First to our kids in England
We traveled via England, where we visited Johanneke and Jonathan (our middle daughter and son-in-law), and their daughters for more than a week, and so got a taste of their life at the Youth with a Mission base in Harpenden. We are so proud of them and their beautiful, sweet girls!
After another wonderful day staying with good friends whom we have known since 1975, we flew on to Brazil—the country where we lived for 35 years! And how wonderful it is to be back!
Outdoor Adventure Kids Camp
Last weekend we went with Michele and Romeu (our youngest daughter and son-in-law) to a children's camp operated by their organization Lamalma.
This time 11 boys were allowed to come. They had been prepared for this camp weeks ago through the work of Luzeiro (a community center run by YWAM Belo Horizonte, Brazil). These children live in one of the largest favelas (slums) of Belo Horizonte, banned from school for the last two years because of Covid. Some are nine years old and can't read yet; they run and play late at night in the narrow alleys of the favela because there is no one at home to watch them, in grave danger of being “adopted” by one of the local gangs. The missionaries of the Luzeiro Community Center are doing their best to prevent this, and the Lamalma Camp is a great support in that regard.
Jurassic Park Scenes
The camp is only an hour outside of Belo Horizonte, but on a mountain range so beautiful that I always compare it with Jurassic Park: tropical dense rainforest, impressive toucans and bright green, loudly screaming parrots flying overhead, roaring waterfalls, sparkling streams, breathtaking views of valleys and ridges. In the camp, there is a natural swimming pool, a football field, and an individual tent for each child with a mattress, sleeping bag, head lamp and children's Bible to use during the camp. There are a playroom, age-appropriate books, hammocks, and delicious meals and snacks Michele provides throughout the camp. The children are really pampered for a weekend, and it is wonderful to see their big, surprised eyes.
Memories for life
The purpose behind all this is to show them, in addition to telling them during Bible studies, in the evening by the campfire and in the morning around the big table, that God loves them so dearly, has them in mind, sees and knows them, is and will be with them, in all circumstances. Michele and Romeu pray that these weekends will be so special for the children that they will remember this message for the rest of their lives.
Snakes and spiders
There are 15 such camps planned for this year, and Michele and Romeu are quite busy with all the preparations: planning, communicating, buying all the food, etc. Johan went with Romeu a day before the camp to clear the trail to the waterfall again, so that it would be a little less likely to step on a dangerous snake or large spider… It's not a very long trail, but working together, it took them more than 10 hours to clear it. Having a camp in this beautiful tropical rainforest requires a lot of maintenance!
After the camp
And then there is the follow-up work after a camp, where they visit the groups of children, to encourage them and give them personal photos taken during the camp, so that they have a physical memory.
They are doing a great job, and what a great connection they have with the children. What a privilege to see our children, and our grandchildren who also help, doing so well in their ministry!
Another online course
In March, we were able to give another online Children at Risk course to a large group of mainly young missionaries with YWAM. It was a very international group representing more than 20 different countries. It is so nice to be able to pass on the basic principles of working with children at risk in this manner.
Gold in our hands
I wasn’t really looking forward to it—giving Zoom lessons for a couple of weeks, sitting inside looking at a screen again, after 2 years of Covid quarantine... Like most people, I was tired of being limited to a laptop screen.
But when I prayed about it, I felt God was saying we had gold in our hands: lessons and principles we had learned in our 35 years of ministry, that we could now pass on to young missionaries who are just starting their careers. And it became one of the best online seminars yet!
We had a great team of facilitators and had great times with the students online after classes, discussing the teachings, answering questions, and praying for each other. What an encouragement!
Trauma booklet for children in Ukrainian
We had students and staff for the online course from Eastern European countries and Ukraine. The trauma processing booklet, which we have used a lot with refugee children in Iraq and other countries, has been translated into Ukrainian. We are planning, along with some of our students, to offer online training on how to use this booklet or maybe offer in-person training in Bulgaria, Poland and perhaps in other countries too. (The trauma processing booklet can be downloaded for free here!)
Meetings and encouragements
But before we fly back to Europe, we hope to be in Brazil for another two weeks. We are still part of the Brazil Youth with a Mission national leadership group. Next week we will have a weeklong meeting with more than 70 of those leaders, most of whom we have known for many years, and we are very much looking forward to seeing each of them in person.
