“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...”
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
Johan and Jeannette
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