Let the Little Children Come

“You will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” ~Psalms 27:13

This is going to be a truly honest post, one that may be hard to read. But it is real. And this is my life.

Days here are filled with many ups and downs. Times of difficult conversations among staff, times of heart wrenching situations with the kiddos, times of feeling so defeated, overwhelmed and uncertain of what will happen next.  Times of not feeling at all, and recognizing an unsettling numbness to all emotion that has been ever so familiar in the past. BUT, there have also been times of enormous blessings, radical healings, transformations and times of being consumed with God’s overwhelming love, His Father heart for his children, and His comforting and assuring presence. Days are mixed with it all. And God’s presence is never fleeting.

The following are glimpses into the kind of consequences of evil we are trying to speak and bring life into: Our precious little girls and boys trying to maneuver through this life with a sexual brokenness at such a young age.  Trying to teach kindergarteners what the differences are between “good” and “bad” touch and feeling the burden of God’s broken heart for their lives that have been robbed, so unjustly, of their childhood and innocence. Seeing the tears stream down their tiny little cheeks as they try to process what has been done to them and how to thrive, now, in spite of the lying arrows that have pierced them so deeply.

And God sees them. And He sits with them and speaks his gentle and furiously pure love over their hearts, minds and bodies. And we continue to put our trust in Him that he is making ALL things new. And what the Enemy meant for harm in their lives will be turned into God’s masterpiece of redemption.  There are times when my heart feels like it may be completely crushed under the weight of this pain that they have to feel, but God’s grace pulls these burdens from my hands and takes them upon, Himself, yet again.  

And where the Spirit of the Lord is…there is freedom. And we get to see this too. We get to see four of God’s beloved little children decide to put their hope in Him and make decisions to follow Him. [Prayers appreciated for Norma, Sandra Lucia, Edwin and Cristofer as they begin to walk this out!] We get to see the transformation in their hearts start to take root. Behaviors start to change. Hearts start to be awakened to Hope, to Love, to Freedom. Deep-rooted anger exchanged for joy. Where bad words and insults once reigned in the mouths of these beloved ones, hugs and joy-filled smiles are becoming more frequent! We have gotten to witness God’s physical healings for the community. Tumors completely disappearing, hearing and eyesight restored, demons being driven away, addictions and depression being replaced with freedom and joy. God is moving!

And it is in these times that my heart rejoices and feels as though it could explode with the realization of God’s tender, generous love and compassion. God’s grace makes room for us to see these moments too. And I am left in awe.

So this is where I am, regardless of the situation, always in the palms of his mighty hands. Where else would one rather be? These beloved kiddos have had very painful lives and it’s not fair. But at the same time, I am reminded that they are, in some ways, blessed with such richness in getting to see God’s love manifested around them at such a young age. They are already witnessing and participating in healing people in their own community, feasting on the Word of God, memorizing scripture after scripture, learning how to pray over each other and declare life and God’s truths, and already starting to recognize and walk in their unique spiritual gifts. They have been called to the Wedding Feast and they are coming full of such vigorous hunger for the things of God! While so many of us still continue to be satisfied with scavenging around and filling up on the scraps that fall on the floor, they are starting to recognize their place at the table and claiming their inheritance! I have learned much from them in their child-like faith…that has had every opportunity to be broken or crushed…but still continues to trust and believe that God really means the things that he says! Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Let the little children come to me. They hold the keys to the kingdom of God with a faith that inspires all of us who have ever been broken and bruised with doubt to come and join in the Wedding banquet. God has already prepared it and it is waiting for us!

A Painfully Beautiful Mosaic

I look into your eyes and see the fear that lies within me and I feel exposed. Bringing my hand to my face, I probe for my mask and secure it in place. I wish for every mirror to be covered but your tears stare at me as if to mock me, to say, "I see you, you can't hide". You're just like me. 

The gut whispers, "Is this not desired?" For someone to demolish the walls that have been built ever so carefully yet with toothpicks, threatening to be overturned at any corner. The sea saw of desperately wanting to be known for who we truly are and at the same time, furiously and intricately weaving together a better-looking self, a safer self. One that isn't so intense, that isn't filled with such passionate emotions. One that doesn't let the pain seep too far in. An ideal of strength and control. 

