Yesterday during my morning meditation time (ie quiet time, hang time, whatever you want to call it), I was praying for God to show me more of His Father heart for me right now. He answered my prayer in a very unexpected way. During my afternoon group, one of my girls handed me a note, four pages long and beautifully written in different colors, accompanied by designs and drawings. Part of it was clearly something she copied from somewhere, like the type of thing that someone would forward on as an email to all of their friends, but it was much more meaningful than that since it was so carefully handwritten. The part that God used to answer my prayer was the following (Portuguese followed by English translation):
Se algum dia, voce vier a esquecer de mim, olhe para o mar e eu serei a onda que vier ao seu lado.
Se algum dia, voce vier a esquecer de mim, olhe para as estrelas e eu serei a que mais brilhar.
Se algum dia, voce se esquecer de mim, olhe para as flores e eu serei a que voce cheirar.
Mas mesmo assim se continuar se esquecendo de mim... Olhe para os passaros e eu serei o sinonimo de liberdade.
E se continuar esquecendo de mim, olhe para a lua e eu serei a luz que te guia na escuridao.
E se a lua nao fizer voce lembrar de mim... Olhe para o sol e eu seria sua fonte de energia.
E se tudo isso fizer com que nao lembres de mim...
Olhe para as criancas e eu serei a que com carinho te dizer...
EU TE AMO!
If some day you should come to forget me, look to the sea and I will be the wave that comes to your side.
If some day you should come to forget me, look to the stars and I will be the one that shines brightest.
If some day you should forget me, look to the flowers and I will be the one that you smell.
But if you still continue forgetting me... Look to the birds and I will be the synonym of freedom.
And if you continue forgetting me, look to the moon and I will be the light that guides you in the darkness.
And if the moon doesn't cause you to remember me... Look to the sun and I will be your fountain/source of energy.
And if all of this doesn't cause you to remember me...
Look to the children and I will be the one that affectionately says...
I LOVE YOU!
I am not sure if the girl in my group who wrote this for me meant this part as to be from her or from God...but God used it to speak to me as if it were from Him. Especially the part about children at the end! I started out leading my group this year thinking that it would just be God using me to minister to them...I never expected Him to use them to minister to me in return, but He surprised me in this way!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
New staff training
This past week I had new staff training, for any new missionaries at the base, not just the Lighthouse. I thought it was interesting on the first day of training when I observed that we were all from different countries, Brazil, the US, England, Germany, and Holland, yet we were all together united by our callings, faith, and common purpose. I was grateful no one needed translation, because everything goes a lot faster without it!
It was great to get to know the other new staff members from the other houses, to share experiences, and so forth.
I also learned a bit from what other staff members shared regarding their experiences. For most people in YWAM, the living conditions are a significant step down from whatever they were used to before. It didn't really cross my mind that it may be a step up for some people. We often complain about how bad the food is and how we rarely even eat meat, but I didn't realize that for some the food is actually better than what they were able to eat before. I also went to see a movie with several staff members, and was surprised to learn that one of them, 27 years old, had never been to the movie theater before. I realized that living in community here not only means living with cultural differences since people come from all over the world, but it also means living with people from different socio-economic backgrounds and experiences, which affects the way they see things here. We all live on financial support so we have that in common, but we are also influenced by our upbringings in how we interpret our surroundings and living conditions. Now that I have realized this it seems so obvious, but it is good for me to be aware of!
It was great to get to know the other new staff members from the other houses, to share experiences, and so forth.
I also learned a bit from what other staff members shared regarding their experiences. For most people in YWAM, the living conditions are a significant step down from whatever they were used to before. It didn't really cross my mind that it may be a step up for some people. We often complain about how bad the food is and how we rarely even eat meat, but I didn't realize that for some the food is actually better than what they were able to eat before. I also went to see a movie with several staff members, and was surprised to learn that one of them, 27 years old, had never been to the movie theater before. I realized that living in community here not only means living with cultural differences since people come from all over the world, but it also means living with people from different socio-economic backgrounds and experiences, which affects the way they see things here. We all live on financial support so we have that in common, but we are also influenced by our upbringings in how we interpret our surroundings and living conditions. Now that I have realized this it seems so obvious, but it is good for me to be aware of!
Slumdog Millionaire vs. the favelas of Brazil
Last week I went to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire with others who work here at the Lighthouse Community Center. As we work with community development here in the slum, we were all interested to see how this movie portrayed the slums of India. It came out later here than it did in the US...so I will have to jog your memory if you saw it a couple of months ago!
