Compassion Adventure #2 (Brazil 2012): BR-458 Projeto Sementinhas, Thursday September 27

Our first day was to be spent at Compassion Project BR-458 – Projeto Sementinhas (Little Seeds Project), which is located in the region of Caucaia, just outside Fortaleza. Here I sponsor Ana Cristina (12), Jessica (8) and Christian (8). It has been running for 5 years and has 152 children. Pastor Josue actually began caring for neighbourhood kids before he joined with Compassion. He started with 7 kids, increased to 20 something and then found out about Compassion. When they met, Compassion encouraged him to get 100 kids before forming a partnership. The Project has three classrooms, and is relatively new. 

The new church is being built on site, so at the moment, the kids main play area is basically a construction zone. They play in bare feet and flip-flops, and have to contend with dirt, rocks, stones, and possibly nails and glass. OH&S boffins would be horrified! Fortunately Pastor Josue lives just across the road and he provides them with a safer place to play.

I’ll be honest, in my mind I went through what I hoped meeting these kids would be like, probably a thousand times over, and the way it went down was, initially, an anti-climax. All three of them were in their classes, and when I went in there I almost felt like I was interrupting things. We took them downstairs to have a get-to-know-you chat, and didn’t get much out of them. Simply, they were just shy, withdrawn and overwhelmed. Cristina and Jessica stayed that way for the majority of the day, but Christian was by far the most open and expressive of the three.

 Another thing that was interesting was how little they knew or remembered about me, despite the fact that I send them letters and pictures at least once month, of at least one page in length. I don’t hold back in my letters. They should basically know my life story. I don’t know whether it’s a translation issue, but I thought they should have known more than they did.

 Isabela and I did a good job of keeping things moving, and soon enough, the other kids came down for their snack. I got lots of curious looks and shy glances. I stuck my hand out for a high five to see who would get it. Some did, others walked right past. After the snack it was music time! They did a couple of songs for me, and I taught them a couple of songs I learned as a summer camp counsellor in Indiana back in 2004. It was good they were mainly action songs, because the language barrier proved a bit tricky.

 After this we had some free time out in the construction zone a.k.a the half built church. They loved to play a game that was similar to dodge-ball, but as a way of keeping everyone in the game, if you got hit, you go up one end, and continue playing. I also taught them paper-scissors-rock, thumb-wars, a finger trick and My Aunty Anna (a hand-clapping game where the person who can put their legs apart the furthest wins).

This group of kids were very receptive and curious. We had the language barrier, but all I had to do was walk with a wiggle and I had them in stitches.   

 Another special event I was able to be part of today was giving some gifts to a child from their sponsor all the way in the US. I met Jennifer Nunley on the OurCompassion website, which is like a social networking site for Compassion sponsors, and she sponsors Erica from this Project. When she found out I was going there, she was keen to send some gifts. The Project staff very kindly arranged for Erica to be at the Project on this day, and I was able to meet her, give her the gifts, as well as take some photos and video to give to Jennifer. 

 One thing that went down really well was the Australian football I brought along. This group of kids really got into it, especially my boy Christian, who carried it round with him when we went walking on the home visits. I taught them how to kick and handball, then we played some kick-to-kick for a while. They even had to be encouraged to go back to their soccer game – they’d forgotten all about it!

 I was looked after really well. Once again the hospitality was fantastic and the project staff genuinely care about the kids in their care and any visitors that may come. They are truly being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Lesson learned: Today I learned that God is a God who answers prayers, whether or not it comes in the form we want or expect. Before this trip I repeatedly prayed for God to clothe me in humility, and to help me remember that this is all about Him. There was not one occasion on this first day for me to get a big head. There was no great outpouring of emotion or gratitude from any of the kids or parents, even though I know they loved having me there, and were appreciative of all I've done. They were just very low-key in the way they expressed it. 

Home Visits
During the day we were able to visit the houses and meet the families of Jessica and Christian. Both were within walking distance, so our merry little band set out in the lovely baking sun: me, the three kids, Jessica’s sister Gisele, translator Isabela and project worker Victor.

Jessica’s house was our first stop. She lives with her mother Jacqueline, father Rogerio, sister Gisele and baby brother Joao (sort of like our equivalent of John). Jacqueline earns a living by stitching and embroidering patterns on bras and undies. There were several boxes full around the house, so she must be busy. She is able to work from home, so this helps her look after Joao. Their living conditions seem perilous and quite poor. I am happy to be able to help them through my sponsorship.

The family has a dog and a cat. They are joined in surrounding houses by relatives and extended family. We were joined on our visit by five or six young cousins, some only in their underwear, which at a guess was probably not by choice. Jessica seemed quiet and shy, but also cheerful and sweet.

Next stop was Christian. He was a great little guy! He was definitely the most open and expressive of the three. He radiated excitement and energy. He LOVED the Australian football. When we went to his house he showed it to his relatives and they scratched their heads and looked at it for about 20 seconds.

