Connected in this time of the Corona Virus

 

“I am so thankful! Finally, I feel as if someone really understands me! We had so many problems with the kids we are trying to reach. We love them and we know that we are called to work with them, but we were becoming desperate and it seemed that nothing we did had a positive effect. But now I understand where these problems come from, even better: we know what to do, to start solving them!”
 

This is just one of the students’ responses from the second online Introduction to Children at Risk. This time we had 80 students from over 30 different countries. Most of them are working in missions with YWAM or other organizations. Some of them live in countries where Christians are being persecuted for their faith. Others work with the poorest of the poor in refugee camps in Africa or the slums in India. Some work with existing projects that have been functioning well for many years, and others are pioneering new efforts.

Connectedness

It is wonderful to hear and read how the different teachings are of so much help to different people. But especially in this season of the Corona virus, how it helps people to connect in a different way. To discover that in so many different countries and different situations, people are engaged in the same kind of work, helping and reaching children in need with God's love. During the course, we see the students suddenly discover, for example, that there are other students working in their same country. Or that there are missionaries on the other side of the world with the same kinds of ministries and the same kinds of problems! It gives a very special sense of connectedness!
 

Second module

In the meantime, we are starting to get the hang of online teaching. We are now working hard to organize a follow-up course, the second module, for students who have taken the introductory course. We’re adding new topics, which go a little deeper into the lessons we’ve taught in the introductory course. At the time of this writing, 103 students from 45 different countries have already registered. It is so encouraging to see their enthusiasm!
 

Where are you? 

We are staying in our little cabin in the small town of Ermelo, which is right in the woods, one of the most beautiful spots in Holland. In fact, we are rediscovering the beauty of this tiny country all over again.
 

All our kids are doing well. In this uncertain time of Corona, it can be quite challenging, but of course this is true for all families around the world.

Pieter and Melissa cannot travel outside the USA right now, so we are meeting with them and our grandkids through Zoom.

Michele and Romeu are planning to come to Holland for a well-deserved furlough. Their kids, Igor and Eva, have not been able to go to school this whole year. They are looking forward to attending school during this furlough in Holland and spending time with some other children again.
 

Eva playing Maria

Johanneke and Jonathan are waiting to see what is going to happen in England. If schools there would close again because of a new lockdown, they might consider coming to Holland for a while, as their three daughters would be able to follow their online classes from anywhere.

Dilma and Davi are fine. Their daily activities are continuing for the time being. They are part of a higher risk group for COVID, especially Davi. So that is an extra concern.

But we also see how richly we have been blessed.

All around us and all over the world, so many people are affected by all kinds of difficult situations caused by the Corona virus--worries, pain and sadness. We pray for all who are passing through difficult times and hope that these problems will motivate them to seek God and get to know His love in an even deeper way.
 

God, the loving father

Over the last couple of weeks I´ve been contemplating the story Jesus told about a father and his two sons. Most of you will know it well. Jesus told it to the spiritual leaders of his day who were frustrated that Jesus didn´t behave properly according to their standards. He would hang out and eat with people of bad reputation. “Why would Jesus do that?”, they thought. “Won’t this destroy his own reputation?”

So Jesus told them the story of the two sons. The youngest disrespected his father in the most horrible way by asking for his inheritance and soon wasting it on trivial pursuits. What caught my attention recently was that, when the son decided to return to the father, he did it with selfish motives. He had lost everything—his money, his friends, his identity… he was a lost son. He had no food, but at his father’s place, he imagined, even if he were only employed there, he would be much better off. He had not yet realized how much pain he had caused and apparently wasn´t very sorry about it. But the father, when he saw the son coming, ran towards him and embraced him. Don´t you think the father knew that his son had come back because of his own troubles and just wanted a better life?

I do think so. How often do we behave in the same way with God? We seek him because we are in trouble and need his help, but are we really sorry about the wrong choices we’ve made? Still, God comes running towards us when we take our first steps in his direction, and even when our motivation is wrong, he is happy to meet us!

It showed me again the amazing, extravagant, love God has for us all. We pray that in this coming Christmas season many lost sons and daughters will take steps in God´s direction. They will be so surprised when God comes rushing towards them to embrace them in his arms.

May we all again this Christmas understand in a deeper way the immense love God demonstrates for us in sending His Son, the Lord Jesus, to earth to take our sins upon himself.

We wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very blessed new year!