The first thing that caught my attention was the title in Portuguese. Now, it is fairly normal for movie titles to change significantly when translated. But the question is always why. In Portuguese, the movie is called "Quem quer ser milionario?" or "Who wants to be a millionaire?" A literal translation of the title would have been "Favelado milionario." Why change the title in this case? I think it is an issue of marketing here, that those who can pay to go to the movies wouldn't have their interest drawn if the world "favelado" (a derrogatory term for someone from the slum/favela, much like "slum dog") was part of the title.
Rich and middle class Brazilians are able to see a movie like this that shows what life is like in slums in OTHER parts of the world, but the fact is that they would rather turn a blind eye to similar conditions that exist here in Brazil. Including the term "favelado" in the title would make that connection to the similar conditions here, and most Brazilians don't want to watch a movie that is about a favelado, because of the prejudices that exist against favelados here.
There are some key differences between the slums depicted in the film and those here in Brazil, or at least the one that I live in, known as Cafezal, which is part of a community of slums that makes up what is called the Conglomerado da Serra, like the conglomerate slums of the mountain ridge. The government has invested in the slum here in the past twenty years, to provide basic sanitary living conditions, such as sewage systems, running water, electricity, paved roads, and so forth. In times of heavy rain certain smells can result that make me question the sewage system's efficacy, but it is nothing like what was portrayed for bathroom systems in the film! Thank God! Just as in all Brazil, we cannot flush toilet paper down the toilet, but that is about as rough as it gets.
Yet many of the problems portrayed in the film exist here as well. While the government has succeeded in improving basic living conditions, it has not been able to address the social problems of the slum. Drug lords hold a tremendous amount of power, controling certain territories. Kids often get sucked into the drug trade due to lack of other ways to climb the social ladder. Many kids find creative ways to supplement the family income, such as perform tricks at busy street intersections to get money. Those who are vulnerable are easily taken advantage of, just as in the film.
Perhaps the biggest similarity goes back to the term favelado or slumdog and the accompanying prejudices. The gameshow host said shockingly rude things to Jamal when he was competing, belittling him on national television, because of his background growing up in the slum and his current job serving tea. The idea passed is that a slumdog is stupid, ignorant, incapable of the functions of higher society, and basically destined to remain at the bottom in the slumdog kind of life. Jamal is treated in a dehumanizing way simply because of where he is from. It is even assumed that he cheated because he knew the answers and there is no way someone from the slum could do better on the show than an upperclass, highly educated person.
Similar prejudice exists against "favelados" here. Kids who grow up in the favela are told that they are no good, stupid, slum trash. Some of our group leaders witnessed this last year as they took the kids in their group on a fieldtrip to the zoo, where some schools had also taken kids on a fieldtrip. One of the school teachers made a derrogatory comment about the kids in the group referring to them as "favelados" and the kids were very upset by it. They are not too bothered by the term favela, or to say they live in a slum, but the word favelado carries a much stronger meaning with it.
The problem comes when kids internalize the labels others place on them. When they are told they are just favelados and are destined to repeat the same kind of life in the slum that those before them lived, most start to believe it. When they believe it, it can turn into self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't know if their is anything sadder than seeing kids start believing these sorts of things about themselves - a big part of the work we do here is restoring a healthy self-image that society has done so much to destroy, to help kids see themselves through God's eyes rather than society's.
It is so sad that society treats people in this dehumanizing way, that it can treat a group of people as if they are less than human, as if they are trash. I am convinced that this outrages God, who created man in His own image, to see that image being so defiled. As Christians I believe it is our responsibility to fight against these oppressive societal structures that make human beings out to be trash, to restore humanity to those it has been taken away from.
The first thing that caught my attention was the title in Portuguese. Now, it is fairly normal for movie titles to change significantly when translated. But the question is always why. In Portuguese, the movie is called "Quem quer ser milionario?" or "Who wants to be a millionaire?" A literal translation of the title would have been "Favelado milionario." Why change the title in this case? I think it is an issue of marketing here, that those who can pay to go to the movies wouldn't have their interest drawn if the world "favelado" (a derrogatory term for someone from the slum/favela, much like "slum dog") was part of the title.
