Dia da BIBILIA!!! BIBLE DAY!!!

Recently we had a special BIBLE DAY to celebrate the BIBLE here at the Light House with the youngest children that participate in the children's groups here!

Our house leader, Felipe, starting our day with prayer and singing songs!

The children singing and doing motions to a popular kid's song here.
"Read your Bible pray every day, pray everyday, pray everyday...
If you want to grow!"

Me presenting a skit about the value of hiding the WORD of God in your heart.

Two precious ones standing in line near the decorated doorway!

TREASURE HUNT!!!

Searching for SILVER and GOLD!
We taught the kids the following verse

The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. Psalm 119:72

Then we sent them on a treasure hunt to find their own piece of silver or gold.
And they're OFF!

Each child finding their piece of silver or gold!

My sweet girls showing their treasure. Each piece of gold has the verse from Psalm 119:72 written on one side.

The afternoon girls group with their pieces of gold and silver!

This smile is priceless!

The children completing a problem solving activity. Each small group organized the words from different scriptures in order - like a puzzle!

We shared with the children about different countries where people can not worship freely or even have their own Bible. The stars are placed on the map marking the top ten nations where there is no religious freedom and in most of these nations Bibles are illegal.

The children SUPER FELIZ with their new, cool and colorful Children's Bibles!

The afternoon girls' group with their new Bibles!

A THUMBS UP for the new Bibles!

Reading away in his new Bible!

Enjoying snacks and our Bible Party in the park!

Our girls coloring a follow-up activity with a Bible verse!

Our BIBLE DAY was fun and each child was SO HAPPY to receive their very own personal Bible!

Thanks again to White Plains United Methodist Church of Cary, NC for donating the money to purchase these Bibles. This community has been blessed by this offering!

Tea and Bibles for the Ladies!

On Tuesday I gave a special TEA for the women from the slum who participate in the water aerobics class here at the Light House!

Here is a photo of the beautiful women, the Light House lifeguard/water aerobics instructor (Professor Nunes) and me!

Enjoying YUMMY treats!

The dessert in the tray on the table is a special apple cobbler recipe that my Grandma Bookout makes. I called my grandma the night before the tea to ask for the recipe and ALL the ladies liked this treat the BEST! Many people want the recipe now!

Delicious Orange Cake!!!

I presented a video about the life, death, and resurection of Jesus Christ! It was beautiful and set to music that spoke of the MAJESTY of KING JESUS.

I recieved a SPECIAL donation from White Plains United Methodist Church (Cary, NC) to buy Bibles to give to the families and children we minister to here at the Light House.

I am happy to say that we were able to bless each woman at this special Tea with a brand new Bible!!! They were very thankful and blessed by this gift!

Women already reading in their new Bibles! They are hungry to read the WORD of GOD!

This sweet elderly lady told me that the Bible I gave her was the first Bible she has ever had in her whole life. I am pretty sure that she can not read, but still I was overjoyed to be able to place a Bible in her hands! Now she has a Bible and even if she can not read, some one may be able to read it to her.

After I gave this women a Bible she said to me, "Laura, this is the best present I have ever received. I never had a Bible before and now I have one. Thank you so much!"

I was surprised to hear that she had never owned a Bible as well and was again so happy that now she has one. Soon afterwards I saw her already searching the scriptures and I snapped this shot.

The woman on the far right with the yellow shirt is currently in two courses here at the Light House. She is in a literacy course, learning how to read and write and in water aerobics.

After I handed her a Bible I said to her, "I know you are learning to read right now so I will be praying that you will continue to learn quickly and be able to soon read this book!"

She said, "Yes, I want this! In Jesus Name!"

HAPPY with their NEW BIBLES!!!

It was a wonderful TEA to celebrate these ladies and honor them by giving them each a Bible.

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to White Plains United Methodist Church in Cary, NC for donating the money to purchase and distribute these Bibles! God Bless you for giving to this community here in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. May the WORD of God that is going forth produce MUCH fruit and bring transformation here!