Much love from Johan and Jeannette

 

Prayer points:

• Please pray with us for the students who live and work in very difficult situations and often experience dangerous and challenging circumstances. That God will protect them and give them new strength and wisdom daily.
• Let us pray for all those who have been seriously affected by the Corona virus—physically, psychologically or economically. And pray for protection for those not yet affected.
• For governments around the world where so many differences are seen. That there will be wisdom in communication, safety and protection in the fight against this virus.
• And that through it all, many people will, even this Christmas, take their first steps in God´s direction!

Difficulties, but also some positive results of the Corona crisis.

Johan and I pray daily for the pain that is caused by the Corona virus worldwide. For the people that became sick with Covid-19, and for their families and friends. But also for the other painful results that this pandemic brings, like the frustration when weddings cannot happen as planned, or funerals with social distancing, when people are craving for a hug and consolation. The pain of not being able to meet in bigger groups, or not being able to go to school, loss of jobs and income for basic needs. Or the loneliness of the aging population, fear gripping people who are in high-risk groups, chronic stress for an uncertain future, and so many more similar situations.

This could drive us to hopelessness, but that is exactly what we are praying against: May God give each one who identifies with any of the above situations new hope, resilience and even peace and joy—not the joy of the world, but the joy that comes from the deep knowledge that God is with us, loves us and encourages us to continue to trust Him.
 

Positive results

While we acknowledge all these disappointments and pain, we also see beautiful things happening through it all! In our own lives, despite being unable to travel, many more students are being reached and equipped for working with Children at Risk. This is happening through online teachings, of course.

Online we can reach much bigger groups of students; during the last training in June, we had 128 students participating, representing 39 countries. We rejoice especially in the fact that students from difficult access countries, where there are such huge needs, were able to participate! Going physically to so many different places would have been impossible for us.

YWAM (Youth With A Mission) is an international movement with over 20,000 full-time staff in over 160 countries. Most of our students were from YWAM, but we also had young people from churches and other organizations participating. It looks like we still have plenty of work to do. 😊

Also, the fact that our income comes through gifts from friends and family helped to keep the cost of such a course very low, as we don´t need to generate a salary. We could offer the whole seminar for US$5.00, which is the cost of registering and generating a certificate with the UofN (University of the Nations, the international university of YWAM). This low cost enabled students who work in areas with lots of needy children to participate. Many of them would not have had the time nor resources to travel to another country to do a Children at Risk School. Now they could easily participate, and they truly appreciated receiving a certificate from the UofN.

It was also incredibly positive to work together with other leaders and staff from Children at Risk Schools around the world. Together we formed a group of facilitators so each could take care of 10-12 students and give them personal attention. That worked really well and also created a deeper sense of connection among us.

And for us, it speeded up offering online training, a desire we have had for quite a while. Suddenly this lockdown motivated us to get it ready! We have been pleasantly surprised with all these positive results!

You guys rock!!!

We received a lot of positive feedback from the students after the course. The following is just one example:

“WOW-AMAZING! I have done a few courses and a lot of meetings on Zoom in this season and this is truly the best organized and prepared, I was so impressed. Good communication, through the Google Classroom and WhatsApp and emails. Very clear. Very good prepared with all the homework after the lectures regarding the topic, loved the feedback on personal homework too. I loved that we had small groups and that you guys even made time for a, a one on one (personal video call). I felt very included and personal cared for in a big course, which I think is so impressive to do when it is online and with so many participants all over the world. You guys rock!!!”
 

Once more

There were a lot of people who had wanted to do this first course in June but were too late signing up. So for September we have scheduled another Introduction for Children at Risk Seminar. If you know people who could benefit from such a course, please help us spread the word. Here is the link with information and access to the application form: https://www.childrenatriskschools.com/online-seminar 

Then for the students who have completed either of these Introduction courses, we plan to offer a second module in November this year. 

Our children and grandchildren

We were so happy to have been able to visit our children and grandchildren who live in England and the United States in February this year, just before the Corona lockdown. We see this as a special present from the Lord. We had originally planned to gather the whole family this year for Christmas, as we haven’t all been able to be together since 2011, but that will not be possible now.

For Romeu and Michele and their children, it is still very uncertain whether they can come to Holland from Brazil on furlough. They had already bought their one-way tickets. But in these strange times, nothing is certain.
 

We see Dilma and Davi regularly, and during the summer holidays they were able to stay with us for two weeks in our cabin in Ermelo in Holland, where we have been living since December last year. Especially Davi, with all his health issues, belongs to a high-risk group, so it is a blessing to be close to them, as they both live in the neighboring town of Putten, less than 4 miles away.
 

