|
|
Shrimp Farm Optimization Fabio lives in the favela (slum) located on the Island of God situated in the river that carries the waste from the rich areas of Recife. He goes to Bible Study and church at a preaching point in Recife. He is a very hard working, smart man who has done very well in his shrimp farming. He worked for three years constructing his shrimp farm on the edge of the island, reclaimed from the salt-water river and valued at approximately R$10,000. He bought 10,000 larvae at a time and produces enough shrimp to make a modest income that he can live on. In an enterprising manner, he has found free food for the shrimp by asking for free sardine heads that were being dumped at the docks. He cooks them up over a fire and deposits them in nets he uses as feeders. He partnered with his brother in making another shrimp farm which he’s been working on for two and a half years, and Fabio hopes to perhaps buy other farms if they become available. When Andria Lengkeek and Apko Nap were in Brazil, Fabio showed us his operation and invited us to his house and offered us food and drinks. His wife was also present and we were impressed to see how clean the house was and how it had tiled floors, a full kitchen and good furniture, unlike many Brazilian homes. It certainly stood out incredibly among the poor shacks on the island. He had a visit from a government engineer for fishing who said that Fabio could increase his production by ten times if he would buy a diesel pump to pump oxygen into the water when there is no wind, for example at night. When there is not enough oxygen, the shrimp start to die and this greatly decreases production. Fabio has asked Mission Aid Brazil to loan him the amount to buy the pump, which he will repay over time. Through your quick response and generosity, the funds have been raised to loan Fabio money to purchases the pump for his business! He will now be more stable in his enterprise and hopefully be able to emply workers from the church community in the near future. He will repay MA through direct contributions to the Escola Guido de Bres in Recife. update - July 2008
Seeds My name is Clara and I was born in Argentina (but the daughter of Japanese immigrants); I grew up in the federal district of Buenos Aires. Five years ago, my Brazilian husband and I decided to move to and live in his native country. Together with our oldest daughter, who is now 6 years old, we settled in Maragogi. Soon after our arrival, as I began to get to know our town I saw for the first time the building of the Reformed church and thought: Reformed? What does that name mean, what kind of a church is this? I wondered if it was one of the many new and modern churches which were appearing all over our town. I also found it an odd name. This was my first and very superficial impression of the church. Moving to another country is not easy and things did not work out as planned. To help make ends meet I began to teach Spanish. For two years I gave private lessons and in that time learned a lot about the Portuguese idiom. This was a difficult time of adaptation for my family. In the midst of those difficulties we received a visit from the office bearers of the church. They offered help, spoke a bit with us and we were invited to visit them. But at that time I was 8 months pregnant from our youngest daughter and I told them that I was not interested in attending worship services; it was not a part of my upbringing. That was my second contact with the church. In retrospect, I understand that our Sovereign God was preparing me for something that was to come, for he has a plan for everything. God broke into my heart and in the beginning of 2004 I went to church for the first time. I heard the word of God for the first time, I HEARD IT, and I began to know God! When I had been going to church for four months I was invited to become a catechumen and in those lessons I learned a lot about the Reformed faith. I did public profession of faith two months ago and this year I also began to work as a Spanish teacher at the Escola Biblica Crista in Sao Jose. As a staff member I appreciate so much the opportunity to work with fellow Christians, who know that they belong to the same family. We have an opportunity to speak about God and delight in his word. At our school you are not considered crazy when you speak about him; what a blessing such a freedom is! As a professional I still have to learn a lot and wish to gain more experience. I tell my students that when I studied at the public school, the word of God was never mentioned and I certainly never saw the Bible being used! My students enjoy the great blessing of hearing the word of God and I urge them to appreciate that. At the Escola Biblica Crista we hear the word of God every day. This is such a blessing. Brothers and sisters in Canada brought up in a Christian home cannot imagine what this means. Most certainly many seeds are sown in many hearts and, at a certain time, those seeds will begin to grow and produce fruits. We as teachers should remember that we have the responsibility to do so, and, above all, we have the opportunity to sow the seeds. As a Christian, I thank God for bringing me from that far in order to reveal his wonderful truth me, for having taken care of me even before I knew him, for his mercy, and for Jesus Christ, our Saviour. O Father, thank you so much! Clara Ines Kaneko de Moreira (& Ricardo Moreira)
