Maria

Maria, one of the women our activistas see in
Project Life and Tessa Grace nutrition program.

Maria with some of her grandchildren. They
eat the masa right out of the pot.

Her name is Maria. She is a grandma just like me.  That is where the blessings we have in common stop.

 I have a nice house in a clean and quiet small town in Wyoming. Her mud house is barely able to stand on its own in Mafarinha, a place that beats the drums of the witch doctor above the noise of the hundreds that crowd the bairro. My husband has a pension that he receives from his former good job with UPS. She has no husband, no job, no income. I made homemade pizza last night; she eats pounded corn as a mush for her daily meal.  My guests sat at a long table with chairs in an adequate dining room.  She has only yellow buckets for hauling water to sit on.  I cooked my pizza in a gas oven (blessed to have gas because my electricity was out). She cooks her masa over an open fire from sticks scavenged from wherever she can find them. I have six children who have great jobs and live in security and peace. She had eight children. Only one is still alive.

Yet Maria cares for the grandchildren that her dead children left behind.  These are the blessings she has left and she fiercely holds on to them in her fight against poverty. And her poverty goes deeper.  Maria did not grow up knowing Jesus.  She never heard that there is more to life than poverty….physical or spiritual.

Dear Maria….you are the reason I am here.  God has asked me to share my wealth.  And my wealth starts in my heart.  Let me introduce you to Jesus…

(Maria is one of the women we help in Project Life and the Tessa Grace nutrition program. We are so thankful for those that give to these ministries and allow us to bring Jesus to the poor.)

Please pray for Alexandre.
He is a neighbor of one of
our activistas whose own
son had stomach cancer and
God healed him. This little
boy has an obstruction in his
digestive system and he is
now very sick.

Some of the women in our Mafarinha Bible study last week.

Of all of the work we do, nothing compares to the opportunity
to share God's plan of salvation.

After the Bible study the people had a surprise for me.
They had saved up their money and bought a present. A
glass bowl for me and a glass bowl for Phil! And of course
their way of wrapping the present is to dance and sing before
they offer their gift!

We had two dedications yesterday. This dedication started
as the sun was just waking up....so was I for that matter.

Alan and Melody Pieratt, our fearless leaders
(President of Children's Relief International) were
here for the week in Dondo and were able to join
us for these house dedications!  Alan is saying
a few words a the dedication for Jerimias.

Jerimias, the recipient of this Green Door
house had a few words of his own. He wrote
a poem.....I have translated it as he of course
wrote it in Portuguese. (Hope I translated it right!)
  Jerimias' story is that he used to be an alcoholic.
He moved to Dondo and found Jesus. He wanted to
stay in Dondo where he could be with his
Christian brothers and sisters but he needed
a home for his wife and family. A donor
read his story at http://www.childrensrelief.org/greendoor/
and now he and his family are together.

Born again is to have hope

And have joy

And have the peace to start over

and live a new walk.

It is being rescued

By a friend's hand

From someone who loves me

And is always with me

And full of happiness

To start over, like the prodigal son

who returned home.

Start over and have the heart to party

It is to be born again of emotion

And live as free as a bird in the air

Singing a new song.

It is to get rid of the heavy burden of sin and turbulence

Which makes us feel useless, despised,

And look at Calvary, the narrow path

Which makes us feel useful and loved.

Reborn and seek and receive

Support at the right time

And do as a child

Who keeps on the path

Safe in the hand of the father

Extended to him.

Born again is start all over again!

Born again is to live.

What is this mommy? I haven't seen one
of these before...is it edible?

Girls hanging out at the dedication waiting
for the cookies.

It is fun giving these kids a treat.
I worry a bit about the sugar and
their teeth....but only for a few
seconds. :-)

This grandma is so happy to receive her home.  Melody
is handing her the key. Baptista and his siblings and
grandma now have a safe place to live.

When our recipients receive the letter
from their donors, it touches my heart
too because I know the stories behind
the giving. This donor family is not rich in
this world's possessions but rich in the
love of Jesus....and I believe they are
storing up their treasures in heaven.

I love children...it doesn't matter where they
are...rich..poor...black or white. They are
God's reminder of His tender heart.

And when I am homesick for my family...I can look up
at the African moon and remember that my children and
grandchildren are looking up at the same moon and calling
it an American moon. We really aren't so far apart. :-)