Newsletter november 2011

Dear friends,
What a great conference we had about human trafficking recently here in Belo Horizonte! We had been preparing for this for almost over a year. In the middle of all the preparation I would ask myself every now and then what we had started…. The plans started when we did a brainstorming meeting about how we would celebrate our 25^th anniversary of the YWAM base in Belo Horizonte. Yes it has already been 25 years that we first started the Rescue House , and with a small team reached out to the street kids in the center of the city. Since then the base has grown to the point that now we have 8 centers that reach out to various needs in the city. Hundreds of workers and volunteers have dedicated part of their lives to minister to the children at risk. Thousands of children have been touched by the Love of God through all these different initiatives both in Belo Horizonte and in other cities in Brazil and around the world.

 25 years the leaders of YWAM Belo Horizonte

Giving thanks to God with a congress about human trafficking

But we didn’t just want a celebration. We wanted to find a way to give thanks to God for the privilege it has been to be able to do this work. But how do you thank God in a proper way? We didn’t just want to do something with words, but rather do something practical, … something that would really bring joy to God. He is our loving Father who knows all the needs around the world and He wants to share some of the pain about the sin and injustice He feels with us. We believe that God is pleased when people get involved and start reaching out to those in need and try to make the world a better and more just place to live. Over the last years we had been confronted over and over with the growing problem of human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children and teenagers. We started to dream about the possibility to see a new ministry being born through which children and teens that are being trafficked for sexual exploitation, can get an opportunity for a new life.

A part of the more than 200 young people who participated in our seminar.

A new team,

The best way to realize this was to organize a conference to cause awareness for Christians. And at the same time we were praying that various people would feel called to start a ministry against human trafficking. And it looks like it really happened! Various people came forward to form a new team.

Our seventh grandchild: Elina

During this special week of commemoration we were also blessed with our seventh grandchild, Elina, the third daughter of Johanneke and Jonathan. I was able to be there during the delivery, so special. We are so thankful to God for this beautiful family.

A very proud grandfather!

Things are taking off…

We have already seen different effects because of the congress about human trafficking. Johan was invited to a meeting with the ministry of justice with the result that one of our staff was able to participate in a national program for prevention of human trafficking. One of the most popular Christian singers, Nivea Soares, has invited us to pray during one of her shows against human trafficking and give a presentation about it. In 2 weeks’ time there is going to be a big interdenominational church conference where we have been asked to give another presentation. We don’t know where all of this will lead, but please join us in praying against human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Financial pressure

In YWAM, Youth with A Mission, the organization we work with, nobody receives a salary, but everyone is encouraged to form a personal support group. In this way we have already been living through the help of friends, family and churches. What a miracle! With our family of  five kids, we had never lacked anything. Yes, sometimes the budget was tight, but we are so thankful for God’s provision during all those years, and we would like to express our gratefulness to all who have been part of this over the years. However, lately prices of basic products have been raised quite a bit and foreign currency has devaluated a lot. Some people had to stop their support because of financial problems themselves, and others adopted other persons or projects. As a result, our budget has been very tight lately.

Every bit helps!

That’s the reason we would like to ask those who have been following our news and been praying for us to consider becoming part of our financial support team through one time gift or monthly donations. This would help us tremendously in consolidating the future of our ministry. Please see the donation details on our page "donations and contact info" . Thanks to all who are connected with us in this way.

Christmas and the year 2012

And of course we want to wish all of you a very significant Christmas season, and a new year full of God’s blessings where you will experience His joy and grace and be aware of His constant presence in all your ways.

Johan and Jeannette Lukasse

Please join with us in prayer and thanks giving.

·         Give thanks to God for the tremendous congress against human trafficking we had. And pray for those who feel called and the new team that is forming.

·         Thank Him for the opportunities that are appearing even on national levels to act against human trafficking. Pray for wisdom in the midst of these opportunities.

·         Give thanks for all the people who have supported us during the last 31 years. Pray for a good level of support for the future.

A photo journal!

A photo story about the congress and seminar we organized here in Belo Horizonte against Human Trafficking.

It started with a lunch in our house for a group of 35 people who were member of justice department, police, politicians, directors of NGO’s, etc.

Beautifully set tables....

Nice food...

Our son in law Jonathan designed a very nice T-shirt against human trafficking that Johan is showing in this picture.

He explains to everyone how important it is to join efforts against human trafficking.

Kevin Austin, one off the leaders of NotforSale, explains that in many poor countries you can buy a child for the price of a cup of coffee. So chocking!

The lunch was a great success. 

In the evening we had the congress in a big church. A TV station was there to interview us.

Luciana, the leader of the Reborn Hope House, started the evening reading part of my book, “A cry from the streets”. During this congress we also commemorated the 25 year jubilee of the base.

Mati, the hero from the first chapter of my book, came from Recife to celebrate with us.

The musicians from Kings Kids lead us in worship.

Edivando, one of the ex-street boys, now leading the Restoration house, gave his testimony..

For Dilma, our deaf daughter, everything was translated in sign language.

Johan explains why we celebrated our 25th jubilee with a congress against human trafficking.

Felipe, the leader of the Light house, was the MC.

We joined all our staff on the podium.

Jacob and Elly, our longtime friends and representatives in Holland, were our special honored guests.

It was a very special time.

The kids from the different ministries did a dance.

We received flowers and many big hugs.

Afterwards my book was at sale.

After three evenings of Congress in the church, we started three days of seminar, an intensive training for 200 people at the YWAM base in Contagem.

Tijs, the leader of our FCD, started with a clear presentation.

Everyone received a nice hand out in English or Portuguese.

I did a presentation about our YWAM base in Belo Horizonte.

“Uncle Pedro”, leader of the impact ministries, told a powerful story about the outreach in the red light district.

Prayer and worship.

It was a very intense time, but very worthwhile. Shortly we hope to see a new team start, specifically against human trafficking, with influence not just in our city but all through Brazil. This will be very important, knowing that the World cup will come to Brazil in 2014, with games in 12 cities. Please pray with us.