It's Finished!

With the help of the First Friends' team, the lines were painted on the court this past week and the backboards and soccer goals were painted and secured. It was awesome to see everyone from toddlers to teenagers on the court, playing basketball, handball, soccer and rollerblading this past Sunday afternoon. The First Friends' team bought chips and pop to celebrate and it was hard to get the kids to take a break to eat their snack! We are blessed beyond measure by everyone who has given money or physically helped to make this possible. Thank you!

Kathy Larson Memorial Library

Yesterday was exactly one year since Kathy went to be with the Lord and it was a wonderful time to share about the Memorial Library that will be started in her honor by those who loved her at First Friends. We had a beautiful time of sharing about the impact that Kathy had on each of us, followed by a time of prayer, praising God for her life and His divine providence. The team has also received money to build a playground here at Entre Rios, as well as another in Turvo in her memory. These are just a few of the books that were purchased this week. I will post more pictures when the books are shelved and the playground is finished. Thank you so much for your generosity!

First Friends Team

Chuck, Karen, Jim, Todd, Judy, Steve, Tammy, and Steph have jumped right into life at CLM! The new playground is well underway, the lines on the sports court have been painted, lots of clothes have been folded, and our kids are loving all the extra hugs and attention. Each team member brought about a 100 pounds of tools, playground and sports equipment, toys, candy, and birthday gifts for the kids--their generosity has been such a blessing. Please pray for each as they serve with us and share Jesus' love with each of our children.

Lots of "Firsts!"

We invited Elielton and Altair to make the trip to Curitiba with us to pick up our first First Friends team. As you can see from the pictures, we made lots of special memories! We stopped at a small restaurant on the way where they had ostriches, miniature ponies and cows, and a variety of other animals. The boys had never stayed at a hotel, ridden in an elevator, swam in a swimming pool, gone to a shopping mall, used an escalator, eaten at McDonalds, or seen an airplane take off...I wish we had brought our video camera to capture all the "firsts" they experienced! We praise God for His protection during our trip and for allowing us to have such a wonderful time with these two precious boys.

Giving God the Glory!

A couple of months ago, we had asked for prayer about our upcoming visa process. We had been told what we needed to renew our temporary to a permanent...had everything in hand ready to go...and then had the notary tell us that he needed our entire passport translated! AAAH! There are no official translators in our area and with a March 25th deadline looming, we were pretty stressed to say the least. We lifted this concern to God during our team prayer meetings each day last week...and today, were told the translation and other notarizations weren't necessary! Within 45 minutes, we were in and out of the police station with the necessary documents. God is SO good! Why do we allow the worries and stresses of this life to bog us down?!

Never Give Up

Tonight's devotion topic was "a man of God never gives up." After sharing about an experience from his high school football days, Mike encouraged the boys that if you have faith, giving up is not an option. We used an old youth group activity to drive the point home and the boys loved it. I dropped a raw egg into a long piece of plastic tubing and asked for two volunteers...the object of the game was to blow into the tube and cause the person on the other end to swallow the egg. Needless to say, the one who gave up was easily identified! Please pray that our boys learn the character traits of faithfulness and perseverance.

Welcome, Marcelo!

Marcelo arrived on Sunday morning...he is the latest addition to the CLM family! He is 10 years old and lived about 3 and a half hours away from CLM. Normally, the judge only places children who live within our state but his wife is a district attorney in the state where Marcelo used to live and he asked if we would take him. Unfortunately, for a boy his age, diagnosed with hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder, his chances of adoption are slim. We may be his last chance at anything close to a "family." Please join with us in praying for him to quickly feel the love of Jesus through us.

Men of God

Now with school underway again, we have started back with our evening devotions. This year, we are meeting with the nine older boys: Arivaldo, Elielton, Altair, Lucas, Lucao, Geovane, Willian, Romulo, and Donei. Each week, we focus on a different characteristic of a Godly man. Last week, we focused on Ephesians 4:29 and emphasized that a Godly man speaks words of life. This week, Mike spoke about God's words to Joshua before he entered the Promised Land and we encouraged them that
a Godly man has the courage to do what is right. To illustrate having courage during difficult times, they had to work through an obstacle course...which of course, we made more difficult the second and third time around by hitting them with swim noodles and turning out the lights! It was fun to see them cheering each other on until each succeeded. We have also presented the goal of going to our favorite pizzaria when each of them have memorized five scriptures...and you can believe, they are VERY excited about that! Please pray that the Holy Spirit uses each evening that we are together to draw them closer to Him.

You Don't Need to Hide Anymore

What a beautiful word from the Lord for Maria Joanna! I shared in our last update about the miracle that God did in Maria's life during the youth retreat last weekend. Seven of our teens were involved and all were touched by the Holy Spirit in some way. The change in Maria has been the most dramatic...from the glow on her face to her zeal for sharing Jesus with her friends at school, it is apparent that He has captured her heart. Today, she told me that God spoke to her through a dream and told her that she didn't need to hide anymore. This was the same word that Mike heard from the Lord for Maria several months ago...how awesome that God has revealed this to her personally! With tears in my eyes, I reiterated God's love for her as His precious, beautiful daughter and how proud He is of her. Please join with us in praying for the Holy Spirit to continue the work He has begun in her life.