Project Highlight: BR-417 in Brazil

I am working on sharing about my favorite projects. If you know me, I'm sure you're already aware that BR-417 is on the top ten! We have had the privilege of many photos and updates thanks to David Chalmers visits to this project!

This project is in a very difficult area of Brazil, and really provides the kids with a safe place. We previously supported a young man from this project (he graduated last year), and he wrote that the pastor was discipling him and training him how to reach out to gang members.

We have had the privilege of watching three young ladies grow up (one sponsored by my parents, two by us).

In the project description, Compassion shares, "[The] staff of [BR-417] provide your sponsored child with Bible teaching, health education, nutritious food, sports, birthday parties, recreational activities, field trips and academic support."

Currently there are two handsome young men available from this project. I highly recommend choosing to sponsor one of these handsome guys, and encouraging them to continue their education and to know the Lord!

*Jose is 81 and enjoys playing games! You can sponsor him here.*

*Luan is 19 and enjoys playing games too! You can sponsor him here.*

Thanks for reading! And I highly recommend sponsoring a child from IO-722!

Country Director's Letter: Brazil

Today's letter is from Brazil, where we sponsor and correspond with Jadson, Mariana, Dafyne, Gizelle and Estela. The original letter and photo can be found here.

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Dear Friend,

Greetings in Jesus’ name! My name is Jose Carrasco. I am the South America area director, and I’ve been privileged to serve as the interim country director of Brazil since 2014. I was born in Peru. I have a wife and two wonderful children.

I am proud to tell you that Compassion has been serving Brazil for 29 years. We currently have about 185 child development centers in Brazil, and we are serving more than 43,000 children. The impact of Compassion’s holistic program in the life of a child is huge. We would not be able to reach all these wonderful children without sponsors’ generous and selfless giving. You have made it possible for your sponsored child in Brazil to receive love, care, nurture and support through your sponsorship and your prayers. You truly are making the difference in your child. Thank you so much for your support!

A sponsored child has a safe place to go each day and is taught about the love of Jesus. At the centers, children have the opportunity to identify their strengths, develop their gifts and talents, and overcome difficulties. They learn that they are special because they are children of God.

Allow me to share just some of the struggles we face daily. Compassion serves the most impoverished children in Brazil, and their families. There are high rates of childhood sickness and even death. Many children face violence; many come from broken homes. They also face financial crisis. Widespread unemployment and the high cost of living make life increasingly difficult for those who live with few resources. Lack of water and access to good medical care are common. Hospitals lack the medicine and equipment needed to serve their communities.

The coming year brings many challenges, but by God’s grace, we will continue to go forward and face these struggles. Compassion Brazil has improved its program and materials to better empower the churches to fulfill their mission. We are encouraged by the willingness of the churches to work hard and diligently to better serve the children through training, facilitation visits, materials and local mobilization.

Compassion Brazil has excellent plans in place to develop child protection networks and early childhood and youth development strategies. It is possible to change the lives of more children and help them to become strong and productive Christian adults. We have seen it so many times!

Nourishing the relationship between the sponsor and the child is critical. I encourage you to write letters. When a child receives a letter, it’s like receiving a special gift. It means so much to a child. Your words really encourage and nurture your child positively. Children feel loved and appreciated when they know someone far away is praying and thinking about them.

There are no words to express the gratitude that my heart feels for your sponsorship for your child in Brazil. Your giving has changed the destiny of your child, and that is priceless! I gladly express my appreciation for your generous giving. May the Lord bless you and your family. Please pray for us; we promise also to pray for you.

Sincerely in Christ,
Jose Carrasco

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If you would like to sponsor a child from Brazil, please consider sponsoring adorable Gabriela, who will be 7 on July 30!

Gabriela attends my favorite project in Brazil, BR-417. She lives with her mother and grandfather, who are sometimes employed. Gabriela enjoys art/drawing, playing with dolls, playing house and running! To sponsor Gabriela, click here.

Bilingual Preschool: Brazil

I am over at the Compassion Family blog today, sharing about our adventure learning about Brazil!

To read the rest of the post, click here!

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Previous posts for the 2016-2017 preschool year:

Year plan

China

Spain

Tanzania

France

Colombia

Thanksgiving

Ghana

Italy

Thailand

Peru

India & Pakistan

Kenya

Mexico

Visit to Brazil Part II

As you know, if you've spent any time reading my blog, I love the project BR-417 in Brazil! There's so much need at this project. I encourage you to check out my post BR-417: Project Benefits to learn more about this area of Brazil and the need.

Anyway, in October, I shared about David Chalmer's visit with Gizelle and Estela in Brazil! He just recently received more photos from the translator and sent them our way. I just had to share them here!

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I want to start by sharing photos of the project, and the view outside the gates:

And then some fun shots of David's time with the kids!

The translator got some great photos of Gizelle with her mom!

And some more photos of the visit to Estela's home, with her brother Pablo in the last photo:

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If you haven't had a chance to read David's book, Go Into All the World, I highly encourage you to do so! It gives a great picture of how child sponsorship works from the child's side.

And if you would like to sponsor a child from BR-417, please consider little Anabelle who just turned 4 on February 4! She has been waiting over 260 days for a sponsor and she lives in a single-parent home.