We are so thankful for all those who have continued to support us. Especially in these uncertain times where everything can change from one day to the next because of the Corona virus, quarantine, and social distancing. We pray God’s blessings over all of you, and his protection physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Lots of love from Johan and Jeannette
 

Prayer points:

• Let us continue to pray for all those who are directly or indirectly affected by the Corona virus.
• Give thanks for the courses we can give online.
• Pray that many people who work with vulnerable children in difficult places will find a way to participate in these online training sessions, so many more children and families will be reached with the love of the Lord Jesus.
• Please pray for us and our children and grandchildren. We miss each other a lot, especially in these trying times.
• We also request special prayer for the health of our son Davi. So far it has been going well, but with all his medical challenges, he is part of a high-risk group.

An online community for workers with children at risk

Mission accomplished! Last week we completed the online seminar (or as it is often called: Webinar).

 

We have set up a professional :) studio in our small cabin!

 

And this is how the students could see us ...

It was so amazing! Within a few days we had 128 students registered from all around the world. We were a bit shocked to see how fast applications were coming in. Fortunately, a young woman from Brazil, Michelle, helped us organize and lead the seminar, and we had the help of eight more facilitators. This way, all students could be divided into groups of 10-12, each with their own facilitator, with whom they could discuss the lessons afterwards and who could also accompany them personally with Whats App messages and video calls. 

Correcting 2816 assignments

We had been very enthusiastic and had posted for each class different articles, videos, and special assignments as homework on our Google Classroom. We just had not quite realized that 22 assignments done by 128 students equals 2.816 assignments to be reviewed by us 😊. Well, never too old to learn!
 

5 dollars

It was a real treat to have students and facilitators from 38 different countries. There was a group from Ethiopia, from a YWAM base, who thanked us especially that the cost of the entire seminar, covering all the material and with an official certificate from the University of the Nations, was only US$ 5,- per person. Yes, because the costs were so low, it was accessible for people from lots of different countries.

Kuya and Ate

A very enthusiastic group from Philippines also participated, where a large group of young people were quarantined together. Every class they started waiving excitedly to us, shouting:” Hello Kuya (uncle) Johan and Ate (Auntie) Jeannette!”

International

There were also groups from different countries such as Uganda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Barbados, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Romania, Iraq, Albania, Madagascar, and a lot of other places. What a privilege to be able to teach people from all over the world in this way!

This online course was also the first time for our staff/ facilitators, who each had all already led or participated in Children at Risk Schools at YWAM bases and campuses. It was so much fun doing this online together, with facilitators from Brazil, South Africa, the Netherlands, Senegal, and India. We celebrate these new opportunities!

Once more??!!

In the meantime, e-mails poured in from young people who had also wanted to do this Webinar but were too late to register. Could we please repeat the seminar? After prayerfully considering this, we have decided to repeat the webinar the end of September.

Second module

But also, the students of the course asked, "Would you please continue to teach us?" So now there will also be a second module with other lessons, for the students who have already followed the first. Plans are to give this in November this year.

Portuguese version

Meanwhile a Portuguese webinar has also been organized and will start next week with more than 170 students, hosted by Michelle, along with 4 other Children at Risk School leaders in Brazil. Johan and I plan to give a class on this webinar as well.
 

This was the add for the Portuguese version. 

Online community

It is special that we can suddenly have so many different students from all over the world. We are grateful to God for all these great new opportunities. In this way an “online community” is being formed with people who work, or plan to work, with vulnerable children, where we can get to know and inspire each other mutually. How cool is that?

Many thanks to all who have supported us through prayer, messages, emails, and finances! We wish each one God´s blessings and deeper revelation of His presence in this challenging Corona time!

Lots of love and blessings!

Questions, challenges, and opportunities during this Corona time.

How are you doing in this Corona storm that sweeps through the whole world? We have all heard and read various stories about this Corona virus, and the fear and pain that it is causing. The loss and grieving, family and friends that didn´t survive the contamination, the sorrow of not being able to connect with people in a normal way, jobs that are lost, or plans that needed to be canceled.

Insecurity

These things can cause a lot of insecurity. How do we plan for the next weeks, months, years? We are not sure. At the moment we are in the middle of the crisis, which feels like a storm with raging waves. 

