Meet our Kombi

Please share with others! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbw2K_F0oIE&feature=c4-overview&list=UU61RtkF6QXTP1qxNlDa66kQ

Child Sponsorship: Foundation Builders

If you are looking for statistics to prove child sponsorship, like Living Stones Foundation Builders works (www.wribrazil.com/foundationbuilder),

then look here: (http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/06/the-research-that-proves-you-can-change-the-world/)

“Overall, sponsorship makes children 27 to 40 percent more likely to complete secondary school, and 50 to 80 percent more likely to complete a university education. When the child grows up, he is 14–18 percent more likely to obtain a salaried job, and 35 percent more likely to obtain a white-collar job.”

“Poverty causes children to have very low self-esteem, low aspirations. The big difference that sponsorship makes is that it expands children’s views about their own possibilities. We help them realize that they are each given special gifts from God to benefit their communities, and we try to help them develop aspirations for their future.” ~Wess Stafford, Compassion Int.

“Patient nurturing of self-worth, self-expectations, dreams, and aspirations may be a critical part of helping children escape poverty. It is a holistic approach that secular antipoverty initiatives have largely downplayed, but an approach that Christian development groups have championed for decades.

The traditional approach to development work has been to provide things for people. If people lack education, we build them schools. If they are unhealthy, we build them hospitals and provide doctors, or we drill a freshwater well. If their small businesses are stagnant, we provide microcredit so they can borrow.

While each of these interventions can be helpful in the right context, mere provision fails to address the root of poverty: the behaviors, social systems, and mindset that are created by poverty. The key to ending poverty resides in the capacity of human beings—and their view of their own capacity—to facilitate positive change. While some interventions are necessary, especially in the area of health, they come at a cost of reinforcing an inferiority complex among the poor. Good development organizations understand this.

Along with providing some basic resources that allow children to progress farther in school, the child-development approach advocated by Compassion appears to get under the hood of human beings to instill aspirations, character formation, and spiritual direction. In short, it trains people to be givers instead of receivers.”

Living Stones is not Compassion International, and we do not have the data to be able to do a similar study, but we have the same principles, and an even stronger focus on working through local churches. Please pray about being a part of our sponsorship program called Foundation Builders: www.wribrazil.com/foundationbuilder

Women's Tea blesses Living Stone's Mothers

This June we have been blessed with two short term mission trip groups. The first one provided Vacation Bible School for Living Stones, and the second group had women's teas for the mothers. It was a wonderful time, and over 130 women were blessed from Carpina, Tracunaem, Acacias/Friends church, Lagoa De Itaenga, Mussurepe, Guadalajara, Paudalho, and Cajueiro Claro.

Lagoa De Itaenga

Mussurepe

Guadalajara

Paudalho

Cajueiro Claro

The Kombi Has Arrived

We are so excited to announce that Living Stones now has a Kombi! We were able to purchase a 2010 Kombi for around $15,000USD, and use the rest of the donations from Trek for Transportation towards registration and fixing up costs. Pastor Flavio and all of the workers let tears of joy fall to see this miracle come to pass.

We haven't told the children about it yet--they have been praying for two years, and ask about it regularly. Video coming soon. 

http://rachelsnewday.blogspot.com.br/2013/06/kombi-long-version.html for more information and pictures.

Successful Trek for Transportation!

We have raised $17,500 from last and this year's Trek for Transportation!

A big thank you to everyone who made this possible!

Steve Turner (Happy Birthday!) is coming to Brazil this week and says we can start Kombi shopping. A new/almost new Kombi is closer to $20-25,000, so any last minute gifts would be wonderful.

Pastor Flavio sends his thanks as well:  "I would like to thank all my fellow Americans who were involved in this race, the missionary Rachel for stealing my dream and told the men and women of God (laughing) by supporting the world Renewal, Pastor Gary Pastor Tele, Steven and everyone who prayed all that participated all who prayed, all were important. This achievement is all. I promise to take good care of the blessing that God gave us through every one of our dear brothers. thank you, thank you so much."

Shout out to our top runners in the 4k race!

Word of Life 2013

Word of Life invited Living Stones (and Athletes in Action and Massa Humana) to bring around 200 children to a day camp: transportation, food, and activities provided. Even though it rained all day, everyone had a wonderful time. 14 children from Cajueiro Claro, 22 from Mussurepe, 32 from the trash dump, and many, many from Guadalajara and Carpina.
It was the first activity we have ever been able to do with the children from the trash dump, and truly something they will never forget:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UoXYxhV3Lw if the above link doesn't work)

Terrific Tees

Our Trek for Transportation is coming up in less than a month! Please come support us--your donation will be doubled this year with our anonymous matching donation, and we now have these Trek Tees:

The proceeds from the shirt go to Living Stones as well. You can order it online and pick it up the day of the Trek to save on shipping: http://ministrymedia.bigcartel.com/product/living-stones-brazil
Join us June 8th, at 10am at Southeastway park! All the information you need is at www.wribrazil.com/trek, or you can call 317-784-1535. If you can't make it, please donate to someone who can!