From Jenna Pashley, January 2009.
I’ve been with Projeto Vidinha since my Servant Team, which means I’ve been watching some of these children grow up for the past five years. Five years! Kids who stuttered their alphabets and stumbled over their chubby little feet are now witty spitfires, reading books on their own and doing funky things with their hair. Some have returned to their families while new children have come to stay. Dandy (Esdrianne, Cohen, WMF Brazil staff) and I were talking about some of them the other day, as the Brazilian school year was officially over in December. We were thrilled; almost everyone graduated to the next grade, though it was a struggle for many to keep up with the accelerated pace of a private school. One of the boys, whose difficulties with dyslexia intrigued and confounded me, was overheard telling his teacher: “I don’t know if I’m going to get to come back here next year, because Aunt Dandy told me that my “godparent” might not be able to pay for my school next year. But it’s okay if I go to a public school now. I’m happy; I learned to read this year!” (Not only did he learn to read, he’s not getting held back this year! Passed with flying colors.)
Clever, honest words have a way of manipulating our hearts, don’t they? We’re doing all we can to find a Brazilian sponsor for him for next year. How could we not? This is what makes me excited about mission work: being part of what God is doing in people’s lives, helping them to live life in fullness and joy.
There is something else that makes me happy about mission work: learning from those I serve.
T– at Projeto Vidinha is usually too sassy for his own good, but he’s a brilliant little boy, though educationally neglected. That’s something we’re trying to remedy. So in my weekly after-school tutoring sessions, we practice reading for as long as he can sit still, which isn’t very long, or as long as he can fool me into believing he’s paying attention, which is a little longer. One day, the book he chose was about the Amazon, focusing especially on the lives of the Indian tribes who still live in the rainforests. We’re looking at the pictures, he’s sounding out a few words here or there, and I’m asking lots of questions. “T–, where do we get our food from?” I ask, looking at a picture of a woman pounding manioc root. I’m expecting a city kid sort of answer and am left speechless when he replies: “Well, you can buy it at the supermarket if you have money. But when we don’t have money, we just pray and God sends it to the front door!” He’s right. God sends sacks of food through those doors when the pantry gets low….
He might be a city boy, but this little dude has a better understanding of how the world works than most adults. I want to be like T–, confident in the Lord’s provision, excited about dependency, expectant of good things. As you, too, enter into this new year uncertain of the future, may you be certain of God’s goodness, God’s care, God’s love for you.
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We are looking for more people to help sponsor our children. If you’d like to become a sponsor of a child at Projeto Vidhina, it’s easy! Just set up a $30 monthly gift via our online donations page. Be sure to designate the gift to: Projeto Vidhina sponsorship.