Preach through your actions!

Dear friends,

“Namaste!” This time I am writing our newsletter from India, and this is the greeting we hear every day. We are here for a whole month in the huge city of Mumbai, with over 20 million people.

Preach through your actions

The first week we were speakers in the conference of “Call2Compassion and Justice.” More than 400 people, including many pastors, had come from all over India.  The conference was about the integral mission of the church, or as a young Indian woman in a beautiful green and gold sari said: “Preach the good news of God through your actions!”

20-30 clients per night

Halfway through the week, everyone in the conference had the opportunity to visit a ministry of a local mission organization. Some went to see the work in the red light district where an estimated 150,000 girls and women work. They are forced to prostitute themselves with 20 to 30 clients every night. Others from the conference went to visit the aftercare programs for girls rescued from sexual exploitation.

Deeply shocked and tremendously encouraged

It is so important to see personally the joy and the suffering mirrored in the huge brown eyes of those children and teenagers. Everybody came back deeply shocked but also tremendously encouraged by all the wonderful people who inspire so much hope working in the different projects.

Wherever we visit, everywhere are lots of children!

Teaching in the Children@Risk School in Mumbai, India

C@R School: Multiplying work among children

During the remainder of the month we are teaching in the Children at Risk (C@R) School. The students come from various parts of India and have dedicated their lives to the Lord Jesus to be used by Him to reach children in need. They plan to go back to their cities after this school. We hope and pray that the classes we are teaching will be of great value for their work and lives!

Just one of the beautiful kids in Mumbai.

Needed: Places for 58,000 people to stay!

While we are in India, the preparation for the World Cup 2014 continues. Some international organizations had told us that they would like to bring 6,400 evangelism and compassion teams of 10 to Brazil during the World Cup.

So the big question is: Do we have room for 64,000 people?

Hmm… Yes, we think so.

Of course, if you divide them up over the 12 host cities the numbers become a little more manageable. It comes down to 500 teams per city. We believe there will be 500 churches in every city that can host such a team. So we are hard at work to see this happen. Some big churches have already guaranteed 6,000 beds, so we have “just” 58,000 to go!

Meeting God in Brazil

During the last two football/soccer World Cup competitions in Germany and South Africa, there have been very disturbing reports of the growth of prostitution, human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Will this happen in Brazil as well? When Brazil is already one of the most popular countries for sex tourism?

We are asking local churches and international teams to partner together during the World Cup to evangelize and to participate in the battle against human trafficking and sexual exploitation, so that Brazil will become famous internationally, not because of the children, teenagers and women forced into prostitution, but because of the extraordinary beauty of its nature, for it’s wonderful soccer, for its loving and hospitable people, but above all for its churches and followers of Jesus, where they can meet the love, the compassion and the justice of God.

Awareness through documentaries

One of the best documentaries on human trafficking we have ever seen is the movie “Nefarious.” It was made by Exodus Cry and IHOP (International House of Prayer). One of their film crews visited us in Brazil the day before we left for India and interviewed us for a new documentary about human trafficking in Brazil.

Another film team from Operation Blessing, linked to CBN, also came to do an interview. As soon as we have their material, we will post the link so it can be used for spreading greater awareness and action.

Little clips on mobiles

Besides the production of the bigger documentaries, we have asked for the release of 2-3 minute videos for specific audiences, for example, for taxi drivers. Here in Brazil there are associations for Christian taxi drivers. We would like to offer them these short clips, which they can use on their mobile phones.  When asked for a ride to a prostitution area or night club by a tourist, the taxi driver can show the clips, making him aware of the terrible life of the girls, forced to prostitute themselves to 20-30 different men each night. We hope lots of tourists will change their minds after seeing those clips.

Highways to hell

Another clip will be created to go viral on the mobile phones of truck drivers. Alongside all major highways are many places where children and teenagers sell their bodies. We would like to stop the lie, so easily believed, that those kids chose this life themselves--a life of humiliation, exploitation, abuse, violence and disease on roads that are nicknamed “highways to hell.”

