Current News
October 2006 Update
Dear Lar Batista Family,
This is Grace writing on behalf of Lar, just to keep you informed at all that is going there, well, most of what is going on there, anyway! There is always so much happening in that place that it is hard to report at all.
Let me break the news into categories and you can read them as you wish and when you have the time. Again, I speak based on conversations with Mãe, Pai and the other leaders there and also based on the 2 months that I just spent there.
Children
We are blessed with children that are so funny and that make our lives a lot easier. They are full of imagination and they come up with ideas we would have never thought about. I guess no one who has a child in his/her life can consider themselves poor. God blesses us so much through these little ones! Thank you for praying for our family. We are sure prayer is what makes it all possible.
In the homework room
Rute is can always be found in the homework room with the children. When I took a peek there the other day, I saw that she was holding Sandy’s hand as she learned to write her name. She also had some soft music playing in the back ground and if you were only listening from the outside, you would imagine the classroom was empty, but she had about 10 children, working on their homework and she was there to assist everyone. Jhenifer was there to assist her and that also made things easier.
A moment that I will never forget was when Luana, 7, came back from school and she was crying because she could not read and everyone in her class could. Rute set down with her in a separate room and worked with that child for over 2 hours. She used different techniques to help Luana recognize sounds and before she knew it, Luana said: “OK, I guess I can do it now” Rute said: OK my dear, I know you can, come on, give me your best!” “The frog lives in the lagoon….” Said Luana in a very confident voice! Rute did not know I was in the room next-door. She was so happy and she hugged the child and repeated: “I knew you could do it, my love, you are reading!!!! I am so proud of you! We need to celebrate!” She ran to her room and got into her prizes box and gave Luana chocolate and a special pen and a sticker that said: I can read!!!
I was so happy because I imagined my friends that have one or two children and how thy celebrate everything the children learn, reading being a big one. Luana, even though she lives in a home for so many children, got the same celebration she would have gotten, if she had a mom and a dad just for her!
I ask you to pray for Rute. She has poured her life into these children’s lives and works hard for their success, mostly behind the scene. She does not get paid, so if you feel like sending her some support, Orphanos will gladly wire it to her.
Award
If we had to give an award to a child for doing the coolest thing of the year, I guess it would have to go to Cheiyenne, for her willingness to help.
We were talking to Ingrid, who was sad because she would have to go to the doctor for her monthly shot for her premature arthritis and she was hurting in advance because it is a very painful shot. She is out of commission for a few days after the shot. As I had a bunch of children around me I asked them: “We need a volunteer to go the doctor tomorrow, on Ingrid’s behalf and take the shot for her” Silence. Soon Cheiyenne spoke up: “Will it hurt?” Yes, was my answer. “A lot a lot or just a little little?” A lot a lot was my answer. She thought for a few minutes and said: “Ok, I will go this month, but do we have a volunteer for next month?”
I was so glad to explain to them all that they could not do that for Ingrid, no matter how much they wanted to help. I also explained to them the similarity to Jesus choosing to die on the cross for us, which was so much more than taking a shot and how they understood His sacrifice for us. For my surprise, Cheiyenne said: “That’s what I was thinking about, it was like Jesus suffering for us” I was even happier to see her real motivation for doing that. Praise God for calling these children to Himself at a very early age!
Soccer World Cup = Cristina
It was a great to be in Brasil for the Soccer World Cup and to see how excited the children were about the event. Cristina was, without a doubt, the most avid fan of the Brazilian National team. She got everybody ready with face paint, Brazilian colors and balloons! The team that was there during the world cup and I gathered our money and we bought an official Jersey, just the one Christina would love to have and just would not be able to afford. We asked the children who should have the jersey and they all agreed that Cristina should. It was a beautiful evening for us and it became our dearest memory of the World Cup, since Brasil was eliminated.
The pack turns 10!
Most of you remember the pack, or the 4 brothers who turned unto 11 brothers as God added more children to our family. They are all boys, in the true sense of the word. They were so little when they arrived and became the postcard of Lar Batista. This year they all turned 10 and they are happy to be in the 2 digit age!
They are also counting down to go to the Iguaçu Falls and we just can’t wait to take them there. They are all believers and if you come to our fellowship hall right before the service, you will see thee boys on their knees, praying for the service. We could not me more proud of them.
Jorge and Joaquim to Hillsong
Well, if Jorge can’t go to Australia… God brought Australia to Brasil!
For many years Jorge Mueller has been in love with worship and he wants to be a worship leader/pastor. Joaquim Jr. has also had a passion for worship, but mainly the preaching of the WORD. Well, I found out that Hillsong of Australia was coming to Brasil for one single weekend in their tour. After making a lot of phone calls and arrangements, we were able to make plans to send Jorge and Joaquim to the concert, in Sao Paulo. Friends of the ministry who are also passionate about worship provided funds for these two young men to get on a bus and travel for 12 hours to go to the concert. They will be there on Sept 23, with about 80 thousand other people literally “shouting to the LORD”. We are thankful for the support for this dream to come true! More details after they return from the concert.