I also taught him the correct way to say “footy”, that is, “oo” as in book and pronounce the “t” as a “d”, so it becomes “foody”. He kept saying it over and over again! Classic :) One thing I noticed was he was very receptive to the things of God and the Bible. When we were at Jessica’s house, they were asked what their favourite bible story was, and 8 y.o. Christian came out with Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, and proceeded to recount it!? That’s a pretty intense favourite Bible story.

He is an only child, and up until recently lived with his mother Ana Cristina, grandparents Valda and Daniel and uncle Antonio – not exactly a nuclear family. However, apparently just last week his mother got married to his father (surely that can only be a good thing?), and they just moved into their own house. Hopefully this can lead to a stable home environment for Christian to grow up in. So the house we visited was the grandparent’s house where they lived until last week.

Christian’s grandpa Daniel had injured his hand/wrist/arm after being hit by a car, and it was all curled up so his hand was pointing to the sky. They told us that the driver was never brought to justice. I could tell this wounded them because I ‘m not sure if he worked, but it prevented him from working.

Christian’s mother makes money by recycling materials and selling them on to a guy. She doesn’t have set work hours, but just finds and collects things wherever she is going. One of the walls of the grandparents house was piled high with plastic bottles.

We weren’t able to visit Ana Cristina’s house, because they live in a different area. Cristina’s uncle was killed in drug-related circumstances. Another uncle went and killed a member of the opposing group. As a result, the whole family had to move away for their own safety. Cristina’s older sisters look after her when her parents are working. Because they live in a different area, and there is no Project in the area where she lives, Cristina only makes it to the Compassion Project about once a week. She is picked up by Victor, one of the Project workers. There are so many stories like that that are never told – the Project staff care for the kids and families and regularly sacrifice and go the extra mile for them. I made sure I thanked Victor for looking after my girl.

Normally she would be forced to depart the program, but they have made an exception for this family because of the relationship I have formed with her and because of the visit. I learned that the family were just about to pull her out, then they found out I was coming to visit and decided to let her keep coming! That blew me away and made me feel so humble and thankful.
Sponsors: It is worth putting extra time and effort into writing to and praying for your kids! God rewards it!! 

As much as I am hoping that Cristina stays in the Project, I know I need to accept her inevitable departure sooner or later. I am aware that grudges over drug-related deaths don’t just disappear, so it will be a long time before the family feels safe coming back to the area.

For the two home visits we were joined by all three kids, plus Jessica’s sister Gisele. Jessica and Christian are both 8, Gisele is 10 and Cristina is 12. One thing I LOVED seeing was the way the four of them interacted with each other. We had a 15 minute walk to each house, though unpaved and dangerous streets with rubbish and sewage everywhere, stray cats and dogs running around and motorbikes whizzing past. I marvelled at how they wandered along, seemingly without a care in the world, chatting and laughing with each other, Christian playing with (and frequently dropping) the football.

Cristina took on a bit of a mother role, reminding the others to stay to the side of the road if they strayed too far to middle. It was particularly precious seeing Jessica and Cristina walking along holding hands, and during the home visits Jessica would sit on Cristina’s lap. It was a relief to me to see that there was not hint of jealousy or competition between the kids. This showed me that they were secure in the knowledge that I loved them the same. 

Photos

My first visit was to BR-458, which is just outside Fortaleza. It has been operating for about 5 years, so is relatively new. My first Brazil girl was Ana Cristina, and then Jessica and Christian soon followed. I will share more about them later, but the girls were very shy and reserved for most of the day. I really wanted to visit Ana Cristina's home, as she is quite special to me. Unfortunately she lives in a different area. For our story, click here. The project staff did take some time to tell me more about her family situation, which is not good at the moment. Here's a brief look at my day at BR-458 Projeto Sementinhas (Little Seeds Project)

Christian (8), Jessica (8), Ana Cristina (12). On the very left is Jessica's sister Gisele, who is 10 and is also sponsored.

These kids love to sing and dance. I also taught them a couple of songs I learned  when I was a camp counselor in Indiana in 2004. They were mainly action songs because it got a bit tricky with the language barrier.

Their main play area is a construction zone! The new church is being built here. Fortunately Pastor Josue lives across the road and has a fairly big area that they can play in.

One of my favourite pics :)

A glimpse of the neighbourhood these kids live in

Just for a laugh I thought I'd take an Australian football along and see what they thought. They LOVED it! (especially my boy Christian). We were playing a bit of kick-to-kick and I even had to encourage them to go back to their soccer game.

Standard Brazilian lunch of rice and beans

Quick farewell photo before some of them left. They were a really engaging, fun and curious group of kids, many of whom are sponsored by Australians.

This s Erica, who is sponsored by Jennifer N, from the OurCompassion website. She sent me some gifts to take over for Erica, and I got her some photos and a video of Erica opening her gifts. I was in a similar situation last year, when someone visited this same Project, met one of my kids and sent me some pics and video. It was good to be able to share this joy.