Rich and middle class Brazilians are able to see a movie like this that shows what life is like in slums in OTHER parts of the world, but the fact is that they would rather turn a blind eye to similar conditions that exist here in Brazil. Including the term "favelado" in the title would make that connection to the similar conditions here, and most Brazilians don't want to watch a movie that is about a favelado, because of the prejudices that exist against favelados here.
There are some key differences between the slums depicted in the film and those here in Brazil, or at least the one that I live in, known as Cafezal, which is part of a community of slums that makes up what is called the Conglomerado da Serra, like the conglomerate slums of the mountain ridge. The government has invested in the slum here in the past twenty years, to provide basic sanitary living conditions, such as sewage systems, running water, electricity, paved roads, and so forth. In times of heavy rain certain smells can result that make me question the sewage system's efficacy, but it is nothing like what was portrayed for bathroom systems in the film! Thank God! Just as in all Brazil, we cannot flush toilet paper down the toilet, but that is about as rough as it gets.
Yet many of the problems portrayed in the film exist here as well. While the government has succeeded in improving basic living conditions, it has not been able to address the social problems of the slum. Drug lords hold a tremendous amount of power, controling certain territories. Kids often get sucked into the drug trade due to lack of other ways to climb the social ladder. Many kids find creative ways to supplement the family income, such as perform tricks at busy street intersections to get money. Those who are vulnerable are easily taken advantage of, just as in the film.
Perhaps the biggest similarity goes back to the term favelado or slumdog and the accompanying prejudices. The gameshow host said shockingly rude things to Jamal when he was competing, belittling him on national television, because of his background growing up in the slum and his current job serving tea. The idea passed is that a slumdog is stupid, ignorant, incapable of the functions of higher society, and basically destined to remain at the bottom in the slumdog kind of life. Jamal is treated in a dehumanizing way simply because of where he is from. It is even assumed that he cheated because he knew the answers and there is no way someone from the slum could do better on the show than an upperclass, highly educated person.
Similar prejudice exists against "favelados" here. Kids who grow up in the favela are told that they are no good, stupid, slum trash. Some of our group leaders witnessed this last year as they took the kids in their group on a fieldtrip to the zoo, where some schools had also taken kids on a fieldtrip. One of the school teachers made a derrogatory comment about the kids in the group referring to them as "favelados" and the kids were very upset by it. They are not too bothered by the term favela, or to say they live in a slum, but the word favelado carries a much stronger meaning with it.
The problem comes when kids internalize the labels others place on them. When they are told they are just favelados and are destined to repeat the same kind of life in the slum that those before them lived, most start to believe it. When they believe it, it can turn into self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't know if their is anything sadder than seeing kids start believing these sorts of things about themselves - a big part of the work we do here is restoring a healthy self-image that society has done so much to destroy, to help kids see themselves through God's eyes rather than society's.
It is so sad that society treats people in this dehumanizing way, that it can treat a group of people as if they are less than human, as if they are trash. I am convinced that this outrages God, who created man in His own image, to see that image being so defiled. As Christians I believe it is our responsibility to fight against these oppressive societal structures that make human beings out to be trash, to restore humanity to those it has been taken away from.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
I finally made it up the mountain!
One of the things I miss most from home is the nature - the trees, the green, the mountains, the natural beauty of Oregon! It's not quite the same here in the 5 million person city of Belo Horizonte, however the little nature the city has to offer is found in the Mangabeiras Park region, which includes an actual park as well as a "mountain" ridge you can climb/hike up. I have been wanting to go since I heard about it and after many months I was finally able to go this past weekend! I survived the hike as you can see from the picture at the top. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me (that's a picture from a volunteer's Blackberry), but there are great views of the city from the top. At least this picture is proof that I made it, and you can see a bit of the mountain ridge in the background. If anyone comes to visit me, I'd love to take you up there, though, Mom, I don't think you could handle the steep drop-offs (not really good if you are afraid of heights).
The GOOD News!
As many of you know (at least if you get my email newsletters and/or prayer updates), I have been leading my girls' group here by myself - something that is not usually done! It has certainly been a challenge for me, but I have been praying for a co-leader (and so have the 15 girls in my group who want to have group more days per week!).
So the good news - someone doing the Community Development School here has decided to stay and join staff afterward - and co-lead my group with me! She has participated with my group a couple of days as a volunteer and really loves the girls! Her name is Barbara and she is from Holland and will be staying here along with her husband.
