News from the week

This was an exciting week, last Thursday we had the transvestites dinner, it was such a great time, Mission CENA is having a urban missions school every Saturday afternoon and their students organized the dinner, 13 transvestites showed up, they stayed for 2 hours chatting with the students, they were very comfortable and it seemed they didn’t want to leave. We had a short word and live music playing.

We are also very happy with Edinadia, she is a girl who’s been on the streets since she was very little, a few weeks ago she told us she wanted to go to the rehab farm, she was excited about going and starting a new life with Jesus, so this Tuesday the missionaries from Mission Cena were waiting for her to arrive because they had a opening at the farm for her, and she was supposed to go on that Tuesday.

She didn’t show up, we from Toque went as usual to the crack land to do the first aid on people, when we got there, the first person we saw was her. We talked to her about the opening and the opportunity she was missing if she didn’t go to the farm, but she was so craving for the drug that she wouldn’t listen to us, nothing we were telling her seemed to make a difference, she was going for the crack
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We went back to Missão Cena and Lilian and Daniele ( Cena´s missionaries), insited to go back to talk to Edinadia one more time. So we went back running because the bus to the farm was going to leave soon, we found her with some other girls, Lilian said: Hey, what are you doing here? This is your day, come!

Edinadia at the same time stood up and came with us, she not even said good bye to the girls she was with. On the way to Cena she threw all her drugs away, and all the things that would remind her of the streets, it was totally the Lord working in that moment.
After much running she made it to the bus and the farm. Yei!

She will spend around 9 months there, and we know it will be a difficult time of changes for her, so please join us in prayer that she will remain at the farm and complete her treatment.

Praise the Lord for all He has done and is doing!!

Baptism

Last Sunday we had the privilege of going to the baptism of 25 people who are recovering at a rehab house we partner with, two of the guys who got baptized were fruits of the last camp we organized for the transvestites, they have been on recovery for 9 and 6 months, it’s so encouraging to see those lives being transformed and healed.
This coming Thursday, we are organizing an Easter Dinner for the transvestites, we’ve been handing out invitations and we hope many of them will come.
Pray that this will be a time where they can sense God’s love towards them, that they open their hearts to Jesus, and that we serve them the same way Jesus would.
We are also making another camp for them next month, we ask you to be praying with us for these 2 events we are organizing, that those men will find their true identity in Christ.

Planning moves us.

Oregon Team that spent 10 days serving with us.


Planning is always good, it gives us fuel and goals to reach, it moves us to pray even more.
And we have reasons for planning on these coming months.

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been visiting 2 teenage girls at a kids Foundation, from the government, that works like a prison and also recovery, these girls were on crack and living in the streets of downtown Sao Paulo, it’s been a while since we from Toque have been discussing about the need of visiting the girls when they are under arrest, it’s easier to build a friendship with them when they are not on drugs, and out of the street environment.

On our first visit to the prison, the main Coordinator asked us if we were willing to start a weekly program with the girls, only with the girls who were hanging around the central area of the city, the ones we’ve been in contact for a long time.
We are very excited with this opportunity, we believe it’s a door the Lord is opening, and so our kids can be rescued and loved.
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Our goal is to give a better attention to the girls, so after the season they spend at this kids prison, they won’t return to the streets anymore.

The treatment the girls are receiving at the foundation is very good, one more reason we want to keep in touch with the girls so all this work won’t be lost when they leave.
We are going to present our project to the Coordinator maybe this week, pray that God will give us wisdom and fresh insight of what He wants to speak into these girls lives.

Even though this Foundation is governmental, they are open for us to bring the gospel, so we don’t want to miss the opportunity.

Our Idea is to bring beauty treatments, bible study focusing on purpose and value in Christ, including some time talking and counseling them, if you have some more ideas, feel free to tell us.

Two weeks ago, a team of 5 lovely ladies came down from Oregon USA, to serve with us here at Toque, it was a refreshing and blessed time to have them being part of our family for 10 days.
Last year another team from their church came to serve also, and had also become great friends and supporters of our ministry.


We thank you and love you all!!