Our children and their children and their children
(Mãe speaking)
“Pai and I are enjoying a different phase of our ministry. This summer, Lar celebrated its 30th anniversary and we are beginning to see not only our children, but grandchildren and great grand as well. We were informed that two great-granddaughters were born this year and we cannot wait to meet them. We are happy to have some of our grandkids living in Assis and we can see them often, Bia especially is the joy of our house. Whenever she is in, there is always a line of people waiting to hold her. Graziella was adopted by Gilberto and Rozeli, our daughter. It has been a long process, but they are very close to the end. They had a hearing in August and the finalizing of their adoption is in sight. Please pray for this family, that God would grant them the final papers soon.
Acacia's engagement
We were very happy to have all of the biological children at home for Acacia and Eric’s engagement. We also had a lot of uncles, aunt and friends come from so far away for that event. It was a beautiful celebration and it also gave us the opportunity to take yet another family picture. Our daughter in law and grandkids were also here and it made for a wonderful weekend. Try to imagine about 20 girls trying to get ready for a wedding –like party! Everyone brought what they had ad they were deciding who should wear what when Grace opened a suitcase she had brought from the USA with about 20 Prom Dresses!!! They were really gorgeous and a lot of the girls could wear something from the suitcase to the wedding! Rachel Tustin, and 18 year old girl from Memphis, gathered all the dresses she could think of and donated them to Lar. God saw to it that it got there at the right time and even the bride to be exchanged her dress for one of Rachel’s that fit her just fine! We are very thankful to Rachel for her generosity.
Acacia and Eric Vande Bunte get married in Michigan, on December 16 and we are happy that we will be able to come for such an event. This is our first daughter to get married and we are really happy.
Joaquim's seminary update
Joaquim is working hard to finish College in December to move on in his dream of attending seminary, preferably in the USA. He has been applying to different seminaries and is working on his TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score before he can be accepted. He is looking into a spring semester now. Please keep him in your prayers.
Church and Pai
Pai is doing mostly well and God has used him in so many ways as he preaches at church. His energy level is high and he has preached some amazing sermons. God has truly spoken through him. Please keep his health in your prayers. He seems to be doing better and he is full of plans, ideas and that is what he needs to keep going. We are coming to the end of the construction of the guest house and that is a huge victory to us all. Thank you for praying with us, for being a part of it.”
Summer
We had a good summer at Lar. I go to come in a bit before the interns and have some family time before everybody else arrived and it was much needed and appreciated. During the 2 months that I was there, we worked with the interns, Courtney Knoll and Claire Bryant. They did a good job of helping around the house, especially when teams were there, they were our runners and they helped us a lot. Both of them had some health issues, which were taken care of, thanks to God. Claire even spent a night at the hospital and decided she liked her bed at Lar better, so they let her come home!
Both girls had a very good impact on our family and consequently we were able to share some of what has given us with them. They enjoyed the Pai Time, which was time spent with Pai every morning, as he shared with us about his faith and how far God has brought him. It was a sweet memory to cherish forever.
Claire has changed her major to an area more devoted to helping others and is taking Portuguese at Cornell University. Courtney is deciding where she wants to be of service to the Lord, as she studies Social Service and she is also deciding where she will be going for her next internship. Please keep thee ladies in your prayers as they go through their re-entry process, which is never easy. We are glad that God is using the time people have at our house to be a transformational time, which will impact their lives forever.
Teams
We had two teams come to visit us this summer. One being from a dear church in rural Iowa, and the second one from another dear church in Ft. Worth Texas!
The Iowa team helped us paint both dorms and the Dining hall. It was a lot of paint and a lot of fun at the same time. We let the little children decide what color they wanted their dorms and we ended up with ORANGE for the girls’ and GREEN for the boys! It looks really nice and bright and we are happy that they can choose what color their house will be. It was also wonderful to have Tia Ana there, our oldest Volunteer and Pai's sister, who came for the whole summer, and the Grandmothers again, Barbara Clack, from Memphis and Cherryl Pittman, from Iowa!
The Texas team worked on the remodeling of the operational kitchen, installing a new oven and after a lot of work, celebrating it with a Texas size pizza party. We fixed over 50 pizzas and it was a fun time.
Both teams brought back some alumni which made the time even more special. We pray for these teams and look forward to what God will do in their lives. A highlight of these teams’ time at Lar was “Pai Time”. Every morning Pai took time to be with the teams and speak to them about faith, about his ministry and as a result, the teams were very encouraged! We are very Thankful that these churches could send us their teams and we are already working with the teams for 2007! Please check the website for dates.
The blessing of answered prayers!
I want to finish this update by quoting Mathew 6:6 “Pray to your Father in Heaven.” Jesus has taught us to pray to the Father, in the secret of our closet and God has been faithful to answer our prayers. He has blessed us with more than we can imagine or ask for.
When Pai and Mãe were here for a month in the spring, they talked to several small groups and they had two major prayer requests in mind: 1) to pay off the College for Joaquim, Julio and Acacia, and 2) a car for Pai and Mãe. I am glad to tell you that God is at work in these two areas. We are very close from paying off College for these youth and through a dear friend of Lar, God has graciously given Pai the money to buy the car they need! Once again the Lord listens and answers in His time and we can only praise Him for blessing us this way.
Once again, thank you all for your prayer for us and for giving selflessly of your time prayers and resources so needs can be met here. YOU are prayed for and much appreciated.
Lar Batista is the ministry of GOD through many of His people! I am glad that He has chosen YOU to part of what He is doing here.
In His love and faithfully in our prayers,
Grace (for Pai, Mãe and Lar)
Text written by Grace, unless noted