From the outside the school we ministered in today looks modest. Behind the steel gates and block walls that surround the facility, in the middle of this poor community, lies an amazing school that is educating children from the ages of 2-8years old. The inside of the facility was surprisingly nice. From what I understand this school is funded by people in Germany who have a passion for Brazilian children. We ministered to about 350 of them today. We led them in worship, performed a drama, played games and presented a simple Gospel message. At the end we put salvation bracelets on all of them to help them remember what we talked to them about. From outside appearances these children seem like normal kids from normal homes with normal problems. But things aren't always as they seem. These kids are living in extreme poverty, most are coming from homes where the parents are abusive or non-existent, and from situations that no child should have to endure. The meal that we ate with these kids will be the only meal some of them will eat today. You could see bruises, lacerations, burns and all kinds of other marks on these children that weren't the normal scrapes a kid gets from falling off a bike or something like that. Very sad. But yet they were so happy to be with us. What an honor to spend time with these beautiful children. It really made an impact on our team.
Tomorrow we head into Villa Algae to minister to over 600 children that are living in conditions worse than the ones in Villa Zumbi. Pray for us because even though these children may look like everything's fine, for most they aren't. Because things aren't always as they seem.
Love Ya,
Jim
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