The true meaning of Christmas

Last week we organized a Christmas party for the street children in partnership with REMIR a network of organizations which works with the street kids of São Paulo, it was fun, and the children had a great time, we made them a tasty barbecue, there were also ice cream and soda, before dinner was ready they watched to a play and danced a lot.

We couldn’t make it without the financial help of people who generously helped us, and also the volunteers who helped us serving and cooking and playing with the kids, definitely together we are stronger.

We also went to the country side (Campos do Jordão) to visit Jaqueline, Emma and Jackson who are recovering from tuberculosis, they are getting better, pray that they will remain at the hospital until January when the treatment is over,and that we are able to find vacancies at the rehab-houses for them.
It’s Christmas time, a good occasion to stop and think about the real meaning of Christmas, we asked many women who are prostitutes if they knew the real meaning of Christmas, and many did not know how to answer the question.

Sunday at church our pastor Sandro Baggio talked about how it’s so rare to see Nativity scenes on our Christmas decorations, it’s a time where people are living without hope, their hope is in accumulating more things more stuff that this world offers, so they buy…buy… and buy ...

How easy it is to be conformed with the world’s way of thinking that encourages us to always have more, how many people work like crazy so they can get better salaries, achieve better positions, and have more. And we have great arguments for this, and we can even prove our reasons to have and accumulate more.

We must be careful not to be adjusted to worldly thinking.

This morning on our devotional Adriano shared about 1 Cor 15:19 “ If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world"

Luke. 2:21, talks about man named Simeon who was good and godly, he had been waiting for the consolation of Israel, when he saw the baby Jesus, he recognized him immediately, then he declares that it is ready to die, because his eyes were not in this world, Simeon was fair and gracious, qualities given by the Spirit of God, was a man who walked with God, his vision of eternity made him live as if he was already there.

Simeon waited for the consolation, he lived for that day, was aware and ready to recognize the Saviour. Eternity has already began to anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. We have our Hope in Christ not only for this short and temporary.

This Christmas may we remember the incarnation of our God who became man, who came to this earth like a baby to give away His life for our sins, may we live following the example of this man Simeon, with our eyes on eternity, waiting for Jesus promise, for the day Jesus comes back to reign throughout eternity!

Amem!

News and Christmas dinner for tranvestites

Hello dear friends!

We are so happy with what God is doing here in Sao Paulo and we want to share the blessings with you our partners and friends of work and prayer.

About 3 weeks ago, at another Wednesday night outreach with the transvestites of downtown, we met a guy who have been our friend for two years, although he is a boy, he would dress up like a girl at night to do prostitution, so that night he asked for help, saying that he couldn’t cope with living that kind of life of drugs and prostitution anymore, then we invited him for lunch at our place on the following Friday, he came, we had a very good conversation, and encouraged him to make a resume and give at the mall shops, it´s X-mas time so people are hired easily, so we spent the afternoon with him looking for a job.

On Monday he was called for an interview, and on Friday he was already employed, all the other stores we gave his resumes to, contacted him for a job opportunity.

God completely open the doors for this boy, right now he is living with at Projeto Toque in Sao Paulo and has been attending church with us, Caetano and Adriano started a Bible study with him twice a week.

I´m soo moved when I remember the many times that saw on the street dressed like woman, and I prayed so much for God to get him out of this life, that he´d listen to the Holly Spirit wispher, my heart broke every time he saw this boy living so far from God's purpose for his life.

It's amazing seeing him talk with such an enthusiasm about the new life God gave him, and his thankfulness to be one more worker with his badge hanging on his neck walking for lunch ,he is happy to be tired at the end of the day after a decent work, to see the bus packed of people and say…”I’m part of the working society.”

In such a short period of time his dignity is being restored, and we can only once again thank God, because for him Nothing is Impossible. Please, pray for him to grow in his relationship with Jesus, that he’ll be open for God’s healing and deliverance in his life life.

I also would like to share about the Christmas dinner we made with Missão Cena for the transvestites on Monday 11/24,it was a very good time, there was live band playing, Christmas decoration, and the menu was chicken stroganoff and chocolate cake for dessert.

They had a blast, all of them live far from home and probably won’t have a X-mas party with their families.

We thank our friends from Projeto 242 who helped us with organizing and serving the tranvestites at the party.

The guys from the band Inversa (Hudson, Dalila, Adriano, Dalte, Felipe and Mauricio) thank you so much guys! David Kim who made the pics, and São who also helped organizing!

Blessings on you all, and don´t forget to pray for us!

