Back in Canada …

We left for Brazil in February, and came back five weeks later, but it still seems like mid-winter. Just the same, my crocuses, brave little things, with only their heads above the snow, are already blooming their little hearts out. We stepped off the plane in Brazil in exceptionally hot and humid weather. At our age the body doesn’t seem to adjust quick enough to such drastic climate changes and it takes us a few days to get sorted out. There were days when we actually pined for a bit of the cold Canadian winter we left behind. A few minutes in that intense sun, and a bad sunburn, was a good reminder that we must remember to slather sun block on all our exposed skin! There are always the usual things that remind us we are back in Brazil. People, cars and animals of all sorts share the streets and sidewalks. Garbage is scattered everywhere and no one seems to notice it, except us. Mangy dogs roam the streets day and night and bark incessantly, which rouses the roasters, that join in the chorus with their crowing, which wakes the chickens and gets them all cackling! Most households keep chickens in their back yard for eggs and meat. It’s unbelievable how people sleep through it all, but somehow they do! We try to muffle the noise by wrapping our head in the pillow, and we even tried the new fang dangled earplugs, that are terribly uncomfortable, and just didn’t fit our ears properly! As always, everyone at Mount Horeb greeted us warmly, and it felt so good to be back among our many Brazilian friends. It was gratifying to see how the work has grown and progressed over the past year. There are just over 300 children registered in school and in order to accommodate them all our school runs a morning and an afternoon shift every day. New children come every year, so we actually recognize only a few of them these days, mostly our staff kids. Even they change so much in one year and we have to check and be sure the name matches the face. The kids often look at us and say, “Do you remember me?” To which we mumble some sort of reply, but they soon set us straight if we’ve erred. We made it a point of visit each classroom and spoke to the students. Many had heard about us and were anxious to know us personally. They also wanted to know how Mount Horeb got started, and how come we came to their city. We were only too happy to tell them how God guided our steps to Itaperucu, and led us to do what we did. We are still amazed at how God helped us with the tasks we undertook, and at how much the school ministry has impacted the community. As we stroll through town many people stop to talk and express their gratitude to us for providing a safe place for their children. A place where Christian principals are taught and building character in the lives of the children is a priority. A place free of violence, bad influences, and the constant presence of the drug pushers waiting just outside the school gates, all too prevalent in the public schools of our city. The first Saturday after we arrived we joined the outreach team and headed out for Cacador ,a poor community in the interior. We all piled into the army jeep, and the Volkswagen bus, both heavily laden with the Unique Christmas gifts we had purchased, and set out on our slow rough journey over dirt roads. The mission out reach goes out almost every Saturday to work on improving the living conditions of about 50 families living there. It hadn’t rained for a few days so it only took us two hours to get out there, but the road was still quite wet in the lower sections of the road, we almost made it without any incidents, but for the last half kilometre of road, The jeep was loaded a bit too top heavy with the grocery hampers and school kits for the children and it started tilting and sliding into the ditch. The guys quickly unload some of the heaviest stuff off the top of the jeep, and we managed to make it safely to our destination.

We then proceeded with our late, but very welcome Christmas party. We had announced our coming and the small building we gathered in quickly filled up as people in the community poured in. First we had a time of singing and praise. Earl & I were then asked to greet the people and share something of our lives with them, after which our director Paulo Roberto spoke to them and encouraged them not to despair, God aware of their needs and was sending help. Finally it was time to serve everyone the hotdogs and pop that we’d brought with us, and as a grand finale, we handed out the school kits and grocery hampers. Many hours later they all left for home happily bearing their heavy burdens with them. How grateful they were, it was a reminder of God’s love for them, and that He had not forgotten them in their need. School classes should already have started, but we have since learned that they still haven’t had a day of school yet this year. Someone told us the department of education had forgotten to send money to fuel the school buses! Lord willing Mount Horeb will set up a school for these children by next year. They are so anxious to learn.

We were so happy that our friends from Ireland joined us at Mount Horeb, we had such great fun and fellowship. They are such enthusiastic and willing workers for the Lord, always so ready to help and contribute wherever they can. This year they set up a community kitchen at the mission where mothers of our poorest students can come and learn to prepare more nutritious meals for their families. They can also use the kitchen to make the finger foods that many of them sell on the streets in order to survive. In exchange for this, they will prepare the daily school lunches for the school children, which will take a heavy load off the shoulders of our regular kitchen staff. We praise God for the commitment of our Irish friends that come to Brazil every year and contribute so willingly of their time and talents to the ministry at Mount Horeb.

We also re-connected with many of the children that were raised in the orphanage. Most of them are now married and have families of their own. They attribute their time at the orphanage to having made the important difference in their lives. How wonderful to hear them rise up and call us blessed, and how can we not feel blessed. It reminds us that God’s greatest blessings can’t be purchased with money.