Perhaps having succumbed to the lies heard and that continue to be rehearsed within the mind, we allow ourselves to regurgitate, "you are too…", too much of one thing or another and so facing ourself in the mirror, encourage the corners of the mouth to turn upward on a plastic face and enter into the fragility of a dictating existence. A world in which waters aren't stirred, feet don't stumble and the head is held high. No one breaching the walls of heart and soul to discover vulnerability. No one prying open the heart to risk feeling amidst this lurking world posed to attack.

The darkness of night is consumed with tossing and turning, a sweeping tsunami of the day's events fire away and overtake every thought, holding them hostage, evading sleep. No rest for a soul tormented by a raging war between reality and make believe. It stabs. It conjures. It fights to pull away the mask to no avail. It threatens to expose to everyone that the strength portrayed is not the strength that actually exists. That the true self is not enough. 

And then the day comes when the mask is ripped from the face and its victim gasps for air as if it hasn't been able to take a breath for a long time. It's an excruciating break as the formerly imprisoned learns how to put one foot forward without its captor dictating his every step. And breathing comes easier as the chest is not constricted to inhibiting the heart to feel…to beat. A tidal wave of every emotion worn bare. It is terrifying and exhilarating all at once. Nothing to stop it now. No pills, no 'liquid courage', no enhancers of the mind to drift away, nor distraction of any self-made, less harmful pain. Nothing. Nothing to constrict feeling life as it is meant to be felt. No longer a dead man walking. No longer suffocating in a sea of make believe. This life. The painful beauty of it all. 

People ask "Are you all good?", "Are you alright?". And where we once robotically replied as we thought they wanted to hear, the recognition lies in seeing that it's not always fine or all good and that's okay. And maybe that means that sometimes we will feel as though we are drowning in a tumult of waves. The truth is, however, we are no longer tossed to and fro, we are steadfast and held steady by a Creator who created all of who we are. No longer having to be strong, He does that for us. Nor having to be perfect for He is, in itself, perfection. We must only trust. Trust in the One who calms the waves for our benefit. Who hushes the winds to our advantage. Better still, a trust for the One who holds us up, comforting and strengthening us even as He allows the waves to crash around us, proving that with Him we cannot be shaken. 

I am not alone. I know that there are others who have at one time or another wrestled likewise. I am not the fighter in this story. Those reins have been given over. Aware that they didn't need to be picked up from the start, for I have a mighty Father who fights for me. And so I throw my sword to the ground and sprint vigorously into the arms of a Father who offers so much more, that through Him, we are enough. All by removing the mask. Finally stripped bare, there is a needed recognition that being dependent on oneself will inevitably result in destruction. Ironic that what we hold on to with such a vice grip in order to protect ourselves will only kill us in the end. I, myself, recognized as nothing but in and through Him, everything. A head no longer held high in pride, but bowed low in all-consuming gratitude. A carefully crafted mosaic of a life hand-painted by an Artist who makes all things beautiful. A burden once heavy, now made light with an assuring whisper, "Be still and know that I am God". 



As I was jotting these thoughts down, I had the following song on replay. I wasn't really listening to the actual words while writing, just enjoying the sound.  I finally started listening for the message the composer was trying to portray through this song and found it paralleled my thoughts too perfectly not to share:

Trauma, Mental Health, and Spirituality

Is everything spiritual?

I believe it is.  The problem lies when we don't equate everything as being spiritual.  When we view trauma or mental health apart from spirituality, saying that one has no influence on the other. If we could only see all the triggers at play…if we could only see the backdrop of this warring world of good versus evil.

How does one become traumatized, if not because of sin itself? Say a crime is committed against an individual, is that sin or is that just human nature? Or let's say it is a traumatic health issue that takes place, or a 'natural' disaster... is the reason for this pain not rooted in the sin of our ancestors of Adam and Eve? Did they not open the door to sin…Close the door on the perfect Garden and open the door to a imperfect and pain filled world where bad things happen to good people? Spirituality.

I will be the first to say that trauma opens the door for more sin to enter.  If we fail to shut this door, we open ourselves up to the possibility of perpetuating sin, even if we were the victim of the sin in the first place. It's obviously not fair. But the Enemy doesn't play fair, remember? Take sexual abuse for example. A horrendous crime committed against someone. You would never think that the victim would be vulnerable of related or effectual sin to take place, would you? But that's just it, whether we like it or not, a seed is planted.