Unit makes a big difference

The first week of October we had the chance to be part of God moving in a special way. We from Projeto Toque with other projects, that work with children in street situation, organized a kids day party. The party had plays, music, hot dog, ice cream, the girls got beauty treatment. 50 kids came to the party.
There would be a shelter invitation for 2 kids who would like to leave the street.
A Christian shelter ABA opened two vacancies for boys up to 13 years old.

It´s a challenge and it´s frustrating when some kid asks to leave the street, because even though there are some shelters, its majority are not Christians.
A great difficulty of this Christian shelter is the lack of workers, they could receive more children if they had more people to work.
Two boys were interested about going to the shelter and after some difficulties placed for the Advice Tutoring they finally were able to attend the shelter.
One of these boys always played football with us on Wednesdays, but once he started smoking crack he didn´t show up for the football game anymore.
One week before the party we met him crying alone on the street, it was a different situation because the kids on the street never show their fragile side.

Another thing that has drawn our attention is that God works in the unit although the diversity. This party was organized by diferent projects and these boys had been taken care of also by the same projects.
The merit in taking the boys off the street wasn´t of one project in special, but it was God´s merit that works in the diversity of Christ’s body.
Two weeks ago we visited the boys in the shelter, and we are very happy to see them again playing, riding bike, swimming, climbing up the tree, Living really as children, the boys are adapting well at the shelter.
I ask you to pray for them so that they continue their walk out of drugs and out of the streets.
We have had many chances also to share Jesus love with the transvestites, although we haven’t had much success in the visits in their houses, we have had good talks with them on the streets, many have shown a strong interest to know more about the church, and listened with attention when we speak about God’s view on homosexuality .
We are developing a great friendship in the street, even though with those who didn’t like to talk to us before.
Last Friday, however we visited two transvestites at their flat; it was a great time to build a relationship with them, a time that they felt loved and respected, we ate cake and soda and spent 2 good hours chating, they invited us to have lunch at their flat on Sunday, we understand that only God is capable to open the doors to take the Word to these young man, many times we are so focused in the salvation, that we do not give as much importance to the time to build a friendship, to gain the confidence of the people, to really love them.
That’s why our work is based on relationships, God is a relational God, and that’s the way He wants to show Himself to the world.

News and Prayer Requests

Last weekend we from São Paulo went to Piracicaba to know the new house in Piracicaba, we had a fun time of fellowship on saturday with a barbecue! It´s always encouraging to go there and see what God is doing in the lives of each one living at the house.

Yesterday we taught 2 women that are on prostitution, to make chocolate truffles, pray fro them so they can be encouraged to make and sell the chocolate, so they can be set free from the way of life they are living.

This month was a month were we learned to endure, diferent from last month when we had many open doors with the transvestites for example, this was a dificult month, the transvestite we were visiting and studying the bible with, started to avoid us, we know that the Word of God has been preached and sowed so He is the one who is going to make it grow. Pray for the visits we do to the transvestites, it´s been over 3 weeks that we haven´t been able to visit any of them, every time we go to their house they cannot receive us or seem to be ocupied, pray that we can develop a nice friendship with them so they can trust us and be open to the Gospel.

We have a new volunteer working with us, she came from Poland, her name is Agata and going to stay with us for 6 months, pray for her, for the adaptation and learning the language.

On the 8th of october we are going to make a party for the street children and teenagers, pray that they can feel loved and that they have a very fun time where they can be truly kids.

And of course don´t forget to pray for us here in São Paulo and Piracicaba.

That´s all for now!

Blessings!!

Pictures of the new Projeto Toque home in Piracicaba

The new house in Piracicaba ( country side of São Paulo)

Pastries made by the people who live in Toque´s home.

We also make chocolate truffles.

Garbage Mouth

Garbage Mouth

Going to crackland

Adriano - Fernanda - Caetano (Melanie taking the pic)

The Crackland...a very broken place...

As we lift our hands and pray

It’s been a while since I last posted news on our blog, there are so many good news that I not even know from where to begin.


Well, many of you already know that Projeto Toque in Piracicaba has moved to a larger house.
With the coming of more people to our family house we faced new challenges, like the need for more room and people to help Joyce, we prayed that God would send more workers, and he sent, Dinho that is now working and living in the family house, Matheus, Mari and Pedro also returned to Piracicaba and are developing several jobs with the people who live in the house,like chocolate truffles, and pastries are made for sale and are also working with a car quick wash. The house is very close to the river and they have already made a devotional outdoors by the river, God is really blessing us, we would have a missing arm in our work of restoration of our brothers and sisters if we didn’t have the family house in Piracicaba, thanks to the home we are able to help them continue the work God has already began in their lives.

