Brazil 210 – January 22, 2012

Hi again! We trust that you are keeping warm! We are still in our heat wave although today we are enjoying a bit of rain.

We are keeping busy with the kids here and they were very enthused for us to take them down to the river for a swim. The younger kids came in the car but even the 7 year olds have a pile of energy and walked the three kilometres to get there! Once there we had to confront a few cows, but then had a great afternoon in the warm water. The cows were a bit annoyed as we were right at their water hole entry. I am very happy that they sell pool noodles here now which is great for the water outings!

We had a little visitor in our house the other day. A little scorpion! That is a first for us although the neighbors downstairs had warned us that they had several in their apartment and in the garage. Other folks in town have been stung and apparently these kinds are not poisonous but they do hurt a lot. Personally I don't want to find out :) Ours was quite small...a baby one I guess. I still didn't want to experience its' sting but I am curious.

Randy and I drove the two boys out to camp (the one who had a fracture in his shoulder...it all turned out good) and so that was another adventurous day! At lunch time I was just walking along and saying hi to them all and then there was a new face in the mix!! The afternoon right before heading out to camp a new 11 year old boy arrived! He seems to be doing well and already joined in with all the different activities! A few boys took me fishing and were rather excited when I caught the first one! It was all of about 5-6 inches long but there was no way that they would let me throw it back! They also caught a few and of course that meant that they would quickly get to cleaning them and head to the fire where they proceeded in eating their 'own' fish which they caught. Many other boys are hunting any other creatures which happened to not "flee" upon their arrival out to camp. An opossum was spotted and quickly hunted for an afternoon snack! Apparently one of the housemothers even joined in the chase! This made me very happy that the opossum which the girls caught a couple of weeks ago was released back into the bush! The boys told me that there are many water snakes in the pond this year. They bite, but are not poisonous so that’s good. Lots of eels as well in the pond and apparently they are “good eatin”! So, everyone seems to be keeping themselves entertained out there! We will be heading out to spend a few days there in a couple of weeks.

The girls made their way up to the little boys site in the afternoon yesterday and they all did the slip and slide which always is entertaining! Then in the evening we said that we would go down to the girls site and fry up some hamburgers for them, “Canadian style”. Here the hamburgers have a fried egg, peas and corn put on there. So, we gave them the condiments which we usually have and they loved them! Randy was amazed that the smallest 6 year old who only weighs about 40 pounds ate this huge hamburger! Every morsel was eaten and I felt bad that there wasn’t more! We are heading for a picnic outing tomorrow for the day and so I will have to make sure that I bring lots of food along. There is a pool for the kids and so they will be using up some of that energy. With us two, there are still about 25 people with kids and housemothers here and so it’s a fair sized group!

I was wondering if you could please help me recover my emails. I send these updates out through an online server and since losing everything on my laptop and having to set up a new email address, I need to start from 0! I lost all of the addresses. If you would send me a reply from this email and just put your name in the subject line it would make it so much easier for me to input all the emails into my new contacts box. Please do not feel like you need to write an email..(unless of course you want to). The 'reply' would be hugely appreciated!!!!

So, after the visit out to camp we once again just recognize the importance of praying for the kids and for their daily protection! And the importance for us to thank you for keeping all the kids, here and there in your prayers!! Please continue! We would still like to find another several housemothers since some may be moving on in life with their schooling. This is a constant search as the position is not easy and yet is hugely important! We are asking God to work in people’s lives and hearts to prepare them for this ministry.

Huge blessings on you!!! Stay warm :>)

Randy and Carla

Brazil 209 – January 14, 2012

Hi everyone! We hope you have had a great start to the New Year! We have had crazy hot weather the last while and are enjoying a weekend with some cooler temperatures after a day of rain yesterday. It has been a long time since the last rain fall so it was a welcomed treat!

First of all I need to let you know that my email has changed. It is now carlared@live.com A couple of weeks ago I was working on my laptop and then it froze up, which it was doing off and on the last while...but I guess it was so hot that it just burned out! So, after leaving it cool off for the night, Randy worked on it for most of the following day but it just won't turn back on. So...he set me up a new email so people can still reach me. Please re-send any emails that you may have sent in the past couple of weeks to this new address so that I can be sure to email back again. Thanks!

On to other news...the housemother called me the other night with great excitement because the girls caught an armadillo!! It was just a young one but still very feisty! They put it into a small cage and then asked me to see what it eats on the internet so they can try to keep it. Well, after finding out that they will have to scrounge for ants, spiders, worms and other insects on a constant basis, the 'love' for their new pet quickly diminished. They kept him for a couple of days, but then we all thought that it would be better to let him go up in the bush further from their site. I guess it was digging in their flower garden to find the bugs...and digging up all the flowers. It was a cute little thing and after a bit of research, I also found out that they carry diseases and pass sickness through them scratching a human!...so it is just as well that it is back in the bush to do its' digging all on it's own. oh well... It provided great entertainment for a couple of days! We will try to get some new pictures up on the Facebook site which you can check out at: home of the Good Shepherd ministries page.

We have a very small zoo in the next town which an elderly couple look after. They have several alligators, turtles, some birds, a couple of monkeys and a some farm animals. We decided that it would be a nice little outing for all the girls and little kids here. So, off we went! The man also talks a lot about different things from nature and has nests and sea shells which you can look at. Then he also talks a while how the world is a beautiful place but how man has done many things to make it ugly. It was interesting how he integrated a good message for the kids and how we all need to make a difference into making the world a better place before heading on the trail to see the animals. I think the funniest part was looking at these small alligators which were like lizards and then he put them on the ground and they started to run...to which all of the students scattered in every direction screaming! After arriving at the pond where the big alligators are in, the 71 year old man goes into the pen to see if he can 'call' the alligators closer! It is a very steep embankment and he is heading down closer to the water with a big stick to bang on the water to call them. Well, it worked and 6 alligators come swimming towards him and his goal is to get the biggest one irritated enough so it jumps up a bit to bite the stick! All fine and dandy if the ground would be stable and maybe if you'd have some food or something to throw in. This man however simply irritates it enough so it bites the stick and is obviously bothered by this visit which does not bring food! He tells us that he needs to be careful because it could easily get him while he is so close to the edge! REALLY??!! The one girl tells me that she can swim now...I just ask, "really? can you swim with alligators too?" she answers, "NO!" Thankfully the man made his way out without injury and we continued on our walk which finished by the kids sitting on a pony. Not walking with the pony....just sitting on it! That was the most dangerous pony I have ever seen as it would kick back at anyone who passed by at the back, and would totally rear up and try to hit you if you went near the front! So the man could only just hold it while the kids took turns to just sit on it's back. That was also quite funny!

We had to bring back one of the boys last week because he had fallen off the slide several days before heading out to camp and hurt his shoulder. We went to have x-rays done and the dr. wasn't sure if it would be an issue or not but the boy said that he thinks he's feeling better and so he went to camp. Well, I went to get the x-ray a few days later where the result showed that there was a fracture! So, since Marcio was already heading out to camp the one day for a different reason we had him bring back the 9 year old to get another check up. He was not impressed to be coming back, but understands. After spending about 4 hours just waiting to see the dr. he says that they need another x-ray. But, after seeing it, he got the ok to head back to camp with orders to not climb trees or play soccer. The boy tells me that he will only climb the trees very carefully! boys will be boys! We will take him back out there this next week.

We will be heading to a different church this weekend about an hour away....which everyone is looking forward too. It is funny since the girls seem to be jealous of the boys as they are all out at camp, and the boys are jealous of the girls as they are heading out on several outings!

So, as much as most of the group is out at camp, there are still about 20 kids here who are keeping us entertained!

Canario has told us that things are going great out at camp! There has been next to no rain the last month and so the river is lower than it's ever been! We will have to get some watermelons when we head out this week. Thank you so much for praying for camp and all the students!! Please continue!! 10 days down...30 more to go!

We thank God for you and appreciate all of your support in prayer over the children and that staff! Pray for us that this time would also be refreshing as the pace is different, and that during this time we would find the right people to complete the great team of staff for this upcoming year! THANK YOU!!!!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 208 – January 4, 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We trust that you all had a great start to 2012! We had a nice service to end off the year with all the kids and gave them an opportunity to give thanks. It was interesting to hear some of their responses with how they are thankful that they are at the Home, for clothing and food,...while others are concerned over their families. We had a time of celebration and afterwards had some hotdogs and watermelon! They all enjoyed that and it was a great ending to 2011!

All of the children who were gone on visits are now back because today all the boys head out to camp! Two busses come by around 4am and everyone is loaded up! Canario takes the truck with the food and other supplies needed for their 40 day adventure! The youngest boys and all of the girls will stay behind and we will be planning a few other activities with them since they are a bit bummed to not be going along. As all of the “bigger” boys are out at camp we once again ask that you would HUGELY pray for all of them out there! I’m sure that most of the creepy crawlies will scatter once they sense that the children have arrived but there are many seen and unseen dangers. Many lizards, snakes and spiders which have potentially poisonous bites are hiding all over. It is a large area of “freedom” where they explore in the bush...where they seek out these little creatures and quickly chase after them to either play with them or try having them for a snack! There are swimming times, LOTS of fishing, and time to just relax. We find that with the year being quite scheduled, they need this time to have a bit of freedom to go and explore although they have to always have a buddy with them and be aware to when the “siren” goes off which calls them all back to the meal times. Roll call is done each meal time and before bed to make sure that all are accounted for. With this time to explore and making trails through the bush, and with the swimming times in the river along with fishing by the river and ponds, we recognize the large potential for possible accidents which is why we need as many as possible praying for each child and staff, and for all of their protection. It is also very hot out there and so heat is also an issue. The cooks do a great job with all the meals, and there is other staff out there to help with overseeing all the activities. Please pray that God places an angel by each child and staff for protection.

Our schedule will be a bit different in the next few weeks with about 20 children remaining behind, but we will also be heading out there for a bit. The place around here appears so different without all the boys.

We were so blessed to have our own daughters here for a couple of weeks over the Christmas break. We enjoyed our time together and they had a nice time reconnecting with some of their old friends here at the Home and from their school. It was neat to see how the girls from the Home connected with them and how they were so sad to see them leave.

We are excited about what God has planned for this year!... and as we have many ideas in mind, we always want to make sure that we are under God’s direction and leadership so that we do nothing outside of His will. Please remember us as we seek His direction for this new year! Thank you for praying for us continuously...and for your support and encouragement! May God fill your year with so many wonderful blessings! We, along with the children pray for you and thank God that you are investing in their lives!

With love,

Randy and Carla

Brazil 207 (#2) – December 23, 2011

Hello!!! Well who would believe that it is Christmas once again! The year has certainly flown by and has created so many new experiences! God has certainly been faithful and we are so grateful for His continued guidance and blessing on this ministry and on us.

This past week we have had several children go on visits to relatives. Often this is a situation where we aren’t sure what happens to them until they are back and we hear of stories. In the past we have had around 20 of the children leave for the Christmas week, but this year there were less. These types of situations only cause more confusion and a sense of being rejected again by their relatives. If they were taken for visits for the past few years, and then now they are expecting it but end up not going, they are confused. Several have come to ask me why their mom has not asked for them to come home for Christmas. It is a time of year with many mixed emotions for most of the children. We will be having a party for all the kids and try to make the day a fun one and they are all looking forward to it!

A couple of brothers who have been with us for almost 5 years were just given custody back to their mother. This was a total shock to all of us since we usually get an idea of what the judicial system is thinking, but sometimes we have no clue until the paper is sent to us by fax. These two boys were so torn because they know where they are returning to, and although they have the “dream” of having a mom who cares for them, they recognize the reality of what life will be like. The older boy who is 15 came and just cried while he was hugging me good bye. His two older brothers were both murdered in the past two years. You can only wonder if he is thinking what his future will hold. I had a long talk with him and encouraged him that he has the control to make the right choices, choose good friends, and continue on the right road which he has chosen. We often tell the kids that they have to fight to have a better future and not live in their past. Several days later the office kept receiving “collect” calls...which we don’t accept. After about ten times, the social worker called to find out who was calling and the operator connected her to the house where these two boys were. The mother answered and just said, “Oh, I guess he was playing with the phone”, and then just hung up. Breaks our hearts if they are trying to call so persistently and makes you wonder why. Please pray for these two boys since they are back into a very dangerous area of their town. We found out that the murders which occurred in their family is because of “revenge”. There is only these two boys and their sister left in the family. Both boys have made a decision to live for the Lord and we just pray that they will have the strength and determination to continue to live for Him, and make good choices.