During the last week of our time in Brazil, we hope to visit some of the projects of the YWAM base here in Belo Horizonte, meet old and new missionaries, give Bible studies, and encourage each other.
Thank you!
We want to thank you all for your support, in finances and in prayer. And for those who are going on holiday in the coming months, we wish you very happy days, and a safe journey!
Prayer Points
Jurassic Park Scenes
The camp is only an hour outside of Belo Horizonte, but on a mountain range so beautiful that I always compare it with Jurassic Park: tropical dense rainforest, impressive toucans and bright green, loudly screaming parrots flying overhead, roaring waterfalls, sparkling streams, breathtaking views of valleys and ridges. In the camp, there is a natural swimming pool, a football field, and an individual tent for each child with a mattress, sleeping bag, head lamp and children's Bible to use during the camp. There are a playroom, age-appropriate books, hammocks, and delicious meals and snacks Michele provides throughout the camp. The children are really pampered for a weekend, and it is wonderful to see their big, surprised eyes.
Memories for life
The purpose behind all this is to show them, in addition to telling them during Bible studies, in the evening by the campfire and in the morning around the big table, that God loves them so dearly, has them in mind, sees and knows them, is and will be with them, in all circumstances. Michele and Romeu pray that these weekends will be so special for the children that they will remember this message for the rest of their lives.
Snakes and spiders
There are 15 such camps planned for this year, and Michele and Romeu are quite busy with all the preparations: planning, communicating, buying all the food, etc. Johan went with Romeu a day before the camp to clear the trail to the waterfall again, so that it would be a little less likely to step on a dangerous snake or large spider… It's not a very long trail, but working together, it took them more than 10 hours to clear it. Having a camp in this beautiful tropical rainforest requires a lot of maintenance!
After the camp
And then there is the follow-up work after a camp, where they visit the groups of children, to encourage them and give them personal photos taken during the camp, so that they have a physical memory.
They are doing a great job, and what a great connection they have with the children. What a privilege to see our children, and our grandchildren who also help, doing so well in their ministry!
Another online course
In March, we were able to give another online Children at Risk course to a large group of mainly young missionaries with YWAM. It was a very international group representing more than 20 different countries. It is so nice to be able to pass on the basic principles of working with children at risk in this manner.
Gold in our hands
I wasn’t really looking forward to it—giving Zoom lessons for a couple of weeks, sitting inside looking at a screen again, after 2 years of Covid quarantine... Like most people, I was tired of being limited to a laptop screen.
But when I prayed about it, I felt God was saying we had gold in our hands: lessons and principles we had learned in our 35 years of ministry, that we could now pass on to young missionaries who are just starting their careers. And it became one of the best online seminars yet!
We had a great team of facilitators and had great times with the students online after classes, discussing the teachings, answering questions, and praying for each other. What an encouragement!
Trauma booklet for children in Ukrainian
We had students and staff for the online course from Eastern European countries and Ukraine. The trauma processing booklet, which we have used a lot with refugee children in Iraq and other countries, has been translated into Ukrainian. We are planning, along with some of our students, to offer online training on how to use this booklet or maybe offer in-person training in Bulgaria, Poland and perhaps in other countries too. (The trauma processing booklet can be downloaded for free here!)
Meetings and encouragements
But before we fly back to Europe, we hope to be in Brazil for another two weeks. We are still part of the Brazil Youth with a Mission national leadership group. Next week we will have a weeklong meeting with more than 70 of those leaders, most of whom we have known for many years, and we are very much looking forward to seeing each of them in person.
During the last week of our time in Brazil, we hope to visit some of the projects of the YWAM base here in Belo Horizonte, meet old and new missionaries, give Bible studies, and encourage each other.
Thank you!
We want to thank you all for your support, in finances and in prayer. And for those who are going on holiday in the coming months, we wish you very happy days, and a safe journey!
Prayer Points
- Pray for the children in the favelas who, due to Covid, could not go to school for almost 2 years and did not have an online option. They are now very far behind in their education and face the temptation to not go back to school but instead get involved in gang life and the drug scene.
- Pray that the Lamalma Camps will leave a lifelong deep impression of God's love and faithfulness with the children.
- Give thanks to the Lord for the privilege of seeing and holding our children and grandchildren again in our arms.
- Pray for the hundreds of students we have trained through the online Children at Risk courses in the past 2 years, that the principles they have learned will be applied in their work.
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