Our team in Sao Paulo have learned so much and seen God working in amazing ways. We have known J. for almost two years, she is a 26 year old girl who is a drug addicted and also HIV positive ,we have taken her to the doctor many times, and managed to find a vacancy at a rehab house, she would give up to go there at the last minute ,or sometimes only sought for our help when she was very sick, she wasn’t on a HIV treatment so she would contract many diseases that only got worse, such as tuberculosis. The last time she sought our help her hands were full of wounds and fungi, she was in a very very bad situation, once again we took her to the doctor but it was not a case of being admitted at the hospital, she was living on the street we also couldn’t bring her home because we have a 2 year old kid, the rehab house wouldn’t also take her in with her bad health situation, there was nothing we could do, we felt sad and powerless, so we gave the situation up to God.

Two weeks ago she phoned us saying that she was treating TB in Campos do Jordao. Since then she has often called us, and we will on Sunday with a group from church Projeto 242 visit her, if she stays until the end of the treatment we can receive her in our home in Piracicaba.

Pray to God to strengthen her so she can complete the treatment

I could write a book of testimonies, another very nice thing that happened was the opportunity we are having to share the gospel with a transvestite, we have visited his house every Friday, he lives with the boyfriend who is always very friendly, R. wants to stop with the kind of life he is living, in fact he ended the relationship with the boyfriend and they are living together for only for now, he was very honest and believes that God created him to be a man, he also opened up about the abuse he suffered from the age of 9 to 14 years old and that contributed to his sexual option. We´ve been visiting him for months, and honestly in our little faith we thought it would be very difficult for him to break up with the boyfriend, we also had never had an opportunity to talk openly about homosexuality and the will of God regarding his sexuality, on the day we went to his house we were surprised by the way he has opened up.

We are happy that the Holy Spirit is working in his life.

Often we come across situations where our understanding and human limitation can not provide answers and solutions, these were some of the many situations we often face, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD!

He will always work and act where and when we can not, that’s why it is so good to live in dependence and expectation of what God is going to do.

Our role is to simply go and sow, the growth belongs to God.

Lift our hands to the heavens and claim that God goes ahead of us in the battle, that He will bring growth.

That’s why your prayer is so important when we are on the battlefield. (Exodus 17. 8-13)


Prayer Requests:

Yesterday we received a lady who is a prostitute to learn how to make truffles so she can sell it, pray for her so she can get out of prostitution.

For R. the transvestite who we have been visiting.

J. who is at Campos do Jordao at the clinic getting her health recovered, for her rehabilitation and strength to complete the treatment.

Family house in Piracicaba and the missionaries Matheus, Mari and Pedro, Joyce, Dinho

Projeto Toque in Sao Paulo, Caetano, Fernanda, Adriano, Luciana and Artur, Melanie

Also, for Sarah from Minneapolis and Agata from Poland who are coming to work with us next month



Thank you to all who have prayed, contributed and volunteered with us! God Bless you!!


Fernanda and Projeto Toque family

Teaching how to fish

Certainly you've already heard that expression: "It is best to teach how to fish than just give the fish" under certain circumstances, this means: helping a person in need of food, clothing, housing or money, to find a way to generate their own resources, rather than just give the things they need. Thinking about it, and especially the needs of the women involved in prostitution, we started offering courses, handicrafts, English language and chocolate truffles for those who wish to leave prostitution. From all this courses, the only one who gives conditions for them to stop living this kind of life straight away is the one which teaches making truffles and selling, the number of women looking for this course has increased lately, due to the temporary closure of two major brothels, although the buildings have been reopened, women need to pay very high taxes, to be able to "work," We praise God for this, because we always pray that God will set them free from the way they are living. We believe that for some of them the way of getting out of prostitution (at least in the beginning) will be by selling these chocolates, in fact we have seen at least five women starting this way and then finding another better job. For every woman who wants to learn how to make these truffles we spend around $ 90.00 Reais, wich includes 15 types of PVC, 4 bars of 1 kg of milk chocolate to cover Harald, 3 cans of condensed milk, grated coconut, 2 cans of cream, 4 types of packaging for truffles, strawberries, grapes, and a thermal bag, with this material we are able to make 110 truffles. A person can learn it in one day, and is able to start selling on the same day, usually we give all this material. But as I said the number of woman interested has increased, and it’s difficult for us help them all, so if you fell touched to help us, either with the money to buy the kit or with a kit , Please contact us on: 005511 3208-5418 or 005511 4102-1006 or you can make a deposits on our bank accout Projeto Toque: Bco Itau Ag 0180 C/C 58949-1. Thank you for your support.
God Bless you.

