Days Six and Seven

Our team has been busy bonding with the children and making them feel special. We gave all of the children here a giant birthday party complete with birthday cards, superhero decorations, birthday cards, cotton candy, and a giant chocolate birthday cake.
Pai and his son tell Dick about the vision for the home.

Mai, the mother of the house, is busy at work cooking for over fifty hungry mouths every meal every day.
It took most of the week but Natalie finished all the physical exams.

Gabriel flips for the camera. The children have lots of energy and find creative ways to use that energy. Many of boys have tremendous talent for tumbling and aren't afraid to do flips on the cement or do backflips off of walls.

One night we threw candy to the children from the balcony of the guest house.

Days Four and Five

Our team continues to be amazed at how God is at work here at Lar Batista. Every child has a unique story and most of the stories did not start pretty. The trauma that they have experienced was great but our God is greater. This place is a living testimony of God's grace.

Today had the tremendous opportunity to meet with the mayor of Assis Chateubriand. Lar Batista has a great relationship with the community and the mayor has been very helpful to the Lar Batista mission.

Here is a picture of the chapel that is nearly finished. It is only by God's grace that Lar Batista obtained the land and built the structure but Lar does not have the funds to purchase furniture for it. In the future the chapel will serve as a center for prayer, counceling, and worship - not only to the children of Lar but for the entire community.

Much of our time here is spent just playing with the children and showing them the love of Jesus. You can tell that they really have a good time here and our entire team does as well.

Day Three - The Farm

Today for our devotions we read Psalm 127. The whole Psalm spoke volumes to us but the verses that jumped out to all of us were verse 1 - Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it... and verse 3 - Children are a gift of the Lord. It is evident that the Lord has built a special place for the wonderful kids here.

Jefferson, now from Ankeny, has been enjoying reconnecting with his home and the kids here.
This morning we visited the farm, a special place just outside the city, where the kids have a chance to run, play and work. The farm brings in a small amount of revenue that helps make ends meet. It was amazing to hear the story about how Lar obtained the farm- it was entirely a miraculous work of the Lord. By faith Pai had fish ponds dug even though there was no water on the land to fill them. The Lord provided water and He continues to provide for the home.

Day Two - Physical Exams

Today the team cared for the children by giving them physical exams. Natalie diagnosed many conditions that can be treated with medicine she brought. Each team member had a job: Sharon took blood pressures, Dick took temperatures, Jon took pictures, Susie measured heights, Cheryl and Jeff played in the "waiting room" with children waiting their turn, and Natalie performed thorough examinations.
Allan had to prove that he was as tall as Susie.
Eduardo gets a second and third opinion on his healthy heart.
Two year old Vagner quickly earned the title of chief cardiologist.
Everyone recieved a new toothbrush and instructions to brush twice a day, so that they can keep their beautiful smiles.We recieved a tour of the nearly completed chapel pictured above and heard the story about how the land that the chapel was built on used to be a city street. Pai, the father of the house, had a vision to build a chapel and after years of prayer Lar obtained the land from the city. Funding for the chapel came entirely from generous gifts. Pai showed us the newly planted garden, inspired by his recent trip to Israel and the gardens he saw there.

Team arrives at Lar!

Our journey began bright and early, leaving Des Moines and heading to Atlanta. From Atlanta we were delayed about three hours due to inclement weather. During the delay we waited on board the plane where Natalie´s medical expertise came in handy as a fellow passenger was having chest pains. The passenger ended up being alright. We were all thankful for Natalie and look forward to how God will use her here at Lar Batista. Because of the delay in Atlanta we ended up missing our flight out of Sao Paulo. We were rescheduled for the next morning´s flight to Iguaçu Falls. The voyage was long and tiring but seeing the kids at Lar Batista helps us to know why God sent us here.

Getting aquainted and reaquainted with the kids at Lar.