Stay tuned... NEXT week we will distribute Bibles to some of our kids groups! I am excited about this!

Teaching the girls about Hygiene!

Recently we received a donation from people in Holland who gave to a volunteer working here with us. We had the idea to teach the girls about hygiene and then give them a hygiene kit!

Check out the fun stuff the girls received! Shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, body soap, tissues, a toothbrush, toothpaste, laundry detergent, and cool stuff too like hair bows and fun sunglasses!

Kelly, my teaching partner, sharing specific ways the girls can have good personal hygiene!

Ilse, a Dutch volunteer who helped with this project and the girls with their hygiene kit bags!

Some of the girls leaving the Light House very very HAPPY with their new hygiene kits (inside the plastic shopping bags) in hand!

Camila with her goodies from the hygiene kit! She was waiting for her mom to arrive to help her carry all this stuff home.

On behalf of the girls and the Light House staff we want to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all of those who gave to this Hygiene Project! We appreciate your support and prayers!

Chase the Lion!

Chase the Lion. Grab life by the mane...
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.
Set God sized goals. Pursue God ordained passions.
Grab life by the mane.

Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.
Keep asking questions.
Keep making mistakes.
Keep seeking God.
Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution.
Stop repeating the past and start creating the future.
Stop playing it safe and start taking risks.

Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences.
Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey...

Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can.
Live like today is the first day and last day of your life.

Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God.
Burn sinful bridges.
Blaze a new trail.
Criticize by creating
Worry less about what people think and mroe about what God thinks.
Don't try to be who you are not. Be yourself.

Laugh at yourself.
Quit holding out.
Quit holding back.
Quit running away.

Chase the Lion...

Read this today and it really speaks to where I am at. I am here in Brazil by faith. I am chasing the dreams He has placed in my heart. I am walking in obedience, taking a RISK - I don't want to hold back but fulfill all that God wants through my life...

Hope you are encouraged by this challenge as I was to CHASE the LION. To passionately chase after the Heart of God and become who God has uniquely created and destined you to be.

Mother's Day!!!

Enjoy photos of the Community Mother's Day Event
we hosted to honor the many mothers here in the slum of Cafezal!

Happy Mother's Day written in Portuguese!

The literal translation is "Happy Day of the Mothers!"

This was posted on the wall behind us while we gave our presentation!

Me with a few of the girls from my afternoon group.

In a drama we presented, the girl sitting beside me needed to be covered with kiss marks all over her face. I made the kiss marks with my dark lipstick just before this photo was taken.

We both laughed so much as I was getting her make-up just right!

Dressed up for the drama!

The afternoon girls group presenting the drama for the mothers! Each girl said a reason why they know they have a special place in the heart of their mother. (For example - because my mom feeds me, takes care of me when I am sick, plays with me, reads the Bible to me, prays for me, ect...)

The girls who participate in my morning girls group singing a song of blessing for the mothers. Click on the video below to seem in action!

After the presentation we all ate cake! A sweet way to end the celebration!

A beautiful photo of a girl from my afternoon group during the refreshment time.

To all of you who are mother's reading this post- I hope you had a very Happy Mother's Day this year and may God Bless you as you continue to be used of God in this role as a mother.

Your love as a mother truly is an expression of the LOVE of God!

I also want to dedicate this special post to my Grandma Dyson who is very sick and in the hospital this Mother's Day. I want to honor her as a Mother and a Grandmother this day. May the Lord bless, comfort, cover her with HIS peace and unconditional LOVE like only He can do...

Living Miracles

Tonight I went to the 1st birthday party of a one year old boy who is living with his mother, Joyce, in the YWAM girls shelter for girls with babies, called the Reborn House. I worked closely with this young mom and her baby last year when I was working at the the Rescue House. I wrote a blog about them about this time last year.


As you can see they both are doing well! Mom is growing in her walk with God and is currently taking classes at night. Baby is healthy, happy and is now 1 year old!!!


