When Mario and I got back from Haiti, we had many surprises, including the fact that 8 of our staff were deciding to leave the base...some going off to study, some back to their home churches, and a couple who didn´t want to continue in missions! It was not easy, especially comming back from such an amazing time in Haiti serving the Lord. I can´t say we were surprised, because it seems to be like that every year...not many remain in missions, but it is always disppointing to see people we´ve invested in deciding to leave so suddenly. We keep wondering if we are doing something wrong...and just praying for the Lord to renew our strenght. We continue to trust in the Lord´s plan and in His sovereign reign over this base.
Despite the disapointments, in the last couple of weeks my heart has been strangly warmed in another way... Our boy Jonas had disapeared for weeks, really ever since he ran away from the Rescue house, he distanced himself...I tried to get him to go to school (for a week a picked him up and brought him home every day, but in the end he just quit and refused to go), he didn´t seemed to care at all about us or about anything anymore, he just wanted to be independent...I felt like those mom´s who realize their son is now a teenager and is embarassed to be seen with her, or just thinks they are not so cool anymore....I confess this whole thing with these ``troubled`` kids has not been easy, and I was beginning to kind of let go on Jonas...and just let him be, thinking maybe I had done all that I could. But it´s been the strangest thing since we´ve been back from Haiti....It´s like God wanted to honor us in a continous, super encouraging way and he brought Jonas back to us! He came back the day we returned and now he just keeps comming back every day! It´s awesome!...He talks and laughs with us and can´t seem to get enough of being around! I don´t know what is going on...but I am loving it!!! All I know is that my heart has been warm like the batch of cookies I made to celebrate the joyous phase that has begun!!! Jonas never had cookies before, and I loved his reaction when he first tried one...he said these are ``Bom demais!`` (way too good!)...so I try to keep the jar full!!!
This year Jonas will turn 14!
He´s a really good goaly and has been training at this soccer school for youth. He goes a few times a week on his bike...it´s about a 40 minute peddle and he´s been going on his own iniciative!
He doesn´t even seem to mind me taking pictures of him anymore! Doesn´t that smile just make you happy?!
The mercies of the Lord are new every morning...indeed!!! Please continue to lift Jonas up in your prayers. Yesterday I had a great ``mother-son`` talk with him about his future...he told me he can´t wait until he turns 18 so he can do DTS (Discipleship Training School) and build his house on the base! That really made me happy and got me thinking about bringing him back to live with us...in our new house with us.....but It´s not simple like that...we are praying that the Lord would show us HIS will and the right way. If we decide to bring him back, this time it will be permanently...so we don´t want to do anything out of emotion. Please help us pray about it!
While Jonas seems to be blooming, Talita is doing just the opposite...the night I took this picture, Talita showed up after dark (maybe looking for Jonas, I don´t know, cause they don´t really get along), dirty, her hair oily and uncombed and very hungry...
She is smoking daily now...and I believe she is also using weed (marijuana), my fear is that she begins using crack-cocaine...the drug of choice and easiets to get a hold of around here....it is destroying way to many people around here and younger every time.
She is also prostituting herself already and I am urgently trying to find a home for girls that can help her and that knows how to deal with her emotions...the problem is that Goiania doen´t have many girl homes...the ones I know are government run, and she refusses to go to any of those because she sais that is where her problems began...they beat me there she sais.Talita is not the only one, there dozens
like her in our neighborhood.
In order to bring Jonas to live with us we feel that we need to first make sure Talita is going to be ok...because we live in a community (5 of our staff are recovered drug users), we can´t bring Talita to live here in the state she is in...so we are researching for a Christian home where she can live and be disclipled. Please pray for these precious children!
It was great to see Jonas again last weekend - he is getting so big! Hopefully you got the other pics in your email today.
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