Weekly Schedule

Here are some updates on what I am involved with here at the Lighthouse so you can get a better taste of what it is that I'm doing here. These are the structured times that I am scheduled for and then there are also other times such as ministering in the community and building relationships, weekend programs, etc.

The Children's Group I am helping with (the leaders are Melina from Brazil and Jo from New Zealand) started on February 14^th, and I am starting to build relationships with those children and continuing to work on my Portuguese through those times. That group meets each Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 2-4:30, as they have school in the morning. (Schools here run throughout the day, but because of a low number of teachers, the students go for half days, at least that is my understanding of it) The group is for 6-8 year olds and we have around ten children that come. The group time is split into three periods, which has included a variety of activities such as Bible stories, singing, puppet shows, arts and crafts, geography lessons, games, and free play at the playground.

Please pray for that group that I will have energy as I usually feel drained after those times and that God will empower me to be able to pour myself with that group and see each child the way God does. Please pray that relationships of trust will be built with the children, and pray especially for one boy, Joao Victor, who hasn't come the last three times and is often seen roaming around the streets here.

On Wednesday mornings, I help out with a school group that comes to the Lighthouse. It is called an 'Escola Integrada' or integrated school. Their slogan is 'Belo Horizonte is a classroom' and their education philosophy is to allow the children to learn through experience and it is very activity and experience based. The school comes with a younger group Wednesday morning and an older group in the afternoon. Each large group is split into three groups when they arrive, and I help out with Maarten, Eleanor, and Andreia's group. This time also is split into three periods, and in the two times we have met we have had icebreaker activities, name tag designing, games, free play, and Bible study time. Each group has a teacher/monitor with them and ours is Bruno, who is probably in his late twenties-early thirties. It is exciting to have the school groups at the Lighthouse where we are able to show the gospel through our words and our actions, and it is a great time of building relationships with the kids and the teachers/monitors as well to further cement the Kingdom's presence here in Cafezal.

Please pray for those times that we would clearly present the gospel through our words and actions and that we would have opportunities to go deeper with the relationships even though we meet only once a week. And please pray for the teachers/monitors that they would experience God through their time at the Lighthouse and relationships would be built with them to encourage them and point them to Christ.

I am also helping with an English class that happens on Monday nights at 7 o'clock here at the Lighthouse. Jo from New Zealand is teaching the class to interested members of the community and I am her assistant. That has been interesting in seeing the desire of the people (many middle aged women) to learn English. It really flies in the face of stereotypes of impoverished people not caring about empowering themselves with education and being lazy. For many in the class probably have very long days for not much pay, and then they come to this class which is very taxing and difficult on their minds. I believe that it shows that poverty can so easily come about because of a lack of opportunities, and that it becomes a vicious cycle of the impoverished then not having opportunities.

Please pray for that class, that Jo would have energy and creativity with the lesson plans and that the class would be a blessing to the residents here and that God would use the relationships through that class to bring His Kingdom here.

Thank you for your prayers! May God bless you and be revealing more and more of His glory in and through your lives.