Fun Day at CLM

Each year, we are blessed by a family here in the colony that chooses a special day to come and celebrate what God is doing in the lives of our children. Yesterday, they literally transformed CLM into a carnival! For about 8 hours, the kids played on a huge inflatable slide, jumped on trampolines, and took turns trying to ride a mechanical bull. The family also prepared a delicious meal of chicken, pork, and beef so it didn't take much to convince our kids to take a short break for lunch. However, as soon as we were done eating, they were all begging to go back to play some more. Throughout the afternoon, there was cotton candy, popsicles and lollipops...that kept them going full-throttle until dark when we dragged them inside for baths! Check out our flickr page for more fun pictures! We praise God for the generosity of this family, as well as His constant provision and blessing.

Ride 'em Mike!

Here's proof that a Nikon D50 has the capability of taking three pictures in less than a second!

Welcome Patrick!

We are thrilled that Patrick has arrived and will be serving with us until the end of July. He is from Ohio and is a friend of Nate who served with us last year. He is a very talented young man and has already offered to give soccer and guitar lessons...and as you can see, is hoping to give bull-riding lessons soon! :) It is obvious that he loves kids and has been eager to help out in any way he can. Please pray for God to do an amazing work in and through his life during the next three months.

Jesus Ressuscitou! Jesus Has Risen!

We had a perfect day to celebrate Easter this year at CLM...starting at 5:30am, making pancakes for around 60+ people! The kids were up and at 'em at 6am (well, most of them) and there was non-stop action from there. After our passion play and breakfast, the kids enjoyed searching for eggs, playing parachute games, and of course, enjoying their new playground and sports area! The kids loved the First Friends practice jerseys and were on the court all day, playing soccer or basketball. After lunch, each received a special Easter basket from the judge in Guarapuava...as you can imagine, no one was hungry at dinner but fortunately the sugar high kept them awake through our evening service! :) We pray that you also had a blessed Easter, celebrating the resurrection of our Savior. Blessings!

Alisson and Aline

Meet our new kids! They are just as sweet as they look in these pictures! We don't know much about them except that they have two little brothers and they had run away from the government group home. They arrived on Monday and have quickly blended into the family. Please pray that they will feel the love of Jesus in our home and that they will be quickly reunited with their siblings.

Out with the Old...In with the New!

Donei and Maria took the old playground down before the team arrived and today the First Friends team put the finishing touches on the new playground! To say the least, the kids were excited! :) A huge thank you to all who generously donated to this project in Kathy Larson's memory and to the team who has worked so hard during the past 10 days to make this happen.

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.

Luquinho

Mike and I bought this mask and snorkel for Luquinho in Curitiba...fortunately, he had a chance to use it before his eye surgery this week! Many of you have already heard about his accident--he was building a treehouse with some other boys and one of them snuck a kitchen knife out of the house and took it up the tree. Unfortunately, the knife was dropped...and Luquinho ended up with 10 stitches inside his eye! The doctor said that his sight should not be affected, as long as he does not contract an infection. Please continue to pray for Luquinho to be cooperative with the necessary treatment and precautions.

Maria Luiza

After arriving home today, we had a steady stream of kids coming over to welcome us back...but the last group brought someone that we needed to welcome! This is Maria Luisa (although we were told her name was Maria Viktoria), the latest addition to the CLM family. She is four months old and her parents are drug addicts. Please pray for this precious little one.

A Week to Seek

Mike and I just returned from a wonderful five days in Curitiba. In the First Friends tradition, we designated this week to rest, rejuvenate, and seek the Lord for His vision for 2009. Each morning, we worshipped to a Chris Tomlin CD and I felt like God spoke to me through this song.

I want to live like there’s no tomorrow
I want to dance like no one’s around
I want to sing like nobody’s listening
Before I lay my body down
I want to give like I have plenty
I want to love like I’m not afraid
I want to be the one I was meant to be
I want to be the way I was made

The song continues that we are made in His likeness, made by His hands, made to discover who He is and who we are. Our desire is that this would be a year of breakthroughs and tearing down strongholds in our children's lives...that they would truly know that they were created for a purpose, and that they would feel the freedom that comes from experiencing the true love of our Heavenly Father. Please join with us in prayer that each would "be the one they were meant to be."

