What do these nine cities in South America have in common?

Last week there was a great tragedy as a dam broke, spilling toxic waste from an iron mine, close to the location that our daughter Michele and son-in-law Romeu use for Lamalma Children’s Camps (discipleship and adventure camps for underprivileged children), some 25 miles from Belo Horizonte.
 

When the dam broke during lunch hour it poured a big brown mud stream over the dining facility where hundreds of employees of the mine were eating and continued in the direction of a neighboring town called Brumadinho. In some places the mudslide was as thick as 15 meters. It carried away cars, busses, a few houses and a hotel. There are already dozens of people confirmed dead, with hundreds still missing who have less chance to survive as time passes.
 

Bringing consolation

A team from the YWAM base in Belo Horizonte is traveling daily to the city of Brumadinho, where almost every inhabitant has lost a friend or family member. The team is helping local churches with burial of the bodies. At the center where families wait to hear news of those who are missing, the team members listen to their stories, try to bring consolation, pray with people if appropriate and simply help by being there for people. 

 

In the midst of this terrible tragedy, they try to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And they intercede for the hundreds of policemen and fire fighters who continue to search for the ones who have disappeared.

Not the first time

Three years ago, a similar dam broke in another city in our state and 19 people died. In addition, innumerous fish died in the river where 50 million tons of toxic waste were spilled. It is considered one of the biggest ecological disasters ever. There are another 200 of these dams considered not secure and at risk to collapse. This creates a lot of fear and insecurity. 

 

Most of these mines are exploited by one of the biggest iron ore producers in the world called “Vale”. Brazil is such a beautiful country with so many natural resources, but it faces gigantic problems like this. Please pray for the families that have suffered these losses, and also for just decisions to be made that will guarantee the safety of the dams.

2019 Plans for teachings and seminars to equip workers with children at risk
We have been back in Belo Horizonte since September 2018, and during 2019, we plan to teach in at least 9 cities around Brazil and in Peru. 

 

With the staff of the YWAM base in Belo Horizonte

The Children at Risk School that we started in 1989 here in Belo Horizonte with the goal to equip our own staff to work with at-risk children, has multiplied to several other cities. The school is also an accredited course with YWAM’s University of the Nations.

It is a modular school of three months, and many YWAM bases would like to have this school on their campus. Of course, it is our pleasure to help with this 😊. So this is the plan for 2019:

Fortaleza – Johan will teach a seminar there in April. The Fortaleza base is also planning to do a complete Children at Risk School later this year.

Recife – For more than 20 years, the school has run in Recife regularly, and we plan to teach there the end of April.

Sao Luis – There is not a full school there yet, but we are going to give the first Children at Risk seminar in May.  

 

In a refugee camp in Boa Vista

Boa Vista – This city is close to the border of Venezuela and has 13 shelters/ camps for refugees. In May and June, we´ll be there for 5 weeks to teach an evening seminar for workers from organizations and churches that are already reaching out to the refugees. During the day we´re planning to reach out to the refugees themselves in these shelters, teaching them skills, doing Bible study and kids’ clubs, as well as helping them deal with trauma.
 

Manaus – In this city, the base has been working with vulnerable children for a long time. Over the last two years, a number of their staff did the Children at Risk school in Belo Horizonte. They would like to start the school there soon, and we plan to go teach there in June.

Rio de Janeiro – In 2016 we gave the school there for the first time. As a result, teams stayed on to work in 4 different poor communities. We are planning to visit and teach there in July or August.

Belo Horizonte – The city where we live, founded the base and started the school so many years ago. The base has teams doing a wonderful job in community centers in two huge slums. The Rescue House team continues reaching out to teenagers and adults living on the streets and in juvenile prisons. We´ll teach in the Children at Risk School in August.
 

Lausanne, Switserland – Johan plans to go to the University of the Nations meeting in Switzerland in September.

Belo Horizonte – Coming back from Switzerland, there is more teaching to do—this time in the Discipleship Training School (DTS).

Lima, Peru - Jordi and Ria, a Dutch couple working with YWAM in Lima, would like to start the Children at Risk school. We are planning to give a seminar there in October and hope that in 2020 they will be able to start a full school.

Curitiba – The school has already been running at this base for a good number of years, and they run a very effective community center for a poor community right next door. We are going there to teach in November. This is the ninth city in South America where we are planning to teach this year, where there are many children in need and where motivated young people are eager to be trained to reach these vulnerable and underprivileged children.

Ermelo – The village where we live when in the Netherlands. We plan to get there just before Christmas to be with some of our kids and grandkids who live in the Netherlands.
 

2020

At the beginning of 2020, we have already planned a trip to Angola for teaching and seminars, and soon after that we will go to the Philippines to start the first Children at Risk School in that nation. We’ll tell you more about those plans in future newsletters.

Downsizing

We enjoy being in Belo Horizonte between teaching trips. We just moved into a smaller downstairs apartment (in our house) that we’ve remodeled over the last few months. In the meantime, we got rid of a lot of unnecessary stuff we had accumulated over the last 35 years. Simplifying and downsizing—it just sounds like a modern trend 😊. Michele and Romeu, who lived for 5 years with their two kids in this small apartment, were ready for more space. They moved upstairs to the bigger apartment and everybody’s happy!
 

Johan has put his handyman skills to good use adapting kitchen cabinets and wardrobes, making tables and shelves. Our apartment is becoming really cozy! We like it so much and of course, are very grateful to have Michele and Romeu and their children living so close by. In our “spare” time, we are continuing to work on different forms of communication, developing a website, and preparing teachings.

We are a team

We would like to thank all who have supported us through messages, encouragement, finances and especially prayer. We are so aware we could not operate without that. When we are teaching, equipping others to reach out to more children and families with the love and grace of God, we know that we have a whole team of family, friends and supporters standing with us. We can do all of this because you have our back. Thank you so much!

Prayer points

• Please pray for our brother-in-law Sieb. He is very sick. We´ll go to Holland for three weeks this February to be with him and my sister. Our expat missionary insurance will cover our travel expenses for this. 
• Pray for the families that lost loved ones in the mudslide in Brumadinho. May the Holy Spirit bring consolation, and may they feel the arms of God carrying them. 
• Pray that right and just decisions will be made for the security of the dams, that the companies will not just go for fast money but will take human lives and environmental issues into serious consideration. Pray for the right legislation to be passed. 
• Pray for our trips to so many YWAM locations, that the lectures and seminars will serve as an encouragement to the workers and will result in many more children and families being reached. 
• Thank the Lord for our house in Belo Horizonte. 
• We are thankful for sustained health. 
• So thankful for all who support us.