The Best Compliment I Received in Brazil
Today, Adriana and I visited a crèche da Vila Bethel (a former shanty town) in Itajubá. This crèche is sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church and has been working in this village for the last 10 years – and making quite an impact. A total of 60 children, ages ranging from 3 to 6 years old, are taught, fed and loved by the teachers - - -
Adriana has been there many times and a few days ago substituted one of the teachers who came late. The place is amazing and I will be sharing some pictures on our blog soon.
Adriana wanted to go back today and give them some magnifying glasses (a promise she had made) - - -so with some of a few minutes to spare before we travelled to Sao Paulo to catch our flight to Frankfurt / Amsterdam, we drove to the shanty town. The children were delighted to see Adriana and I was taking pictures. Then Adrie said, this is my husband - - - I said hi to everyone!!! they all waved to me, put on their best smiles for the photos. Then an little boy looked at Adriana and said: ele deve ser um cara muito legal! (he must be a very nice guy) Adriana replied: yes, he is!
As we left the place I thought – perhaps that is one of the best and most sincere compliments I have ever received (though I may not deserve it). This is possibly a boy who does not have a stable family (for many of these children their fathers are in prison) and longs for a father - - - then I realized how much we can do for these little ones. When we return to Itajubá in December we hope to visit these children again. Meanwhile pray for Edna (the head teacher) and her helpers.
As we drove down the dirt road and hit upon the building which used to be a prostitution and drug selling place, we were delighted by an image which will stay with me for quite a while: Pastor Cesar Ribeiro was trying to open the door of the building with a group of children (who used to be in the creche) behind him – all very excited - - - to start their morning computer class led by Pastor Cesar. The sun was shining and as the dust created by my car surrounded them, and formed an unforgettable image, I could only think “that is what the love of God causes in this world: sets a stage for redemption and creates hope” – for now and for eternity.
Paulo
Early Morning - Itajubá
Creche
ABU - Itajubá
Creche
Computer Classes
