What do the Amazon rain forest, Iraq and Rio de Janeiro have in common? A Children at Risk School!

Today we woke up to the sound of screaming monkeys! This is because we are currently in the Amazon rain forest where we are teaching in a Children at Risk school. We are at the YWAM base in Porto Velho, capital of the state of Rondonia in Brazil. The YWAM property is a beautiful piece of land, located on the bank of a major river called Madeira and surrounded by a jungle. Almost everyone lives in wooden houses built on high poles. Various brightly colored birds live in the trees, and every day we eat delicious exotic fruits. The monkeys however, are not as well behaved as those in our local zoo. Yesterday they used the clothesline as a public toilet. Unfortunately, many clean clothes had just been hung out to dry there….

During our stay some Indians were baptized in a small lake close by. 

The YWAM base’s main ministry focus is to help the different Indian tribes and the many small communities located along the riverbanks in the region. Now there is also the Children at Risk School to train missionaries to reach out to the many children in these communities who are often at risk because of abuse, neglect, and the lack of education. Upon finishing the school, the graduates will have more understanding and resources on how to help the children to know their heavenly Father, trust Him, obey Him, and receive His healing touch.

Lots of trips
Since we arrived back in Brazil at the end of April, we have already been teaching in several different schools working to train more YWAM staff. In the coming months we have a whole string of trips scheduled to teach in different schools, seminars, and conferences inside Brazil. Normally when I arrive at home, I put away our old well-used red travel toiletry bag, and I organize all our soaps and shampoos on the shelves in the bathroom. However, in the coming months, we´ll be on the road so much that I have not even bothered to empty it. There it hangs in the bathroom ready for the next trip, which is coming up shortly.

The “Children at Risk Seminar” in North Iraq
Let me tell you about the month of April, when we were still in Holland and Iraq. Ever since we visited the province of Kurdistan in North Iraq in February of this year, many doors opened. We went to Kurdistan to see if we could be of any help by giving training to Christian refugees, so that they would be able to help their own children and the kids in their community deal with the traumas they suffered from having to escape conflict and war. This was quite new for us, because although we had done similar things in Brazil, India, Haiti, and several countries of Africa, we had never really worked in the Middle East.

Together with a local team, we decided to go back in April and run a Children at Risk seminar for two weeks. The local team members did all the preparations through the interested local churches. Those local churches are hosting hundreds of refugee families on church premises and in unfinished buildings.

Johan teaching in Kudustan.

When Johan went back to Kurdistan in April, they had recruited a group of 22 students who enthusiastically participated in the seminar. Lectures started early each day and went until late afternoon. During these two weeks, the students also had four periods of practically applying what they had learned with a group of refugee children. This was done in a Unicef tent beside a local church, which functioned as a safe place for the children to play and learn. Some very able translators helped to translate the lectures and had beforehand prepared all the handouts and booklets in Arabic. The material looked great, and all the children received a little workbook explaining how to have hope for themselves and their country. Our students helped them to work through the workbook and to talk about some of the traumatic things they had experienced. It ended up being a very successful time.

Student working with the children from the refugees.

With games and maps of Iraq, the kids tell about the travels they made, fleeing with their families from terror.

“Please, would you come back for another seminar?”

“Can you give the same seminar in other locations, so more people can be trained?”

“Could you also teach in the evenings, so another group of people could participate?”

It was good to receive such positive feedback, but it´s also difficult to see how big the need really is.

A teenager made this drawing of what she had seen: girls being captured and taken away to become sex slaves...

“Lord have mercy”
As Johan, the local team, and myself prayed about it, we felt we should plan to go again to Kurdistan at the end of this year. Of course, such a decision needs to be continuously evaluated and lifted up in prayer in order to see if it will really be possible. Every day we read about more fighting and conflict in the region. Just last week another 100,000 people had to flee because of the war. Things can change so fast, but at the same time, there are so many opportunities. People hunger to know a God of love who can truly be a source of comfort to them.

And what better thing could you give to these refugees than the opportunity to know God better, have a personal relationship with Him, and to help them teach their children to deal with much pain and trauma? There is nothing better really!

Please, would you pray for safety and stability for the refugees, their children, the local Christians, and for us as we travel there again?

Moving to Rio de Janeiro
In the midst of all these travels, we are also busy preparing to move to Rio de Janeiro for eight months in 2016. Yes Rio, with its breathtaking nature, white sandy beaches, and coastline dotted with tropical islands. Rio truly has idyllic scenery for postcards and paintings.

However, Rio is also a city with over 800 slum communities, the so-called “favelas.” In some of the favelas, the old drug gangs have been removed and a police force is present there to keep the peace. While in other communities, the drug gangs remain in charge. In both types of favelas there are still many problems with crime. Drug related killings account for 50% of the deaths among teenagers, with boys running 12 times higher at-risk of being killed than girls.

Youth with a Mission has been working in some of these communities for over 30 years, and has seen remarkable results.

In 2016, the year of the Olympic games, when the eyes of the whole world will be directed towards Rio, we are planning together with the different YWAM bases in Rio, to offer an 8 month training program, consisting of a DTS (Discipleship Training School) and a Children at Risk (C@R) school (both in English and Portuguese).

Miracle: Free housing for 80 people in Rio de Janeiro.
The planning for this program started already two years ago, but we were struggling to find an adequate location for the training. We wanted a place close to the city center, close to the favela Borel (where YWAM runs a big successful community center), and still reasonably close to the beach! But, where could we find such a place during the Olympic year?

Last month one of the missionaries from YWAM reported a miracle: A big church offered the use of an empty building next to the church. It has a big auditorium, a kitchen, and various rooms that can serve as dorms. It is exactly what we were looking for, and only 20 minutes by metro train to the beach. All we have to pay for is the cost of water and electricity. This will help immensely to keep the costs of the program low. Isn´t this great?

The first applications are already coming in, but we need help with the promotion of this very special opportunity. We would like to see 80 to 100 students come to participate in this training program.

Do you know any young people who would love to come to Rio for 8 months and do a DTS and C@R school? We have a website with all the information and application forms: http://jlukasse.wix.com/ywam-rio-2016, but you can also tell them to contact us through our blog, facebook, or email. Please could you help us to find the right participants?

Various newsletters
For a few years now, we have written only a personal newsletter. Other missionaries at YWAM Belo Horizonte now write the base newsletter, which has news about the houses and projects. Some of you only receive our personal news, while others receive both newsletters. If you would like to change this and receive less or more news, please write me at jlukasse@gmail.com. I will make changes according to your indication.

Prayer Points
Pray for the refugees from Syria and Iraq, for protection in the new place where they now live, and that they may know God deeply and personally: His love, comfort, forgiveness and grace. We thank God for the doors opening to teach them, so that the children in the refugee camps will receive help.

Pray for protection for Christians in the Middle East, the local churches and local teams, and also for us as we make long trips. We praise and thank God for the great things He is doing in these countries.

Pray for the training program in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, that God will send us the right students. We thank God for the wonderful building we will be using during the training.

Thank you very much for your prayers for us, for your faithful financial gifts, and encouraging emails. We are grateful for the friends we have in you!

God's richest blessings to you!