  

Heavy storm 

Years ago, when we lived on the hospital ship Anastasis, we passed through some very rough seas. Once we were in a very heavy storm that lasted for days, with huge waves that pounded the ship and crashed over the bow. The creaking and groaning noises the ship produced under the heavy seas were very scary, and at times, I feared we would sink. Our two small children were rolling back and forth in their cribs but sleeping soundly. We actually had to stretch our arms to keep from rolling out of our beds…

God with us

Even so, we were able to sleep peacefully in the knowledge that Jesus was with us. We weren´t sure if we would safely reach our destination—the piercing sounds the ship made seemed to promise the contrary—but we knew that He was with us right through the storm. This is also true now in the Corona storm: He is not far away, waiting for us somewhere safely on the shore—no, He is here with us, in the boat, in the storm…

Peace, courage, perseverance, wisdom, protection, hope and joy!

There are so many questions. So many daily changes. In the meantime, we are not able to travel and lecture to groups of students in different countries. Teaching them in practical ways during outreaches to vulnerable children is not possible at the moment. But Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) said yesterday during a Zoom meeting: “Those travels are not canceled but only postponed…”

So that is the way we are processing it right now. For each one of you there will be bigger and smaller changes. We pray that in these challenging times you will be able to experience the peace, courage, perseverance, wisdom, protection, hope and joy of the Lord Jesus!
 

What are we doing now?

Since we couldn´t go lead the planned Children at Risk School in the Philippines, we had extra time on our hands. What to do? We were able to take a two-week online course to learn how to give online courses. The course was very inspiring and lots of fun as well.

We joined a group of more than 90 Brazilians on Zoom, using Google Classroom and a WhatsApp group. One of the things that stood out was the importance of maintaining personal contact with your students when you offer an online course through the University of the Nations (YWAM’s University). It is not enough to put a bunch of videos online. It’s also important to coach and help your students in a personal way as much as possible.

Challenge

The next challenge will be to develop a good online seminar that teaches students how to work with children at risk. Instead of traveling by plane, we´ll travel through cyberspace using our laptops in our living room. 😊 We’ll continue to give some of the key teachings we normally give during the courses. Our dream is to reach even more students than before and prepare them to work with vulnerable children, families, and communities.

Food packets

We are trying to follow the impact of the crisis as closely as possible, not just in Holland, but especially in developing countries where the effects are often very extreme. From all over the world, we are receiving reports from YWAM projects and from former students in our Children at Risk schools who work with the poorest and most vulnerable populations about how they are trying to provide food packets for the most needy families.

6800 families around the Lighthouse project need help

In Belo Horizonte many young missionaries are busy reaching out to the people in the slums. Many people lost their jobs and cannot provide daily food for their families. YWAM staff, together with local churches, are gathering donations to put in packets for the neediest families.

Prostitutes without clients

In the red-light district in Belo Horizonte, the ladies stopped being able to receive clients because of the lockdown. This created an incredible opportunity to help them, not just with food, but also with the gospel message of hope and new life in the Lord Jesus. There are now also opportunities to teach them an alternative profession.

Lord, what is it You want?

Johan and I are using this extra time to study the Bible, read books, and pray together. We struggle with the question of what the Lord desires to do in us and through us and what He wants to teach us. We are also using this time to make more calls, connect through Zoom and WhatsApp, write greeting cards, go for walks and bike rides, fix things around the house and even start a vegetable garden!
 

Teaching for a week in the CAR school in Belo Horizonte

On the YWAM base in Belo Horizonte, they were in the middle of the three- month lecture phase of their Children At Risk (CAR) school when the Corona crisis started. As it was only a small school with seven Brazilian students, they decided to go in quarantine together so they could finish the school. Last week we were able to teach them through Zoom.

Thanks to all!

We continue in good health and are following all the new rules about isolation and distancing properly. Our children and grandchildren are also doing fine. Dilma, who was struggling with her health, is totally healed now, and Davi feels great. For them it is a little more complicated, as visits and coming to our place for the weekend are not possible right now. But hopefully those restrictions will be lifted shortly.

We would like to thank all those who have continued to support us over the last couple of months with encouraging messages, prayers, flowers, bags of groceries and finances! We pray God’s richest blessing on your lives during these troubling times. Johan and I would like to pray for you also, so please send us your prayer points!

