My First Week with the Girls!

This week we started our work with the children here at the Light House community center which is located in a slum called Cafezal in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

I am working with two groups of girls with ages ranging from 5 to 9 years old. I, along with my coleader, work with a group in the morning and a group in the afternoon. In Brazil children only go to school for half of the day so for the other half of the day they come and have fun and learn about the Lord here at the Light House.

It is much better for these children to be here at the Light House than to be on the streets playing or home alone. A lot of the children come from difficult family situations and have many many spiritual, emotional, and educational needs.

I had a great first week with my 2 groups of girls! Enjoy these photos and see some of the fun stuff we did!!!

Playing on the playground! The girls LOVE this part of the day!

A girl who just turned five so now she is old enough to join in on the activities here at the Light House! She is happy about that!

This was her first time on a swing set and she is 9 years old!

There are no parks in this slum (except inside the Light House property) or even close by. I was surprised that this girl had never been on a swing before and happy to be able to document and take a photo of her first time ever on a swing.

She was a little afraid to swing too high but she really enjoyed it!

This sweet one loves to swing! She would stay on the swingset the whole time if we let her!

We did a name activity with the girls during the first week to get to know the girls. Here one of the girls is presenting her name creation! This little one is 5 years old but has some developmental and growth problems. She is very smart though and tries so hard to do things independently, even though it is challenging for her.

My co-leader Kelly, who is a Brazilian, teaching a Bible Lesson to the girls about Creation! My co-leader is an awesome story teller and is wonderful with the girls! I am so thankful for all the ways she is helping and teaching me during this time. She is a blessing to work with- esspecially because she can speak Portuguese! She worked here at the Light House last year and loves working with children. She is teaching me SO MUCH.

Playing Games and doing Puzzles!

I think the favorite activity of most of the children is SWIMMING!!!

Here are the girls getting ready to jump in and enjoy the pool!!!

Once a week we give one meal to the girls and every day we give one piece of fruit.

These children are so beautiful and precious. I am so thankful to be here working with them!

PLEASE PRAY FOR US!!!!

Please pray for the girls, their families, and for our times working with the girls here at the Light House. We are praying for all of the girls to know the Lord personally and to grow to become strong women of God who walk in His ways. Our hope is also that they would have a good life- not trapped in poverty or poor choices. We want them to have an abundant and happy life!

The reality here is that often the girls get involved in relationships at an early age. Many are pregnant as young as 10 or 11. There are many broken relationships in the families of the girls and also much abuse and drug involvment in this slum. We are praying for a better life and praying for protection and transformation in the lives of each girl and their families.

I invite you to pray for these girls and for me and Kelly as we lead them.

We want to be a blessing in this community!