BrazilKids

(Photo: a home parent, children, and, at right, Eduardo the director)

by Eduardo Favoratto, Home Director

A Christian home is the foundation for raising children. Unfortunately, it has become a distant dream as families become increasingly drunk with the things of the world.

Time is a rare and valuable good, wasted on many things, but seldom spent with the family. Here at Brazil Kids, we receive children and youths who have never lived in a family atmosphere according to God's plan.

It's gratifying to apply God's word to the life of these children and adolescents. We notice that, when we test the practical effects of his word, we reap the results. The children learn what is biblical discipline and the change is visible.

In February, the group "Your Dream, My Dream," which helps us in our projects, took the children on a trip to the beach and to the municipal aquarium. There, they saw diverse species of marine life, and it served as a wonderful educational moment.

Many of the children had never had the opportunity to see the ocean, so it was a marvelous experience for them.

Visits by such groups as this one provide great satisfaction to the children and the giving and receiving of affection.

Yesterday morning after our church services a boy came up to me and said, “Can I talk to you for a second?” I told him to give me just a second and I’d be more than happy to talk.

He was about the same size as my 10-year-old, and I wasn’t sure I had ever seen him before. We went and sat down on a pew away from everyone else. Not having a clue what he wanted to talk about, I put my arm around him and said, “Okay, my friend … what’s up?”

He paused and said, “I’m just really sad right now.” In my head my first thought was, “You’re a 10-year-old kid … what do you have to be sad about … is your Xbox broke?” Instead he told me, “I’m just really missing my dad right now. I’ve never been this far away from him and my family.” Realizing he was very serious, I asked him, “Where is your family, and why are you not with them?”

He filled me in for the next couple of minutes. He explained to me that he had been placed in a boys home and didn’t know when he’d ever get to go back home. My heart broke right then.

I tried hard to share with him a little love and encouragement … and then he said it … his words that are still replaying in my mind this morning …. “You know, I have really cool stuff at my new home. I have toys, and I have video games … but I really just want my dad back.” It was right at that moment that he began to weep uncontrollably.

I was struggling to hold back the tears now … so I pulled him in tight as he cried and his little body shook. I told him it was okay to cry and asked him if it was okay if I prayed for him. He nodded his head yes. I asked God to bless him, his family, his dad and especially his new home where he was living how. When I finished he caught his breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. I asked him, “Are you going to be okay?” He didn’t answer with words, but instead just shook his head yes.

As quickly as he’d walked into my world, he walked out … down the stairs and was gone. Right then, and again this morning, I took a second to say another prayer. I thanked God for those who minister to broken children … children’s homes, foster families, and others who are willing to love hurting kids.

I’ve had the opportunity to help feed a lot of kids who were suffering physically from hunger. Yesterday I was reminded there that are a lot of kids in our world that are suffering emotionally. Please, Dear Lord …. help us to see them.

In order to create a better world, we need to make better people. To do that, we need your help.

Every day, countless children and adolescents are removed from the interaction with their fathers, mothers, and people legally responsible for them, because of negligence, bad treatment, violence, and abuse.

We offer a new life to these children and adolescents. Guided by the principles of Jesus Christ, we study the Bible and restore their dignity, life, respect, liberty, health, diet, education and recreation, culture, and family and community interaction. All of these rights, present in the Brazilian Statute of the Child and Adolescent, should be guaranteed in order that a person may be able to develop himself fully.

What future will they have? Who will be responsible for providing these rights, transmitting principles, and forming the character of Christ in these individuals who will build the world of the future?

You can be one of them! Support the work of Brazil Kids and help to build a better world.

Brazil Kids is a not-for-profit, non-governmental institution established 23 August 2000. Our work was born as an initiative of a group of Christians who sought to contribute to building a better and more just society, based on the teachings of our Master Jesus Christ. We welcome, through the home model, children and adolescents in situations of risk and social vulnerability who have been removed from their families by the governmental authorities.

Home in every sense

Our objective is to offer the possibility of organizing a new life-project based on the Scriptures. Besides housing, food, clothing and shoes, Brazil Kids' founders created a holistic approach to providing attention and support for the children.

Brazil Kids has three units called social houses (cottage homes) that are administered by educators who are responsible for giving to minors an opportunity to restore a healthy and pleasurable social interaction that was absent in the family structure in which they lived.

Our team is made up of Christians and professionals, who guarantee a specialized social and psychological treatment. We emphasize all the spiritual support necessary to promote overcoming traumas, rebuilding identity, and starting new histories.

Results from 2011

This past year we were greatly blessed. We focused our attention on solving chronic problems, such as documentation and family needs for the children.

With God's help, we managed to fulfill all the government's requirements for documentation and recognition in the municipal councils.

We were blessed with the return of 20 children to the homes of close relatives, which left us with only 13 children housed on campus. Today we now have 19 children.

With the help of American brethren we have a support base of about US$17,000. It has not been an easy task to maintain the ministry. As we've always said, however, it is God's project. Our part is to put ourselves within his will and resources will appear.

The children housed on campus study the Bible at least two nights a week. The studies are directed by the house parents. On Sundays, they participate in the meetings of the local church in Cabreuva, including Bible school and worship periods.

As 2012 arrived, we began the year with five baptisms: Barbara (11), Wolmer (11), Gabriela (14) Jessica (15) e Gabriel (15).

We will follow up with these young people using courses for new converts that we have taught in the Jundiai church.

A Texas congregation that contributes to the Lar Cristão Children's Home wrote us an email in search of recent information about the home. Since the donations are channeled through Southern Christian Home, we don't often have a good link with contributors. This website hopes to provide periodic updates about the home.

Below is part of our reply to the congregation.

My wife and I are on the board of the Lar, and we were there last month for the annual meeting. The people who work with it on a daily basis are doing a great job. One of the elders from the Jundiai church, Eduardo Favoratto, left his secular job, with a significant cut in pay, to take the diretor's position. He's getting it in even better shape, and keeping the papers in order, which is a big task with the complex bureaucracy in Brazil. With the paperwork up to date, it's possible to receive donations from businesses here.

At the board meeting the home administrators distributed a written report, but I passed it on to some of the men here in the congregation, since the church here in Sao Jose dos Campos also sends monthly help to the children's home.

The children receive Bible teaching both in the cottages from the house parents and in group classes, as I recall. There were several baptisms as well last year, but I can't recall the number offhand. I can vouch that the teaching they are receiving is faithful to the Bible, since the people in charge of the home are true to sound doctrine.

We'll ask the director to write up a recap of the past year and will translate that and post it on this site.

The static website for home is located here.

In the picture taken at the annual board meeting in the home's cafeteria and chapel are Jose Maria (board president, Jundiai elder), Eduardo (director, Jundiai elder), Marcelo, Karina (administrative assistant), Vicki, Andre, Randal, Alexandre (Jundiai elder).