Missionaries of CLM

This video highlights the missionaries and hired workers who care for the 45 children living at CLM Entre Rios and CLM Turvo. Each day is a battle and takes its toll on the marriages, children, and spiritual life of those who have been sent to sow the seeds and reap the harvest. Please pray specifically for strength, direction, support, and protection for each family. (If you are unable to view the video in the above window, you can access our videos at http://youtube.com/watch?v=coeuOAeeqz4. Please be aware that there are sometimes related videos that are not ours on the same page.)

Birthday in Brazil

Mike celebrated his 38th birthday this past weekend surrounded by children...what a wonderful place to be! The cake was decorated by our resident chef, a short-termer from Sweden named Tommy who decided on a dog for Mike and a frog for Joanna, a fellow missionary who also celebrated her birthday this month. When Gisiele saw the cake she said, "That's Mocha and she's going to eat that frog!"

Mike said that he's never been around this many people who were so excited about his birth. It was a precious time and gave greater insight into how the children feel when we celebrate the day they were born

More Mud!

Dia Das Crianças

The Annual Mudslide for Children's Day was a hit...except a cool rain prevented us from taking as many photos and video as we would have liked. We will try to post some more this week if we can get some good shots off the video. (Mike was covered from head to toe!) The precious girl in this photo is Cristiane. We would love for you to pray for her right now...that God would heal the emotional wounds in her life and fill her with the confidence that she was beautifully and wonderfully created. She is so timid and quiet that she has had a difficult time making friends and adjusting to life at CLM. She has become very attached to me (literally) and will usually be found by my side when we are at CLM. Thank you for praying for her.
Psalm 139:13-14 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it.

Living From the Heart

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us...And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. (Nelson Mandela)

John Eldredge says in his book, Waking the Dead, "It takes courage to live from your heart. How can you help others to freedom while you remain captive?" Mike and I have known that God has been preparing us for CLM for a long time but in these final weeks, He has spoken over and over about the importance of walking in His freedom. Our children here are bound by their past and by the lies they have heard from the enemy for so long. Their lives have been filled with confusion, discouragement, condemnation, and accusation...and God desires to restore their wounded hearts. Our prayer is that God will use us to model His freedom. This is difficult for me because I've lived somewhere between "fear of disappointing someone" and "guilt that I already have" for most of my life. I have seen glimpses of what His true freedom looks like and desire it for my life and for the children more than ever before. We know this battle will not be easily won...please pray with us as we invite the Holy Spirit to begin this process.

Matthew 5:16 So let your light shine so that others will glorify our Heavenly Father!

Geovane Returns!

Thanks so much for your prayers for our Geovane! We were very happy to find out that he returned to CLM on his own accord. After discovering that his mom was in prison, he spent the next two days roaming the city and begging for food. His aunt saw him in one of the most dangerous areas of the city and asked him what he wanted to do...continue like his mother and wind up in prison, or return to CLM and change his life? Fortunately, he made the right decision and is now back with his CLM family. (He actually told Edit that he saw us twice in the park and once in the supermarket looking for him...guess we need to hone up on our investigative skills!) Thank you for joining us in prayer for his safe return. Please continue to pray that he will be overwhelmed by the unconditional love that he feels at CLM and that God will use this experience to change his life forever.

Please Pray for Geovane

Geovane from Entre Rios ran away again yesterday. He had been doing so well and really seemed to be enjoying his new life at CLM. Edit brought six of the children in to Guarapuava to run in another citywide race. Donei, Lucas, Francielle, Geovane, Josiane, and Maria Joana ran 2.5 km while Edit, Natalia, and Agi ran in the 8km. All finished well and Francielle and Lucas received trophies for 2nd and 3rd place respectively in their age groups. (Pictures are posted on our flickr page.)

Geovane was with us the entire time until right at the end of the 8km race. There were hundreds of people there with all kinds of activities for kids...he seemed to be having so much fun! Obviously though, the desire to see his mom was too great. We searched the entire grounds and the surrounding areas but no Geovane. When Edit filed a report with the police, she discovered that his mother's house had been boarded up and she had been sent to prison in another city. Patricia has taken the news pretty hard since Geovane had promised her along with everyone else at CLM that he would not run away again. Please pray for Geovane's safe return, that he would feel unconditional love from his CLM family, and that all four children would experience God's peace during this time of turmoil.