Pray to the Lord of the Harvest

As many of you already know, Projeto Toque in São Paulo has moved to a new house in an area called Liberdade. Our phone number has also changed to 005511 3208 54 15. Now with all the missionaries installed, our routine suffered some changes. We are working not only on Wednesday nights, but also on Friday nights, so if you are free on those nights and want to be part of the street work, please contact us, on other days of the week (except Saturdays and Sundays) we have the street outreach in the afternoon.

The work has been very productive, we have been trying to adjust our time to the needs, our partnership with Missão Cena has consolidated.

We are very happy about the activities with the street children, which we make in partnership with Missão Cena and the Salvation Army, the number of children that have participated of the activities increased significantly. Each time, more and more children have had the chance to hear about Jesus, and also to receive His love through this team.

The problem now is that many have showed interest in getting out of the streets and changing their lives, but sadly the Christian shelters that receive those kids are closed or they cannot receive anybody else because they are full, and the main reason of this crisis, is the lack of workers.

I believe that is why Jesus asked us to pray to the Lord who owns the harvest, that he will send workers to gather his harvest (Mathew 9:38), He did not ask us to pray for money, buildings (which are also important) but so that people would come to do His work. A friend says that it’s easy to raise money because money doesn’t have free will in itself, but people do.

We have prayed for that, and God is answering, last month Melanie, from Germany, who is part of Steiger, gave up everything and to come to Brazil to join our team, we are very happy with her arrival.

As I said the need is great, we need more people willing to work full time. People who like to teach, to take care and to disciple.

When I say we need I´m not only talking about Projeto Toque, but about all the Projects and Missions that are our partners, such as CENA, Três Corações, ABBA, Jeame, Eagle, etc… For we are the body of Christ spreading the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

I ask you to pray, that God will send workers who are willing to lay down everything to be His feet, His hands and His mouth here on this earth.

Caetano and Fernanda´s wedding

On the 15th of march, Caetano and Fernanda Projeto Toque´s missionaries got married!!

Here are some pics for our friends who couldn´t be there. It was a very beautiful and special day, May God bless this union!!

Keep praying

We have really good news, on feb 18th that guy we wrote about and asked for prayer on the post a Call for life came to our house asking for help, his attitude was very different from the other times, he was aware of his situation very humble and willing to change, on the same day he took all his things where he was living and went to our house in Piracicaba, and 2 weeks ago he was baptized, we ask you to continue praying for him as he starts this new journey and new life with Jesus. We are very happy for his life transformation!

Woman´s day

On the 8th of march was celebrated the woman’s day, and every year on this date we go to the streets, brothels and squares where woman are in prostitution, we give them small gifts and a card to remember them how valuable they are for God and for us, it can be flowers, chocolate, a mirror, the gift itself isn’t so important but the most important is that they fell special and that somebody remembered them. It seems small and in fact it is, but they are so grateful and they become much more open for the message.
Many people think that it is very hard to show God’s love to the lost, but it isn’t.
If you have always wanted to do something for God, reaching out these woman, that´s a good opportunity, for sure there are people in your city, country even on your street that needs to understand better God’s love for them.
Use your God given creativity!
God bless you!!

A Call for life

Downtown in the area where we work there is a great number of people who are in prostitution, there are women who stand on the street corners and squares selling their bodies, while others are half naked on the stairs and corridors of three buildings that we visit weekly, they stand there waiting someone to choose them for the next program, all in business hours .... By night, and sometimes by day, are also transvestites, and the boys who are in prostitution also. The women we visit in their "work place", and we meet the transvestites in the streets and arrange visits to their "homes", what allows an approximation, and have deeper conversations about God, salvation, etc. ... , last Friday we did some visits, one of them was for someone I know so many years, A., he must be around 38 years old, but he seems to be much older, he is a transvestite and is part of a group that don’t have many customers, he is HIV positive for quite a while now. I got very sad because five transvestites who were his friends and mine died and they were in the same conditions he is right now, the last one who died (Reginaldo known as Raniely), had the body in the hospital for 10 days, nobody from his family or friends came and he was buried in cardboard box as a homeless; I had a very honest talk with A., as I had with those who died before this happened, I told him about the freedom and hope we can find in Christ, I told him I love him very much and I want to see him transformed by Jesus, he tried many ways to leave this way of life, went to rehab houses, tried reconciliation with the family, but he doesn’t remain in places for a long time, he is very proud.
I have already seen God moving in very unlikely ways, so I ask all of you everyone who read this post to pray for him and for all who are in the same situation to really give their hearts to Jesus Christ and have strength to overcome each step of their rehabilitation and healing.

