While we wait. . . the trash dump

Ever since hearing about the Bakers' (Heide & Rolland; see the books "Always Enough" and "Expecting Miracles" and the DVD "Mama Heide") ministry at the trash dump in Maputu, Mozambique, we have wanted to see if people lived around the dump here in Castanhal. Most people don't know (or want to know) where it is, but our house dad Carlos said he would take us there.

One morning a couple of weeks ago, we took off for the dump. After a long ride on a dusty dirt road, we arrived. It was cleaner & less smelly than we had anticipated. Around the perimeter, there were a few wooden structures, covered with trash bags, cardboard, anything that would provide some shade. Small groups of people were picking through the trash, hunting for recyclables. A few children were scattered among the young people & adults. One young man had found a piece of watermelon & was eating it. Another found tennis shoes and laced them onto his feet. Surrounding every mound of trash were the ever-present "urubu" (sounds like oo-roo-BOO), the black vultures that comprise the first level of nature's clean-up crew in northern Brazil. . .

We stopped and asked some folks if they were working for a recycling company; they said the companies come through and buy what they gather. In other words, they are self-employed with no benefits, just making a little cash now & then for their efforts out in the hot tropical sun. They said about 100 people do this on a regular basis. We promised we would come back soon with something for them to eat. . .

The next week, we returned with four big pots of beef vegetable soup and some used clothing that Nalva, a woman in our cell group, brought along. They quickly recognized and surrounded our Kombi. Our house mom, Edileuda, gave a short teaching from Psalm 23, then organized them into two lines to receive soup. About 80 people received physical & spiritual food that day. . . This week we want to go back with the Brazilian version of sloppy joes, and some more of God's love to give away.

Meanwhile, we continue to dream. . .

While we wait for approval to open the doors of the first home to receive children, the second house is going up fast! Ground was broken only on July 1, and already it's almost time to put on the roof. The five houses will be set in a big rainbow arch, with plenty of space for a playground inside the semi-circle.

Even though it involves much work and a huge investment, in some ways the construction of the houses is the easy part of this ministry! The process of finding good houseparents and other people who share the same vision to work with children is more challenging. Please pray for this aspect of our ministry! Thanks!

A different kind of garden. . .

Dry season seems to have arrived, and with it, the flowers that like the hotter, dryer weather! This is the garden in front of our house. It started as a birthday present for Becky from Scott & Trevor last July and its development has continued as a family project, more or less. . .

While I love to garden with flowers, I am ready and waiting for a different kind of garden to be planted at Sitio Shalom. . . one with beautiful Rosas and Vitorias, handsome Daniels and Rafaels! We are still awaiting approval from the Council of the Rights of Children & Adolescents to be able to receive children. A man from the council visited us this week and suggested we write a letter to the mayor of Castanhal, asking for his assistance. So we will deliver a letter to the mayor on Monday. Since this is the last week of campaigning before local elections, wouldn't helping an organization that wants to help local children make a good bit of campaign propaganda?!

Another new adventure. . .

Blogging. . . Isn't that something ladies do in frilly skirts and wooden shoes?

This is certainly a far cry from one of my first jobs, where we used carbon paper, White Out & old electric typewriters! For those of you too young to remember carbon paper, just thank God for that!

We are excited about what is going on with the children's home ministry! We are in the "home stretch" of meeting all the requirements for opening our doors to receive children. This coming week, we will be having important visitors, including the local juvenile judge and other members of the social service community. They will be looking over our physical facilities, as well as discussing requirements for staffing, etc. Please pray for favor with this group of folks, especially the judge!

In the last few months, we have become aware of several children & groups of siblings who are needing alternative living situations. Some are victims of abandonment; some are living with caregivers who are dealing with physical or mental illness; some are living with relatives who really don't have the capacity or desire to care for small children. It is heartbreaking to see these children and not yet be able to provide care for them! Please pray that God will protect them and cause the authorities to remove them from these extremely negative situations. It is never God's will that vulnerable little ones suffer the lack of adequate caregiving from the adults in their lives. . .

On a lighter note, Sitio Shalom has become "Sports Central" over the past few weeks! Spurred on by the Olympics matches between Brazil & the US in soccer & volleyball, all the neighborhood kids have been coming over to participate in pick-up games. Even Trevor has taken to playing soccer barefoot!

Sorry there are no photos this time--we'll try to put some on next time!