I haven't told my girls yet - and probably won't until Barbara's school is almost over, which is a few weeks from now. I know that they will be excited! I have a box that I ask them to put prayer requests in every week, and one girl put, "That God will bring another leader for our group so we can have group four days per week." =)
So the good news - someone doing the Community Development School here has decided to stay and join staff afterward - and co-lead my group with me! She has participated with my group a couple of days as a volunteer and really loves the girls! Her name is Barbara and she is from Holland and will be staying here along with her husband.
I haven't told my girls yet - and probably won't until Barbara's school is almost over, which is a few weeks from now. I know that they will be excited! I have a box that I ask them to put prayer requests in every week, and one girl put, "That God will bring another leader for our group so we can have group four days per week." =)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
My time at Casa Renovo
I took advantage of having time off due to Carnaval to get out of the city and visit some friends from DTS at Casa Renovo, one of the children's shelters for our base, which is located in the small town of Itauna, 90 km or so outside of Belo.
Of all of the shelters I have visited (which is all of the shelters at our base), I think that beyond a doubt Casa Renovo has the best set up for the children. The goals of the house are very simple: 1) have a positive impact on the lives of the children, 2) take care of nature and teach to do the same (through the nature on the property, and 3) have a positive influence on the surrounding community. I may have not got those exactly right, but the big three are children, nature, and community.
I think being out in nature and having the opportunity to play outside has an extremely positive effect on the children and also in turn makes it easier for the workers, because their temperament is much calmer than children in an enclosed shelter in the city with little space and no nature. The children there also learn responsibility and how to care for nature by having chores in the yard and learning about all of the trees and plants growing there.
It was really nice for me to have a few days away from the Lighthouse and outside of the city, to really get some fresh air! Thanks for those of you who prayed for God to give me clarity regarding the things He'd shared with me before that I didn't understand - He definitely gave me that clarity. I also had a great time visiting my friends Arjen and Els from DTS. It was my first time seeing them since DTS graduation at the beginning of November. It was also their son's first birthday, so I got to celebrate with them!
Now I am back at the Lighthouse and work starts up again tomorrow morning! I have missed not having group the past several days, so I look forward to seeing my girls again!
Of all of the shelters I have visited (which is all of the shelters at our base), I think that beyond a doubt Casa Renovo has the best set up for the children. The goals of the house are very simple: 1) have a positive impact on the lives of the children, 2) take care of nature and teach to do the same (through the nature on the property, and 3) have a positive influence on the surrounding community. I may have not got those exactly right, but the big three are children, nature, and community.
I think being out in nature and having the opportunity to play outside has an extremely positive effect on the children and also in turn makes it easier for the workers, because their temperament is much calmer than children in an enclosed shelter in the city with little space and no nature. The children there also learn responsibility and how to care for nature by having chores in the yard and learning about all of the trees and plants growing there.
It was really nice for me to have a few days away from the Lighthouse and outside of the city, to really get some fresh air! Thanks for those of you who prayed for God to give me clarity regarding the things He'd shared with me before that I didn't understand - He definitely gave me that clarity. I also had a great time visiting my friends Arjen and Els from DTS. It was my first time seeing them since DTS graduation at the beginning of November. It was also their son's first birthday, so I got to celebrate with them!
Now I am back at the Lighthouse and work starts up again tomorrow morning! I have missed not having group the past several days, so I look forward to seeing my girls again!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
My visa renewal process
Thank you for those of you who prayed for me as I went to the Federal Police today to apply for my visa renewal! My application is now turned in and begins the long review process, which I can track via internet via the number they gave me.
Agh...it wasn't easy though. I left the Lighthouse at 8:30am this morning and didn't get back until 4:30pm! I took a total of 7 buses today and had to go to the Federal Police THREE TIMES! I knew I would have to go twice at least because I didn't not have my comprovante de pago, something that you print online and take to a bank to pay, then bring the receipt with you. I did not have the code number so I didn't know which one to print off and pay for, and I didn't want to risk doing the wrong one and having to pay twice.
So my first trip I got the code number and my foreigner ID which also just happened to arrive 8 months after applying for it. So I went to take care of that, print it out, and pay it at the bank, then came back.
Then I found out I misread some of the instructions for needed documents - it said you needed authorized copies of your passport or an official travel document - I took that to mean if you had the original travel document (ie passport) you did not need copies - but that was wrong! So I had to make copies of EVERY SINGLE PAGE in my passport, even in blank ones. Now, I just recently had pages added to my passport because it was almost full of stamps - I had 48 pages added to be precise. Which is a good thing to have except when you have to copy each page and pay to have every single page "authorized" by a notary. At least the cost of notarization here is like 1/10 of what it is in the US. Of course I had to ask for directions a million times to even find a notary, traveling back to the city center, but I am so thankful I speak Portuguese well enough to understand the directions now!