Some information... Our Home of the Good Shepherd office in Canada has asked we include in our year-end e-mail some year-end “housekeeping” notes:

1. Should you have changed your address this past year and in all your busyness overlooked sending us your new address, could you take a moment an forward it to: info@hgsbrazil.org. The Home will then be able to keep information current. Thanks!

2. The 40th Anniversary newsletter issue was mailed beginning of December, should you not have received it (and wish to receive it) please let us know by e-mailing your request to: info@hgsbrazil.org letting us know your mailing address.

3. You may be wondering about year-end donations in order to benefit from Canada Revenue Agency in 2011 and possibly not be aware of the guidelines which the Home of the Good Shepherd office in Canada is required to follow. So we were asked to forward to you the following:

a. Cheques and money orders sent by mail must be:

i. dated in the current year (2011)

ii. the envelope both metered (if a stamp is not used) and postmarked prior to December 31 of the current year,

iii. and delivered within one week of New Year’s Day in order for an official receipt for tax purposes to be issued for the current year.

b. However, should you wish to obtain your tax receipt immediately, credit card donations are accepted through the Home’s website at http://www.hgsbrazil.org/needhelp.html. Just follow the links and at the end of the credit card donation request your receipt.

Thank you for taking time to read the “housekeeping” notes!

May you and your family and friends have a wonderful time celebrating our Saviour’s birth! May the New Year be filled with God’s blessings as we serve Him where He placed us! Thank you so much for being such a great support and blessing to us!! Please know that we appreciate you so much!

Love, Randy and Carla

Brazil 207 – December 2, 2011

Hi there! We trust that you have had a good week! We are sure you are looking forward to the weekend! The weather has been very beautiful! We went through several scorcher type days, but then it has cooled off and is just right!

Some may have heard that we have come through a very difficult past week with obvious and strong spiritual battles. We are so thankful for you backing us in prayer as it is SO obvious to us in the importance of fighting off the enemy! We came through the week victorious and give God all glory for what He has done in the lives here! If anyone would like to join us in taking out time today in prayer and fasting for our services this weekend it sure would be appreciated!

One of our little seven year old boys had an operation this past week on his belly button. I guess it was out too far and they were concerned that it was a hernia, but it was all good and the difficulty is now trying to control him to NOT run around so much as he is full of energy!

The sick little 3 year old just went for more blood work last week and it all was good! Praise the Lord for that! He is also started walking!!! That is a huge and exciting step for this little guy! He talks up a storm now and it is so great to see how he is developing! Please continue to pray for complete healing in this child's life as he still bruises so easily and is full of marks. We are supposed to be careful with what he is allowed to do...and he wants to do EVERYTHING!

We had two new little girls arrive ages 3 and 5. They are sweet and jumped right into the daily routine, and talk with everyone like they have been here all along! The three year old was on the play ground when I went over to say hi and the first thing she asks me is if I am going to hit her! I was shocked and another boy next to her also just looked surprised and then told her that I wasn't going to hit her, but am here to take care of her. She seemed content with that answer and then came to me and hugged me and just laid her head on my shoulder! She has told several people that her dad would beat her mom with a big machete knife. Two beautiful girls who have once again seen more in their young lives than many of us will ever see. Our prayer for them now is to recognize and accept what real love is and that they would understand God's love for them, and the hope in a great future with Christ.

All this amongst the usual running to the doctor and dentist. The week has flown by once again!

We are always thanking God that you are supporting us in prayer! Please continue help us fight the battle! Pray a hedge of protection around each staff, child, and home in which they live, and an openness of serving Christ in ALL they do. Thank you!!!!!

Many blessings!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 206 – November 24, 2011

Hi again! We are in a heat wave again and it seems funny to see people putting up Christmas things outside in their shorts! It seems that people are starting to get into the whole decorating scene earlier each year. I still have not gotten to that point, but maybe this weekend. The Home has put up some decorations already and the house mom at the girl’s site has done a great job of decorating inside and out! The kids get so excited during this season! The kitchen staff has even commented how more food donations are arriving! A truck containing beef was confiscated by the federal police because they didn’t have the correct documentation to be transporting the meat and so they called us to come quickly and pick some up! We got 250kgs of free beef!! What a blessing for us! A couple of local grocery stores are also bringing day-old buns and other fruits and veggies which can’t be sold anymore and so we are able to make good use of that as well!

We were travelling down the road the other day and there was a construction stop. Nothing too unusual about that but sometimes there are people there who take the opportunity to sell things. On this particular day this man was walking along the long row of cars with a cooler and selling water or beer!! The law here is also that there is no “drinking and driving”...but I guess the police don’t concern themselves with that since two cars ahead of us was a police car and he was also waiting in that same line up! Just another one of those things that happen which leaves you speechless...

We took almost all of the kids this past Saturday to a worship service in a different city which was geared for youth. It was a really nice evening with music and the kids had a great time!

We also had a really good service with the kids two weeks ago on Saturday evening ending with a nice time of prayer, and afterward one of the boys who is 15 wanted to talk with me. I asked how he was and said, “not good”. After seeing the other kids off on the bus back to the Home, I had asked this one to stay behind to talk. He proceeded to tell me that he thinks there is a problem with his mom and relatives because when he came to the Home, they said that they would keep in contact with him each week with a phone call, and they hadn’t called in a very long time. He tells me that he is worried that they forgot about him. I just sat there as my heart broke for this young man...who is quite big and yet still so young at heart and hopeful in his thoughts regarding his family . He is one of the boys who was with us when he was younger, and then went back to his mom and grandma for a couple of years...and then was sent back to us about a year ago. He continues on to share with me that he gets easily frustrated with other kids because they like to bug him and then he loses his temper. It is no wonder with all he is carrying around with him. This is just one of the stories of our kids. Almost all have a dream of having an actual mom and dad who would love them...and want them. The sad reality is that many of them only receive empty promises from moms and dads who they may see on visits. They are often given a false hope which only leads to yet more rejection and anger in their lives. I do my best to counsel this boy, encourage him, and challenge him to hold on to the hope that he has in Christ. I pray with him about his own life and about his family who has forgotten him, and then drive him back to the Home, hoping that he would stay strong in his commitment that he made with the Lord. I ask that you would also just think of these kids in a personal way. Each one has their own story as to how and why they arrived here. Could you help us really intercede for their lives? The enemy is constantly filling their minds with lies and destruction. We want them to hold on to the truth that God has a plan, and a hope for a great future in Him!

We think of you often and thank God for you!

Have a great weekend full of blessings!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 205 – November 11, 2011

Hello again!!! Well, we are still recovering from the big celebrations of the 40th anniversary! It was a fun and exciting weekend and it was nice that mom and dad Redmann were able to be a part of the celebrations! Saturday was rainy and so everything was done indoors at the big gym. It ended up being good as the people commented that they were happy it was indoors. The day was geared for the kids and youth during the afternoon with games, activities and lots of action! The evening service was also filled with a variety of things where the kids participated in theatre, singing, lots of music, and a good message from Pastor James Guskjolen which was very much suited for the people who were there. It was a real blessing! Sunday was also a time where the students from the Home sang and ministered in various ways, followed by a time of joint worship where a church from a different city was involved. Then Pastor Kniesel shared that morning which was a time of blessing. As the morning progressed, the people started arriving...more and more.... It is always interesting to see how things turn out because we had booked the gym in town for this weekend, and then we were planning to have the service and afterward quickly put up tables and chairs for lunch. It was a bit of an overwhelming task since about 600+ people were there! (can’t imagine how Jesus did it with 5000!) With the help of many people, we were able to set up the whole gym with tables and chairs and feed them all in about 45-60 minutes! We had 8 lines going through a buffet at once and so it went rather quickly all things considered! After lunch we headed to the Home where there was a ceremony for the official people and the unveiling of a plaque which states a bit of the history, and giving God all the glory for His faithfulness over all the years. What was especially neat was that we were able to meet various students who had passed through the Home and see where they now are in life. That was also very special for Randy’s parents to re-connect with many former students. Once the day’s activities were over, it was the great pleasure of cleaning everything up and taking everything down! We had an amazing team of people helping us along with a strong group of students which was such a blessing!! Needless to say we were glad that it went as well as it did! The boys who were our main helpers were ready for bed by supper time on Sunday. It really was a big group effort that made the weekend such a great time. Thank you all who were praying for that weekend!

After saying good bye to our visiting pastors, the time also ended for Randy’s parents and we took them to the airport this past week. They had a good visit with many old friends and the time passed by so quickly.

We had a group of 13 younger students go on a retreat this past weekend which was such a great, amazing experience for them and for their spiritual walk! We are so excited to see God working in their lives!! Please pray that they would hold firm to their experience and that they would continue growing in the Lord!

We are now getting back to our “normal” routine and along with that brings other challenges. We are still in search of housemothers. Please keep helping us pray for this important position. God has certainly done many great things and will continue to do so!! We recognise such great blessings, and the enemy sees this as well and is stirred up and we are facing such a spiritual battle over these children! We have also noticed that there are quite a few children who are now in their teenage years which explains some of the other issues we are dealing with. Please pray that their hearts would be obedient, and open, and receptive to God’s voice on their lives. We know that they are here for a purpose and that God has a plan for them. Now, they just need to also be accepting of this fact and not hold on to their past hurts which cause so much anger in their lives. There is another retreat coming up in Dec. for youth and we are hoping to send some of the students along. It is called an “encounter with God”...and our desire is that they truly will encounter God and make life changing decisions!!

We are excited about our new chapel times in town and also want you to pray for them as we open it up to the community and anticipate God to move in this town!!

Lots to pray for...and we need you to help us!! We know that God is all powerful and will change hearts and lives!! Thank you so much for thinking of us and for all of your support with these special kids!

Blessings!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 204 – October 20, 2011

Hello again!!! Well it seems like the time between emails is getting longer but honestly it is more because I have no idea where the time is going!! One week begins and it seems like the blink of an eye and the next one is already here!! The weather has been beautiful and generally in the high 20’s to low 30’s with the forecast being much of the same.

Well, the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Home are just around the corner!! There has been lots of planning and just like a wedding there will be many things that can only be done until the day before. We are excited to celebrate the goodness of our God and how he has shown His faithfulness over all of these years!! Please help us pray that everything goes well and that everything falls into place. Saturday will be geared for kids and youth with lots of various activities and then in the evening there will be a service where many different children and guests will be sharing through dramas and singing. On Sunday will be a service of thanksgiving followed by a lunch. We aren’t exactly sure how many will be coming so that will be interesting as we need to plan to feed them all! After lunch we will head to the Home where there will be an open house and an unveiling of a plaque. The days will be full and it is such a blessing that there are friends from other cities coming to celebrate with us and participate in the worship service with music!

So, our sick little three year old of the hospital and back with us again! Yeah!! So far it’s been two weeks without having to head back to the hospital! The closest thing they have found so far to try and diagnose him is something called: Myelodysplastic syndrome, which basically says that he has a low red blood cell count and is a very likely candidate to develop leukemia. There is still one more blood test they are wanting to do which will be sent even farther away, but basically, so far, this is what this little guy has...or so they think. It has been so interesting to see him again and how he remembered me and how he is starting to talk a lot now! He is so active and happy and knows exactly what he wants. But the problem is that as soon as he over exerts himself, he develops these red spots under his skin and then he will quickly depreciate and start bleeding and then he needs to head back to the hospital again. He’s had 2-3 blood transfusions already and otherwise they have been able to raise his platelet count with regular treatment. He is quickly picking up things and can communicate quite well. Please continue to pray that he would receive a complete healing. The hospital is so far away and when he goes there, a housemother has to go along and then we are always short one housemother here. There has been talk about him going to a place closer to the hospital but that will all depend on the judge and his decision.

We are happy that a new housemother has started! We are praying for several more so we could be fully staffed and would love to have them on hand to give some of the others a break. Recognizing that there are worldwide financial difficulties, we are also “hit” in this area and yet we still need to meet the monthly needs. We have many kids and as the work grows so does the financial situation and we have to really cling to the fact that God will continue to be faithful in supplying all the needs.

Something VERY exciting which is starting up is our chapel times in town!! We were able to get a city building which is used for odd occasions, and they said that we can have it for free on the weekends when there is nothing else going on! So...last Saturday we had our first service in this town and the kids were participating with singing and some did a skit, and we all had a great time!! We have opened it up to the community and even had a few visitors show up! We are excited to see what will be happening in the upcoming months. It is difficult to explain how there is nothing in town for the youth or children in regards to a chapel time that gears to that age group. It is a completely new type of ministry to be happening and we are praying that many will be drawn to our Lord.

Thank you for partnering with us as we continue to reach higher with Christ!!