Much love, Johan and Jeannette

Prayer points

• Pray that in all the insecurity, people will search for God and find Him.
• Pray for consolation for those who have lost loved ones because of this virus.
• Pray for those who have lost jobs/income and may not have any savings, who suffer hunger, that they may find help.
• Gives thanks for teams worldwide from YWAM, churches and other organizations who together reach out with helping hands to the poorest in many countries and neighborhoods.
• Pray for prostitutes, not just in Belo Horizonte, but worldwide, that this crisis will be a defining moment to build a new life without exploitation and prostitution.
• Pray for the effective organization of classes and seminars, that many students around the world will be able to profit from this.
• Pray for a growing understanding for all of us, that Jesus is always with us.
• Pray that we all may have open eyes and ears for what God wants to teach us during this time.

Corona changes our plans!

Suddenly so many unprecedented situations: borders closing, flights canceled and most tragic: people who get sick from the corona virus! 

And while the virus changes a lot of plans, we know that ultimately our plans and our days are in God's hand! We know that God is with us, Immanuel, our loving heavenly father. We pray that in the midst of fear and uncertainty, people will turn to God and find Him.

An online school instead of going to the Philippines

Our flight to the Philippines, where we planned to give the three-month Children at Risk School, got canceled, like so many other flights.

Johan and I are working hard on a model to give the school now online as a 6 weeks seminar. A while ago, we had already made plans to record all the classes and make them available online, but now this is suddenly speeding up. Quite a challenge!

For the time being we will be staying in our cabin in the beautiful little village Ermelo in Holland, from where we will try and help our students worldwide.

Our family and the corona virus

Even in our close family circle we are having people already in quarantine, including our daughter Dilma. Please, could you pray for her in this situation?
 

Johanneke and Jonathan, who were on a mission trip in Qatar, were able to rebook their flight just in time to make it safely home. We and the remainder of our children and grandchildren are all doing well. Even Davi, although he is part of a high-risk group. Please would you pray for protection for him?

We wish you all Gods peace in these turbulent times, His blessing over your lives!

Short news march 2020

Having five children living in four different countries has definitely some challenges! We had not seen Johanneke and Jonathan, nor Pieter and Melissa and six of our grandchildren for one and a half year! Last month we were able to visit them in Harpenden, England, and Boston, USA. That was such a blessing!

Floorball, inline hockey, ice hockey, it is all fun!

Johanneke and Jonathan have three beautiful daughters.

A fun day in London The week together went so fast!

Then we travelled to Boston, to visit Pieter and Melissa and their kids.

As you can see it the pictures, it was pretty cold. We felt so blessed to be able to spend some time with them. To do fun things together. But here as well the time went way too fast!

Corona Virus

Because of the Corona virus, our flights to Hong Kong and Macau, where we were going to give a seminar, were canceled. Please pray for our friends in Macau, it is a difficult situation, they have to stay inside for weeks, with 70 kids! Luckily for us, both airlines returned the money for the tickets.

We rebooked our flight to the Philippines

We had then booked a new ticket for April 1st, directly to the Philippines to lead the Children at Risk School there for 3 months. But we just heard that Manila is now also in lockdown due to the Corona virus… so we have to cancel this trip too. We are going to see if we can give the lessons online to the students, in an adjusted schedule.

Please pray for us 

• Pray for the families and ministries affected by the Corona virus.
• Pray that the virus may stop to spread.
• Pray that the people in their fear for the virus, may turn to God and find Him.
• Pray for protection against the Corona virus for Johanneke and Jonathan, who are traveling for the next weeks to three different countries.
• Pray for wisdom for us, in our plans for the CAR School in the Philippines.

Thank you for your support, your encouragements and your prayers! May God our Father protect and bless you!

Traveling together

With Dilma and Davi

Shivering greetings from us in a biting cold and very wet climate! It was a sudden change from the hot summer in Brazil to the freezing winter in Holland. But we are already adapting quite well and love being here again for a couple of months. 😊

Our last week in Brazil

The last week in Brazil we participated, together with Dilma, Michele, Romeu and our grandchildren Igor and Eva, in YWAM’s national staff conference. It was a family celebration with more than 350 people in a wonderful setting with great worship and fascinating speakers. It is so good to recharge our batteries like this every now and then.
 

Igor did a beautiful drawing for us, where he puts us travelling on the wing of an airplane 😊! 

The translation is: Love is...teaching around the world, how to reach children at risk.

Where are our suitcases?

Right after the conference we went straight to Holland. But what a shock when on arrival in Amsterdam, four days before Christmas, there was no trace of our three suitcases. One of them contained our photo albums that contained 35 years of our memories and history in Brazil. So, we had a few tense days, but happily they were delivered to us one day before Christmas.