Help through an App

Girls and women who clean hotel and motel rooms are another group we need to reach with awareness. For them and the general public, we hope to provide a free app to download, through which they can provide information without endangering themselves, if they believe they are witnesses of human trafficking.

24/7 prayer

All kinds of national and international organizations are joining together to help, each in their own area of gifting and focus. One organization wants to maintain a 24/7 house of prayer in the red light district in each of the 12 host cities. In Belo Horizonte we have offered the Recanto House for this purpose.

Bibles and the Jesus film on all mobiles

Another organization offered us a fantastic new technology for downloading the Bible and the Jesus film through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on mobile phones. There is a choice of 6000 written languages, 700 languages for spoken New Testaments, and the Jesus film in over 1100 languages. What a great opportunity to be able to bless every tourist with the word of God in his or her own language!

In Brazil there are approximately 30 million evangelical Christians. Can you imagine the tremendous impact it will have if all of them know how to download the Bible on their own mobile phones, and also know how to share the Bible in various languages to the smart and feature phones of the tourists?

With God’s blessing

These are big plans. Johan and I will still have numerous meetings with YWAM coordinators and their teams in all of the twelve World Cup cities, as well as with pastors and leaders of partner organizations.  Without the blessing of God, a project like this is impossible. But we want to obey God and ask Him to increase our faith, in order that many lives will be transformed, injustice will be reported and exploiters punished. Salvation, freedom and healing will take place. With God’s help, local churches and international organizations will join together in unity for the glory of God. Please pray with us until we see the fulfillment of this dream!

Thank you so much, all of our friends who have upheld us in your prayers and supported us with your messages, emails and donations; you are such an important part of our lives. Without you it would not be possible to be the missionaries we are and to do the things we do. We want to thank you all, wish you a Christmastime focused on our Lord Jesus, and lots of blessings for the coming New Year!

Red cards and a teaching marathon

“Good afternoon sir.  May I present you with a red card?”

A little hesitant, the man with his yellow soccer jersey stops and looks at us. “Hmm… What did I do to deserve a red card?”

“Hopefully nothing…” comes the answer, “but we are alerting people about the fact that during big events like the World Cup thousands of children, teens and women are trafficked and forced to fulfill the demand for prostitution. We want to stop this…”

Johan explaining the red card

Evangelism and Red Cards

With a large group of young people, we distributed red cards to many of the fifty thousand supporters who came to see one of the soccer games during the Confederations Cup. Add to this the tens of thousands of people who went to the streets, the exact same week, for protesting against political issues.  We had an enormous crowd to reach. What had started as a protest against prices of public transportation soon became a platform for protesting against corruption, for better education, healthcare, etc.

The protests and manifestations continued in our city, Belo Horizonte, and all through Brazil for more than two weeks. Especially in the beginning, people were very open to receiving the red cards, discussing the issue, and also reading the gospel messages we handed out to them.

Praying and Evangelizing

During the Confederations Cup (which is really a test drive for the World Cup next year) the city arranged for big screens to be placed in various strategic city squares to show the games to thousands of people.  This idea did not work out.  The people didn’t come to watch, as most went to participate in the protests!

We also had planned to target one of those squares, close to a prostitution area, for evangelism and distribution of red cards, but we saw we had to change strategies. We decided to join the manifestation, while they were still peaceful, to be on the streets among the people, praying and evangelizing. The team from our DTS (Discipleship Training School) decided to spend every evening worshiping and praying in public at the central city square. Several evenings we went out with the whole base. It reminded me of many years ago, when we established the base, and would go out at night together with our staff to reach out to street kids living in those same downtown city squares.

Expecting Hundreds of Teams

Overall, we had an effective practice run for the World Cup next year. We are expecting hundreds of international and national evangelism and compassion teams to come to all of the 12 host cities of the World Cup Brazil. We look forward to showing the love of God expressed in proclamation, compassion and justice.

Korean in São Paulo and French in Switzerland

Straight after these very intense weeks, Johan and I had to travel to do a series of teachings. Johan went to teach in a Korean DTS (Discipleship Training School) in the city of São Paulo, and I went to Switzerland to teach in a combined school about Children at Risk. Part of the students came from French speaking countries in Africa, so my classes had French translation, while Johan’s teachings were translated into Korean!  We enjoy these opportunities so much. It is wonderful to be able to pass on some of the things we have learned over the years to young people from other cultures.  Especially if we can encourage them to stay close to God, trust Him with their lives and ministries, and walk in the perfect plans He has for them.

Jeannette with the leaders of the school in Switserland

Vacation in Holland with Davi and Dilma

A nice detail about my trip to Switzerland was the fact that I could pass through Holland and stay there for two weeks, exactly during the time that Davi and Dilma had their summer holidays as well. Holland experienced a rare tropical, Brazilian summer, and we had a great time together.

It was wonderful to see how much Davi’s health has improved. His kidney function was only 15-20% at the beginning of this year, but now has improved to 50%. God has really worked a miracle.  Davi was much less tired, didn’t tremble anymore, and enjoyed little pleasures again like a nice cup of coffee or a sweet desert. While at home, with my iPod playing soft worship music most of the day in the background, I heard him softly singing or humming along with the music a number of times. We are so thankful to God and for all who prayed for Davi!

Dilma and Davi

Dilma’s Cultural Adaptation

Dilma is still very much in the process of adapting to the Dutch culture. She moved to Holland in November of last year, but still needs to learn many things that are typical Dutch. Although she grew up with us, a Dutch family, living in Holland is quite different.

Both Dilma and Davi have intellectual limitations, however, Dilma is picking up Dutch sign language pretty fast. The staff of the therapeutic community where Dilma lives has really invested in teaching her to communicate in sign. A couple of days a week Dilma works on a chicken farm where the focus is on creating activities for deaf people. She also enjoys going to church and conferences where there is always translation into sign. When compared with Davi, we can see how much more he has adjusted to living in Holland. Of course Davi has already been in Holland for 5 years and Dilma not yet for one year. Please pray for her adaptation.

Second Book

I recently started to write our second book. This one will focus on the classes we give at the Children at Risk Schools. This is going to be a big project. With all the evangelism and compassion teams we expect during the World Cup and all the traveling and teaching we have lined up, it may take a while before the book is finished.  Right now the goal is to publish it by 2015.

A Teaching Marathon

During the next few months we have a very intense schedule of traveling and teaching. A true marathon! Firstly we go to Mexico City to visit a ministry that works with girls who are rescued from sexual exploitation and human trafficking. From there on we will go to a conference of the University of the Nations. The Children at Risk School, which we started 24 years ago, is also registered at this University.

Then we plan to teach at the Children at Risk School here in Belo Horizonte and in October at another Children at Risk School in Curitiba in the South of Brazil. On our 35^th wedding anniversary, the 10^th of October, we will be giving a seminar of Human Trafficking and sexual exploitation.

In November we will go on to India to speak in a Compassion & Justice Conference in Mumbai, and stay there for the rest of the month to teach in the Children at Risk school there. On the trip back we have a short stopover in Holland again to hopefully see our eighth grandchild, who is expected to be born around that time into the family of Pieter and Melissa.

We feel so blessed with all our children and grandchildren.  We thoroughly enjoy them!   We will then return to Brazil where we will participate in a national staff conference.  Just a few days before Christmas we expect to be home to celebrate the holiday season with our two daughters, son-in-laws and five grandchildren who live in Brazil, together with Dilma who will come for a month holiday to Brazil too.

Please pray for sustained health during all this travelling. Also pray for wisdom and anointing as we speak and teach.

Thanks for standing with us in missions.

We pray God’s rich blessing on all of you.

Johan and Jeannette Lukasse

Prayer points:

• ·      Please thank God with us for the great time of evangelism we had during the Confederations Cup. Pray for the preparations of the reception of hundreds of evangelism and compassion teams during the World Cup in 2014.
• ·      We thank God for the improved health of Davi. Pray for the further adaptation of Dilma in Holland.
• ·      We give thanks to God for the various Children at Risk schools in Brazil and around the world.  Pray for the students in those schools and for us as we travel and teach.

A lucky guy, a training session, and retirement or recycling?

“Mom, I was so nervous when we went to see the doctor!” our son, Davi, told me over Skype. Davi was born with severe Spine Bifida and hydrocephalus, which resulted in him being paraplegic and mentally challenged. “I thought the doctor would tell me I needed surgery, but luckily she didn’t say so...”

Davi loves to play basketball

Kidney Function Now 45%

Yes, we too were very worried when in the beginning of this year we found out that Davi’s kidneys were failing. The doctors told us that there was a big possibility that he would need to start dialysis shortly. They gave us very little hope for improvement. However, hundreds of people started praying; those close to Davi, family, church, friends, but also people from all around the world who knew about it through emails and facebook.  Through God’s miraculous intervention, as well as creative solutions by the doctors, Davi’s kidney function went from 15 - 20% to 27%, and then to 45%. Fantastic! We are so thankful.

Would God perform another miracle?

It’s strange maybe to hear this from a missionary, but I almost didn’t dare to hope... God already saw Davi through various life threatening situations before.  Would He do so again?

Since we adopted Davi at the age of three, we have spent many hours inside hospitals with him. Every time Davi needed a surgery I was able to be there in the operating room with him. He has even been on the brink of death on a number of occasions. In the beginning, doctors predicted Davi would not live past eight years old… Well, here he is at twenty-six years old.  Yes, Davi does have a number of limitations, he sees the doctor quite often, he needs medicines, but on the whole he feels well and enjoys life!

Lucky guy

“Mom, I am such a lucky guy, am I not?” Davi asks me over Skype. Wow! Tears come to my eyes. I choke up a bit before answering, “Yes, you are a very lucky guy.”  Wow! I think. What a lesson to learn, Thank you Lord!

Twenty-eight Years, Thousands of Kids

This year we are handing over the base leadership (of all the eight centers that attend various categories of Children at Risk) to Alexandre and Lorinda. We have been working towards this for a number of years now. In May we participated together in a YWAM leadership meeting for all of the Americas where we were able to ordain Alexandre is this new role. In October we will have a local ceremony and then by the first of January 2014 we will not be the base leaders anymore.

This seems strange as we have been in this role for the last twenty-eight years, ever since we started the first initiative with the kids on the streets. Since then we have seen hundreds of people come through as staff, many short term volunteers come to help, and many students complete a Discipleship Training and the Children at Risk courses. A big group of supporters provided prayer and finances, and thousands of kids were reached with the Love of Christ.

Growing

What now? No, the work here will not stop, much to the contrary.  We believe there will be a new season of growth.  Alexandre is a Brazilian with wonderful leadership qualities. He has been on the base already for eight-teen years and has lots of vision for implementing growth and multiplication. His wife Lorinda, originally from Malaysia, came here twenty years ago.  She stands with us believing God for many new things on and through the YWAM base in Belo Horizonte.

Alexandre and Lorinda

Recycling

“Are you guys going to retire now?” This is an often heard question. No, especially not if you see retirement as a phase when you stop what you’ve always done and finally start doing what you always wanted to do. We certainly have always enjoyed what we have been doing. What is better and more exciting than walking with the Lord, to obey Him, and be used by Him to help children in need? I cannot think of anything better really. No, retirement is not really a word that we use in our mission family. Rather we will start a new cycle of life in which the goal is to mentor, support and give covering, teaching and blessing to the younger generation.

New Book and Frequent Teaching

How to implement all this is still a process of discovery, but we already have lots of ideas and projects waiting. I just started writing our second book in which we plan to integrate the subjects Johan teaches in the Children at Risk school. We also expect to have more time available to go teach in other countries. This July I am going to teach in Switzerland, while at the same time, Johan will be teaching in Sao Paulo. In October we will both spend a few weeks in the South of Brazil teaching.  During the month of November we plan to be in India to speak at a big conference and then we will teach for a few weeks at the Children at Risk school in Mumbai. When the final responsibility of the base is in someone else’s hands it will be much easier for us, as we will be free to travel and teach in other parts of the world.

In front of the soccer stadium, "Mineirao", in Belo Horizonte

Soccer (Football) World Cup 2014 in Brazil

We are looking forward to all the things that God still has in store for us. Our agenda for 2014 is already very full. Johan was asked to be the national coordinator for all the evangelism and compassion teams that will come to Brazil for the World Cup. We are expecting hundreds of teams, which will be a big challenge. One of the main focuses will be an initiative against sexual exploitation and human trafficking, but how do you implement this during such a big event? Many people are offering to help and share their experiences with us based on outreaches during previous events like the London Olympics and the last two World Cups in Germany and South Africa.

40,000 Extra Girls, Forced into Prostitution

During the World Cup of 2006 in Germany it was estimated that the staggering number of 40,000 extra girls and young women were imported, trafficked and forced into prostitution.  In South Africa in 2010 estimates were as high as 60,000 extra women in prostitution. This is something we would not like to see repeated in Brazil in 2014, but how can this be avoided? One of the first steps is awareness.

Soap Operas

Here in Brazil, soap operas are very popular. People joke that it has even caused a reduction in the amount of children born each year because people are so busy watching TV, that they are dead tired by the end of the day…

Girls Saved

The last couple of months the most important soap opera airing on prime time TV was about human trafficking.  It showed how girls are lured into prostitution through nice promises about jobs in restaurants, hotels and the fashion industry.   Upon arrival in a foreign country the girls soon find themselves tricked into having a big debt, and since their documents are taken away by pimps they are forced to work as prostitutes. This soap opera has actually caused a positive effect. People became aware that girls who lived in their neighborhood may have been victims of trafficking as they compared their situations to the TV show. In some cases the police were called, and a number of girls were even rescued. That’s great, but it doesn’t mean that the problem is solved yet.

Instruction Films for Flight Attendants, Bus Drivers and Hotel Staff

Wouldn’t it be great if there were short training videos to teach flight attendants, bus drivers and hotel staff how to recognize girls being forced into prostitution? These videos could show workers in the tourist industry who to contact and how to properly respond to the situation. We still have a long way to go to make this a reality, but it is just one of the many ideas we will be working on. Please pray for us in all these plans, that we may understand God’s guidance.

Training Session

During this coming month of June, the FIFA Confederations Cup will be held for eight national teams in six of the twelve host cities for the World Cup. It will serve as a preparation for the World Cup in 2014.  It is sort of a training session for them, and thus for us also. Last week we were able to take most of our staff from the different ministries to the huge renewed soccer stadium. There was a big manifestation against sexual exploitation, and as a statement, we went with thousands of people to embrace the stadium. Great! A good start of course, but now we need to move further. Johan has been meeting regularly with pastors and leaders in our city to plan strategies for evangelism and transformation, taking advantage of these big events. Please be praying for these initiatives.

In the "Mineirao"

We would like to thank all of those who supported us over these last couple of months in prayer, through encouraging emails and finances. Words cannot express how truly blessed we have felt through all of you. Thank you so much!

We wish you all God’s richest blessings!

With love,

Johan and Jeannette

Davi`s kidney function is a lot better

In the beginning of this year we heard from two different doctors, that our adopted son Davi, who has Spina bifida, had a very bad kidney function of only 15-20%. After a series of tests and antibiotics against a bladder infection it got slightly better till 27%, but still very close to the danger zone of having to start hemodialysis.

However we believe that we can report a minor miracle. Many people have prayed. The doctors did a procedure to relax his bladder in order to increase its capacity. Latest tests show that his kidney function increased to 45%. We want to thank all who prayed and stood with us during this time. Let’s praise God together for this miracle!

Modern slavery, Lisa Kristine, Ted Talk

Furlough in Holland and worries and concerns about Davi

Dear friends,

We've just arrived back in Brazil after a wonderful furlough in Holland. We are so thankful for all those that helped make it such a blessed period.

Lots of snow in Holland!

“You guys opened my eyes,” one person said. Another wrote, “I just started a blog about human trafficking after hearing your message.” Still another person told us that the church service had been something she would never forget.

These are just a few of the many reactions we got after our presentations in a variety of churches, cell groups and seminaries for missions. It was so cool and encouraging to see so many people, young and old, seeking the will of God for their lives. We also enjoyed the hospitality of the many different places we went to.

It is always a remarkable experience to minister in cell groups which take place in people's homes. To be able to tell about our experiences in missions and the needs of victims of human trafficking, right in the living room of a home, gives us the opportunity to share on a much more personal level. We were able to speak about the many projects we are involved in, like the upcoming football/soccer 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the danger of people being trafficked for sexual exploitation during such big events.

Some groups we visited had even done some homework before our presentation by reading my book “A Cry From the Streets.”  This made for an even more intimate sharing time about our lives and we were able to answer the personal questions people had.

Our hearts are full of gratitude for all those who received us with so much kindness. We wish them God's richest blessings.

Christmas breakfast with the traditional red Jelly!

Dilma

In our last newsletter we mentioned that our adopted daughter Dilma (who in addition to her deafness also has intellectual limitations) has moved to Holland. She now lives in a home, run by a Christian organization, which does an excellent job in helping people with certain limitations. Many people have prayed for Dilma, as this is a huge step for her. Imagine... A new country, new friends, new work, new language and another sign language as well.

I believe that all these prayers have really helped. Dilma is adapting very well into the group she is living with. Three days a week she goes to a “Sign Language Farm."  Really!  It’s a chicken farm with 25,000 chickens run by deaf people who also provide occupation therapy for the deaf with extra limitations, like Dilma. Besides this she helps in a gift shop with very creative merchandise. She takes lessons in Dutch grammar, vocabulary, and sign.  Dilma goes to swimming and fitness classes and already has a good number of people in her social circle, including friends and members of our extended family.

Davi, Johan and Dilma

We are so grateful for all the people that have been helping Dilma with her adaptation process. She is picking up Dutch sign language pretty fast! A lot faster than us, but of course we can still use the Brazilian sign language to have a good conversation with her. She cried at the airport when she had to say goodbye to us, but to our comfort she has already written to tell us how she is enjoying her new friends, all while missing us a lot.

Davi, who had his birthday on the 25th of december

Davi

Davi, our 26 year old adopted son (who is paraplegic because of Spina Bifida), has been living in Holland in a home run by the same Christian organization for 6 years already.  At first Davi was a little apprehensive about his sister coming to Holland. I think he might have been afraid to lose the special attention they give him. Soon he found out that in reality it is nice to have his sister close by, although they live in different units about 2 miles distance from each other. Davi’s positive attitude is helping Dilma to adapt faster.

During our time in Holland both Davi and Dilma spent two weeks of Christmas holidays with us in the holiday cabin where we stay when we are in Holland. It was great to be in Holland for a change through the holiday season and to also spend some quality time with our oldest son, daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and of course brothers and sisters who live there as well. Our daughters in Brazil didn’t like it very much, but such is life when you have family living on two different continents.