Let's say that the victim doesn't become a perpetrator of the same kind (but in many cases, this becomes fact), the victim doesn't choose to perpetuate the crime, however, does now listen to lies, does create a sinful pattern of believing and thinking…is this not sin as well? What's really not fair is when the abuse happens as a child or to a person who has not yet known truth…they don't know that they are molding into a sinful pattern. When does God hold us accountable? When we know truth. When we are in position of leadership. When we are teachers of his Word. Thank you, God, that You walk with us all through the mess of trauma into truth in Your timing and in Your perfect ways. He does it in love and he does it in grace; he also does it through discipline and correction.

Many people…even Christians would say that because we fall short…because we are sinful beings…that we have no choice but to sin. umm….okay….where is the hope in that??!! Where is the freedom of the cross??!! That's absurd. The FREEING TRUTH is that we do have the hope of holiness. We have it at our fingertips…we have ALL of Christ living within us. You don't think he is capable of freeing us of our sinful selves? The truth is, we hide it. We don't give him access to this part of us. (whether consciously or subconsciously) That's when we entrap ourselves.  No, its not through our doing that we walk a holy life, that's all God. But don't say that we aren't capable of it. Don't say that we are slaves to sin…because that is heresy. What was the cross for and where is the hope if this were true??

I walked for so long in so many lies. I walked in sin when I chose to believe lies about my identity in Christ--that I was unloveable…or God's identity--that he wasn't faithful to me…or how he desires for me to interact in this world. Most of the time it was unconsciously, that's when truth telling and counsel are so needed. That is when allowing God to search our deceitful hearts is vital…so that the unconscious becomes conscious. This is when we are capable of seeing and changing. The hope remains that his love and the work that he accomplished on the cross frees me, and gives me hope and ability to walk in truth and holiness. It's only possible by opening all of ourselves up to His redeeming and reviving molding hand. When we choose to keep hidden, we are essentially choosing sin, shackles and death.

I've faced some very dark clinical depression and anxiety.  So much so that I used to contemplate suicide often. While I think trauma and biology can play a huge part in mental health disorders such as these, I also hold the opinion that spirituality is intertwined.  What we, as mental health practitioners call 'situational depression'…is also a spiritual depression. Somewhere along the line we have learned to respond to life in an unhealthy way.  This is not how God made us to feel or act or think. Not in a state of constant depression or anxiety. If we claim that we are depressed or anxious people then we claim that as our identity and that is a sin. We perpetuate the problem…we perpetuate sin. Healing and relief come when we reveal our struggles to God, and/or to Christ-centered counsel, and hold fast and unswervingly to the hope that this is not who we are…when we open these parts of ourselves up to the God who is capable of redeeming and restoring every part of us…when we choose to throw off the lies and bring in the truth.  (Yes, I believe psychological counseling--preferably with a Christ-follower who knows truth--is often highly beneficial)

Please don't misconstrue what I'm saying...I don't think that this restoration and redemption of our identities is always easy work or immediate. I'm not saying that I'll never have another depressive or anxious thought. I don't agree that once we say a prayer that we are done being saved. Salvation is a lifetime process and so is restoration. Sometimes we see the fruit all at once in some areas…sometimes it comes more gradually. But I don't agree that we are lifeless puppets. We have choices. It is all through God's grace and power…but we have to give him access, we have to remove our grip from the masks that we hold so tightly to our faces and let him have His way. We don't want to be found out, but the truth is, God already sees and knows all of who we are. But He is a respectful God. He never forces himself on us. It's relationship. And it's our choice. How much are we willing to expose of ourselves to this God that longs to be given the entirety of our hearts? Let's allow him to do his great work in our hearts so that our words become congruent with our actions and so that we experience for ourselves and offer for others, true freedom. It is the most painful process and the most liberating all at the same time. God promises never to leave us broken. Let's take him up on that hope. This hope that is at our very fingertips. Hope for the brokenhearted.

The Unveiling: Part 2: Worthy of Being Loved

After writing "Part 1" my mind wouldn't sit still with the many more thoughts firing through my head.
I set the initial backdrop of the love story, the truth that our hearts are being battled for, and raised the question of whether or not we believed our God to be a good God, able to be trusted with our hearts. But i left out a key question. One that i have struggled with often. Am I worthy of being loved?

