Summer 2012 Wish List

Please help me bring all this back to Brazil with me in August!

BIG THINGS!

1.      25, 000 for a Kombi: www.wribrazil.com/trek

2.      Monthly supporters giving $30 to support more children and open new projects: www.wribrazil.com/foundationbuilder

GENERAL THINGS:

1.      Games (that don’t require a lot of English: Uno, cards, topple, connect 4, memory)

2.      Zip lock baggies of all sizes  

3.      Birthday and Christmas cards for each one of the kids

4.      Posters to decorate the walls (with minimal English): maps, blank posters to use as whiteboards, calendars, attendance lists, birthday lists, and holiday posters

5.      The cube evangelism tool

6.      Dry erase markers/wet erase markers

7.      Small lotion/perfume bottles, gifts for mothers

SPECIFIC THINGS:

8.       “Heaven for Kids” by Randy Alcorn

9.       “The Lord’s Prayer” Richard Jesse Watson

10.  “Mary’s First Thanksgiving”

11.  “The Story of St.Patrick” Voice of the Martyrs

12.  “Journey through Bible Lands” Candle Discovery serious

13.  “Someone I Loved Died.” Christine Tanguald

14.  “Scripture Pictures” 52 visually interactive Bible stories for kids

15.  “Best Ever Games” Les Christie

STUFF EASIER BOUGHT IN BRAZIL:

1. Hygiene products (toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, combs, and shampoo)
2. Portuguese Reading/Literature books to teach basic reading and writing  
3. Sports equipment
4. Seeds and such for planting a garden at each Living Stones

Summertime!

What is happening in Brazil?
1. June:
Our three Living Stones (Cajueiro Claro, Mussurepe, and the dump) are all continuing as normal. There are short term missions trips, and many of the travelers are bringing presents for the children. They are going to have a Birthday party for Jesus (pictures to follow). They just finished celebrating the holiday for St.John.
2. July:
July is winter break from school (winter in Brazil is simply rainy season, and perhaps a sweater on some evenings). Living Stones will be taking some time to rest and replan for the second semester.
3. August:
Living Stones begins again, and Rachel will be there the end of the month to report all of the new happenings.

What is happening in the USA?
1. June:
We had an awesome Trek for Transportation! Over $3,000 was raised and 40 people participated in our 4k run/walk! But the trekking is not over--our goal is $25,000! Donate online at www.wribrazil.com/trek.  Rachel had an awesome trip to Cleveland, sharing about Living Stones-exciting new doors are opening up! http://rwinzeler.xanga.com/764640296/a-bit-blurry/ for pictures.
2. July:
Please pray for Rachel as she works with Supercamp in Hong Kong, that God would provide divine appointments: http://rwinzeler.xanga.com/764640991/hong-kong/ for more information.
3. August:
Rachel is turning 30 on August 26th, so might as well have a party:). She will be sharing about Living Stones, having Brazilian jewelry and toys available, as well as having a Birthday/going back to Brazil open house at 1001 E. Palmer Street, Indianapolis on that Sunday from 1-3pm. Please come!

Trekking

It was a beautiful day for Trekking!

We had a great turnout of almost 40 people

Learning about Living Stones updates

And then let the Trek begin

My cousin donated slushies and ice cream cones for everyone!

Special thanks to Jake and Eric for taking pictures, Gary and Steve for their support, Greg for all his previous work for the run/walk, Lillian for all the yummy food, and my family for all their continuous support!

Our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place runners:  4k in 12, 14, and 15 minutes respectively:) If only we could get to Cajueiro Claro that fast! We will--with our Kombe!

THANK YOU EVERYONE! We raised over $2,700 towards purchasing a vehicle for Living Stones! Still working towards $25,000: online donating is still available at www.wribrazil.com/trek

Mid-year Updates on our Three Living Stones Programs

Cajueiro Claro

Cajueiro Claro now has an official cook! While Pastor Flavio and I did a decent job cooking last year, EVERYONE involved is relieved and excited about Mailene’s cuisine skills. We started off the year with a pizza party at my house. We continued working on character qualities, hygiene, recycling, and manners with the children in day to day circumstances: “Paulo! Chew with your mouth closed, please!” We had our second pool party, and everyone came together for the Easter party—with the children from Mussurepe joining, and the 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th graders from the International school donating chocolate Easter eggs and running the first ever Easter egg hunt. We were excited to have more than half of the mothers show up for our Mother’s day celebration this year! Over 35 children have been involved in the program, and over 600 meals are served every month!