Christmas, children and grandchildren

Dilma and Davi live in a therapeutic community in a neighboring town. During their Christmas vacation they came to stay with us. It was a really relaxing time with long walks in the woods, delicious food and movies at night. But of course, during those holidays, we miss our other children and grandchildren.

The last time we were all able to be together was 2011. But we all plan to meet in one place again next Christmas at the YWAM base in England where Johanneke and Jonathan live with their three daughters. It will be a logistical challenge for Pieter and Melissa and their three children to come from the US, and Michele and Romeu with two kids from Brazil. But we still have some time to plan and save money 😊.
 

Back to where it all started

In January we stayed for a week at the YWAM base of Heidebeek in the north of Holland, to teach in the Children at Risk (CAR) school. We did our DTS (Discipleship Training School) on this same base forty years ago! It is always a pleasure to see how this place is still attracting young people to be challenged and trained to put their lives and future in the hands of God.

 

It is wonderful to see how a young Dutch lady called Joke, with whom we led the first CAR school at Heidebeek in 2018, continues to lead the school with great enthusiasm. With staff and students from Indonesia, India, Uganda, the US and Holland, it is quite an international school. After the lecture phase they plan to go on outreach to South Africa.

Dare to ask

In Cape Town in South Africa, the CAR school has been functioning for several years under the leadership of Toby and Aukje Brouwer, a wonderful Dutch couple that has been working with Children at Risk for almost 30 years. Aukje has written a book, “Dare to Ask”, where she tells how God took them from a small village in the north of Holland to an adventure in missions in Africa. The book deals with some honest questions of life and is highly recommended.

Australia

We also received some positive news from the CAR school in the city of Perth in Australia. It is great to see how well the school is doing in various places around the world, as well as in several cities in Brazil—all with the goal to train people who have a desire to reach out to children, families and communities at risk.
 

Students during the Children at Risk seminar

A school for fundamental education in India

“Do you still have contact with your ex-students?”, people ask us sometimes. Yes, we have students working in many countries around the world, and it is always encouraging to receive news from them.

Last week we received a newsletter from Peter who did his CAR school some years ago in Brazil. Afterwards he went to India to offer education to children from very poor families in order to prepare them for better job opportunities in the future. He built a school there, trains the teachers and has had great results. We are thankful for good reports like that from around the world.
 

March to June

Currently we are preparing ourselves for a trip from the 20th of March till the end of June. We are planning a seminar in Macau, and from there we go straight to Cebu in the Philippines to lead the first Children at Risk (CAR) school there. We have great expectations!
 

Disasters in Belo Horizonte

Over the last couple of days, we have received disturbing news about the city of Belo Horizonte, our home city for over 35 years. They have had two downpours of over 170 millimeters (6.7 inches) in just a few hours. This has caused landslides and terrible flooding in several places in the city and the state. 53 people have died already.
 

The second time that it rained over 170 mm, which is equivalent to 170 liters per square meter (45 gallons per 10 square feet), the water had nowhere to go because of the previous flooding and saturation of the soil. This caused severe flooding and destruction in the downtown area of Belo Horizonte. Whole streets and avenues were destroyed as asphalt broke up and landed in big piles—it looked like a war zone or the landscape after an earthquake. The mayor even cried during an interview with the press. And lots more rain is still expected for the next few weeks (until rainy season ends).
 

YWAM buildings received relatively little damage, compared to what happened in the rest of the city and some of the slums around town. All the staff is safe including Michele and Romeu and their children. Now they are trying to help people who lost their homes with mattresses and basic necessities and help others whose homes are full of mud because of the flooding.

Could you please pray for this situation? For the people who lost their loved ones? For those who lost houses and possessions? For the people still in areas that are at risk of flooding and landslides? And that the rains will subside?
 

Traveling together

We would like to thank all of you who have been with us in our travels through prayer, encouragement and giving. We recognize how blessed we are to be able to do this kind of work.

We wish you all the richest blessings of our heavenly Father!

Prayer points

• Gives thanks to the Lord for our suitcases and photo albums that were returned to us. And for the wonderful time we had with Dilma and Davi over the Christmas holidays.
• Thank God for the various CAR schools around the world that are functioning well and for all the students that are being trained.
• Please pray for our trip to Macau, via Hong Kong, as we are hearing more and more about problems with traveling, due to the Coronavirus.
• Please pray for the students from our upcoming seminars and schools.
• Thank the Lord for his protection over our children and the YWAM base in Belo Horizonte.
• Please pray for the people who are still at risk from the rains in Belo Horizonte and surroundings.