God says, yes,  I am. God calls us worthy. He actually sees us as he created us: that of whole, holy, perfect and worthy. He not only names us worthy but he proves it to us. For what kind of god would sacrifice his only son to a people that he views as unworthy of his love? This is freaking me out a bit to even write, telling me that i have yet to fully grasp the fullness of His love for me. It's so scandalous!!!

I suppose it goes back to those wounding messages we are bombarded with or the lies that have infiltrated. "You are unloveable", "You're a screw-up", "Not even your most trusted friends could stick around", "You are unworthy of love". Okay, yes, these are rather blatant and often times the messages are more subtle, but tell me you haven't thought at least one of these thoughts on one occasion or another? A lot of Christian songs actually serve to further this message, dropping lyrics with the likes of identifying us as filthy sinners, pieces of nothingness. These are only partial truths. Yes, its true that we are nothing and we are sinners….apart from God…but God desires, so desperately, for us to see who we are…in God and with God in us.  

What would happen if we grasped the truth that we have ALL of the living God within us…fighting for ALL of us--for our very hearts? I'm pretty certain the Scriptures proclaim that within God and God in us that we are made holy and perfect in his sight. True? What would happen if we believed that we are capable of being loved so fervently from the most Holy of Holies? Would our self-images change? Our outlooks on life? Our view of others? Our beliefs…thoughts…and behaviors?

The other day God whispered a love message to me: "You are beautiful, Kate".  Honestly, it threw me off guard…I wasn't sure how to respond let alone, feel about this. That made me ask myself why. Why did this declaration of love make me feel rather defensive? Because it touched at a belief that i too often entertain, that I am unlovable. Not only that but it enlightened me to realize that God is a lover of my heart…that he pursues me because he loves me. He pursues our hearts, not in a "one time, now you're saved" kind of way…but in the way of relationship. An out-of-the-blue, "just because", gesture of his love for us. In Revelation, it talks about Jesus carving a "new name" in stone for each of us. A "new name"…a name reserved to be heard between a Lover and his beloved.  We wait for not just any feast…upon that heavenly day…but the wedding feast. That. Is. Crazy. Love….in a way i've not quite thought of until now.

We have a choice. We have been given the freedom of choice to accept his love and to pursue him back. Its not always easy to accept His love, but we have already established that he is good and can be trusted. And furthermore, we are lovable--and while, not by any means deserving of his love, but freely given it. Remember that cross? The one he conquered sin and death on---that's how we freely receive it.  Who are we to turn around and say that we are not lovable? That kinda seems like a slap in the face to a God who has done everything to show us otherwise.

He doesn't want half-hearted lovers or controlled and forced affection, he wants the untamed yet wholehearted desire from his children to love him back. The love story, as mentioned previously. Where perhaps we haven't been given a voice or a choice before in how our hearts have been handled or given to, now we do. Talk about his risk! It's not manipulative or demanding, It's not even conditional! And that is what makes it so refreshingly desirable.

I used to give my heart indiscriminately to anyone and everyone. Not often realizing that i had a choice and not giving a voice to how my heart was handled. In so doing, it would often get trampled on, thrown out, spit upon--in short…i held my heart out and said "Go ahead…do with it as you wish", not deeming it worthy enough to protect it. God says that heart is worthy of being protected. God says, "It's beautiful…you are beautiful, my darling…there is no flaw in you".  Where his own heart has been trampled on, thrown out and literally spit upon...He still freely gives it, still battles for our heart, gives up everything for us, risks it all on us, and still he lets us choose…gives us a voice. Giving us complete freedom and with it, complete and whole healing.

A perfectly whole love, even with being hurt at his very core.  Experiencing total betrayal of his own heart. Lucifer, the betrayer, a chosen angel created out of God's furious love.  Israel, God's chosen people, betrayed continuously. Peter, apparently at the core circle of Jesus' friends, let in on more of God's glory and heart than some of the other disciples…totally betrayed him in the time that mattered most. And then he tries it all again…this giving of his trampled upon heart…to us. I can't say that we fared any better in loving Him, and he still gives himself to us, completely and in all wholeness. A love that is perfectly holy.

That is the fierce and unswervingly faithful love of our God. That is how much he says we are worth it.  We are his beloved. Likened to that of "His bride". That is a God we can entrust our heart and our love with. He will never betray us. Never stop fighting for the redemption of our hearts nor stop dazzling and overwhelming us with his continual pursuance. We are fiercely loved. And the more we can center our minds and hearts around this truth, the more freedom, holiness and wholeness we will live into.

