Some snippets of the last two weeks

A couple days ago we finally got a chance to visit Talita. In just a month she has changed so much! Not only is she a few pounds heavier and looks healthy, but there is a wonderful joy that was not there before!

When we got to the girls home she came running to see us. She has written us about 10 notes which she handed me in a pile, instructing me to read only later. It included a note to her mom saying she is praying that God would help her give up drinking and that she wanted her family restored another for her grandfather asking him to please stop smoking because it was bad for the body God gave him, and a third for Jonas saying she loved and missed him...and another 5 were for Mario and I!

In one of the notes she wrote me asking if she could call me mom. It had hearts all over and was signed ``your daughter``. I almost cried when I read it!

What joy to see the change in her. This smile says it all!

At the girls house they are learning to make jewelry and these

beautiful flip-flops which they sell to help support the ministry.

When Mario asked her if she had made new friends, she corrected him saying, they are my sisters! We can´t wait to visit Talita again!

Last week we had what I think are the last rains of the season...

and look at what this last rain did to our road!...No it´s not a river!

The guys helped to dig out several cars from this situation!

And look at how deep the water dug in just a couple days of rain!

And here´s some of the latest pictures of the Terceiro Espaço kids...

Last friday one of our missionaries (Darlan) shared a special presentation about drugs with the kids.

 The DTS students also did two skits which the kids loved.

Usually it is hard to get them to pay attention for more than half and hour, but the presentation was 2 hours long and the kids paid attention the whole time! It was great!

Here Darlan is explaining about the use of crack and what it does to your body...

Last Saturday was little Samuel´s first birthday.

He is the first MK (missionary kid) born on the base since we have been here.

And Saturday night my dad came to do an introductory course on Scatology (end of times). We had great times of learning and discussion about this very neglected, yet super important theme!

Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Christmas & Dinner

Thanks to wonderful people who send financial gifts to help Action Missionaries bless others. ACTION has a Christmas fund that is designated to give ACTION missionaries the opportunity to organize an Evangelistic Christmas Meal every year (upon the missionaries request for the fund via a project). This year we decided to take advantage of this great opportunity to bless the many familes of the Terceiro Espaco (childen at risk) Ministry.
Here is a picture of some of the decorations...

We had over 70 people present at the Christmas Dinner that took place on the 22nd of December at the YWAM base.

Since this was the first time we were organizing an event of such proportions, we didn't know if we should expect more people than we counted, or if no one would show up at all! But in faith we planned, bought the food and decorations and with the help of some of the staff, my parents and a couple of people from my parents church who graciously helped us cook the meal (which consisted of a delicious strogonoff, white rice, two yummy salds and dessert)the event turned out to be a success!

Praise God there was enough food for everyone!

Of course the food was not the most important. Before the meal we had a short presentation for the parents about what the Terceiro Espaco is and showed a short video clip that I put together showing some of the events of the year. Mario also talked about some of the future plans that we have for the Terceiro Espaco, like the day care center that we want to start building, as well as investing more in the community in general. Mario had the wonderful idea of starting a center in the town (Palmares) where parents can denounce violence, drug problems, abuse and from there we can take that to the autorities.

This next year Mario is finishing his degree in social work, so he wants to start working in the community as a social worker. We pray that the Lord will open doors for us in this way...

(My parents also sang a duet)

After Mario, I also thanked the parents for this trust in us and opened a time for questions, but instead of questions one mother got up and with tears in her eyes started thanking us for what we are doing with her kids, then another got up, and still another...

It was so encouraging! It was not an easy year for the Project, I was basically running it alone this past semester and I wondered if I was making any difference at all! So those words were a breath of life to me and an encouragment from the Lord to keep the project going!

Not only were we able to bless the community with a nice hot meal, an evangelistic word about the real meaning of Christmas and what it means to have Jesus be born in our hearts, but we also received several boxes of non-perishable food from a church, which we separated into 10 gift bags and at the end of the event Roney (the one in the picture below) drew numbers from a hat and 10 different families went home with a heavy bag of goods on their heads!

These are just 3 of the families who received the food gift bags!

Praise God for the Wonderful things He has done!!!

Of course we also had our own family Christmas. This year Mario and I spent Christmas with my parents and some extended family. An aunt and uncle and the whole family (3 married sons and their families) all came to spend the holidays with us from another state (Matto Grosso) . It was the first time I spent Christmas with extentended family (since in Ecuador were we lived for 20 years no one could afford to come visit us). It was a new experiece for me and it turned out to be quite nice!

The only family member that couldn't be with us was my oldest brother Johnny and his wife Krista, who live in California. But he had a fun time talking to him on skype. Everyone got a chance to say "Hello!"

Look at that dinner! YUM!!

On the 26th all the relatives also came over to our home for afternoon coffe (turned out to be afternoon popcorn)...

The kids from the base had fun playing with their new friends for one afternoon. You can see who is related to me because they are all blond (it's the German blood)! :)

This is my second cousin (my cousin Jimmy's daughter). Isn't she the cutest!!?

This is my mom's Christmas tree that she made from a bunch of combined branches! You don't need a lot of money when you have creativity, see?! :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

TO US ALL!!!