So how does a small group of volunteers select the countries where it can help poor children? There are literally hundreds of countries with many millions of children that have severe needs for water, food, shelter, and safety, not to speak of education and opportunity. Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, southeast Asia, eastern Europe, and even parts of the United States present enumerable situations where children are hurting. For us, the choices are easy if we simply allow ourselves to be open to what God is saying.
We became interested in the children of Brazil through a missionary that we knew in Durham, NC. When Sam Ewell finished his degree at Duke University, he and his wife, Rosalee, moved to Londrina, Parana, Brazil to teach at the South American Theological Seminary. Rosalee's parents also live in Londrina, where her father, Ari, is the pastor of the Catuai Baptist Church. Through introductions by Sam and Rosalee, we have built strong partnerships with several Christian leaders in the city of Londrina. Silas and Sueli provide leadership for the large creche at Sao Jorge, under the auspices of the South American Theological Seminary. Angelica is on the board of directors for three creches managed by the social outreach arm of the United Methodist Church in Londrina. Marlyse is the director of a downtown creche serving the children of domestic workers. Marcio is a young pastor who leads a church plus ministries for teens at risk and abandoned young children. Telcia is the director of four foster homes that provide homes for 80 abandoned children. What great friends these people are! All of these leaders have committed their lives to Christian service to help the children in their communities, and it is a blessing for us to share in their work.
One of the Beyond Our Borders team members became familiar with Robert Gamble's work in Odessa, Ukraine. Robert is a Presbyterian pastor who moved to Odessa to help street children by providing for basic needs and encouraging the children to move to a better life in shelters, homes, or orphanages. In addition to a 2008 trip to Odessa, we meet with Robert about once each year to review his needs and renew our financial commitment to specific projects for the street children. Currently, we are providing funding for winter clothes and for professionally led non-violence seminars.
Back in Brazil, we have begun a partnership with the Hope Unlimited for Children organization in the city of Campinas. Founded by Rev. Jack Smith and managed by his son, Philip Smith, Hope Unlimited is a residential compound with self-contained schools and vocational training. Hope Unlimited transforms the lives of homeless teenagers by giving them a home and providing education and training to enable future independence, all from a base of Christian teaching.
In the Brazilian city of Curitiba, we have been fortunate to establish a
relationship with Bishop Joao Carlos Lopes and his wife, Rev. Audir Lopes, who is also a pastor. Bishop Lopes is the Methodist Bishop for the State of Parana and the President of the Council of Bishops for the entire country of Brazil. During our August 2009 trip to Brazil, Bishop Lopes and Rev. Audir were gracious to spend an entire day with our team, telling us about Methodist ministries and learning about Beyond Our Borders. Rev. Audir has planted a church in one of the poor favelas on the outskirts of Curitiba called Vila Pantanal. This impoverished community is built literally on top of an active garbage dump, where the main enterprises are scavenging and illegal drugs. As part of the church's mission, Rev. Audir serves the small children of the favela with a church school and learning activities. It was touching to meet these poor children and hear them singing praises to God. We will be working with Rev. Audir to add a library with books for the school, and we are looking to help her build similar schools in other favela communities.
We are very interested in the children of Nicaragua, and we anticipate both travel and investments in that country in the near future. We have a relationship with Verbo Ministries in Nicaragua, a Christian endeavor led by Bob Trolese that operates two orphanages with emphasis on agricultural and social development projects for the children. We are also in discussions with Dr. Belinda Forbes, a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church. Dr. Forbes, a dentist, has resided in Nicaragua for nineteen years, and she has developed a far-reaching ministry of dental and general health clinics in the rural areas around Managua. There are many opportunities for us to help these wonderful Christian leaders to reach more children in Nicaragua.
Finally, we are working on plans to expand our support to children in Haiti, with the needs being especially great after the devastating earthquake. We are investigating potential relationships that will allow us to safely and effectively serve the children of Haiti at the right time. We are also interested in a future initiative to help children in Cuba, when the political climate is amenable.
Stay tuned! We will be posting much more detail about all of our projects, including pictures of the children, in the coming weeks.
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We support hundreds of children in Brazil, and this trip is a good opportunity to accomplish several objectives. We will meet with our partner leaders to encourage them and understand what they need for the children. We will visit with the children and give them gifts (t-shirts, blankets, toys) from Christ Church. We will review the progress of existing projects and investigate new projects. And we will enjoy the wonderful food at more than one churrascaria.