Enjoy this quote from Abba's Child, by Brennan Manning:


"It takes a profound conversion to accept that God is relentlessly tender and compassionate toward us just as we are--not in spite of our sins and faults (that would not be total acceptance), but with them."

The Unveiling: Part 1: A Love Story

In each of our lives, at differing points in our histories, we can, without doubt, safely assume that we have been pierced with uniquely painful messages;  messages that serve to further Satan's purposes and taint the reality of who we were made to be.

There are two differing messages…not all bad, and those truths that we are blessed enough to have fed to us early on prove to strengthen and equip us to deflect and withstand opposing messages. But the fact remains, that however poured into with truth a person starts off with, those poison arrows tend to find there way in at some point in our lives and infect the very core of our being-the base of our operating system. And admit it or not, it does affect us.  If we are not conscious of the cuts made and the severing of those truth roots, then we walk around this life wounded--and wounding others at the same time.

Some are aware of their wounds some are not. Some are able to say that they've been wounded, but have no idea where those voracious messages seeped into their souls…how it has painted their personalities…and subsequently colored their view of the world they live in.

Perhaps we begin to walk with tunnel vision through this life.  I admit that I often forget that this life is being battled out. We get stuck in our little stories and we miss the big picture. A picture and a reality of Good versus Evil. Yes, my heart and soul belong to my Savior, but that doesn't mean that Satan throws up his hands and erases his efforts at vying for position. He would love nothing less than to do great…(or small, for that matter)-damage to our identity as sons and daughters, princes and princesses of a King who so longingly desires us to see, know and live out our given inheritances of holy and wholly healed.

And so we continue to walk around in our little stories, unaware of who we really are or the bigger purpose for our current struggles, pain or life in general. We become satisfied with only seeing a fraction of truth--its safe. It may often suck, and be riddled with boredom, fatigue and hopelessness…but its safe! It's what we know, and that is comforting to us. So we replace the need for a Comforter with fake comforts. We forego the abundance of the narrow road because we can't see the process or the end…or we don't trust it.

If we don't trust either the process or the end…then it is time for us to start questioning our trust in our Shepherd. For the end has already been won! And our Shepherd…our Savior, Friend, Lover, Father and Comforter…HE IS GOOD! Do we really believe this? Or are we choosing our own hum drum stories to live into versus allowing ourselves to be enthralled with Love himself? Is is scary to feel your soul come alive…to acquire hope? To be loved by such a wild Lover?

It is often scary for me…but exceedingly more scary at the beginning. To feel hope, because it was once so unknown and I wasn't yet sure of the goodness of God. I wasn't certain that He could be trusted with the all of who I was. For some of us, we have learned to give over our trust of God in some areas of our lives, but we are holding out and hanging on to other parts of us…often with a vice grip. Maybe we should ask ourselves some hard, yet truth telling questions. Why is this? What is it that I fear letting go of?

Silence. This is what opened pandora's box for these questions to coming floating out, for me the other day. The house became silent. And I panicked. I'm one to always have music on…and i've reasoned with myself that because its now all music that teaches me more about God or allows me to praise him, that its okay---its good---that it is constantly flowing out of the computer speakers. I've reasoned this way because I've heard God asking me to turn it off! (This is a very minor example, but in a way, nothing is minor in this life that is governed by our very hearts and minds). So I had to ask myself these questions: Why? Why do I hate silence? Why would I rather be around people all day than spend a few minutes alone…by myself…with God? I've got my answers, and they aren't all pretty, but they are real and they are solid launching points of diving deeper into the heart of my Father.

And that is the goal. That is our purpose. To know God and who we are in Him…then we can live it out, not remaining locked in our own stories but in God's story--God's love story, where he is not just the Author of our lives but the Hero as well. A story in which we learn how to squelch the poison-tipped arrows of the Enemy and step out into our created identities. To make the return to The Garden where it first began. And the return to the hope that the fullness of that Garden awaits us at the end of that road that we, in all of our own efforts, squint our eyes trying to see.

