Dear
Friends,
Hello
from Nepo! Monday marks the half-way
point of my time in Brasil and as of last week, I am officially allowed to stay
for another 3 months. Thank God for the
successful renewal of my visa last Wednesday!
The whole process was far easier than I anticipated and went so smoothly. Once again, I was reminded that our great God
will supply every need of ours, praise His glorious Name!
At
the beginning of the month, Jessica returned home to Canada. She is greatly missed here by everyone, but
especially by me! It was such an
absolute joy to have another short-termer to share this experience with and I
thank the Lord for the blessing of her friendship and help during her time at
Nepo. Viktoria also left with Jessica at
the beginning of the month. She has been
staying in Sao Paulo visiting friends and undergoing some necessary eye
exams. Viktoria is also greatly missed
here and we are so thankful that she will be returning at the end of the
month. On the night that they left,
Jessica had an ice cream sundae party for the boys which also served as a
going-away party for her. The boys
seemed to really enjoy being able to go up for seconds and thirds and in a
couple of cases fifths and sixths J After they had eaten to their hearts’
content, the boys each took a turn saying goodbye to Jessica and sharing why
they were thankful that she was here. It
was so sweet and was such an encouragement to see that even though we can’t
speak the same language as these boys and communicate with them like we want
to, God can still use us to impact their lives.
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According
to Webster’s dictionary, a “surprise” is defined as the following: “To strike with wonder or amazement
especially because unexpected.” After
this past week, I now have a greater appreciation for this definition as God
has most certainly given us a fair share of surprises including two in one
day J Last Tuesday seemed like any other typical
day, I had watched the little ones in the morning and was starting to head over
to the kitchen to help serve lunch when I saw that a police car was parked out
front. Naturally, the boys were curious
and I overheard them asking the police why they were here. I only understood one word in the officer’s
response, “Jaimes,” but that one name was definitely enough to fully surprise
me and I was completely struck with “wonder and amazement especially because
unexpected.” So, why would one name
cause such a response? Well, let me
explain by taking you back two months to February 26. It was on this Sunday night, that we had
returned home from church to find that our house had been broken into and many
of our belongings were stolen including a lot of my support money, cell phones,
flashlights, knives, food, etc. We soon
realized that two of the boys from the orphanage had broken into our home and
ran away and one of those boys was Jaimes.
At the time, it was so difficult to process the fact that this boy who I
had just been playing games with the night before could possibly do such a
thing. I felt violated, but more than
that, I felt utterly sad realizing that he was now living life on the streets
and had chosen this option. My prayer then
was that Jaimes would be safe and could be brought back here where we could
show him that he is forgiven and still loved by us. And now, two months later, God has answered
that prayer. My prayer now is still that
Jaimes will know he is forgiven and loved by us, but more than that, I pray
that this can be used to help him understand the forgiveness and love that can
be found in Christ.
So
that was Tuesday morning and little did I know that I would be in for yet
another surprise that day, but unfortunately this equally unexpected event was
not as enjoyable as the return of Jaimes.
On Tuesday afternoon as we gathered for snack, a number of boys came
running up to me and told me that Tata was gone. Thinking that I couldn’t possibly have understood
this correctly, I asked them to repeat what they had said and unfortunately, I
had understood them and Tata really had left.
It was all so sudden and so unexpected that I could not quite comprehend
that this boy, who was just showing me a magic trick not even 30 minutes before,
was now gone for good. I came to find
out later in the week that Tata was taken to another orphanage in the town
where he is from since the city won’t have to pay for him there. It is still hard to come to grips with the fact
that Tata is gone. I miss his smile, his
hugs, his friendliness, his magic tricks, the list goes on and on, but I have
to trust in God’s sovereignty. I know
that His ways are not mine and so I pray that Tata is adjusting well at the
other orphanage and I entrust him to the care of the One who loves him so much
more than I ever could, cares for him far greater than I do, and knows the
plans He has for him.
Well, as if that wasn’t enough surprises for one week, Friday held
one more unexpected experience, but this one was a completely joyful
event. As I was helping Marcela sort the
boys’ clothes, I overheard someone say something about Jackson’s arrival. To say that I was surprised to hear this
would be a very great understatement indeed and again I thought that I had
misunderstood what I heard, but this time, I hoped that I had heard correctly. So, why would this be a surprise? Let’s go back once more to the end of
February. Thursday, February 23 seemed
like a pretty typical day, we watched the little kids in the morning and on my
lunch break, I did some puzzles with Jackson, Bruno, and Tulio. I helped Marcela in the afternoon, and in the
evening, I played Trouble with Jackson, Fabricio, Alan, and Jessica. Little did I know that it would be my last
day with Jackson. The next day at lunch,
Viktoria mentioned something about Jackson’s departure and I asked her what she
was talking about. She then went on to
explain that Jackson’s mother had called a few days earlier and after 7 years
of him living here, his mom decided that she wanted him back. So, that morning she had come and picked him
up. I had no clue he was leaving and
initially was quite shocked to realize that he was gone for good. Jackson was one of the first boys that I met
here at the orphanage. Unlike a lot of the teenage boys that I used to work
with in the middle school where I taught, Jackson was an absolute
sweetheart. Always the first to smile
and offer a great big thumbs up every time I walked passed him, he spread joy
wherever he went. When Jackson left back
in February, I assumed that I would never see him again. Yet, God in His goodness did indeed bless us
with Jackson’s return this weekend. It
was so good to be able to see him again and watch his interactions with the
boys and the workers here. With my
limited Portuguese, I was able to have only very simple conversations with him,
but it was great to be able to learn from those talks that he is doing well,
going to church still, and liking his life in Lavras. When Jackson originally left in February, his
departure taught me to expect anything and be grateful for everything,
especially every single day that I have with these boys, because I just never
quite know when it will be my last and they will be gone. I am still learning this lesson and have been
reminded of it again with the departure of Tata this past week. While there have been many surprises this
past week for me, I know that none of these things were a surprise to the
Lord. As He says in Isaiah 14:24,
“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will
happen.” So in both the good and bad
surprises, I praise God and trust in His sovereignty. Please continue to keep these boys, the
workers, and this ministry in your prayers.
In Him,
Katy Pavkov
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| Jefferson and Jaimes |
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| Jaimes, Caio, Tata (who is asking me if he can take the next picture) and Bruno |
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| Tata and Alisson |
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| Jackson with Marcela and Gerson (the couple that I am living with here) |