Plans and hopes for 2008

A new year begins and we have great expectations, we are happy that we don´t rely on fate, but we depend on the One who has the power in His hands to control the whole Universe, and to accomplish his will in the lives of those who love Him.

We are excited with the new challenges and the probable changes, we are moving to another house, we ask you to remember us in your prayers.
Our prayer requests:

Projeto Toque in São Paulo is going to move to Liberdadde (near downtown), pray that God blesses us in the process of moving, adaptation, cleanning and the things we need to fix in the house.
Caetano and the Fernanda (missionaries of the Project) are getting married. Pray for this new season in their lives for God’s provision and the wedding plans.
For the ministries with transvestites, children in street situation, women who are in prostitution, the house in Piracicaba, and for the addicted ones in crack, for their deliverance, and that they can be made new in Christ of them new creatures in Christ Jesus.
Spiritual strength, health, protection, and missionaries unity.
For our children: Artur, Pedro and João, so that they grow healthy.
For our sponsors, and the churches that support us.

Toque´s family in São Paulo

This is our family, Joyce is missing in this pic because she is currently taking care of the house in Piracicaba. We have already had many experiences together, some who have been working here longer and some who has come this year, but God has made us a true family; at every year we have learned together what it means to love, respect, honour (sometimes also argue...), side by side through joy, sadness, hanging out and having fun,God has given us this privilege, it may be a small part of the fellowship we will have in heaven. (Left to Right. Caê, Elvis, Matheus, Lu, Fê, Bia and João (in the belly), Mari and Pedro, Melanie, Adriano and Artur)

Projeto Toque Newsletter

“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” 1 Cor 13:3


We are sorry for the delay,
Many changes had happened in the Project in the last months, we have
Reinforcements in the team in São Paulo, Adriano (that already has worked at the project) he came back with his family Luciana and Arthur are living in the community with Caetano, Fernanda and Melanie. Matheus and Mari had also come back to São Paulo with the new member of the family Pedro who is five months; in their place is Joyce looking after the house in Piracicaba.


As you can see the Project is multiplying (literally), also Bia that also is missionary of Toque is six months pregnant little João will come to the world until the end of October .


With all these changes come new challenges, one of them is the new work who we are carrying through in an invaded building of the street Mauá, there live more or less 100 families, organized for movement MSTC (Movement of the ones Without Housing) for general clarification, the intention of these people is not vandalism, as many times the media transmits, but to occupy an abandoned place until then very ruined, trying some form, through negotiations with proprietors and government, the financing of the property, with accessible parcels… At the moment we carry through services on Wednesday nights. Fernanda started an english class with the teens, its evelen kids.

The work with the women who are in prostitution continues, God has given us great chances to demonstrate His love for them, pray that God open job opportunities and increase the faith of these women, many cannot leave
prostitution having bills to pay, kids to look after (the familiar income depends exclusively on this).


We have been visiting 2 brothels with eight and nine floors, used total for this end, on Mondays and on Thursdays we visit the girls who are on the streets corners of Liberdade, Anhangabaú and Garbage Mouth.
In partnership with the mission Cena, Salvation Army and Expedição Mochila
We carry on the soccer with the children (in street situation), every Wednesday afternoon, we always close the activities with a time of prayer, word, worship and a snack.

On Fridays we visit the transvestites, the majority of them live in groups, in small flats of the area.
Our goal in these relationships is to be able to share the love of God through the preaching of the word, but also through our attitudes.

When people answer to the gospel we help them in the process of recovery directing them to rehab houses, receiving them in our house in Piracicaba
(after one year at the rehab house) most people have lost contact with their family so we receive them in a house where they can have a life included in society again and in the case of the women (that they cannot go for the recovery house), we teach them how to make chocolates, soaps, etc…From this month, you will be able to also follow what is happening here at the Project, through our Blog, the posts will be up dated every Friday ,with information, experiences in the streets, prayer requests and some devotionals shared here at Toque in the mornings.

Projeto Toque´s Flyer by Wellington Augusto

FLYER

Coming from the heart is God’s essence, which is the LOVE that our project has for the forgotten lives in the city.
The doves that hold the banner represent the Holy Spirit of God which assists in the process of recovery of the excluded ones.
The dark city in the background brings us to the context of downtown, representing places where the Holy Spirit wants to be, where no one else wants to go, and where our team wants to bring the good news. That is why the dove is close to the broken glass as if it is flying out of that building.
The papers blowing in the wind represent the word of GOD flying over the area