Blessings!!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 203 – September 23, 2011

Hello from Brazil! I arrived back just over a week ago! We had a great time in Canada visiting in churches, seeing family and friends, and of course spending some time with our daughters. Time had quickly passed by as we were able to spend the most beautiful summer that I could ever remember in Winnipeg! There wasn’t one person young or old who was able to remember a mosquito-less summer like this past one. It was really enjoyable. I left on a day where the temperature fell to 10C, and arrived here where the spring is in full swing and each day is heading into the 20's! My timing was perfect;)

So, excitement began right off the bat! The first morning back to the Home was a bit different because all of the children were at a special day at school celebrating 'cowboy days' so in one way it was nice to spend time talking with the staff without interruption. Although, it was short lived since about 1/2 hour later Randy quickly came after me because there was a boy who had broken his nose and had to go to the other town to the hospital! Someone had to sit with him there as the decision was made that he would just stay and have afternoon surgery to correct the break. Welcome back! So, this boy is 16 and decided to do a head butt in soccer, but hit someone else’s head instead of the ball and therefore broke his nose. Everything went well with the surgery and he was able to go home the next day, although he looked like he just had plastic surgery done on his face! While we were sitting in his room he was asking if he’ll have to go back home with all the bandages on his face. I guess he thought that he could just take them all off. Anyhow, we had gone back this week and he already does have the bandages off so he doesn’t have to go through the embarrassment of walking around with a bandaged up face:)

It is great to see all the kids again. A few have left as new ones arrived. You can pray for one newer 15 year old. I still do not know his full history, but he came from another institution where he was lashing out at others in anger, and he suffers from depression and has even mentioned suicide. He is on some type of medication and I am hoping to find out a bit more about him in these next weeks. He seems to talk ok to me and although he was shy at first, he is now opening up which I’m happy about. There is obviously some very deep issues in his life, but we also know that God allowed him to be with us and so we just pray that his heart would open up to Christ.

There was also a set of siblings which were only with us for a short period of time...and then went to live with the sister for a couple of months...and now are back again! We are hoping that they will stay this time as the family has a lot of issues to deal with and the kids always seem to be in the middle of it all. They were so happy to be back and said how they had missed it here. The older boy who received a Bible returned and showed me that he still has it. To me it is like they haven’t even left!

Our little three year old is in the hospital once again! I haven’t even seen him yet since he went in on the day before my arrival and it is 3-4 hours away. The Dr’s are still scratching their heads as to what he has, and yet each time he is sick it becomes almost life threatening! Everyone is on edge with him and yet, when he is not bleeding in some way, he is such a happy, energetic little guy. Please continue to lift him up for a complete healing.

So...there you go! If you ever feel like you don’t know what to pray for...just ask, because there always seems to be something going on around here. We know that you are there praying for all of these needs and we cherish that so much! It truly is an encouragement knowing that we are not alone.

Thank you for caring!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 202 – August 24, 2011

Hello!! So, once again it has been a long time and the summer here in Winnipeg has been so much more than we could have ever hoped for! Still no mosquitoes and the weather has just been perfect! Hot summer days! We sure had a nice time!

Randy has already returned back to Brazil and much to his disappointment, the “winter” is still in full swing! The weather there is still going down to freezing at night and the day temps are not reaching very high, and so it is almost impossible to really warm up. You notice all the sore bones a lot more when it is that damp cold. It is hard to enjoy winter there.

However, his trip went well and everyone was happy to see him...even the little three year old made sure to give him a hug...and then even asked about me:0) I thought that it was cute that he didn’t forget about me!

Once again there have been some traumatic situations. A set of three brothers had to go to their mothers funeral. This mother had wanted her sons back and over the past year visitations were being made. We do not know the details, but two weeks ago she had committed suicide. That is the second mother this year, from our kids, who has died in this way. There is no connection between the mothers, but it is now another difficult thing for the children to work through. The boys are 14, 10, and 6 years old. They all have fetal alcohol syndrome resulting with them needing to deal with a lot of difficulty in school along with certain behaviour and health issues. It is just another sad and confusing situation that these kids will have to go through. Please pray that the staff would be able to be the right encouragement and support for them, and that the boys would not react in outbursts of anger.

Our other little sick boy who will be turning three this month has gone to the hospital again! This time it is regarding kidney issues. The Dr’s believe he has some rare disease and are very concerned. I’m not sure if that is really true or if they are just saying that because they don’t know what to do with him. The only thing we do know is that he is very sick and he is behind physically in his development. I will get the whole story and picture when i get there but know that we can all join together in praying for him now and that God would touch his little body physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and completely heal him of all these strange things.

So, thank you again for all of your prayers and support!! We really do appreciate it so much! We are all so privileged to serve such a great God!

Have a really great last couple of weeks of summer!

Blessings!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 201 – July 20, 2011

Hello again! Well it has been a fast moving summer for us so far and we are enjoying our visits with so many different people! The summer here in Winnipeg has been very hot the past couple of weeks and hardly NO MOSQUITOS!! That in itself is quite amazing and we are really enjoying the long summer evenings!

So, it seems that is has been a long time since we last wrote and since then we have been in Alberta Beach and Manhattan Beach which were both such a nice time of visiting and also enjoying the great services!

Things in Brazil are going well, although we found out that one of our little boys was granted custody back to his mother. He had just shown so much improvement and from what we understand, he is not going back to a good environment which is so frustrating for us. We will need to pray that he does well and will take back what he had learned at the Home. Given that he is younger, it is quite possible that he will be home for a while and then the child and family in that area will remove him again. That is not the best scenario for any of the children since the get torn back and forth, but sadly that is the reality for some of our kids. Please pray that he will find good friends and that he learned to make the right choices regarding daily activities and friends.

The weather in Brazil has been very cold (down to freezing), and then the following week it goes up to 25C, and then it rains and the temp’s plummet down to freezing again. It has been a very damp cold and on a very selfish note, I am happy that we are here and not having to experience that cold.

The third girl’s cottage has its walls up! It will be exciting to see how things are when we go back. We are STILL waiting for the power to be hooked up for the finished second girl’s cottage! Talk about learning patience! Hopefully by the 40th anniversary in October it will be up and running! We are also still looking for another housemother for that house so that once the power is actually hooked up we will be ready to go!

We are excited to be heading to Bethel Park Camp this weekend in Ontario and so if you are in the area please make sure to stop us to say hi!

Thank you so much for praying for us and all of our travels during these months! We cannot express how grateful we are!! Please pray also for the staff and kids at the Home as they are having their “winter” break where the kids are all off school for two weeks. Have a wonderful time enjoying this great summer we are having!! May God bless you!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 200 – June 17, 2011

Wow! 200 emails! Who would have thought that we would have ever reached 200 emails when we started our first email seven years ago to just inform people of our safe arrival and first impressions of Brazil back in May 2004? We have certainly come through so many different types of situations and challenges over these years and we appreciate you so much that you have traveled through these times with us. We are always grateful and amazed at God’s faithfulness.

We have been in touch with Brazil and fofund out that the little boy who has gone through all the hospital stays also had a blood transfusion during all the commotion, and they still can’t find anything to specifically diagnose him with. Please just continue to pray for him. He is playing happily in his cottage with his friends and is full of energy which is great! Another sister to two of our boys has arrived which is also exciting! Now there are 11 girls in the one cottage, only reminding us to continue praying for a housemother for the second girl’s cottage...and that this cottage would also have the power connected! It has literally been many months of waiting for that cottage to get electricity...and we can only continue to wait!

As we have been travelling quite a bit through the country, we have seen things and often thought of how the children would find everything so neat and exciting to see. I even had a bit of a chance to talk with a couple of the boys over the phone and so that was pretty cool!

We had a great time in Dauphin last weekend, and will be sharing about the ministry this Sunday the 19th in Winnipeg at Immanuel Pentecostal Church at 11:00am. If you are in the area it would be great to see you there!!

Our July will be busy with us attending Alberta Beach on the July long weekend, Manitoba Manhattan Beach the second weekend and Bethel Park camp in Ontario on the weekend of July 23rd. We are already looking forward to meeting with everyone as we travel through those areas. Please make sure to say hi when you pass by!

It is exciting for us to spend this Father’s day with our Fathers and with our daughters! May you all have a wonderful time in celebrating your Fathers, or remembering them fondly!

Thank you so much for blessing us with your prayers and support!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 199 – May 28, 2011

Hello again! We trust that you are keeping well! We have had a busy time the past few weeks and enjoyed meeting up with more friends! On our drives we have also seen a lot of snow...which was nice to see without the full experience of an actual Winnipeg winterJ. We even managed to see 5 bears along part of our drive through the mountains! We made sure to stop and take a few pictures to show the kids when we get back to Brazil. They will be really excited to see that!

After having been in contact with Brazil we are very thankful to God to hear that our little boy who was in hospital does not have leukemia!!! He is back home and having a few more tests done as they still do not have a diagnosis for the little guy. Thank you so much for praying for him! Please continue so that the Dr’s would find answers to his mysterious blood condition. Everyone was happy to see him back home. He is happy and playing with his friends again!

Another praise report was that they were able to find two more housemothers! This is not an easy job to fill as it requires the person to live in a cottage to care for 10 children all day, every day. The person needs to be strong in their own walk with the Lord as they minister to all the children and deal with many different types of problems which all the children have arrived with. Pray as the search continues for another woman to have a calling into this ministry.

Several friends of ours in Brazil have taken on the challenge of holding chapel times at the Home each week while we are in Canada. They live about an hour away and are taking turns coming once a week and the kids are looking forward to seeing them. Please pray that God’s Spirit would speak to their hearts and continue to work and transform lives.

We are excited to be sharing in Surrey Pentecostal Assembly on May 29th! If you will be near the area this Sunday we would love to see you there! The service begins at 10:30 am and is located at 16870 80th Avenue in Surrey, BC. Please pray that hearts would be touched as we share about what God is doing in the lives of young children.

So, we just thank you so much again for joining us in being a part of the great experience of lives being changed for God! We will be heading to Winnipeg this Wednesday!! It will be great to see both our girls and the rest of our family and friends. We are looking forward to celebrating our younger daughter Janelle’s graduation! (Have no idea how time has passed so quickly!)

Thank you for your support and prayers through all of our travels!

Huge blessings on you!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 198 – May 11, 2011

Hello!! Arriving back in Canada has been great and one of our first stops before leaving the airport was at Tim Horton’s for a coffee! Our trip is going very well so far and we have enjoyed spending time with friends and family, along with sharing about the ministry.

Having called the Home and being in frequent contact we know that things are going well overall. We do have a big prayer request as our little 2yr.old boy who we have mentioned before has taken a turn for the worse and is really sick. He was taken this past week to a hospital over 3 hours away because his platelets went so low. One of the housemothers has stayed with him there (leaving us short at the Home), and we aren’t sure as to how long they will want to keep him in the hospital. We have been trying to contact someone nearby who knows a Dr. in that hospital to check in more closely for us and are waiting back to hear some news. This is a very sick little boy. He has come so far already in his short time with us in regards to being happier and eating, and responding well to the challenges of building up his strength in his legs. It seems that he shows some progress in one area and then the effects of his blood problems surface again. He really needs God to touch his blood, his overall health, and his physical development. He is a smart little guy who understands everything you are telling him and he is working hard at communicating with everyone now. When you remember, please bring his young life before our Lord who is the great Healer and that God will bring full healing into this child’s life, and that all glory will be given to Him!! I was reading this morning in 1 John 5:14,15 which says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we asked of him.”

It is very exciting as three friends of ours from different towns have committed themselves to help out with chapel times each weekend. The kids were looking forward to them coming and we are looking forward to hearing about great times that they are having!

We will be sharing about the Home this Sunday night in Southside Assembly in Edmonton and if you are in the area it would be great if you could come by and visit! We are very blessed to have family and so many friends who are helping us out along the way!

Thank you again for allowing us to share with you! We often tell the children at the Home that we send out many emails to people and that they are so blessed to have so many people praying for them! You are truly blessing us! We pray that God will richly reward each one of you!

Have a great week!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 197 – April 23, 2011

Hi again! HAPPY EASTER!!!! What a great celebration we all can have in the resurrection of our Saviour! We will be celebrating at the Home on Sunday which the children are all looking forward to. The Home has had several visitors this past week who have come by with some sweets for the kids which has been great! We have decided to get cake and ice cream for them since it is only on special occasions when they receive that.

Well somehow several weeks have once again flown by and we are now in our last days of preparing for our time in Canada! There have been many different things going on around here and trying to get these things wrapped up along with preparations have only made the days go by even quicker than usual!