Here I am with Joyce and her nieces and nephews that attended the party! Many of her family members live in the same slum as me! Joyce actually spent many years living in Cafezal slum as child. She later lived with her mentally handicapped mother in a hospital for three years, on the streets, in another YWAM girls shelter called Recanto, off and on in the homes of her sisters (here in the slum), and now she is living safely in the Reborn house with her baby.

Enjoy the video below of everyone singing "Happy Birthday" in Portuguese!

It is beautiful to see how in the last year God has worked in the life of this young, teenage mom. Both mom and baby are true miracles and testimonies of God's faithfulness!

A special guest at the party!

This precious girl is another MIRACLE of God!

This beautiful girl was unfortunately born with the HIV virus. Her mother, a girl who is still on the streets, passed the virus onto her. Last year I also worked with this precious baby and her mother while working at the Rescue House. The mother of this girl lived at the Reborn House for a while with her daughter but ended up returning to the lifestyle of living on the streets. Her daughter has been adopted by a lovely couple from Holland. Oh, how this couple loves this precious girl and their unconditional love has brought much healing to her life! Her health is stronger than ever now and she is a happy and lively baby! When she first came to the YWAM shelter she was extremely sick, unactive, and an unresponsive baby. God has brought much life to her!

I love to see God at work in these lives.
Living Miracles of God!

He is working - bringing life, love, change, and healing.

He listens to the cry of the needy ones...

He is a God of LOVE!

Confronted With Reality...

As I walk through the slum, dodging puddles of dirty water and trash littering the street,

my eyes are open to see ...

Children are playing in the street, a crowd is waiting at the bus stop, a scraggly horse is standing attached to an old, rusty cart waiting for his workday to continue, teenage girls pass by carrying their babies, people are entering and exiting the small corner store and fruit shop, and unemployed men sit on the curbside and in the local bar drinking and smoking their day away. Loud music blares, stray dogs are barking, motorcycles whiz down the steep, narrow streets, the strong sun beats down on my face, and I smell the pleasant fragrance of fresh bread baking nearby. With each step, I take in the world around me. I climb my way up a steep hill and enter a narrow alley way.

This is the path I take as I go to visit the families of the girls I work with. Each week we spend time visiting families in the community and during this time ...

I am always confronted with reality.

The brutal reality of life in the slums of Brazil continues to shake and compel me to share my FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE. Just the other day I went on a family visit and was greatly impacted. The story of this family is just a taste of the reality of the many people living throughout thousands of slums in Brazil.

I work with three girls that come from the same extended family. The mother of one of the girls recently shared with us that she has been abused by her husband and even tortured by him due to his desperation for money. (This family is now living with other family members for safe refuge). The niece of this lady is a single mom who is rumored to be involved with drug trafficking. She has two beautiful daughters which are also in my group. The father of the oldest daughter was shot and killed (drug related) when this girl was just a baby, and the father of the younger daughter abandoned the family years ago. This is just one family that I work with.

Another girl in my group also suffers from the reality of her father’s murder, which was drug related. Many kids who live in this slum only have one parent figure as well, due to the unfortunate fact that either their mother or father has abandoned the family. Most of the children we work here at the Light House live in an environment of neglect, pain, poor living conditions, abuse, and lack…




Sometimes it is easy to just shut your eyes to reality. It is easier to shut your eyes than to see the pain and suffering in the world around you… Honestly, that is usually my first reaction to pain and suffering – to just shut my eyes or turn away.

I feel God is saying to me, “Open your eyes...”

He has placed me here to see each child, each person- individually, to understand their pain, sufferings and difficulties, and then to respond with His LOVE. To do what He would do and bring them HIS LOVE.

I feel privileged to be here. It isn’t always easy, but I know Jesus has called me to follow Him to this corner of the world full of much pain and beauty.

The Lord is faithful to all His promises

and loving toward all He has made.

Psalm 145:13

We all can find HOPE in the LORD!