Mussurepe

Mussurepe, even farther off the beaten path than Cajueiro Claro (if that is possible) is a small community (of about 5,000 including the outlying areas) that was built around a sugar cane factory that went out of business ten years ago. You can imagine the devastation that caused the families, as they now have to travel 6k to get to the main road to find outside jobs. Grandma (Vovo) Bel, as everyone calls her, owns a farm in Mussurepe, and had a heart to help the children in her community. When she met Pastor Flavio, she was ecstatic about beginning a Living Stones program on her farm twice a week. They also have the soup and bread program, passing out enough food to feed the whole family. Living stones is providing over 400 meals a month, and has reached out to over 44 children in Mussurepe.

Trash dump

Carpina is the largest city in our rural community, with around 80,000 people. Outside of Carpina is the city dump, with its own community of over 60 children, from families who work organizing the trash into what is burned and what is recycled—without proper equipment, and often without even simple gloves. For the past couple of years, the medical teams from the USA have gone to give basic services to this impoverished area. A Baptist church in Carpina has begun an outreach called “Massa Humana,” going on Saturdays to provide basic food and clothing to the families, and get to know the children by working with Living Stones. We are excited to work together and see what all God has planned for these special children.

Mid-year Report from the Coordinator

“How old am I?” asked Rosineide after we sang Happy Birthday. It was the first time she celebrated her birthday, and she didn’t know how old she was. I only knew because her mother had handed me her birth certificate to read—since she didn’t know how to read it herself.  What an amazing gift to be able to celebrate with these unique children, and let them know they are special. The Living Stone’s $10 for Them program (where people can donate $10 to provide a cake/party/present to a child) has grown and been a great way to visit families, keep in contact, and make a difference in the children’s lives: we’ve celebrated over 50 birthdays so far this year.

For those who don’t know, Living Stones gives love, education, nutrition, and direction (LEND) to impoverished children in Northeast Brazil. This past semester in six words would be  “Growing in ways I never imagined.” God opened doors for two new Living Stones programs—neither one traditional—but both divinely planned. Only 7 more to go for our 10 Living Stones in 10 towns in 10 years goal! The $10 for Them program has bloomed, and the International school is excited about getting more involved, helping with our Easter program, and in the fall, our Children’s day program, $5 for 5 campaign, and our Birthday Party for Jesus. It has been exciting to start a Bible study for these children as well, who are mostly from upper-middle class families, and are eager to learn and see what God has for their lives and future. As they serve at Living Stones, they are realizing the needs around them—and how they can make a difference.

My life is busy traveling by foot, bus, kombi (vw van), and occasional car to and from the International school (teaching English) and our three Living Stones programs (teaching character and more…in Portuguese). Keeping up with promoting and planning activities, raising funds, reporting on and updating the blog/e-newsletters, and organizing all of the financial aspects of Living Stones has taken most of the rest of my time. You can now get professional e-newsletters bi-monthly by signing up at the blog. My post-grad classes have not started yet, giving me some breathing room, but a difficult time with my visa—please pray everything goes smoothly for my return to Brazil the end of August.

I am excited to be home for the summer, heading up a 4k Trek for Transportation, with our goal to raise $25,000 to purchase a vehicle for Living Stones. I would love to meet up with as many people as possible who are interested in hearing about Living Stones. I will be returning (I was able to go last year as well) to Hong Kong with Supercamp, and celebrating my own 30^th birthday the end of August. Please join with Living Stones as we grow! People are being trained, and as soon as the funds are raised, we are ready to open Living Stones programs in Paudalho, Carpina, Lagoa de Itaenga, and Guadalajara, working with the community churches that are already planted in those communities. One step at a time, with open doors ahead!