An Entire Planet of Stories Worth Telling
In 2018, $43,239.46 was given for animals which included the following: hens, roosters, rabbits, turkeys, pigs, goats, sheep, cows and water buffalo. Animals benefit children at ICCM schools and projects in several of the 33 countries where ICCM has work.
#ICCMBrazil 🇧🇷 Ninth grade graduation was held in the (miracle) gymnasium at our ICCM school in Monte Santo, Brazil. Ninth grade is the conclusion of “Fundamental” education in Brazil. Although it is not a certainty yet, we plan for many of these ninth graders to be able to continue their education in the tenth grade as of February.
Almost all the pieces are in place with the Government of Bahia for the school to begin offering tenth grade in 2019. (Continued prayer appreciated on this point.)
Posted by International Child Care Ministries on Monday, December 17, 2018
In late October the government inspectors visited our school in Monte Santo, Bahia, Brazil. One of them is holding the more than 300 pages of documents required to make the final application.
The inspectors were satisfied that the documentation can now be submitted to the State government. It may then be approved, or there may be physical modifications to the school or other changes required before they can begin offering 10th grade. So far as we know, 10th grade in February is still a possibility. It is urgently needed. It’s still difficult and relatively rare for children in in the Monte Santo area to complete high school. Pray for this process to be accomplished to God’s glory and for the benefit of the children.
For several years I have been looking for an opportunity to visit Cantinho da Vovó Naná (Grandma Nana’s Corner – named after the woman who donated the original house and land), in Ibirité, Minas Gerais, Brazil. My opportunity came in August. This child development center is also located in an area plagued by drug trafficking. Grandma Nana’s Corner is a place of refuge. The children are offered excellent nutrition, age-appropriate education by a caring staff, and the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is another ministry where a child’s participation greatly reduces his or her risk of sexual abuse and forced labor in drug trafficking. Sponsorship for these at-risk children changes their world.
I spent two days at Todo Mundo Feliz (Everyone’s Happy) in late August. This top-notch child development center was started by the Mirandopolis Free Methodist Church in São Paulo, Brazil. It was deliberately established right on the edge of a slum area where drug traffickers are the law. Todo Mundo Feliz (TMF) was begun in 2002. It later gained funding through the local municipality of Santo André and now also has a partnership with ICCM as a Connected Community with Cape Coral Community Church (FL). At the time of my visit, 151 children were enrolled, not a few of whose parents are involved with drugs. Younger children spend the whole day at TMF. Older children spend half a day, and the other half attending public school.
While visiting the classrooms, I talked with the children and answered their questions. One afternoon I put puzzles together with 3-year-olds for maybe 15 minutes. A teacher of one little boy who talked with me remarked, “He hardly ever talks to anyone!” The meals are wonderfully nutritious. I ate my lunch right along with the children. (I love the way rice and beans are seasoned in Brazil.) The good health and mental development the children enjoy can, in many cases, be directly attributed to the healthy meals and loving care they receive at Todo Mundo Feliz.
Valquiria was among a group of adolescent girls peppering me with questions just before classes began one morning. Valquiria suffers the effects of Albinism – the absence of the pigment melanin in her skin. This condition is especially challenging in the dry, hot climate, 10 degrees south of the Equator, where the sun shines in punishing brilliance nearly every day. Valquiria needs a prescription lotion to protect her skin. Several times this has been supplied through gifts from her sponsor. In this recent photo, she is pictured with other students receiving gifts from sponsors and the school’s assistant director. Because of sponsorship, Valquiria studies at our ICCM school, which is readily recognized as the best in the region. The students are taught to value, respect and love each other. Your prayers for her are much appreciated, especially because her father recently passed away after a three-year battle with cancer. It was a delight to learn both the director and assistant director of our school were themselves sponsored through ICCM. Every sponsorship of a student at our Monte Santo school is an answer to prayer.
I met Andrei when I visited our ICCM school in Monte Santo, Bahia, Brazil, in September. I asked if I could get a picture with him because I knew his sponsors. After we had our picture taken together and he had returned to class, Sirlene, the school’s assistant director, told me more about him. Andrei’s behavior at school had been poor. The staff noticed he was eating as much as possible at meal and snack times. His teacher thought his behavior would improve if he could come to school early and have breakfast before class. She suspected he was coming to school very hungry – possibly without breakfast and or no dinner the night before. Gilson, the school’s director, arranged for Andrei to be among the students who arrive at school early to eat breakfast, due to nutritional concerns. Andrei’s behavior improved markedly. When I saw Andrei during another visit, he proudly showed me the shoes that had been purchased, with a gift sent by his sponsor, to replace the tattered ones he’d been wearing.