New Home

As you'll have guessed, my posts here will stop now that I'm home. The good news is that Casa Semear now has it's own blog where you can get the latest info and updates straight from the community centre itself. Keep up to date at http://www.casasemear.blogspot.com/ .

Final Farewell

It´s hard to believe but this is my last day here in Brazil. Two months have come and gone so quickly! It almost feels like home here so it´s an odd feeling to think about coming back to Scotland. During my time here I have done so much more than I even anticipated. In the space of a few weeks I have been in the city and slums of Sao Paulo, the mountains and beaches of Rio and  the beautiful scenery in Bertioga. Of course, the true joy in any journey is the company. I have been able to spend time with some wonderful and inspiring people. The ABBA family consists of so many wise and Godly people who live and serve by faith each day. I am so grateful for the hospitality of all those who invited me to stay in the their homes and spend time getting to know their families. Thankyou to all those people who were so kind and thoughtful.

When I come home I will probably have to answer a lot of questions about my time here. It´s hard to process so much and it will take a while before it really all sinks in. What I will process are the words of wisdom and advice that have been shared from those who have the knowledge and experience to help me ask the important questions. It has been inspirational to work alongside people who have most incredible courage and determination to work in spite of great difficulties, whilst continually trusting in God. The work they do is not always easy and sometimes it is far less than rewarding - but these are good and faithful servants whom I can only aspire to be like. The ministries of ABBA generally and Casa Semear specifically are growing rapidly. The potential is incredible and I´m excited to watch how God´s purposes unfold within them over the next few years.

Thankyou so much to everyone at home so supported me in preparation for my trip and all throughout it. Messages of interest and encouragement have been so much appreciated. When I finally get home on Sunday night it will take at least a week, if not more, to recover and get myself sorted out. Please be gracious - jet-lag and culture shock may make it difficult to get organised for a while!

Well, my bags are packed and ready to go. I have one last day at Casa Semear and then it´s off to the airport. I leave Sao Paulo at 11:40pm on Thursday evening and arrive in London at 3pm on Friday. I will be staying in London for a couple of days and should finally arrive in Edinburgh around 9:15pm on Sunday evening. After that I have no idea what awaits me. All I´m hoping for is a good cup of tea.

New Digs

Thought I´d have a chance to post during the week but this is Brazil and plans are always changing! I´m now back living with Caio and Dorothee which is a blessing after a long three weeks living in Casa Semear. It´s really not the most sociable of places - there isn´t a lot to be done in the local area to pass the time!

The New Office

So, what´s new this week? We have an office! Now that we have a full-time social worker she needs somewhere to work! So, the back bedroom has now been converted to an office for her. It´s still in need of a few things but most importantly we have a computer and phone-line now.  With the ministry rapidly expanding these things are becoming essential. Eliane is working hard to build up files of all the families that we are currently in contact with. So far we have listed around 45 families from the kids that come on a regular basis. Of these families we are prioritising five of the most in-need or at-risk to visit in the favela tomorrow (Friday). These families include some who, until recently, having been living on the street in the city centre, those who are in the most desperate circumstances economically and those for whom there is distinct family crisis. One of our young boys is currently under threat from his mother who has attempted to kill him on more than one occasion. Robert and Silvana have been praying that the children and families who are most in need will be the ones who come through the doors of Casa Semear. So far we´ve seen evidence of this happening and now we need to pray further than we can help them.

On Tuesday afternoon Robert, Celio and myself had a skype meeting with the Casa Abba team in Glasgow. It was really good to hear some Scottish accents again! We discussed some of the financial needs of Casa Semear/ABBA and updated the team on the progress of the work here. . Good news: We received a large donation of 6000 euroes (around R$13,000) from a church in Holland to help complete the building work of the houses out the back. It´s almost enough - Robert reckons we need R$20,000 in total to finish it by the time you include inside furnishings. Snr Luis will be back on the job as soon as he finishes his current work - hopefully leaving us enough time to raise the rest and have everything done in one go. Gloria Deus for that!

Our weekend get-away

It´s been a long week at Casa Semear. Dot has started up the Super Woman club again for the teen girls, with a focus on the concept of ´perfect love´. This will be a good opportunity to explore some of the issues that many of them are currently facing.  Some days the kids, although few in numbers, have been high in energy. We have an increasing number of young kids under 8 who require a lot of attention and supervision so we are all coming home utterly exhausted from trying to keep them focused on activities. Thankfully this weekend we are off to the beach at Bertioga from Friday to Sunday for a well-earned rest. It will be a good opportunity for me to spend my final free days with the team and enjoy their company, as next week will be so busy that we won´t have much time together in the lead-up to my departure.  I´ve enjoyed almost every bit of my time here but home is definitly calling now.

If there´s anything you want me to find out about / post about / photograph etc. before I leave, then please drop me a comment over the weekend and I shall do my best to get it done!