Progressive Lunch

We culminated our summer programming with a progressive lunch this past Sunday. The kids were divided into three groups and rotated to four different homes to eat appetizers, salad, a main dish, and dessert. Of course, Mike and I chose to make dessert! We had chocolate chip cookies, Rice Krispie treats, and brownies...can't get any more American than that, can you?! The kids had a great time but are now expecting to do it every Sunday!

Back to School Bonfire

Last night, we celebrated our first week back to school with a bonfire...and s'mores! Marshmallows and graham crackers are not available here in Brazil, so we are always thankful when a surprise package arrives. Unfortunately, I think our kids are hooked and think that bonfires automatically mean s'mores at this point! It was a great family time with lots of pictures that I posted on our flickr page. Thank you for your prayers for each of our children as they start the new school year.

Goodbye to Samuel

You have heard a lot about Samuel in the last few posts and that is because he has worked from morning to night since he has arrived! Samuel is one of Viktoria's nephews from Hungary who had been serving in an orphanage in Mexico prior to coming to visit CLM. During the first couple weeks, he and his brother, David remodeled Viktoria's apartment, knocking down walls, drywalling, painting and building kitchen cabinets. After working all day, he still had enough time and energy to play with the kids, help with evening chores, and put the kids to bed. This past week, he jumped in to offer his expertise with concrete...working from morning to night in the hot sun, to complete the project before returning to Mexico. Words cannot express how thankful we are for his servant's heart and how much we will all miss him. Please pray for him as he finishes out his trip this week with a visit to Foz do Iguacu and to our children's home in Turvo.

The Concrete is Done!

After 5 full days of work, the fourth section of concrete was finished today and it looks great! We now know why the project was put off until now...without Samuel, David, and Carl's help, Mike would have keeled over from sheer exhaustion! It is so funny now to think back on our plan to mix the concrete by hand--it literally would have taken months to finish. We praise God for His perfect timing, good weather, safety, health, and for all of you who have so generously given to make this possible! Tomorrow, Mike will begin pouring the footers for the basketball poles...we'll be shooting hoops before you know it!

First Day of School

School started on Monday for 25 of our kids who attend the public school and today, the remaining 10 school-agers, started at Imperatriz, a private German school. Although some of our older ones were a little nervous about changing schools and leaving their friends, they trusted us when we told them that this was a great opportunity for their future. I had the privilege of taking Everton, Diogo, and Gisieli this morning for their first day. They were so excited to meet their teacher who greeted them by name with a big hug. Each jumped right in and started playing with their new classmates. We praise God for the 10 full scholarships that made this possible and ask for prayer for a great year for all.

The Concrete Work Begins!

The much anticipated day has arrived and the first section of concrete was finished this morning. God blessed us with a perfect overcast morning to slowly allow the concrete to dry as Mike, Carl, David, and Samuel were waiting on the second truckload. Now...can we keep all the kids and dogs off of it until it dries completely?!?!

Geovane

I was so blessed by this scene in the workshop the other day that I had to take a picture to share it with you! As you know, we purchased ten bikes a few months ago and the kids have kept Mike busy with repairing brakes, patching tires, and fixing chains. Unfortunately, there have been many days where there are more bikes needing fixed than are being used. Geovane has such a servant's heart and is such a hard worker...he saw the need, asked if he could help, and now he's ready to start his own bike repair shop! When I shared with him how proud I was of him for helping out the whole family, his face just glowed. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will heal the broken areas of Geovane's heart and raise him up to be a Godly man.

The Sports and Rec Area

Work on the sports and rec area has continued full-force this past week with Carl and Mike digging 21 holes for the concrete fence posts surrounding the court. Samuel, David, and a few of our boys helped them to set the posts and prepare the first section with forms for concrete. The court will be divided into four 16m x 6m sections and we're hoping the first will be poured on Saturday morning. We will be playing basketball, futsal, and handball before you know it! Please pray for good weather and continued safety for everyone involved in the project. We praise God for each of you that generously gave to make this possible.

Arnold and Gunda

Arnold and Gunda have joined the CLM team until the end of the month and we are so thankful for everything they have done in the short time since they have arrived. Arnold is a former teacher and principal and has a vision for initiating an English program that can be continued by other short-termers. He is teaching four half-hour classes, five days a week and the kids have already learned quite a bit. Gunda has been a huge help with the laundry, as well as with the many sewing repairs that are needed in a family of 30. The kids have been amazed with her work and are excited to have some of their favorite clothes back. Please pray that God will continue to bless them as they serve...and that they will be protected from our killer mosquitoes!