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| With Dilma and Davi |
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.
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.
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
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.
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| 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.