Think about it, if we truly knew how scandalously and furiously we are loved by the Creator of the universe…how could we remain unchanged? That narrow road is not easy by any means. It is the hardest, most excruciatingly painful journey you could ever go on.  Not encouraging? Oh but it is…because it is so worth it. We were not made to walk through this life comforted and made numb by temporary things of this world, because we were made for more. Our hearts were formed for the more. This is why we become depressed and tend to lose heart when we stop remembering God's love and faithfulness and who we are, because our very identity has been covered up.

 It's time to uncover the veil. It's time to remember…to throw off all that hinders us-trace back the arrows and replace them with truth…truth that God is faithful and good. This is not a game of survival. You won't win by trying to negate hurt and pain. Take away those emotions and you take away all the good, you bury your heart and with it your soul, becoming someone that you were never intended to become.  It's time to awaken our hearts that were made to beat wildly for a wild Lover.

New Adventures

Next Steps... Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Belo Horizonte, Brazil Greetings... I hope this email finds each of you filled with the joy and presence of our Christ.  I am writing to you in order to update you on my next steps and in hope that you will desire to partner with me in prayer and/or financial support. I have decided to jump back into working alongside YWAM in the country of Brazil. The street children of Brazil started to tug---or, rather---squeeze my heart out when reading "A Cry From The Streets", a book published by YWAM and the book that introduced me to this organization and to the realization that our God was and is way more than I had or could ever imagine him to be. I have been asking God for quite some time now as to what my next steps would look like. I consistently heard his answer as "trust me--be still, and rest in me". Let's just say I didn't do the awesomest job at this. After a day or two of "attempting to rest my heart and mind", I would fill in the gaps with a new idea--mine--and try to ease my anxiety with my own plans. None of which worked out, I know...shocker! And I was left baffled and broken, back at the feet of our patient and loving Lord, saying "Okay, God! I give up! I'm tired of trying to make something work out on my own...work it out for me!". What followed was such unreal peace...the peace in all its restfulness that makes you proclaim thanks and honor to the only One who can grant such gifts. I tried to rationalize the idea of Brazil away. To be honest, I'm terrified of the language barrier. I'm not great at picking up new languages and Portuguese, as similar as it is, is not Spanish! And then there's the whole, trusting God with the money thing again. While this had its use in building my faith in Los Angeles, I wasn't overly stoked about the idea of becoming dependent, once again, on others. Third, I honestly am somewhat apprehensive of working alongside Christians, again. We are most often hurt the deepest by people or friends that profess love for Christ because it screws with our belief system when they end up causing pain. Yet, a very wise friend told me today, that this will happen anywhere and everywhere. It is not YWAM specific, it is people specific and my belief system is now more strongly rooted in Christ, alone.  So, of course, I'm conveying all this to our all-knowing Father and he continues to ask the same question he's been asking me all summer: "Do you trust me?". Well...Do I??!! The truth is, i'm still working on it, but in the here and now and in the language, the scars and my dreams, I am choosing trust. People ask me if "i'm sure"...Or, if "i'm certain i'm doing the right thing or if this is really God's will and direction for me". I'm not completely sure that I can ever say that I am 100% certain that I have heard God correctly. I don't consider myself lofty enough to say I know all that God thinks or is.  All I can say is that I have felt total peace upon the yielding of my desires and fears and picking the dream of Brazil back up at this time and making the wholehearted plunge into continuing to follow after knowing more of my God and making him known to others. I currently have my first prayer and financial supporter in place as i am typing this. That is the signature of my Father on a piece he is continuing to make beautiful. In the end, we will not carry with us into His presence our wallets or belongings, its not our list of successes nor the least amount of failures counted-It's the motivation of our hearts. Do we believe what we proclaim to be true? And are we living like it? I don't want to dream and never wake up, I want to live out my dreams and make them reality.  For such a time as this... So, the time has come to embark without restraint into this dream and I am choosing the way of "full time missional living" and support raising. I would be honored if you would consider partnering with me in bringing the hope of the Gospel to the barrios and slums of Belo Horizonte. To the children and families, the abandoned and abused, offering truth of the only One who can truly transform their worlds. To know God and to make him known. This is all I desire for life. Deciding to partner with me will bring God's fervent and furious love to these abandoned and neglected children, youth and families living in the poorest and violent-filled streets and slums in the city of Belo Horizonte.  