Wednesday, May 29, 2013

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