Hi All,

Tuesday was a fun day for Lauren and I.  Next Wednesday we will be celebrating Children´s Day with 60 kids at the community center.  Children´s Day is a national holiday in Brazil and it´s kind of a big deal.  Tuesday Lauren and I, along with two of our Brazilian staff and volunteers, went out into the comminty here to invite 50 girls to come participate in the party.  This party will be a great opportunity for us to start getting to know the kids in the area, for them to get to know who we are and what we are doing, and we can begin to start identifying what girls we will invite to be a part of the Quiet Strength Community Center when we open it up to new kids next year.

Going out to visit their houses was an interesting experience for us.  We were able to learn a lot about who lives here and how great the needs are here.  I was amazed that after coming to this community and all the work we have done here for the last 3 years, I had no idea how much poverty their was hidden behind the hustle and bustle of this community – Vera Cruz.  The slum we visited was full of people I never knew were here.

We started out a bit slow on our journey as every house we visited only seemed to have boys living in it.  After we went all the way up and done one “street”, we only had 9 girls signed up to come to the party.  I was beginning to wonder how we would fill our list up with 40 more names!  However, as soon as we crossed over the main road to the other part of the slum it was as if little girls were coming out of the woodwork.  Before we knew it we had people meeting us in the street before we could even get to their house to get their kids names on the list!  People were asking to sign up their daughters, granddaughters and nieces.  By the end of the morning, we had a line up of about 5 families waiting to sign up.  And as luck would have it, we had just enough spots available for the people in line so we didn´t have to turn anyone away!  I am really excited for the party and to see all of those beautiful smiling faces again.  It will be so much fun!  We are having a tropical theme for the party and I think the girls are just going to love it!  I think it will also be a good opportunity for the 10 girls that we are working with now at the center to realize that this project isn´t just for them, but will be shared with 40 new girls as we gradually invite them to be a part of the center next year!

As we were walking throught he slum, I began to notice that there were a lot of abandoned and demolished houses.  When I asked Missilene what happend she explained that because of all of the rain eariler this year that was starting to run down the cliff into the valley where all of these “houses” were - I use the term house loosely!  From what I can gather the houses were starting to get destroyed from all of the water so they had to evacuate the houses.  But luckily for them the government helped out with providing a place for them to move to – unlike the family of Luana and Co. who had to leave their house because the rain was washing it away and the walls made of mud and sticks were nearly caving in on them.  They are still building their house around them while they are living in it.

We had a list for the parents to fill out for their children to participate and it was amazing how many of these parents didn´t know how to write their own name – not even their initials.  It was so sad to see a 30 year old women need Raiany, one of our volunteers, hold her hand as she helped her write her initials.  I have always known there is severe illiteracy with the people in these slums, but I never knew how severe it was to the point that they can´t even write their own name.  As I was thinking about all of this after we got back I couldn´t remember a time when I didn´t know how to write my own name.  I don´t remember learning how to write my name because it probably happend somewhere around age 3.  I can´t imagine at my age still not knowing how to do this.

My mom, Beverly, and Ana get back from the Not For Sale conference today.  When I talked to my mom after it ended last night she said it was awesome and one of the best organized and well presented conferences she has ever been to.  They have another one in Atlanta in April so I am hoping to go then since I didn´t go this time!!  But I am anxious to hear all of the information they presented while they were there.  The anti-human traffiking movement has a big spotlight on Brazil right now with the World Cup coming here (right where we are working!) in 2014 and then the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.  Events like these are so huge for the trafficking of kids so our hope is that we can work together with other local groups, such as YWAM, and churches to set up safe houses for kids to go to during the times of these events.

Tomorrow we will be having our first, of many, cooking classes with the older girls!!  Thank you Demarle at Home for providing the funding for the cooking classes for October!  This will be something we do with the girls every Friday for them to learn how to prepare a traditional meal to take home and share with their families.  We also started the jewelry making classes yesterday with the girls and they all loved it.  I was surprised at how quickly they picked up on it!  We will have lots of beautiful jewelry to bring home to sell that the girls made!  And hopefully early next year we will be able to set up our little store front where they can sell the things they are making here as well!

Please pray for the meeting we will be having with the girls and the parents tomorrow afternoon.  We will be laying out what our expectations are for each of them as we move forward out of our trial period and into the full swing of things.  Please pray that most importantly the parents attend the meeting (this will be a small miracle in itself!) and pray that what we have to say doesn´t call on deaf ears but that they will not only be receptive to our words, but will respond to them as well.  We need to see a serious change in attitude of both the parents and the kids as we move forward with bringing new kids.  They will set the tone and be the example for all the people that come in the future so we want to make sure we are all starting off on the right foot next year!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Until next time…

Jenn (for the team!)

Hello from Brazil!!!

Our time at the community center with the girls has been a lot of fun!!  There´s been a LOT of lice flying around that place as we try to get it under control with the girls, but it feels as though we are fighting a losing battle and fear we may be the next victims!! But I guess we´ll just keep trying. 

We´ve been working on getting the girls obedience level and respect for the adults to where we want it.  We know the girls we have at the center now are going to set the tone and be the example for the new girls that will come to participate in the center next year. They are getting better, one day at a time!  Each day has its own challenges, but today I could definitely see some progress.  How do you teach a kid how to have love and respect when there isn´t any of that in their own homes?

Last week during the devotion time with the little girls they read about the story of David and Goliath.  After reading the lesson, my mom told each of them that we all have giants in our lives and asked them to share what the giant was in their own lives.  Esmeralda was the only one to share.  She said the giant was at home – because there is no love or affection in her house.  It was so sad to hear a 10 year old girl say something like this.  This surely wasn´t something she could come up with off the cuff, but had to be something she thinks about often.  When I hear these stories I wish I could pack them all up in my suitcase to bring home with me and show them what a home filled with love, affection and respect looks like!

Last night Lauren and I took 4 of the girls to church with us. As we sat through the service, I couldn´t help but notice Talita curled up against Lauren hugging onto her arm fast asleep.  It occurred to me – this was probably the first loving, caring touch that she has felt all weekend since we went to their houses Friday afternoon.  I´m not sure if these experiences will ever become easier to see.  I wish each of these girls could grow up in a loving home like I did.  But for now we can just keep pouring as much love into their lives and overwhelming them with hugs and warm, caring touches because they probably won´t get another one until they walk through the doors of the center again!

Friday afternoon Lauren and I went with Missilene to visit their homes.  It was a fun, eye-opening experience as always.  Definitely makes me realize how much I take the comforts of my home with electricity, water, beds, toilets, shower for granted.  Luana, Tatiane, Talita, Esmeralda, Larissa, and Eduarda´s family had to move out of their house a  month or so ago because the walls were all starting to cave in from all of the rain.  So they moved down farther into the valley where they are building another house.  It´s challenging getting down there, but it seems to be a better place.  The house is a lot smaller and not yet fully constructed, but at least they have a “yard” they can play in rather than always running out into the street like at their other house.  And it’s a breathtaking view!

Thanks for all of your love, prayers and support for the girls.  I hope that someday more of you can come down to meet them – they will change your heart forever!  Keep praying for them – that they will absorb all of the love we have to give them and more importantly all of the love Jesus has to give them and the wisdom of who He is and that it is only through their relationship with Him that their lives will be transformed.  And pray that God will keep His angels of protection around each one of them when they walk out our doors and into a world waiting to devour their precious lives!

Until next time..

Jenn (for the team!)