Answered Prayer

Before we arrived in Brazil, I asked the Lord to use us to minister His healing touch to these broken children. I prayed that He would help me gain their trust and share His love with them. During our language training, I was often so discouraged wondering if I'd ever be able to understand and speak Portuguese well enough for this to happen. After being at CLM full-time for only 6 weeks, we have already seen a huge difference in our ability to communicate with the children and understand the staff! And little by little, I've watched, waited, and prayed for the children to feel God's unconditional love flowing through us so they can trust us with their painful pasts. I praise Him for answering this prayer with Maria and Lucilene last night! They were standing alone outside just before dark when I went to give them a hug and ask about their day. Maria had visited with some of her relatives and they had shared several stories with her about her childhood and her parents. She openly shared the stories with me, stopping to explain when I didn't understand. I knew that to share such difficult things without shame or embarrassment was a great first step in allowing the Holy Spirit to turn these areas into victories in her life. Then Lucilene said that she had suffered a lot too before she came to CLM. She shared about physical abuse at the hand of her mother, as well as running for help when her stepfather was going after her mom with a knife. She remembered how hungry she was the night she and her two sisters and brother ran for their life. As I listened, my eyes filled with tears and I shared with them that no child should go hungry or fear being hurt from their parents. I told them that the things they had shared broke my heart but that I knew God had plans for a wonderful future for both of them. Both of them hugged me and agreed that they too knew that God had helped them by bringing them to CLM. Please pray that their hearts would remain open to allow the Holy Spirit to heal the scars left by the emotional and physical abuse they both suffered.

A Long Goodbye

Today, we said goodbye to Josiane, Mayara, Diana, and Diego. The judge made his final decision for them to return to live with their father after living at CLM for two years. Although we are thrilled to see them return to their own family, our hearts already ache from their absence. Each one chose their closest friend to make the trip to the city with them but the entire family came out to say a long goodbye after lunch. Please pray for their adjustment to living with their father, stepmother, and extended family, as well as for the children here who are grieving another loss.

Estrela da Semana

Donei was chosen as our first "Star of the Week!" This was another aspect of our behavior modification plan to encourage the children to shine. During our first week, we had 10 children who didn't receive any negative points. Within this group, Donei had earned five positive points for completing all of his chores, having a respectful attitude, and helping others. When we told him that he had been chosen, his face just lit up! We said that we wanted to take his picture for the board and he immediately said that he knew the perfect place. He led us over to this tree next to our house to hang the sign I made. This week, we are inviting him to our house for dinner and to spend time playing some video games. Thank you for praying for this very special young man.

A Quiet Harvest

Hebrews 12:11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening--it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

It is never pleasant to be corrected but we know that God's discipline is a sign of His steadfast love for us. In the same way, as we correct, train, and even punish our children to teach them what is right, it is an expression of our love. This is a delicate matter in a family of 36, ranging in age from 4-20...especially when the family has 7 parents from three different countries! We each come to the CLM family with different life experiences and ideas of how a child should be raised and each of these factors affect our discipline strategies.

This past week, we met as a staff and then, as a family to discuss a new, consistent plan of holding each child accountable for his actions and attitude. Pray that each missionary will be strengthened and renewed and that each child will accept it as proof of our love for them.

Robson

Right before Thanksgiving, I told you about the sibling group of four that were brought to CLM late one night. Robson, the oldest, was very violent verbally and physically and in fact, wasn't pictured in the post with his brother and sisters because of one of these outbursts. He was used to being the leader in his family and didn't like having to do chores or listen to any of the adults. He tried to run away several times, each time talking other boys into coming with him. Short story, he has caused much turmoil for all of us. However, during this past week, I have begun to see a change in his actions, and more importantly, in his heart. He is smiling and laughing, enjoying playing volleyball, soccer and board games--it's like something clicked inside and he's realized that he is safe and loved here. He has responded really well to our new behavior modification plan and works so hard to earn a plus for his chart! I believe he is feeling the security of God's love for the first time in his young life and that freedom has allowed him to be a kid. What a privilege to serve such an awesome God that knows every need and invites us to play a role in His plan! Thanks so much for your prayers and support that have paved the way to impact children like Robson.

Our First CLM Wedding

Last Saturday, we experienced our first Brazilian wedding. It was beautiful...but we knew we were in trouble when all the attendants walked down the aisle and sat down! In fact, the pastor actually pulled out chairs for the bride and groom when the ceremony began! The wedding was supposed to start at 6pm but here time seems to be irrevelant. The bride walked down the aisle around 7:30pm and it was probably close to 9:00 before the pastor announced them husband and wife! Elisabete, the bride, grew up at CLM and will graduate with her social work degree this month. When she arrived at CLM at age 10, she was way behind in school and struggled for many years to catch up with the others her age. Our director, was overcome with tears of pride as she described how hard Elisabete has worked over the years to earn her high school and college diploma. Thank you for praying for her and her husband, Julio.

We were asked to be the photographers and Derek, one of the short-termers from First Friends, was the videographer. Our twins, Diana and Diego were as cute as can be as the flowergirl and ringbearer.

More Visitors from Ohio!

Aaron, Jordan, Derek, and Zach from our church in Canton arrived after Christmas and plan on staying for about 2 months. They have been a huge help with the kids and it has been a blessing to hear about what the Lord has been doing in their lives. Last week, they helped us kick off the new work schedule for the boys with a special pancake breakfast at our house. Each has been assigned a team of two boys for the morning duties and all participate in activities in the afternoon with the children. Please pray for each of these young men, that the Holy Spirit will work in a mighty way in them and through them as they seek His plan for their future.

Feliz Natal

We celebrated Christmas with close to 130 people this year, as you can imagine, much different than our normal holiday with our immediate family. This is a picture of all of us gathered in the family room before the gift exchange.


We were blessed to have Bob and Kathy Larson and their children, Haisha and Hason with us for the holidays. Kathy is our director’s sister and attends our church in Canton. They have been coming down to visit for years and were actually the ones who shared CLM with us. They brought personalized CLM t-shirts for all the kids and missionaries…and gifts for Maggie and Mocha! Their bandanas were such a hit that they were even invited to be in the group photo this year.