee is not visited by the populace of this slum. - Everyday we are visited with true life visuals that serve as reminders that there's always a more difficult perspective.

Here's the last word picture I'll try to create. As we come out of our "winter" season, there honestly were a few nights that we thought were very cold. Although I don't remember anyone in the family complaining about not having any heaters in the house, I do remember wondering as I grabbed extra blankets for the bed; did people living in the slums near us even have extra blankets as an option? While we at least have a real roof, doors that lock, and glass in our windows, what did it feel like for those neighbors nearby whose perspective was still more difficult than ours? As cold as it felt, what could I have possibly complained about? We at least had the option of trapping our body heat with the extra blankets.

And speaking of perspective; I am choosing to continue believing God's promises in Romans 8:28 that guarantees us that He causes all things... yes, even this current economic nightmare, to work together for good to those that love Him and are called according to His purposes. Like many of you, I cannot comprehend how something like this can be happening in our country; it's nearly unbelievable the scope of this problem. But, then again, are we not looking from a perspective of a people who have essentially had it all and may now have a perfect opportunity to learn what so many other people around the world have always lived with as their daily perspective? - If you still have windows with glass that may be a very good sign indeed.

Be thankful and please remember your monthly $25 - $50 still makes a significant difference in where we live.

Do it! Put Your Head Into the Lion's Mouth!

With life being what it is, I sometimes I wonder just how good is my faith, …and that’s when I think about stuff like the following:

People who pray “great” prayers actually think God means what he says. Their prayers are PROMISE centered, not PROBLEM centered. Because God is sovereign, omniscient, always good and unable to lie, when He says He’ll do something, He will. Great prayers take the person, the program, and the promises of God seriously.

As with most believers we start praying for serious issues – a wayward child, a financial crisis, a failing marriage – with an attitude of faith. But over time, our natural tendency is to turn our prayers into a worry session in which we tell God how upsetting the situation is, how frustrated we are with His delays, and which details He needs to take care of to relieve our anxiety. We even sometimes will go as far as to remind Him of how faithful we’ve been to go to church, tithe, and read our Bible – and how punching all those spiritual buttons should keep us from experiencing the trial we’re in. – We end up completely absorbed in our problems rather than focused on His promises. (I stand guilty as charged!)

When we look at God through our problems, the problems seem to get bigger and He seems to get smaller. Have you ever noticed that? But when we look at Him through His promises, our faith grows and we begin to see Him respond to it. That doesn’t mean life suddenly becomes easy (fat chance!); He never offered us a life without suffering. In fact, His word assures us that in the world we will have tribulation (John 16:33) and that all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted (2 Tim 3:12), or how about the promise that all this “stuff” we keep chasing after is all going to burn (1Peter 3:10-13).

I am desperately depending on God to help me “get it” because it’s seems way too easy to talk myself out of believing the truth by focusing on the size of the problem rather than on the power of His promises.

· “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13
· “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:19
· “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4
· “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” – Romans 8:37
· “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28
· "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5
· “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” – John 15:7-8

The Lord has called us to do something great for Him…. not for us or any man! We are kingdom builders and as we have committed ourselves to building His kingdom, it is critically essential to remain focused on Him and His promises… not the grueling processes that are only a part of the construction.

With my head completely in the lion’s mouth,
PR

Starting 1st Grade at 17 years old

Dear Family and friends,

I am passing along a prayer request from our ministry partners at the Restoration House in Belo Horizonte. As I read about this need, the thought came to mind, “How much more difficult is my life in comparison to Davidson’s?” – There are no easy answers, but I am definitely grateful for the staff and ministry of the Restoration House.

Update & Prayer Request for September 16, 2008
Davidson is doing well, but sometimes he gets depressed because of his family. Last night, he had a deep conversation with Edivando (staff member) and said that he is still struggling about his stepfather who killed his mom a few months ago. He said that it is so hard to forgive him and wants to take revenge for his mother's death. He also feels very burdened for his brothers and sisters who are living in the slum. He thinks at 17 that it is responsibility to take care of them.

Davidson at 17 years old just started school last year. So literally he is in the first grade. Obviously he feels it's way too late for him to start. Please pray that God touches his heart so that he can have forgiveness for his stepfather and remove all the burdens that he doesn't need to carry.