Add caption

During the Christmas holidays however, Davi started having some strange symptoms. We were shocked when the doctor mentioned that he had kidney failure. His kidney function has diminished drastically. After some more thorough tests in the hospital of the University in Utrecht, they were able to define a kidney function of 27%. If this diminishes to 15% he will need to start hemodialysis. This was frightening thing to hear.

Davi was born with Spina Bifida. When we adopted him at 3 years of age he already had problems with bladder infections, however, this had been quite stable until now.

During the month of March Davi will be submitted to other various tests to see if they can stabilize the kidney function so he won't get to the 15% limit and have to start dialysis.

It was a bit difficult to go back to Brazil under these circumstances, but for the month of July I have been invited to teach in a school in YWAM Switzerland on the subject of Children at Risk. During that trip I plan to stay for a couple of weeks in Holland with our children on the other side of the ocean. However, if Davi's health takes a sudden turn for the worse, we might have to go to Holland sooner than that.

We have many questions and little answers just yet, but one thing we know for sure: God has our lives and the life of Davi in His hands. We trust Him. He promised to never leave us and to be with us in every situation, everywhere, always.

We would like to finish this letter with this, and pray that not just Davi or ourselves, but each one of you may have a deeper revelation of trusting in God’s presence in every situation, everywhere, always.

With much love we wish you God’s richest blessings,

Johan & Jeannette Lukasse

Prayer points:

• Thank God for the wonderful time we had in Holland and all the inspiring people we were able to meet.
• Thank God for the speedy process of adaptation of Dilma in Holland and the wonderful people around her.
• Please pray for Davi.  Please pray for his health, his emotions, for the people that guide him through this process, the people who live in the same house with him, and of course for the medical team.

Historical event during this furlough Johan with his 10 brothers and sisters!
(They had not been able to be all together for more than 30 years)

Just a little more news about Davi.

We would like to thank everyone who responded to our previous mail and has been praying for Davi. We could really see the difference after we send out the news: Suddenly he felt a lot better, both physically and emotionally!

Last Friday we were able to a specialist at the University in Utrecht. However he couldn’t tell us a lot of new things. He explained that to calculate the exact failure of the kidneys, we need to do a complete collection of urine during 24 hours in the hospital. We expect this to happen until the end of March.

We are going back to Brazil on the first of March. Davi lives in a wonderful sheltered place where people love and coach him. It is a bit difficult for us to leave under these circumstances. We will maintain close contact, by email and Skype and I Jeannette, am planning to visit again in July, when I will be passing through on my way to Switzerland where I am invited to teach for a week about Children at Risk.

If it would be necessary to go to Holland for an emergency visit, we are ready to do so.

Please continue praying for us. Thanks a lot and we wish you all God’s blessings!

Davi needs prayer

Here is just a quick post, to bring you an update about our youngest adopted son, Davi. As you may remember he is paraplegic and lives already a couple years in Holland. We are right now on furlough in Holland since the beginning of December and plan to go back to Brazil the first of March.

When both Davi and Dilma were staying with us over the Christmas holidays, we noticed some physical changes in Davi. He got tired real fast, ate slowly and very little (this is a real indicator of bad health as he normally eats lots), and on top of that he started shaking and trembling almost continuously. He did not have a fever, but it made him very tired. The doctor soon indicated that he suspected kidney failure.

Friday a week ago we went to do various tests in the hospital and the specialist confirmed kidney failure. He suspects that Davi’s kidneys only work with a 15-20% capacity, and indicated that with 10% he would need hemodialysis.  However the doctor admitted to never have seen or treated a patient with Spina Bifida (Davi was born with this) and has written a request for him to be treated by a specialist team at a university hospital.

Please pray for a speedy consultation in this new hospital. We would like to see that through before we leave again for Brazil.

Also pray for God’s miracle of healing in Davi’s life.

Pray also for his emotions and ours as well. We know that God is with us and will never leave us.

Thanks so much for your prayers.

May God bless you all richly!

Davi last month, on his 26 birthday.