My daughters Bianca and Milena Moreira. posted Feb 16,2007 Golden Years Program – MaragogiDuring the 2005 Mission Aid Visitation by Jake Kuik, he was asked if the pre-natal program funded by MAB could be transformed into a Golden Years Program. The rationale was that the government programs were much more effective now in helping those who were expecting or had recently had babies. There are many older people for whom such government programs were not available who could benefit from a program that included health topics and Bible reading and study. The program runs in the building previously used as a social activities center, although the building needs some improvements to prevent accidents and accommodate the lunch that is served. The program is headed by Bette Lins, the wife of the principal of EBC, and runs on Tuesday afternoons from 3-5 pm. She also visits those who are more timid, sick or depressed, usually on Fridays. Through the means of a free breakfast in the village square on Brazil’s Senior’s Day at the end of September, the awareness of this program has increased, and its attendance has swelled from about twenty-five to forty. The program begins with Scripture reading and then a message or story about the Bible reading. Frequently they show videos on health (such as diabetes, osteoporosis and obesity), food and safety issues such as avoiding falls. If they do not do a video Bette or an expert in a particular field will have a talk. They provide a lunch as well, play some games and socialize. A social assistant from Recife named Anna is 65 years old and has worked for certain municipal programs in the past. She comes once a week from Recife to help with this program, and by not only her expertise but also her very example encourages them to remain active and useful. There are also three people from the church who work in the health department of the municipality who come to give talks about health issues. There are many positive effects of this program. The reformed church is viewed very positively in the community, also because of this program. Some participants now show up in church and the participants who say they felt they’d been forgotten now were thankful that someone would show they care in this way. When she’s way too busy, Bette said, “Sometimes I’m upset and I wonder why I am in this, but when I see those faces I forget all those frustrations and I know it’s worth it.”
posted Feb 13,2007
LUCIA in Maragogi Lucia is a member of Maragogi congregation and has a son named Lucas who’s 11 years old and a daughter named Brean who’s 9 years old. She had a Christian education at EBC sponsored by Rev. Meijer and worked in Jake and Darlene Kuik’s house for eight years. She married a man in the church but has been separated and now divorced from her husband for five years because he was homosexual and left the church. He tried to take the house that had been built for them 13 years ago through gifts obtained from Canada by the Kuiks. Moizes (the principal of the school) and his wife went to court with her to talk to the judge and he ruled that the house would belong to the children and that she had sole custody of them. She said that it was really difficult the first year of her separation, but the Lord gave his guidance, also through the elders and it has gotten better. Through a federal government program she was able to teach literacy programs to young people and adults in her home for six months, but then the program stopped. Hopefully in six months or so it will run again. She received from the government R$120 per month for teaching thirty students every night. Since that program ended and she needed to find another source of income, she started a daycare/preschool program. In Brazil, very young children are sent to preschool and learn colours, paint, do crafts and many other activities, so this is more like preschool than daycare. Because it is in her house and she has informed the parents of her intentions, she is able to teach from the Bible too and they sing songs. The parents like it that she teaches the Bible. She has on average 12 children in the morning and twelve in the afternoon and she earns R$15 per student per month. Her children go to EBC, and she is very thankful that she has not had to pay the tuition. She expressed her deep gratitude for the money raised by John Calvin School so that she can buy desks that can be used by both her daycare children and the adult literacy program. She also hopes to build a bathroom downstairs where the daycare is. She has asked the women in her literacy course to come to her place for Bible Study. She stated that, “If God was not in my life, I would have drowned. I’m so thankful that Moizes helped so much to protect the children.”
posted Dec 13,2006 |