After I did all of this, they were closed for lunch, so I came back and waited for them to open and talked to another man waiting in Portunhol (mixed Portuguese/Spanish), and we ended up talking about mission work and God. So my third time back I had all of the things I needed at last, including my comprovante de pago, which I had accidently left behind there on my second trip and was afraid I had lost and would have to pay again! But they saved it for me and took my application materials, then the guy there, who I had heard had given one of our other staff members a hard time, asked me if I taught English classes/lessons. I told him no because I have a volunteer visa and can't work for pay. He told me he wanted to learn English and that something like that didn't really count as official paid work, and gave me his phone number! I gave him my business card but didn't promise anything, I still thought there was a possibility he was "testing" me to see if I really followed the volunteer visa rules. Plus I don't know if I would have time for something like that, but it would be an easy way to make some extra money if it is actually legal (if the person who processes visas says it is okay and is serious it must be okay...either that or just another example of how much people here find "jeitinhos" or ways around rules).
Anyway, that is only one small part of the visa renewal process - after a lawyer had already prepared the paperwork for me (and thankfully I had a wonderful, fast, on top of things lawyer this time!). So basically this process is a ton of work which is why I am hoping for a 2 year visa rather than the usual 1 year!
To get a permanent visa here, you pretty much have three options:
1) Marry a Brazilian
2) Give birth to a child in the country
3) Become a leader at the base and get your name on the documents for one of the houses
None of those are good things to do just for the sake of getting a visa!
Agh...it wasn't easy though. I left the Lighthouse at 8:30am this morning and didn't get back until 4:30pm! I took a total of 7 buses today and had to go to the Federal Police THREE TIMES! I knew I would have to go twice at least because I didn't not have my comprovante de pago, something that you print online and take to a bank to pay, then bring the receipt with you. I did not have the code number so I didn't know which one to print off and pay for, and I didn't want to risk doing the wrong one and having to pay twice.
So my first trip I got the code number and my foreigner ID which also just happened to arrive 8 months after applying for it. So I went to take care of that, print it out, and pay it at the bank, then came back.
Then I found out I misread some of the instructions for needed documents - it said you needed authorized copies of your passport or an official travel document - I took that to mean if you had the original travel document (ie passport) you did not need copies - but that was wrong! So I had to make copies of EVERY SINGLE PAGE in my passport, even in blank ones. Now, I just recently had pages added to my passport because it was almost full of stamps - I had 48 pages added to be precise. Which is a good thing to have except when you have to copy each page and pay to have every single page "authorized" by a notary. At least the cost of notarization here is like 1/10 of what it is in the US. Of course I had to ask for directions a million times to even find a notary, traveling back to the city center, but I am so thankful I speak Portuguese well enough to understand the directions now!
After I did all of this, they were closed for lunch, so I came back and waited for them to open and talked to another man waiting in Portunhol (mixed Portuguese/Spanish), and we ended up talking about mission work and God. So my third time back I had all of the things I needed at last, including my comprovante de pago, which I had accidently left behind there on my second trip and was afraid I had lost and would have to pay again! But they saved it for me and took my application materials, then the guy there, who I had heard had given one of our other staff members a hard time, asked me if I taught English classes/lessons. I told him no because I have a volunteer visa and can't work for pay. He told me he wanted to learn English and that something like that didn't really count as official paid work, and gave me his phone number! I gave him my business card but didn't promise anything, I still thought there was a possibility he was "testing" me to see if I really followed the volunteer visa rules. Plus I don't know if I would have time for something like that, but it would be an easy way to make some extra money if it is actually legal (if the person who processes visas says it is okay and is serious it must be okay...either that or just another example of how much people here find "jeitinhos" or ways around rules).
Anyway, that is only one small part of the visa renewal process - after a lawyer had already prepared the paperwork for me (and thankfully I had a wonderful, fast, on top of things lawyer this time!). So basically this process is a ton of work which is why I am hoping for a 2 year visa rather than the usual 1 year!
To get a permanent visa here, you pretty much have three options:
1) Marry a Brazilian
2) Give birth to a child in the country
3) Become a leader at the base and get your name on the documents for one of the houses
None of those are good things to do just for the sake of getting a visa!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)