Well we have come to the end of the year! This was a very special year during which few things went as planned, a year in which we would like to turn the page a little faster ... Lots of people are languishing for 2021 for various reasons ... and I suppose that deep down, we also because baby n° 2 should arrive in April!! And also we hope to be able to return to Europe for a time in the summer of 2021!
But that doesn't mean that 2020 has been a bad year ... it has been difficult, yes, full of challenges, yes, tiring, yes! But God has a plan for everything and COVID-19 is not something that has been out of His control.
Thinking back to the year 2020, we see that a lot of positive things have happened ...
We are offering you a little sample of positivity at the end of the year 2020 ...
Rachel's pregnancy is going really well, while at the beginning the doctors were worried and told us that it was better not to get too carried away ... After several ultrasounds and several medical appointments, we were reassured and today everything is fine. Rachel is almost 6 months pregnant and by mid-April we should welcome the 4th member of our family.
COVID-19 and us
No one in our family has been sick despite the fact that in the favela the mask is used very little. We try to apply the 2 metre barrier and wear the mask as soon as we go out but by being in contact with a lot of people (and many who do not respect these guidelines) we exposed ourselves a little. We are grateful that no one living in Casa Rocha got sick but one of our staff who lives in an apartment on our street caught the virus and had to isolate herself, but all is well for her!
Community Development School
From mid-August to the end of November, we were able to participate as staff in a course about community development offered by YWAM Belo Horizonte and 4 members of our team participated as students. This course is directly linked to our work and our team was strongly encouraged to take advantage of this pandemic to be able to participate in the course. It was an opportunity to think a little more about what we do and why we do it ... It is difficult to "help" in the most efficient way and we are sometimes called upon to help the fastest or most comfortable way for us or even sometimes in the most visible way ... But this is not always what will give the most lasting fruit! We hope to be able to rethink some aspects of our ministry by keeping in mind all that we learned in the school.
Being Blessed Back...
This year we were able to see the recognition of several families that we have been working with for several years.
* It's very moving when, one day we receive an invitation from a family whose son has been participating in the group of children for several years, who last year participated in the family camp, with whom we invested a lot of time this year because the 20-year-old daughter discovered she had cancer.... Our whole team was invited by this family to eat a "canjiquinha" (a kind of soup) at their home! It was a great time all together and the food was delicious!
* Another woman from the favela also invited us for a "café da tarde" (a kind of late afternoon snack). We've been working with this woman and her children for 6 years now, going through very difficult moments when she has come to us to ask for our advice and prayers. Other moments she doesn't accept what we say or because it isn't what she would like to hear... but the family is making progress and this is recognised even by her children. Well, she wanted to welcome us with homemade biscuits and she even gave Rachel a lesson on how to make them... The 3 staffs who were present had a great time with lots of laughter and filling our stomachs, but also having a time to encourage and guide!
* Another person who wanted to show us his appreciation is Adilson, the father of a 15 year old girl who has been involved in our activities since she was little. We have been helping his family for several years and they benefited from emergency food aid this year. He volunteered to wash our 4 in house water reserves which are in the attic (in Brazil, we use 'water tanks' instead of receiving city water). There are 4 tanks of 1000L of water each that must be sanitised once a year and we did not even know it ... Needless to say that our tanks in Casa Rocha had never been cleaned since my (Nico) arrival in 2014. Well it's done, Adilson gave 2 Saturday morning to clean them up and show us how to do it.
Casa Rocha had a Kombi for its activities. This year we had to change this vehicle for several reasons, including the fact that the insurers would not renew the insurance of this vehicle due to the lack of security. We evaluated several options, the vehicle that best met our needs at affordable prices was a FIAT DOBLÓ ADVENTURE. We want to thank God, because we managed to sell the Kombi and get the new car we wanted in three days. Everything was very fast! Nico put the ad to sell the kombi on Tuesday morning; at 1 p.m. the kombi was sold; on Thursday evening Nico goes to buy the Dobló (from someone we know) and on the way back he receives an email indicating that a donation had arrived in the Casa Rocha account for the amount that was missing to pay for the car! God surprised us once again with such great care for us, GOD IS GOOD!
Christmas 2020
We are also grateful for a good Christmas! Our plan for this year was to spend it in France but in view of the situation, we decided to stay in Brazil and take our vacation, if possible, in the summer of 2021 ... So we organised in Casa Rocha a little Christmas Eve with 6 other adults and 3 children (staff from other YWAM projects) who also did not return home for the holidays. And on the 25th, the three of us spent the day together just our family. It was a very pleasant time! And Lorenzo loved opening up his presents and we all enjoyed a special Christmas dinner.
That's such encouraging news about all those people and families who have connected with you and sharing how they have been impacted by your witness. Galatians 6 v 9.
ReplyDeleteGod bless and huge congratulations on your pregnancy. Love the Anderson family xx