Details... I will be living and working with one of two possible houses that Belo Horizonte has established-The Lighthouse or the Rock House. These particular houses are community oriented and set up to both live and work with children, youth and families amidst the slums.  The work includes, evangelism and home visits within the streets and favelas, discipleship, tending to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs, building relationships, and identifying and developing strengths and identities formed in the image of Christ. Once I become more fluent in Portuguese I will be able to engage on a deeper level in counseling. Belo Horizonte has 6 different homes and shelters that target specific areas of need which you can look at further on the website: http://bhcentro.jocum.org.br/joomla/index.php?lang=en - At this time, every 1 USD converts to 2.32 Brazilian Real, therefore, a little goes a long way! You can support me by choosing to 1. Commit to pray for me  2. Make a one time donation or  3. Commit to monthly support of any given amount.  If you feel that you are being led to support me then I would love to talk to you in greater depth or connect with you in some way.  Financial giving can be done through the following means: Credit/Debit Card/Checks through YWAM Tyler TX (and is tax deductible) (Contact me for further info); or PayPal. It is my commitment to update you monthly by newsletter as to the work being done through your support.   *Checks can be made out to: YWAM   ** include a separate note stating the donation is for: Kate Hunt (Do not  write my name on the check)Mail to:  YWAM   Att: Accounting DeptP.O. Box 3000, Garden Valley, TX, 75771-3000 About YWAM (JOCUM) Belo Horizonte... This base is dedicated to defending the cause of the poor and needy, the orphans and in particular, reaching the children, youth and families who live on the streets or in the slums with the Gospel of hope and love. Knowing God and making him known within the roughest and often violent favelas. The base has developed 6 houses to meet specific needs, Some targeting evangelism and street outreach, meeting kids on the street and bringing them into support and community centers, providing food, shelter and hope. There are houses that work directly with pregnant or new young mothers, as well as restoration and rehabilitation houses, and some that work with the whole family unit, attempting to reunite families with their children, equipping them and helping to meet needs. Training schools occur on campus and community development off campus. "It is our goal to see trans-formation in the spiritual, physical, intellectual, and social areas."--[www.bhcentro.jocum.org.br] About Brazil... For all of you who will finish reading this and promptly Google Belo Horizonte and Brazil...:)...Let me save you some time and provide some information! Belo Horizonte is Portuguese for "Beautiful Horizon". 5,497,922 Brazilians live in the designated state of Minas Gerais which is built on several hills and completely enveloped by mountains. The official language is Portuguese, so I will have my work cut out for me! This beautiful language can be described as a mix between French and Spanish. The regional weather is considered tropical, typically ranging in degree from 52-88. During the 18th century, immigrants from Northern Portugal and many African slaves arrived, creating a unique culture of varying races. Catholicism is the leading religion with 68% and Protestants number 18%. Brazil is a country filled with great and overwhelming disparities between the rich and poor, allowing for vast impoverishment and segregation. You have the beautiful high rise buildings flooding with a developing world and work force which overlooks the slums or "favelas" directly under their feet. Not much different than most places in the world with this incongruence and injustice, perhaps just more obvious. It is largely due to this epidemic of poverty that street children emerge. In Brazil, between 1988 and 1990, a recorded 4,611 street children were murdered by police.[17] High numbers of street children murders by police have also been reported in Guatemala and Colombia.[17] Hostility and violence towards street children may originate from their indigenous background, indicated by their darker skin, or from their insubordination to authority figures.[2] Street children are commonly viewed as threats to society, as thieves and criminals. In recent years, vigilante “death squads” have formed to rid society of street children by murdering them. In Brazil, death squads can earn $50 per child killed. Under child labor laws, even legal work is illegal, and street children are thus often legal targets for police harassment and incarceration, even if they are not selling drugs, stealing, or engaging in other illegal activities. [Wikipedia:Street Children In Latin America]  As with any country, Brazil has its skeletons and closeted or not so closeted injustices, however; Brazil is also a beautifully vibrant and diverse country, brimming with opportunities to continue speaking forth the fullness of life and for a gorgeously created and loved people to learn more about their Creator.     Prayer Points... Raising prayer/financial supporters Transition of moving cross-culturally Establishing supportive friendships/relationships Learning the language of Portuguese Developing relationships with those I will be ministering to Continued vision and wisdom  move

Follow on Twitter | Friend on Facebook | Forward to Friend  Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|**|END:IF|* edit *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|* unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences