Tuesdays Working with the School

During the month of October, on three different Tuesdays, the Lighthouse was quite lively with two groups of thirty children coming from a local school.  The children came both in the morning and afternoon and stayed here for two hours. Our DTS team took care of the children, preparing special times for them.

 

 

 

The children were separated in three groups and participated in three rotating sessions of 40 minute activities.  The children had the opportunity to do skateboarding or skating, a time on the Lighthouse playground, and a time of arts and crafts with a mini-lesson to learn an important value from the Bible.

 

 

It was a bit challenging because the children were excited to come here, but everyone on our team could find a way to show them love of Jesus.  The work with the school was a great opportunity for us to have contact with the many children living in the slum. It is very good to have the structure of Lighthouse here in the slum to take care of the children enrolled in the schools. It is a great testimony to see a Christian organization taking time to be involved in the community.

 

It was a real pleasure and a blessing to be involved here at the Lighthouse Community Center!

Written by Jean-Pascal from Switzerland. Jean-Pascal and his wife are participating in the YWAM Belo Horizonte 2012 DTS.

A DTS Student's Experience

 

As we (the DTS team) were in a church in the community Cafezal, the pastor invited us to pray for the person next to us. With my husband we turned to a girl who was 7 years old and asked her if she wanted to pray. She asked us to pray for her father.

 

 At the end of the prayer, I could see all the heaviness on her shoulders. I don’t know what had happened to her father, but I know that the weight I could feel on this little girl was really too heavy for her age. And I realized once again how the needs and the distress are big in this community.

Who is going to help this girl and the others in their daily life?

 

The work and the activities for children, teenagers and adults at the Lighthouse Community Center brings a true support and comfort to the community.

 

 

 

I really enjoyed participating in the Saturday programs organized for the children (ages 5 to 11), which were run by the Lighthouse and a local church from here in Belo Horizonte. 

 

  The program consisted of the following: the children participated in 3 different activities, each activity lasting 40 minutes (skating, arts and crafts, circus activities, games, etc.).  We also spent 30 minutes of the program sharing the gospel. What a joy to see that these children can have fun in security and forget for a moment their difficulties.

 

 

 

Another great moment during this time of outreach was the parents’ day that we organized. With 70 invitations, only 3 parents came, showing the reality of parent’s absence, especially the fathers, in the lives of their children. But what a joy to see the pride in the eyes of a teenager who could bring his father. What a joy to see these parents playing with their children. And, who knows, perhaps one day it will become normal in the community Cafezal?

 

 

 

Written by Rachel from Switzerland. Rachel and her husband are participating in the 2012 YWAM Belo Horizonte DTS.

 

 

Kids With a Mission

Recently a group of kids who participate here at the Lighthouse went on a field trip.
 This was not just any ordinary group outing, but these were kids with a mission. 

 

 

In the group (that YWAM missionaries Joanne and Alynena lead) the kids have been learning about the 10-40 Window and then embarked on a missions project to reach out to some children living in this area of the world.

 

 

What is the 10/40 Window?

The 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. The 10/40 Window is often called "The Resistant Belt" and includes the majority of the world's Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. The 10/40 Window is home to some of the largest unreached people groups in the world such as the Shaikh, Yadava, Turks, Moroccan Arabs, Pushtun, Jat and Burmese.

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Alynena has contact with a missionary that lives in Thailand yet crosses the border into Burma (also known as Myanmar ) to minister to orphans and children (at risk) living in a children's home there.  Burma is a predominately Buddhist country where Christians even face persecution. Many are in need of encountering the great love of a personal God and hearing the good news of Jesus Christ.  

The boys and girls from the Lighthouse decided to send encouraging letters to Myanmar (via Thailand) to bless and share God's love with the children living in the children's home.  After preparing the letters, the Lighthouse kid's group went on a trip to the post office to mail the letters.  

 

In line at the post office.

 

After mailing the letters the group went to a nearby ice cream shop for a sweet treat!

 

The children then walked across the street to spend time playing in the neighborhood square.

 

 

The outing was a success! 

It truly is beautiful to see children who live in a slum in Brazil blessing and showing God's love to children who live in a nation located in the 10/40 Window. We pray that the kids in Burma will be touched through the letters and truly sense the amazing love and care God has for them.

May God's kingdom come to the many nations of the 10/40 Window... 

 

 

 

DTS Team at the Lighthouse

Currently we have a Discipleship Training School (DTS) team serving here at the Lighthouse Community Center. 
This team recently finished the theoritical phase of their DTS here at YWAM Belo Horizonte, and now they are completing the outreach phase of the school by serving in missions.

 

 

This DTS team will be here serving at the Lighthouse Community Center in various ways, but mainly by working with the children who live here in the Cafezal slum. Meet the team!

 

 

Rosangela from Brazil.

 

Rachel and Jean Pascal from Switzerland.

 

Geovanne and Meuri from Brazil.

 

Salome from Austraila.

  She is leading a skateboarding and skating ministry here at the Lighthouse during her outreach time here. 

Vinicius from Brazil.
 

On a recent outing, the DTS team walked through the slum and then went hiking to a nearby mountain overlooking the city of Belo Horizonte.

 Having fun along the way!

 

 

One of the views on the walk, as the team is walking higher and higher.  Belo Horizonte is a large city as you can see.  There are approximately 5 million people living in the greater Belo Horizonte area.

 

 

On the mountain top enjoying the view.

 

 

Watch this space! 

 The DTS will be writing posts to share about their experiences serving here at the Lighthouse Community Center.