Please pray for us with our busy schedule over the next couple of months. We will be leaving Brazil on April 28 for Ontario area. Sunday May 3rd we will be sharing in Scarborough and visiting in that area for a few days, then we will be sharing in Ottawa for Mother’s Day. Afterward we will be heading to Edmonton area where we will be in Southside Pentecostal Assembly for the evening service on May 15th. During the week of May 23-27 we will be in the Kelowna/Vernon/BC area, and May 29 we will share in Surrey Pentecostal during the morning service. Then we will be heading to Winnipeg June 1st when we will be able to see our daughters! It will be a very busy time and we would really appreciate your prayers as we share and visit in these areas. We will be in Dauphin in June 12, Winnipeg WM Monday June 13, and then Immanuel Pentecostal Church June 19th. Please feel free to email as we would enjoy meeting with you when we go through your area. During July we will be heading to some church camps which we are also looking forward to! While we were in Canada last time we had email problems in trying to retrieve info from our Brazilian address. In order to avoid this happening again, you can email us at info@hgsbrazil.org Please just be patient for us to return the email as it will depend on where we are and the access we have for email. I also have another email: carlawhileincanada@live.com

We have had to say good bye to a set of siblings which was sad for us, and then, another two girls arrived who also have a brother here with us! He was SO happy that they arrived! They seem to be very excited to be together with their younger brother and have settled in very nicely so far.

A hairdresser here in town has offered to cut the girls hair for free! What a huge blessing for us! She even donated a sink to wash hair and is teaching the girls how to wash and blow dry the hair and then she just cuts it. She comes to the girl’s site and we have a room where it works out perfectly for them to have the space for this.

We are very excited that we were able to send 13 boys to a retreat this weekend!! They were of course super excited to go and we are looking forward to seeing what God has done in their lives. Please pray for all of our kids that they would really grow and have a hunger for the Lord and that they would be a super example to the others. It is often very humbling to think of where these kids came from and to see how they are changed lives living for the Lord.

It seems somewhat far away to talk about it now already, but October 30th 2011 is when we are planning to celebrate the 40th anniversary at the Home and for us it seems to just be around the corner! Hard to believe that it has been that long although we can hardly believe that our time of almost 7 years here have gone by so quickly! So it would be really cool to see some of you there as well! We are in the early planning stages and look forward to a great time of showing God’s faithfulness through all the years!

So...hopefully we will see you soon!!! Please email if you have any questions as to where we will be and if there is a possibility of getting together.

As you remember to pray for us...please keep praying for everyone here! There is still the challenges of finding the right staff with a couple of positions open which we really wanted to have filled before we left...although we know God’s timing is perfect and He has the right person for this important position. We thank God for each of you!

Huge blessings on you!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 196 – April 2, 2011

Hi again! So, time is quickly passing by and even more so as I have begun driving again! Yeah!

The weather has been hot and then cooler, and then hot again....so I guess the seasons are changing as the fall weather will soon be approaching.

We had a fun Saturday a couple of weeks ago when we asked a local swimming pool if they would make the pool available to the kids one day before they drain it for the year. The town swimming pool is for “member’s only” and so our children would not be allowed there, but they agreed! Everyone was very excited about the day and the kitchen lady made the food which we took along and then the kids drained a lot of energy in the pool, playing soccer and volleyball! Later in the afternoon the folks there gave a hotdog and pop for each child and it was a good way to end the time there.

Our newest three siblings seem to be adapting quite well...although we felt badly for the girl who is 13 years and that she was feeling very uneasy about being sent away. Somewhere along the road she thought that she could only stay for 21 days and then she may be sent somewhere else. She was previously adopted out to a family for a two year period and then returned, and then has been pushed around through various institutions. She was so quiet and nervous. It was sad to see. It will most likely take a while before she truly trusts anyone.

We received a new little boy who will be 3 years old in August and he still cannot walk, and speaks at about a one year old level. He sits on the floor with poor balance, and shuffles himself around on his butt. In just the two weeks and the staff working with him, he has already gained enough strength in his legs to stand holding onto a chair! He cannot get himself up on his own. The first few days he was introduced to solid food as he had no idea what to do when a spoon came towards his mouth with food on it. He was only receiving a bottle all this time. He was making strange with everyone and only held tightly onto the housemother...and now he is going to anyone and recognizing the kids and staff! We will certainly need to find some extra help in the special needs school for him to try and get him up to the correct stages developmentally, and spend a lot of time encouraging him to walk and talk. He can take about 5 steps but only with someone holding his hands. He arrived with many scabs and sores all over his body along with many bruises, and blood in his stool. His sores were itchy and he scratched them open all the time and his bed sheets were being changed each day from all the bleeding through the night. He also had blood coming out of his ears and mouth during the night which was very concerning. His two front teeth are already rotten. He was brought to us by child and family services with a pile of exams that need to be completed. After receiving them back we found out the most of his problems are all because of lack of nutrition and no stimulation. We had him at a special Doctor yesterday who said that his back is still not devolved properly to support his weight which is why he is so poor in his balance. He also had a small growth on his eye lid...like a small cist. One morning this week it looked very swollen and purple and so we took him to a local dr. who decided to pop it open with a needle, from inside his eyelid and from the outside! He screamed as no anaesthetic was given other than drops to freeze his eyeball! It was awful. Then the eyelid proceeded to bleed non-stop for about three days with it coming out of his nose through the tear ducts!! The housemother was up many hours during the first night and we went to a different town to see an eye dr the next day who said that it should not have been popped open. Some of the blood work showed that his blood does not coagulate well and his platelets are low which I’m not sure exactly what that means...but we are looking into that. We just ask you once again to bring this precious little boy before our loving heavenly Father that he would receive a healing touch. Seeing him laugh and get excited when we have been gone to an appointment and arrive back at the Home is so neat to see. We are excited about how well he is now eating constantly and how he has improved in his physical strength in these two weeks along with trusting other people around him.

So, that has been another little glimpse into the last couple of weeks around here. We cannot express how grateful we are knowing that you will be bringing these needs before our Lord. We thank God for you!

May you be blessed this week in great ways!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 195 – March 12, 2011

Hi again! We hope that you are keeping well! Things around here are somehow getting even busier than usual!

First of all we want to thank you for praying as we have had one of our housemother positions filled! We are still in need of two more but this has already been helpful. The ladies are waiting patiently as none are able to take time off right now. Pray they have good rest when they sleep, and that they have continued energy, strength, and wisdom to deal with all of the day to day things.

One of our cooks of 30 years has just retired last week! What a milestone to have worked for that many years! She certainly knows the kids, and many past students come back and look at her as their main caregiver. She has experienced so many things over the years and was a real blessing, rarely complaining, rarely off sick, and always working with a joyful heart! We had a dinner with everyone...which she cooked!...but we also got a cake and a memorabilia for all her years of service.

As we are a bit short staffed right now, we have been trying to limit the number of new students...but, I guess God has other plans for some children as the judge ordered another 4 siblings to us yesterday and they arrived in the evening! Usually we are given some notice and paper work has to be completed...but certain cases arise when they are more urgent. I guess this is one of those cases. Ages 8-16, we received two boys and two girls...making our girls cottage over-maxed out with 12 students! It is getting a bit tight in there now but we are so thankful that the housemother caring for them is so welcoming and does her best to help them feel at home. Cottage 2 on the girls site is physically finished, but we still need to furnish it, and we also have been waiting for hydro to come to give them power...since last November! Another thing to pray for as we have had to put five other girls on a waiting list. We often do not understand many things here, and frankly, I have often just said whatever because you don’t know what to do or think anymore. But, thankfully we have a God who does know what to do and when to act! We always pray for the children who are in our care that they are chosen by God to be here...and we continue to trust Him in every area regarding students and staff. He is always faithful. With more students and staff, comes more cost and we trust God to provide in every area as He always has. We face ongoing needs here and marvel at how God has sustained this ministry through all these years! Please know that we are humbled by your prayers and support for us and for the ministry!

We also have some news that we will be coming back to Canada in May for a few months! Lots of places and people are on the agenda during that time and we are excited to meet with old friends along with meeting new ones! As dates and places are confirmed, we will let you know when we will be in your area and possibly we could meet face to face! We consider ourselves very blessed because we will also be able to attend the high school graduation for our younger daughter Janelle! So, we are looking forward to great times, great people, and great food;) We are both trying to diet in advance of our arrival since we usually put on some pounds with the excitement of seeing all the favourite treats! Please pray for us as we are preparing to share in various locations that we would bring to light the many ongoing needs we deal with here at the Home along with all of the exciting changes we see in the lives of the children!

Well, the cast officially was taken off my leg last Friday! Yeah! Now I am on the next stage of getting my movement back with a lot of help from physiotherapy. I didn t realize how painful a process that would be, but it s going well and he is happy with the progress so far. I still cannot put full weight on the leg comfortably but I m working on it! I m starting to get out more although I still need my taxi driver (Randy)...and so it also depends on his schedule. Thank you so much for all your prayers! I sure appreciate all the support and hopefully I will be arriving in Canada without a limp;) Ok...I always wonder what I m going to write about when I sit down...and before I know it the page is full again! Know that we are thinking and praying for you also!

Blessings!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 194 – February 20, 2011

Hi again! Well, where to begin?? There have been a lot of things that have happened and I’ll try to give the highlights.

So, in having the latest x-rays on my knee it showed that the knee cap is still broken and that I need to keep using the cast until March 4th...and then I’ll go in again to see what’s going on. Not exactly what I was expecting to hear, but it is what it is, and that will be about 7 weeks in a cast but we just keep going forward.

All the boys got back safe and sound from camp and we give complete thanks and praise to God for that!! No major accidents, injuries, or bites! yeah! I always feel much better once everyone is back.

During this last week there was so much commotion in regards to new children arriving! A 12 year old boy arrived a few weeks ago and was taken out to camp. Interestingly enough he knew several of our boys because they are from the same town and were in a different passage house together! A different boy (12 years)who just left the Home and was given back to his mom three months ago has arrived back again along with his three sisters aged 5,8,13! He came up to us as usual and was excited to tell us about his three sisters! He actually has four of his cousins already here too!...so they are having a “family reunion”! Then another two brothers (9&14),with their sister(13) also arrived. They have gone through so much already with a very harsh background where they were involved in many different types of things and will need a lot of prayer for their lives to change. So, we have three new boys and 4 new girls making the first girls cottage filled! What we especially thought was neat, was how the siblings were all hanging out together after chapel last night. Every girl that is in our care has at least one brother here which I think is neat that they can see each other where before they would have been separated.

Now, with all these new kids arriving so closely together, it puts everyone, children and staff, a bit on edge. Everyone needs to get used to new students, roommates, rules, schedules, and adults, making for some stressy situations. Please pray for all these different issues especially with school starting up tomorrow. School brings a whole other bundle of things to pray for and we want all the children to make the right choices to the different things they will be facing. Also, that they would understand what they are being taught in school and would have a desire to do well in their studies. So many of the students are behind and therefore have lost “belief” in themselves that they can do well.

Along with all of the changes to the start of this school year, we are still in need of two new housemothers. This is a very important and difficult position to fill. They need to have a serving and caring heart along with being willing to live on site with up to 10 children who arrived with many hurts, and past traumas. It is not an easy job and they certainly need prayer for strength and wisdom in how to deal with the many challenges they face each day. If we are short housemothers, the others also do not get any time off which is also difficult. PLEASE pray for the right people to fill these very important positions.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! We know God has the perfect persons to fill these positions. He knows the troubled pasts the children all came from. And he is in control of this ministry. We trust Him to provide in all areas! We are so blessed to have you interested in His work and willing to sacrifice time to join us in praying for these needs.

Huge blessings!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 193 – February 7, 2011

Hi again! Sure hope that you are keeping well! We have continued with the heat yet had a few rain spurts which are always a welcomed treat to cool things off a bit. The rains and flooding which you most likely saw on the news is quite a bit north from here and is not affecting us in any way. There has been much devastation in those areas which will take a long time to recover.

In large contrast to last year, the children at camp have missed very few days of swimming because of rain or the river rising too high. They are of course very happy about that. If you remember, last year the children could not go swimming for about 4 weeks of camp because the river was so high and it was raining so much. Like usual, there is a lot of fishing happening and although some of the fish are about as big as the palm of your hand....they are proud to have caught it, and it will not go to waste! They are all quickly cleaned, while another boy will run for flour, salt and oil...and then the fish fry begins! It’s neat to watch someone fry the fish while the others wait to get the extra treat. We have a separate place for the fire pit where they have the freedom to deal with that on their own. They love being able to do that!

Lindsay, who courageously went out to camp for a week, by herself,... survived! She took craft supplies and other games out to interact with the kids and they loved having her there. She was brave to go without knowing the language, although she is communicating very well and has picked up quite a bit of Portuguese. The boys were happy to take her on hikes and have someone else to give them lots of attention while swimming and doing other activities throughout the day. I was disappointed that I couldn’t go along, but with the Dr. sounding so serious about me staying still, I didn’t want to risk dragging this healing process out more than it needs to. I will be going for knee x-rays this Friday to see if I can finally start the next phase which will be not having to wear this cast anymore...which will be especially nice since several days had gone up to 40C !!! Actually the time has gone fairly quickly and it has been good to get caught up on all the computer stuff. Randy and Lindsay have been great with serving me and I’ll miss that once the cast is off;) Lindsay will actually be leaving next week and we ask for prayer for safe travels.

We had a really great time yesterday when we took all the girls and youngest boys along with housemothers to a different city where we enjoyed a great service of worship! They had separate classes for the younger children and they really enjoyed themselves. Afterward we got a “pastel”...which is a type of thin dough that is filled with meat and looks sort of like a perogy...and is deep fried. It was a good “field trip”!

Our little guy who was in hospital is doing better although the Dr. who was dealing with his case never did really give an answer as to what was actually wrong with his blood work! The boy is playing and eating which we are thankful about and just celebrated his 6th birthday...and still only weighs around 25lbs. We are hoping to take all of his previous tests and blood exams to a different Dr., who usually tends to the children, to see if he can determine what the results were or at least give us some more definite answers. Please continue to pray that he would improve with his appetite to gain some weight.

All of the boys and staff out at camp will be packing up to come home next week. Please continue to pray for all of their safety! God has certainly been gracious in keeping everyone safe!

We are in need of housemothers again which is such a huge responsibility and need for all these children! It is a difficult position to fill and we ask for God to intervene and supply people who are passionate for God and love children. Please join us in asking God to direct the right people our way.

We thank God for you!

Blessings!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 192 – January 7, 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Ok, it’s a week late, but it’s still just starting off and hopefully it is going well for you!

We had a very nice celebration on New Year’s Eve as we began the evening with chapel which was very nice. Then Randy mentioned that he was trying to catch some little green pigs and have them for a treat for the kids. Some looked confused while others remembered last year when the “little green pigs” were watermelons which are always a great treat for the kids! They got a good share of that and then shortly before midnight we all gathered in a circle and each person shared what they were thankful about. We always find it interesting with some comments regarding how they are thankful to have food and to be part of the Home. Others are thankful that God kept them alive through another year. Interesting to hear their comments. Afterward Randy left it open for prayer which we find especially a blessing as we listen to newer students, who often just learned how to pray from the heart, giving thanks for the past year and asking God to watch over us all into this New Year. Randy had bought a few fireworks (which is a very popular thing here) to set off after our prayer time together mentioning how our life should be a light and make an impact in this world. Everyone of course enjoyed watching that. One boy came up to Randy afterward and asked if there would be another surprise for them. He said that there is one last special surprise which is “his pillow”! It took him a second to get that joke:)

On Monday, all the boys who had gone on home visits, had to be back since everyone was heading out to camp on Jan.4th . Some come back saying they had a nice time while with others it is a frustration for us when they come back with things from their families which are disturbing stories or events which took place. One of the younger boys came back crying uncontrollably at night. All of the visits are ordered by a judge and so we have to comply with the request of their home visits. One of our newer boys who is eight years old said that he spent Christmas day going around with his mom collecting cans and beer bottles so that he could have some money after they traded them in. And, so it goes... We had to talk with this boy several times when he arrived, because he will ask anyone for change or food, and we try to “un-train” him from doing that...but it is difficult especially when they go right back into that environment for visitation.

On a much different note, we had two of our boys graduate from grade 8 and another two graduate from high school!! What a great milestone for them! They were so excited as we took part in their graduation evenings. The two who graduated high school will still continue at this other computer course they are enrolled in which will continue until July. It is such a great blessing to us when we see how they have grown into young men of God,where you can really see them living their lives as a testimony for Him!

Well, all the boys went out to camp this week and we just spent a bit of time out there and will head back for a longer period in a couple of weeks or so. Seeing them run through all the bush, go fishing, and having swimming time does one big thing for me...it makes me ask you to PLEASE PRAY! They are fearless when it comes to climbing trees, creating their own adventures and trails through the bush, and they certainly need prayer as the nearest simple hospital is an hour away. Most wildlife tries to scatter when they all arrive, but one poor lizard was too slow and already became the snack for a few of the boys. The ongoing fire which they are in charge of in their own pit is going constantly as the fish are quickly being caught and eaten...no matter how small:) We are thankful that the river is low and so that makes it great for them to go swimming during the swim time. Last year it rained so much that they couldn’t go in for three weeks! That was difficult! Camp is off to a good start and we just ask for many to intercede on the behalf of everyone out there that God would just cover them all with HIS protection.

And so begins our New Year! We truly are so grateful for God’s faithfulness over the past year and are excited to what He has in store for this year! May God grant you rich and full blessings as you being this New Year! Thank you for being such a great support for us in prayer as we all minister where God has placed us!

Randy and Carla Redmann,

Home of the Good Shepherd, Brazil

Brazil 191 – December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!!! Well, we are enjoying our summer weather although you do not usually associate feeling so hot during the Christmas season. We have had some nice cooler days which has been a nice but they are getting fewer and fewer in between as we head into the hottest time of the year.

So, the team that came down has come and gone! The two weeks went by so quickly and it’s been a bit busy as we are trying to get ready for Christmas with all the kids. I can hardly believe that it has been a month since we last wrote! The team had worked exceptionally hard as they began their first two days sanding concrete walls!! That is a very physical and difficult job! They were troopers and then began the large task of painting the entire second Girl’s cottage. Some accent walls were painted bright colours and look great! Then some fancy artwork went up on other walls and adds such a great touch to the place! Anyone who will go to live in there will certainly be thrilled with how it turned out! We were blessed with several cooler days which made working a lot more bearable. One of the ladies had a bad fall at the beginning of their second week but thankfully nothing seemed broken, and some rest and ice seemed to help the situation. We were grateful that it wasn’t more serious. They also spent time in the evenings with the kids working on crafts and games, along with making play dough for the littlest ones! We had a very enjoyable time with everyone and the children were especially excited to have ice cream one day as a treat from them along with all the other treats and much needed things that came down with the group! Our niece had come along and will be staying with us until February and she has been taking on the task of chapel times which the children are enjoying so much. It will be nice to have some family here as our daughters are enjoying a white Christmas in Winnipeg.

We have received two more girls. They are sisters to one of our boys and he was SO happy to see them when they arrived! They are eight and eleven years old. It is neat to see how they look out for each other and how their brother tries to let them know of the routines. Sadly, one of them has been terribly abused. You sit and observe and wonder how she can even smile. She is quiet and a bit withdrawn. Just a few days after arriving we took her to a different big city for a more detailed check up. She sits without talking, then barely answers questions. She knows why she is there and wants to forget her past...but the trauma she suffered will remain with her always. I could only whisper in her ear that we are just trying to help her. Surprisingly she seems to understand that. Afterwards we take her to a shopping mall where she begins to show some trust and starts talking more. Seeing her first escalator and nervously getting on and grinning the whole way as she goes up. Then i ask if she knows about McDonalds. She says no. Well, then for sure we are going to have lunch there! She has her first taste of fast food, being in a shopping mall, and seeing what a toy store looks like. She was just staring at everything and i was just thrilled to see her open up and smile. She has already made friends with the other girls in her cottage and the younger one is all smiles all the time and very outgoing. Please pray for these girls. Pray that they would learn about the true love of Christ. That they would truly experience an inner healing and that they would have a hope and a future with Him.

Several children have already gone for home visits. This is always a difficult time of year since we never know what they will experience there. Please pray for God’s protection over them all and that they would make good choices and come back safely.

As we reflect on Christ we are so thankful and grateful that He came to this earth to be our Saviour. May you all have a blessed time celebrating with family and friends. May His peace and presence surround you!

Love,

Randy and Carla Redmann

Brazil 190 – November 15, 2010

Hi again! So another few weeks have gone by and here we are again! The weather is certainly heading into the summer temp’s and we are enjoying it.

We are excited as there is a small group coming down for a couple of weeks to minister to the children and also work on some projects. They’ll be staying here with us...which is a hint to those of you who wonder where you’d be welcome to stay when you’d come and visit:-) We have a couple of extra rooms and beds! We are really enjoying our new place and happy to report there is no mold and much better breathing! We will be doing a fair bit of driving with the company and so we all sure would appreciate you remembering us in your prayer times.

We are awaiting the arrival of some siblings! It’s frustrating sometimes because certain ones come through so quickly, while others seem to drag on with the system before they actually show up. We have even made the decision to not tell any of the children if they will be getting visitors or leaving because too many times the people never showed up and then the child is just sitting and waiting. They go through so much emotional turmoil and we try to avoid it when possible.

There is a set of four siblings in our care whose mother is in jail, and by order of court, they have to visit her. The social worker and psychologist along with Canario took the hour drive in two cars for the official visit. We had already tried to have the visit scheduled at a different location other than the jail so that the kids wouldn’t be so affected by seeing their mom like that...but it didn’t help much since she was still brought into a closed room in handcuffs. The 10 year old girl just sat there and cried the whole time, the older girl simply sat by her mom, the older boy didn’t want to speak at all until he was told to at least say hi to her, and then the other younger boy was also much quieter. The mother makes many promises she cannot keep only to put false hope in the children. A yelling match starts up when it’s time to go. Everyone leaves much more stressed out than when they arrived. The mother is pregnant with another child who hopefully will not have any side effects from her previous lifestyle. The children, who had just started settling into the Home routine is all out of whack again and they have over a week of misbehaviour before things settle down again. By law, we have to do what the judge requires. At first they wanted us to have these visits every two weeks! We have written letters to plead that not more than once a month would be allowed. This is only one case in the many family situations we have to deal with on an ongoing basis. Please pray for these children, and for the staff who need to deal with the after effects.

On a much different note, we had three of our older boys go to a retreat in a different city through a church we sometimes go to. We have friends from there and they invited some boys to go along. They had such a great encounter with God! They came back SO excited about what God did in their lives! We see such a great change in these lives! Only God can work like that!

Two boys who live in the same municipality went back to live with their mothers. One was older, and really excited that he will be able to share about Christ with his family! The other boy is confused and said that maybe he’ll be back in a month. If I am around when they are leaving, I will make an effort to talk with them one-on-one and pray with them. I was particularly touched with the one boy who is 13. When I was done praying, he had asked if he could also pray for me! He prayed such a sincere prayer for our family and for the Home! How fantastic is that?! this is exactly why we are here! we want God to impact these lives so that when they go back to their communities they will share Christ to them! Please pray for these two boys that they truly would be an example to their families and that through their example more lives would turn to Christ.

So...you can see the “high’s” and the “low’s” that we go through. These are just a couple of examples of the experiences we have each week. Thank you for praying and making a difference in all the lives here!...both young and old! We certainly need and appreciate all of you!

Huge blessings to you!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 189 – October 25, 2010

Hello again! Trusting that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebrating with family and friends. We had actually forgotten about it until our daughter called. October 12 was children’s day here in Brazil. This is when children are celebrated and so we also made a party for all of our children and had a fun day. We had received a donation of towels although they were white...and so I bought some dye and the ladies dyed the towels darker colours and each child received one new towel. The week ended up being a short school week because most places made the holiday into a long weekend, and then the Friday was “teacher’s day” so they had another day off!

We had a time change and along with warmer weather, some boys have been going fishing on the weekends in a nearby creek. Some are busy in the evenings looking for worms to save for the weekend. It’s always funny to me to see them come back with about 10 fish which are around 6 inches in size! They are happy and quickly get them cleaned and then ask the kitchen ladies to fry them up for them. It’s a highlight!

I haven’t talked too much lately about animal stories and for some reason there were several things which occurred lately with the children relating to animals.

We have a couple of rabbits which one of the boys simply brought home from school one day on the school bus! They were doing quite well until one of them got nipped by a snake! The poor thing looked awful, but somehow survived. Apparently...according to the folks here, rabbits are one of the stronger animals that can withstand a snake bite! Who knew?! Anyhow...so far it is surviving. I guess now we’ll have to wait and see if a batch of young ones will be born. The cage where these rabbits are is in an area where all the children are often playing. it could have just as easily been one of the kids that got bit by the snake. Please pray that with the nicer weather that everyone is more careful and aware to where the snakes can be hiding. We always pray God’s protection over all of them.

The other day some boys were commenting about a vulture. After further questioning, one boy finally said that they had caught a vulture! Somehow they were keeping it up above the pig stalls in the roof!! They were wanting to keep it for a bit and then kill it and eat it!!!! Must be a boy thing! After explaining that eating a vulture is probably not the greatest idea, Valdetar went with them to release the bird. Poor thing doesn’t know how close it was to being someone’s dinner! Many of the children who come here have gone “hunting” where they previously lived and basically the rule is, “if you can catch it, you can eat it’...which is probably why there is next to no wildlife around here anymore. Everything from guinea pigs, to lizards, to any kind of bird is all fair “game”. Not too many dull moments around hereJ

On a more serious note, one of our older boys (15)was just diagnosed that he is at about a 9 year old level. He has always been more on the quiet side and often withdrawn. Every so often, out of the blue, he’ll come over and talk a bit, but that doesn’t happen too often. We don’t know really what happened in his past that would have effected or resulted in this, but it is sad to see him growing into a strong young man and yet socially and mentally he is struggling. He has some relatives who rarely contact us to visit him. Please pray for him that God would touch his life and that he would overcome the challenges he will be facing in his future, both in the work force, and in his personal life.

So has gone the past few weeks around here! Please continue praying for the work here and all the children as we rely so strongly on your support through prayer! We are privileged to be involved with you as we see children’s lives being changed!

God bless you!!Randy and Carla

Brazil 188 –October 6, 2010

Hi! We hope you are keeping well! Sorry about not getting back to you sooner, especially because of the prayer request we had sent out regarding the gov’t visit we had. I know there were many who were curious as to how the meeting went. We were/are also in the process of moving, and so I had not turned my computer on for several days.

So...the gov’t ‘people’ ended up being gov’t ‘person’...who was a young lady that was to fill out pages and pages of information which she will take back to the head office. She was terribly received in our town after having only two hours of sleep the night before and arriving here where nobody seemed interested in helping her out!! Finally she called the Home and Canario went to get her. She was so upset about how she was treated that she was crying! Canario calmed her down and when she was at the Home we found out she hadn’t eaten anything since the night before and so we got her something to eat and told her that she could have lunch with us too and so she seemed happy with that. Towards the end of the day it was clear that she was not going to finish her assisignment and she then stayed an entire second day gathering information. At the end of the first day she had a tour to see the cottages and the children along with all the other areas and she really enjoyed herself. We now continue praying that the information that she takes back would be looked at favourably by those who will be going through all the paperwork. She informed us that they are going throughout Brazil and visiting every location so we are guessing that we probably won’t hear anything back for at least 6-12 months.

I came out of the office the other day and one of our little guys (8 yrs. old) had a swollen cheek. When I asked if he had a sore tooth he replied that he didn’t and it was because someone popped him one in the cheek! So after further ‘investigation’ it was actually a rotten tooth and he’s taking medication to get the swelling down and then I’ll take him in to the dentist. He is one of our newer boys that I had written about a couple of emails ago that arrived with no boundaries and was having a bit of a time trying to adjust to rules. He is still having a bit of a tough time, but you can certainly see how he is improving so we are very happy about that! If you could still remember him though in your prayers as school is quite the challenge for him and the teacher is quite frustrated...maybe she needs even more prayer:) He just craves attention. All he wants is that you sit and listen to him, and he’ll talk almost non-stop with you.

Was very excited today when one of the older boys came and talked to me a bit about how he has started reading the Bible every day. It is something I have been trying to challenge the kids to invest time in their relationship with Christ. It was so neat to listen to him tell me with excitement how he was just enjoying his journey through the new Testament! Hearing that gives us the energy to keep working through the more difficult challenges we face. Please pray that this passion would just keep growing in all the students!

On a personal note, our move went well and at this point half of our place is moved in while the other half is still in boxes. We are now in the second floor of a house and still in the same town where we were living before. We are very blessed and thankful to have found a nice place!

Please continue praying for the ministry, the staff, and the children. We are excited when we see God working in these lives! Thank you for blessing us!!

God bless!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 187 - September 17, 2010

Hello again! So several weeks have passed by again since the last email and somehow it seems like yesterday when we said good bye to our girls! It does not get any easier and we are glad that their trip home went well and without any problems. Both are well on their way in their schooling and we pray for them to do well and enjoy new friendships!

I have good news...(I think)... The visit from the gov’t was postponed and re-scheduled for September 15th, and then postponed again and they said that they’ll call us when it works out. So that was the third time it was changed and I guess we’ll just start with making any necessary changes to be ready for them when they actually show up! thank you so much for praying!!

I’m not sure if some remember or not, but almost two years ago we had two brothers who went home for a Christmas visit, and their mother decided that she wanted one boy to stay with her but still didn’t want the other one. The legal decision was made and the younger one came back feeling completely rejected and went through a difficult stage during that time. Since then he has made such a turnaround in his life and was actually one of the boys who were baptised a few weeks ago! Lately...we received a call and his brother (who had already been passed off from the mother to his grandmother) was to be coming back again! He is now 15 years old and arrived this week! He looks very similar to when he left but much bigger physically, and told his grandmother that he was happy to come back here. He has also gone through his own rejection several times over along with all the other things he’s had to deal with the past two years. Then, which has happened before, the family doesn’t know what to do with the child anymore and want to get rid of him! I find it appalling over and over again how some people treat their own children/teenagers as disposable. Please pray that this young man will sense God’s love and peace, and that he will see this as an opportunity for his future.

We have also had another ‘family reunion’ as one of our teenage boys had his younger brother (7 years), and two sisters (aged 10 and 14) arrived earlier this week! He was so happy to be together with his siblings and we are praying that they would all make a life changing experience with Christ. Please pray for them all as they came out of a very difficult region of their city and have seen far more than anyone ever should. The 14 year old girl possibly has ADHD along with a learning disability which most likely stems from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. They all were full of lice which we can only hope that it will not pass to the others...although the pharmacy told me that lice is going around all the schools now....great! I guess there will be a lot more haircuts happening in the next while:) I took the girls to my hairdresser today which I had explained about the lice situation...thinking that she would be careful as to what brushes she’ll use etc...but she just continued on like usual!...and she doesn’t have that blue liquid disinfectant where all the combs go into! Makes me wonder how I have never had lice yet!

We have been in this house for the past five years and although the yard is large and treed, the house itself is quite old and we have dealt a lot with mould issues. Our neighbours, who are also our landlords, are now wanting to move into this house and so we have had to find another place to live. We have been very blessed to find a place here in town which belongs to a friend of ours who got married last year and is now looking for someone to rent out her place! So these next two weeks will be full of activities as we begin packing up the house! We are very thankful and blessed!

So...I have given you a lot of information again to digest and we just ask that whenever you think of the children and/or staff, that you would please hold us all up in prayer. We appreciate you dearly!! May God fully bless you!!

Randy and Carla Redmann

Brazil 186 - August 27, 2010

Hello again! So I’ve heard that your summer has been about as nice as our winter! We actually have been having very beautiful summer-like weather. Our daughters have had a full range of weather during their three week stay and we can’t believe that they will be leaving on Tuesday! It was so great to have them here again and I think they enjoyed their time with the kids and seeing old friends. We even went along on a school field trip because there were three extra seats and the boys really wanted us to go along. It was a fun day even though we drove three hours to see a one hour tour of a place where they get amethyst rocks out of the ground...and then had lunch... and took the three hour drive back!

In church last Sunday there was a couple visiting and after the service the lady came and talked with me. She works in the court house in a different town and knew about a boy who used to be with us at the Home. It was so encouraging for us to hear that this lady knows the mother and she has shared how the boy was talking about the Home. The mother was sharing how the boy has his family stop to say grace before eating and has shared about God with them. we were very excited to hear this as very often we do not know what happens to the children when they are gone back to their relatives. We are once again reminded how God is making an impact and how we also need to continue praying for those who have previously left.

We are very excited to have three of our boys being baptised this Sunday! Randy has given them some teaching about what baptism means and we will be having a celebration dinner with all the children afterwards at the Home!
We have had a new energetic eight year old boy arrive at the Home. Previously he spent most of his day running the streets and living on ‘survival mode’. He basically was living with no boundaries whatsoever and now is having a very difficult time adjusting to a daily routine of meal times, school time, homework time, devotional time, chapel, game time, soccer, bed time, etc... he arrived with quite the vocabulary and how to get what he wants by either begging or fighting. It has been very difficult for this child...and for the staff and other children. PLEASE help us pray for this child that he would adapt quickly to this new routine and that he would realize how special he is. He is obviously full of anger and resentment and has not learned many social skills. Pray that God would do a great work in his young life and that a great love would be placed in the hearts of those who are caring for him.

We also have a very big day coming up here at the Home next Wed. September 1st. The government has come up with many new legislations regarding places that care for children and they are sending a group of representatives to visit us here at the Home to see if we are making the required changes. This is a very big deal and we ask that you would please intercede for us on that day.

Remember also that our girls will be travelling back to Canada this next week and that God would protect them and us.

Thank you for all your support!! We say it all the time, but know that we deeply appreciate all your prayers! We know God is faithful in answering!
Huge blessings to you!!
Randy and Carla

Brazil 185 - August 4, 2010

Hi again!  I sit here today with several layers of clothing on, a blanket wrapped around my legs, and a housecoat overtop!....just to give you an idea of how cold I am!  So...the hot streak we had ended about two days after writing the last email and our winter settled in a bit late...but it’s definitely here!   We are surviving but also very thankful to have our air-conditioning box with the option of blowing heat as well!  It’s at least nice to turn it on a bit before going to bed so the room is not so cold.  Aaron handled his first Brazilian winter very well and often we couldn’t figure out he would sit in shorts and a shirt with a snowboarding toque on!  He must have Canadian blood or something.

We were very excited to have been able to take a group of six boys along with Aaron on our trip to the big city where they were able to see the two main soccer stadiums and enjoy eating at McDonalds which is something most of our kids may never have the opportunity to do.  We also went to a national park where there is a waterfall...and walked down over 700 steps to get to the bottom of it!...equivalent to about a 41 story building!  As Randy stayed at the top with one of our boys who is special needs and scared of heights, I had the fun time of heading down to the bottom of the hill with the boys.  My legs were starting to shake by the time I was near the bottom which made me wonder how in the world I was supposed to get back up to the top!  Let me tell you, I took full advantage of the rest stops along the way as my heart got quite the workout!  A few of the boys were very patient and waited while one even helped me up about the last 100 steps!  I will think long and hard before trying that again!  Another fun and successful trip which everyone fully enjoyed!

The young men who were here for five days from a seminary school had a good time here!  They enjoyed spending time with the boys as they taught a few of them some guitar and drum lessons!  They also did several chapel times and games which were a lot of fun for the children.  We hope to try and have some come more often in the future!  I was upset I never had my camera the one evening because it was so cold and it looked funny how everyone was bundled up sitting in the chapel.

Well our three months with Aaron flashed by.  One of the boys wrote such a nice letter to him which all the children and staff signed.  He will be missed by the boys for sure. He challenged the boys in our chapel times and is neat to see how God is working in the lives of some of the boys.  As we said good bye last week to him, we are preparing for our own daughters to arrive this weekend!  Symone and Janelle will be with us for about three weeks and we are really looking forward to spending some time with them!   Randy has not seen them for almost a year, and it will be 10 months for me so we are going to certainly enjoy having them around again!!  Please pray that their travels would go well and that God’s hand of protection would be on us all.

Something different this week...we have had a boy who is about 15 years old start coming to our chapel times! Some of his family goes to church, but he hasn’t gone for a long time.   His mother is in a wheel chair because of a car accident several years ago.   He started coming the last while to some of our soccer nights, and then Randy asked him if he knew anyone who plays drums...and he said that he did!  So, Randy asked if he’d like to come on our chapel nights and play drums for us!  He was quite happy to accept and has started coming.  His mother is so happy that he has taken an interest and we are praying that God would really impact his life! Please pray for him and his family.

Thank you so much for praying for this ministry as it entails so many different aspects.  We appreciate you!!!!!
Enjoy your summer months and take time to soak up some sun!  Huge blessings to you!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 184 - July 11, 2010

Hi again! It’s been way too long again and I apologize! Seems like the weeks just go by in a blink of an eye! Our ‘winter’ has been fairly similar to most Canadian summers with the days sitting in the mid-twenties and our nights going down to about 13 or so. We have never had such a beautiful winter as this one and I’m sure not going to complain about it! We have told Aaron, our nephew who is with us for a few more weeks, that the winter will be so cold...and now here we are enjoying mostly beautiful sunny days! Very few days have been rainy and we only had about 2 weeks of cold weather so far! August very often starts to warm up a bit more and it seems we are already there!

The world cup soccer was once again a big highlight over the past month with stores and streets being decorated in the Brazilian colors! All the supermarkets had TV’s set up so that the games wouldn’t be missed and in our town most stores and shops were closed when Brazil played. Of course they are out of the picture now and this weekend will be the last of the soccer games. Now it’s back to the regular teams that they cheer for.

The year is also flying by for the boys with their winter break coming up in the end of July. Then they will have a week off of school and several of them will be going on home visits. We have two adult students from an evangelic seminary school who will be joining us for a week where they will be interacting with the children and doing various activities with them! that will be an interesting week for us all since we haven’t had anyone like that here before.

We need a lot of prayer support once again as the threat of spiritual attack is often a reality with the children. One of our little children in the youngest cottage was under very heavy spiritual attack where all the housemothers needed to intercede in prayer over this child. It was very obvious that the demonic realm is a reality, and it once again made us aware to the fact that we really need to be interceding for these children when they arrive to the Home. We have no idea where or what they were introduced to in the past and so they arrive with all sorts of ‘baggage’ from their past. A week later a different 11 year old boy was being very rebellious for several days and then the one night he was literally shaking and in such a terror because he was seeing a demon who was after him. Again, the housemother and Valdetar went to pray over the child to be released from that hold. He was thankful and said that he was without fear and had a good night’s sleep afterward! Thank God we can come to him and He will free us from all we have gone through in our past! Please also pray for the older students who struggle with many of the same issues that every youth struggles with. They need to be awakened to how God is the answer to their past hurts and present temptations...and that they need to daily walk in the presence of God. On the other side, there are several older boys where you can see how God is really doing a change and work in their lives and hearts and for that we are truly thankful! It is such a blessing for us when the ‘light bulb’ goes on in their heads as to what God wants to do in their lives!

We have had one of our previous students come back. He left when he was about 10 years old and now is 13. A typical frustration where his mother wanted him back and fought like crazy with the judicial system...and then they agreed...and now she is back in prison, and the son is back with us. He said that he only went to school after leaving the Home for a short while and then hadn’t gone again. He has a learning disability and now he is only in grade 4. Please pray that he would settle back into the lifestyle of a daily routine especially given his age. We know that all the children who arrive here never come without God wanting to give them an opportunity and so we pray his heart will be open to allow God to do great things in his life!

Thank you again for listening! We appreciate your support in prayer so dearly.
Huge blessings to you!
Randy and Carla

Brazil 183 - June 9, 2010

Hi there! So, we are now heading into the cooler weather and the long johns are definitely pulled out and being used! We even woke up to three degrees the other morning! Now...that may not sound like much to you, but without heating...it’s cold!

All is back to ‘normal’ around here although the children are still talking about the Omega group. Several have written letters and notes to them and hope to see them again someday. Some are even dreaming of one day going to Canada! I don’t think that I mentioned in the last email that our nephew Aaron was along with the group...and will be staying here for a while longer! We are happy to have family around, and have put him to good use! He is working at the girls construction site during the mornings, and then helping at the boys site in the afternoons. He is earning his keep:) I think he’s enjoying himself.

If you could please pray for us and the Home as we constantly seem to be facing various challenges. Without going into a bunch of details, there are daily challenges with children and staff, and, as we receive children from about 20-30 different municipalities, we also are working with all the different child and family services from those areas, and all the different judges/judicial systems. That is a lot of different ‘hoops’ that need to be jumped through from many different angles and many different types personalities to work with. Pray that God would show us favour within all these different areas. Certain places end up wanting to play ‘tug-of-war’ with the kids which results in them being shuffled around...which in turn just ends up making life so much more unstable/difficult on the child. We just had to say good-bye last week to two little brothers. It was very sad as they were given custody back to their biological father who had hardly seen them during their lifetime. The housemother and staff were very upset and emotional after having cared for them for over a year. They were a hugely energetic team and will be greatly missed around here. We just keep praying that God would keep watch over them wherever they are.

Praise report! Thank you so much for praying for us to find housemothers. We have just found two more and praying that they will be a right ‘fit’ for the children.

The final touches are being done on the first girls cottage and they should be starting the painting on the outside hopefully next week(if the weather cooperates). We are already praying for the first girls who will be moving into that cottage and that their lives and hearts would be touched and renewed by Christ.

We have several boys who I’d like you to pray for. They have the problem of wetting their beds...and they are ages 11-14. We have gone to the dr. who has prescribed a certain type of medicine, but it is not proving to be very helpful. Some have even had other tests done to see if there is anything physically that is causing this, and nothing is found. We don’t really know what else to do, and of course it’s embarrassing for them.

Thank you once again for allowing us to share about our joys and concerns! We appreciate your support and prayers as we confront many situations/issues that we could not face alone.

Huge blessings on you!! Enjoy your summer!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 182 - May 27, 2010

Well I am finally sitting down to write you all! It has been an exceptional month where many lives were changed and many prayers were answered! I’m not exactly sure where to begin...

As busy as we were running two different directions with two different groups, both Randy and I really enjoyed our time with Omega and had lots of fun translating Canada classes and presentations. There was another interpreter along for my group who did all the services. He was a great addition and we all had so much fun together. One thing that was such a great surprise was that the group was totally open to share their hearts in the schools. They shared about a variety of things about Canada and also did some anti-drug dramas. They were very open about what God is doing in their lives, and all of the schools where we shared were already inviting them back should they ever come again. The students had amazing testimonies which spoke deeply to Randy and myself and we were so blessed at how all the students were open in sharing. In one school I remember a girl just crying afterward because there is someone she knows in her family who is so lost in drugs. The Omega students were sensitive and so caring.

With my group, we slept on mattresses on the floors in the churches...a different location each night for the first 10 days. Each of the churches did their best to accommodate to the different taste buds and made really great food. One place we stayed two nights which was a treat to not have to pack everything up! the services were really good where God moved in a great way! We both felt so privileged to be a part of this great opportunity. Randy’s group stayed at the Home where they did schools during the day and lots of painting at the Home. There were many talented people along and did some amazing art work on some walls. Other walls were painted to add some colour to the houses. That group also made great connections between schools and a local church in the next town. They also had such a great time and the boys at the Home where close connections were made and the boys are missing them all terribly. Some boys have even written letters for me to send off to the students already. A few of the boys commented on how the place just seems so quiet now without them. Having an extra 17 people around for lunch was noticeable!...and then when the two groups were together, there were an extra 34!...and now they are being missed.

The last week we separated again where Randy went with one group and I went with the other to different locations. I had gone to a very German area and we were all shocked when they put us in an area where we got beds! The church there also treated us so kindly as they sacrificed a lot to take such good care of us. Randy group went to two different towns and they were well taken care of. The presentations in the schools and churches were blessed and lives were touched and changed once again!

We do not at all take for granted any of the blessings. We know that so many of you were upholding us all in prayer to which we are dearly grateful! God certainly showed favour in every area and we thank you for being an army of prayer on our behalf. Please continue to pray now as so many connections were made between schools and churches. That God would continue to move in a great way in this area. I thought that it was very interesting hearing from our interpreter that our State was one that is largely effected by the witchcraft and we know that on different occasions there were definite spiritual battles taking place. So thank you for praying for the group, for our safety, for the school presentations, and for the services. God heard and answered all of our prayers which just overwhelms us at the thought. I wonder how we had energy to keep up with the young people,...and that is only God again who gave us all the strength and energy to go at such a hard pace for the entire three and a half weeks!

There is an ‘Omega group’ on face book which shows many different pictures and we have started a ‘Home of the Good Shepherd group’ as well on face book to keep people up to date...although we have just started. I’m actually not a good ‘face-book’ person, but have realized that after spending this month with this group, it is how people really communicate!...so I guess I’ll have to get with the program too:)

Huge, huge blessings on you all!!! We can’t express our appreciation for your support!
Randy and Carla

Brazil 181 - April 26, 2010

Hi again! Wow!...I didn’t realize that it was so long since I had last written! I’m so sorry! This month has flown by again and although it has been raining the last 5 days, we hadn’t had rain for the previous month, so it is welcomed...although personally, 5 days has been enough now for me;) The weather has also cooled down and I guess that means winter is on its’ way.

We had a scouts group of children come to visit the Home on Saturday! It was interesting for our kids to see and they had arrived ready to play a variety of games and so that was a lot of fun for everyone.

A new boy arrived to the Home and he is quite energetic! He is in grade 4 and can be very polite on the one hand, but is also mischievous on the other. School is finding him to be a handful. He is taking a bit to settle in although hopefully he will get into the routine soon. Please pray that he would receive Christ into his life and that he would have His peace rest on him.

With one new boy arriving we had to say good bye to two brothers. Please pray for them as the father went to the judge and gained custody back. They will be living in a very dangerous area where child and family services or the POLICE will not enter after 8pm! Child and family is concerned about the family and also can’t understand why custody was given back. They will have a step mother who said she will be caring for them, but we are so sad to see them leave as the older one took a while to settle in and he had shown such an improvement in his life during their duration here at the Home. We just have to pray that God would provide somebody for them there to continue to show His love to them.

I’m not sure if I had mentioned this or not, but we are about to receive a large group of visitors in May! The Omega group from Summit Pacific College in B.C. is coming in early May and staying for almost the whole month doing ministry and serving in various areas. There will be 35 people in total, and the group will be split in two. I will be with one group and Randy will be with the other. Much of what they will be doing is a ‘Canada class’ in the schools and then inviting those students to an outreach service where the local church will be helping out with the evenings. They will be in various communities in various towns and cities, and we are excited to see how God will work in these places. In our town the two groups will join together in mid-May for 5 days and we will be doing a town fair for the children in the afternoon and then a major service in the town gym on May 15th. Please join us in praying already that all the events planned would go smoothly with the question of sound and other electrical equipment, for safety with all the various places we will be travelling with them, against sickness and exhaustion,...and mostly that hearts would be open to Christ and that lives would be changed! There is obviously a lot to organize with such an event and we need God’s help daily to remember all the different details in planning, and we will surely need strength once they arrive to keep up with all the young people!!:) (Age is something I guess we can’t avoid) Please also pray that we would have good weather. We don’t particularly want rain and it can be very cold during May already and sleeping on mattresses on the floor will take its’ toll after a month.

This Wednesday, April 28th we will be having the official ribbon cutting ceremony at the girls site for the first cottage!! This is a very exciting and new expansion of the ministry to children! Please pray for the great need of Christian housemothers that are crucial in counselling the children on a daily basis. Pray for us all that we have the wisdom and discernment to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in all areas as we want to show Christ to the little ones because He is the only way through which their lives will be changed.

Thank you so much again for all of your support for us! Your prayers mean so much and we will certainly need them in this upcoming month.
Huge blessings to you!!

Randy and Carla

Brazil 180 - April 1, 2010

Hi again!  Trusting you are enjoying the wonderful spring weather!  We have had a beautiful week with summer temp’s and enjoying it to the fullest before those cold nights start up again.   We are very thankful that our girls are doing well living with my sister and brother-in-law and family.  We are able to speak with them a fair bit thanks to Skype and are grateful for family and friends who are supporting them.  It’s so hard to believe that Symone is finishing her first year of university... and Janelle has done so well adapting back to English school. Thank you to all family and friends who are upholding them in prayer as we are apart.  We are planning for them to come and visit here in August and we are already looking forward to our time together!

The weeks were once again eventful!  I have to tell you about one visit I had to make to a certain heart doctor with one of the boys.  The boy had trouble breathing one day at school after gym class and so we went to the dr. and discovered he has an irregular heartbeat.  We were sent to a different city and found it very ironic that once we checked in, we had to go up a long flight of stairs to get to the heart Dr’s office!  So...there we were, in a waiting room with heart problem patients, who all had to walk up the stairs because there was no elevator.  Anyhow...we are awaiting test results on the boy who recently turned 14 years old.

A new boy came to the Home about a month ago and was rather agitated causing some difficulty in the cottage with the other children and housemother.  Usually it is  ‘normal’  for the new children to have several weeks, or months depending on the child, to adjust to the new routine in his life.  This particular boy we found out had a witch as his mother and his life was offered up to the demonic realm.  Sadly, many of our children have been exposed to the dark spiritual world often by their mothers or family members.  They speak in detail of things they have seen and the fear they often have when going to bed and being in the dark...when many ‘feelings’ or ‘sightings’ of the past occur.  Once again we are reminded of the great spiritual warfare going on as we are sharing Christ to the children...and we also remember how Jesus conquered all those things when he went to the cross and rose again!  Please pray for us and the staff that we would deal with these situations in a correct and wise manner when they arise.

We have good chapel times and often there are many attacks that occur afterward.  Please pray that the blood of Christ would cover the staff and children who are all placed here.  Pray also that the passion of growing in the Lord would be understood.  Living in this culture it is very ‘normal’ or acceptable to give your life to Jesus and then just live however you want.  Our desire, of course, is that they would all understand how this is a life changing decision and experience where they need to grow daily in Him.  God is working in the lives to which we are SO GRATEFUL!! Thank you so much for praying!!!!!

We are looking forward to celebrating with the children and staff this Sunday!  Everyone loves a party!!  And we for sure have the best reason of all to celebrate!
Blessings to you and your families this weekend as we all celebrate the victory of the resurrection of our Lord!!
Randy and Carla

Brazil 179 - March 16, 2010

Hello again! Trusting that you are keeping well! We have had the past weekend with some rain and cooler temperatures bringing back a quick reminder to us of what the ‘winter’ months ahead may be like. For today though, it’s beautiful and sunny out and will probably get close to 30 degrees and so we are enjoying it while it lasts!

We have had an eventful couple of weeks again, but it usually is eventful in some way around here! The children are all back in full force in school. Some quite enjoying it while others are already giving the teachers a run for their money;)

The boys are enjoying their soccer evenings and some are becoming quite good! The community has a small tournament for a few weeks where they get to play against other children in their age group. They usually go once a week or so and it’s so important for them to be involved in the community a bit too. They had a lot of fun with that and the next age group will be playing some time down the road. We were pleased that the referee came and spoke with Randy afterward about the good conduct our boys had and so we are pleased that they made a positive impression!

Two brothers who have been with us for several years already got some bad news that their older brother of 19 years died. Child and Family came that next morning to pick them up so they could attend the funeral the next day which is custom here to have a funeral the following day. There is an investigation going on as to how he died because some believe that his father killed him. This young man was in prison already and had just gotten out not too long ago. The brothers didn’t see him for a long time, but he was still their brother and it was difficult for them.

One of our other boys, who is such a nice kid, was ordered by the judge that he will be going back to his mother...even though the Social Assistant on the case says that he will be going back to very sad conditions. Another frustrating case for us, but our hands are tied and there is nothing we can do. We continue praying for him.

We have another boy who I’d like you to pray for. He is 12 years old and arrived about 8 months ago. He has come a long way and is working hard to do well in school. He has one challenging problem in his life. He has suffered terrible past abuse and now he is dealing with controlling his bowel movements. He obviously doesn’t like talking about it, but he shared with the psychologist that it really bothers him and would like to see if there is some way to help him gain control. So...how do you respond to this? We will be taking him to a dr. to see if there is anything medically to help him, but if there isn’t, he will just have to try and learn to gain control back. It is very difficult especially when he is 12 years old and still enjoys just playing and hanging out with his friends...but has the possibility of having an accident occur at any time. Pray that God would touch him physically, emotionally and spiritually.

So, we thank you again for listening and caring for the lives of these kids, who God handpicked to be here. Pray that all would recognize the great future they could have in making the decision to about living their lives for Him!

Huge blessings to you!!
Randy and Carla

Brazil 178 - February 28, 2010

Hi again! We trust you are keeping well and looking forward to spring as we head into March!! Time is flying by and we are experiencing a few cooler days here and there which is a sign that we are heading into our fall season soon...although it still has been hitting 30 degrees most days.

Well, we have had one of our eight year olds in the hospital after he had a simple looking sore on his leg and it began getting infected to the point where his leg swelled up, from the knee down, to about double the size of his other leg. Everyone was rather stumped as to what it was, but he was put in hospital for three nights with antibiotics to fight it off. Here, you have to have somebody staying with a child throughout the stay in hospital. So...it just so happened that this boy has an older brother who has turned 18 years and was quite thrilled to stay and look after him during the day and nights! I popped in during the day times and brought some games and colouring things to help pass the time, and thankfully he’s doing much better!

That older brother along with another boy who turned 18 went for their army interviews over the past months and they were both called to serve a year. We said good bye Friday morning. Unlike the boy we said good bye to last year,...who did not want to go....these two really wanted to go and so they got their opportunity and will be serving a year in training. We will be keeping in contact and see how they are doing.

The girls site is off to a great start and we are excited to see how God will be opening the doors for this other great need. Please join us in praying for the girls which will be in our care that their hearts will be open to making a life changing decision in accepting Christ. Please continue praying for housemothers as this is also a need which is not easily filled. We of course want the ladies to love children, but also have a servants heart for the Lord.

While all of the boys were out at camp, I was going with one of our little guys to the Dr's and he is quite the sight. He is 4 years old and 10kg’s...which is about what a 1 year old should weigh. They wanted a bunch of blood work done and the poor guy was exhausted from screaming because three different nurses had a very difficult time finding a vein to get enough blood. They had to poke him about 6 times to get the right amount and his arms are all bruised up because of it. Then we had gone to the dentist with him and there are so many rotten teeth already that she also said that she could try and fix three of them ,but the others are too far gone and just give him pain medication if they start to cause pain. Obviously he was not impressed with all these dr. and dentist visits and I can’t say that I blame him! He is starting to eat more but is still very small. We had gone to a neurologist and he said that he has fetal alcohol syndrome and will most likely always remain behind in stature and weight...and sadly mentally as well. We have a meeting with the special needs school so that he could begin attending there. He should be starting up in kindergarten but the Dr. said that in his case he would not be able to keep up with the other children and so he should just begin in that other school for now. So...here we have another child who will have lifelong effects from poor decisions that the mother made while he was still growing inside of her. Please help us in praying that he would get the help he needs so that he will develop in a healthy way.

We were humbled Saturday evening during our chapel time when a few of the boys lead out in prayer. Remembering from where they came, and what they have come through, it is truly only God who IS doing a work in their lives and it makes any of our daily challenges so worth it! Never give up praying for these children! God IS changing lives one at a time, and working in their hearts! Thank you for support and bringing our requests before our Heavenly Father!

Blessings to you this week!!
Randy and Carla Redmann

Brazil 177 - February 15, 2010

Hello again!  So, it’s been a while and I’m not sure where to begin!  We had a very good time out at the transition center with all the kids!  Went on lots of trails and made a few new ones with the ‘adventures’ some took me on.  They just enjoy having someone come along to show all their ‘secret’ fishing spots ...where one of the boys showed me a piranha fish that they caught!...in the same river which we swim in!!  Of course almost every day someone came to show me some type of snake that they caught and killed.  Most are quite small looking, but the one was a very poisonous type which I was trying to explain that he should be very careful in handling it even if it’s dead because it still has the poison in its teeth.  He just looked surprised at me and I asked him to go and bury it somewhere.  I’m always surprised how well they spot the snakes because most are quite small and I’ve never seen one alive on my walks with them...mind you,...there are always several boys who go ahead of me to look out for things like that. Other boys were all excited telling me that they had caught and eaten a large lizard a couple of days before we got there...which was a ‘good’ find!   They almost have me convinced that it tastes good!  We had taken some sausages and buns out along with watermelon for everyone and had a nice ‘party’ for the mid-way time at camp.  They always love it when we show up with watermelon.

Two boys were out fishing and they were digging for worms and then one started slipping towards the river.  His friend reached out his fishing line and then when he grabbed it, the fishing hook went right through his finger!  They cut the line and then came back to show us to see what we can do.  Well, it was definitely right through the center of his pinkie and out on the other side.  So, Valdetar had pliers to cut the hook part off and then just quickly pulled the rest of it out  so fast that he hardly noticed! ... after putting some hydrogen peroxide on it, he went on his way to keep on fishing!  Other kids had chunks of their bottoms of their feet cut open because they find it easier to run without their flip flops...but, it just slowed them down a bit and were back up to speed after a few days.

Everyone was showing us how high the river was with all the rain they had the first couple of weeks.  Incredible to see where it was and while we were out there it was still too high for the smaller children to swim although we allowed a few of the older boys who were strong swimmers to get cooled off near the edge.  I took the smaller ones into the pond, which is not exactly good for swimming to let them cool off a bit.  It was so dirty that they looked like they had beards when the water came out of their noses because it was mostly composed of mud! (I think it’s time to get all the kids de-wormed again) They were just thrilled to finally get a chance to cool off somewhere!  Then, I’m talking with Tiago (the guy who lives out there), and he’s telling me that there are now three alligators living in that pond...but just smaller ones!!...as I’m watching the kids swim in there!!!  On the last day Randy went into the river to see how quickly it got deep and then we put a rope up about 3 meters from the shore line so that everyone could at least get into a bit cleaner water which was a real highlight for them!  It was the first year that they weren’t able to go swimming in the river for the first four weeks of their six weeks of camp! ...and in that heat, it’s a very missed part of camp time!  Of course there were several each day who ‘accidently’ slipped into the pond, or got ‘shoved’ in by a friend...but that’s all part of it.  The river had quite a current when it was higher and so that’s why we were nervous about letting them go in there.  I also noticed that the lifejackets we have are definitely on their last legs and we’ll have to get new ones for next year. 

Yesterday the busses went out to pick up the kids, and after having much heat the last two weeks of camp, it decided to rain...right when the busses were trying to get in down the mud road.  Well, one got stuck and so Tiago took several of the older boys along on the tractor and they pushed the bus out...and then after finally loading everyone and everything up, they headed out on a different road which is longer, but better with the rain... but also took 2 ½ hours to just get onto the highway instead of the usual one hour.  So, last night around 8:30-9pm they were all back safe and sound!  After snake stories, water encounters, and many different types of cuts, THANK YOU so much for praying for everyone’s safety while out at camp!!!  It is truly only God having His hand on each person out there for them to all arrive back safely.  We can’t express how important your prayers are and how dearly we appreciate your support!

Huge, Huge blessings to you!!!

Randy and Carla Redmann

Brazil 176 - January 22, 2010

Hello again! Hoping that all is good as everyone is well on their way into the New Year’s schedules! I didn’t realize how long it’s been since my last update! Sorry about that! We had a very nice evening on New Years! After having a chapel time with the kids we had some free time and enjoying some watermelon! Shortly before midnight we stopped everything and made a big circle on the field and held hands while everyone said something that they were thankful for. It was so neat seeing that big circle and things which were shared were about being thankful for clothing, food, a place to live, family, friends, and being alive. I always find it so interesting to hear what some of them share about, and it makes you wonder where they have come from, and what they have come through, to make it to this point in their lives. After everyone sharing, a few different people led out in prayer. It was a very special time.

Surprisingly or not, we are keeping very busy around here even with all the boys out at camp.
Cottage #1, where all the children are under 5 years of age, stayed here and they are having their own special times. They are really enjoying their little plastic pool where they spend many afternoons cooling off. Yesterday I took two staff and all the little ones to a small type of zoo which is in the next town. An older couple take care of some animals and they have a small puppet show for the kids and then he showed us around to see turtles, monkeys, birds, alligators and some other small animals. The kids really liked it and I was glad that there were the other two ladies to help keep an eye on the kids because some of those little guys are all over the place and get into everything!

We have taken advantage of the empty cottages and main building and sprayed poison throughout to get all the cockroaches and other little critters...now it’s the fun job of doing a major wash down on the whole place to have it all ready for when the boys come back from camp.

All the boys are having a great time out at camp with all the ‘fishermen’ cooking up their own catch! They are there from Jan.5-Feb.14/’10’. Only down side for them has been that the whole time they have been out there, they have still not been able to go swimming!!! There has been rain every few days in the region and so the river is a good 3-4 meters above normal levels for this time of year!! It’s a disappointment and we are still hoping that they will be able to get some swimming time in! That is a huge highlight for them and now they haven’t been able to cool off since it’s too dangerous for them to be allowed to go in. Please pray that the water will go down quickly so they can enjoy that time and that God would just keep watching over them all. Salete has said that hardly any bandages have been used which is fantastic considering how the month of December was with kids needing stitches! Thank you God! We are hoping to head out to camp next week and spend some time there with everyone.

If you could please pray for Marcio(a staff who works in the office). He has not been feeling well for quite some time and is scheduled to head out to watch all the kids for the second half of camp on Monday, and stay through until mid February. He is having some health issues and has gone to many different doctors already with not any good results in aiding the pain he is dealing with.

So...even with the kids out at camp I still managed to write a whole page! Thank you for your interest, support, and prayers for all of us here at the Home!! We sure appreciate you!

Blessings to you!
Randy and Carla