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!