Anabelle enjoys dolls, walking, and playing house. She lives with her mother and grandmother. And she's in Kindergarten! To sponsor Anabelle, click here.

What $60 Buys...

Last year we were able to send a number of larger family gifts thanks to the Blogger Rewards Program. Since we knew that gifts of $60 or over receive thank you letters and photos, we made sure to send gifts of at least $60. Recently the gift photos have been coming in! It's such a blessing that Compassion sends these with the thank-you's!

I wanted to share them in one place so you can get an idea of what $60 will get in various countries.

Mary in Bolivia: groceries of oil, milk, eggs, some other food, detergent, and dolls for the girls!

Jhomary in Bolivia: t-shirt, oil, noodles and rice!

Dinesh in India: t-shirts, jeans, sheets and a steel box!

Jose in Mexico: food pantry gifts.

Julissa in Nicaragua: shoes, pants, shirt, towel and underwear.

Ndikubwimana in Rwanda said, "Thank you for your gift. I used it to buy a goat and I expect to have more goats because it will reproduce and provides me with other goats."

Cissy in Uganda said she bought the dress she's wearing in the photo, 2 dresses for mum, a bag of rice, a shirt and trouser, sports shoes, open shoes, a bag for her brother and she had a little pocket money left!

Estela in Brazil: her gift photo was lost in a computer crash, but she said, "I am writing to thank you for the present that you sent to me. With the money my mom bought things in the market: rice, beans and pasta, meat, milk, coockies and fruits. I am very happy." And the project took an extra photo for us to see Estela's pretty face, although we weren't able to see the gifts.

Gizelle in Brazil: She said she bought books for school, "The book is thick and there are seven subjects - Math, Science, History, English, Geography, English, Arts and others. The other one is for handwriting practice."

Jadson in Brazil: Nike sandals and school supplies

Mariana in Brazil

We began corresponding with Mariana in February 2016. I will continue to update this post as we hear from her.

We received 10 letters, one pastor's letter, and one country director's letter while corresponding with Mariana. Her birthday is January 22. Mariana lives with her parents and his father works as a bricklayer.

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Project Info and Activities:

Mariana attends BR-309 in Siqueira-2, Fortaleza

* Home to approximately 12,000 residents
* Primary language is Portuguese
* Most common work is work is street vending or domestic services, although the majority is unemployed
* Average earning is $236 a month
* Regional Diet: beans, chicken, bread, eggs, potatoes & rice
* Common Health Problems: worm infestations, skin diseases, flu
* Typical Houses: cement floors, brick walls, tile roofs

Center activities: Bible teaching, medical care, recreational activities, pre-school classes, primary education and academic support.

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Miscellaneous Info from Letters:

* Favorites: dolls, bicycling, play house, walking, hide-and-seek, running, reading, art/drawing, jump rope, singing, listening to music, other ball games

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Letter Highlights...

"Thanks for the prayers, affection. You are God's present to bless me."

"It is interesting there's a culture so different from mine. The beans sack game you mentioned is so cool. It must be so fun. I love fast games."

"It's a pleasure for me to write to you again, for you are so special in my life. Every day I think God for you both who help me even living so distant from me."

"I wish I could hold [José]. He must be very smart! He is cute!"

"I enjoyed very much the way that you spoke through the letter about friendship. I have a friend that I like her so much and we always have fun together."

"I enjoyed getting your letter talking about the pandas. I like to watch the Kung Fu Panda movies, they are very nice."

"I'm very happy because I turned 15 in January, and my mother had a surprise birthday together with my family. I liked it a lot."

"I loved your letters. Thanks a lot of your huge affection. We don't have snow here, but it must be so cool. The snow flakes are beautiful."

"Sometimes I think about being a nurse or a teacher. I don't know yet, but I hope to be a good professional."

"At school I am learning English and also Spanish. I enjoy both of them but Spanish seems easier... Send a huge hug for the kids."

"Thank you for loving me! That photo of the whales, made from origami, was very beautiful! I'll also try to make one for me. I don't attend any church ministry. I sometimes go to church with my aunt and I also sometimes attend Sunday School and I stay in a youth room. That's so great! Once more I thank you for everything!"

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To read the other posts in this series, click here.

Visit to Brazil!

No, we didn't get the chance to visit Brazil...although I dream of doing that one day! But during September 2016, David Chalmers, the author of Go Into All the World, visited Gizelle and Estela on our behalf! He blogged about his time in Brazil, and shared about his Visit Day with the girls and then about his Birthday Bash (which he invited our girls to participate in).

Here are some photos of the project Gizelle and Estela attend, BR-417:

Estela keeps all of the letters she received in this black box (that she decorated with hearts!):

Here she is with her mother and her brother Pablo:

Gizelle saved all her letters (and showed them all to David by dumping them all over her bed!), but her family also put some photos on their wall. Gizelle also showed off her ballet dancing:

And here she is with her parents (her dad had recently had a motorcycle accident):

And here are some photos from the Birthday Bash!

I just loved a few of the videos too--Gizelle and Estela had a blast on the playground:


And David gave a great goodbye speech to the kids: