Working at Casa da Esperança: Recife, Brazil!

Working at Casa da Esperança: Recife, Brazil!

by | Jun 6, 2018 | Brazil, SAMS Missionaries

I have been here in Recife for 2.5 weeks already and I’m LOVING it!  I am grateful that Brazilians are so warm–everyone I’ve met is extremely welcoming which has made settling in easier.

Every day I go to Casa da Esperança, the day care center where I’m working. I love Casa and am so impressed with the organization as a whole. Every day, up to 60 kids come for the whole day–7:30 am-4:30 pm and are bathed, fed 5 meals, and then do different educational activities. When they’re at Casa, the kids are safe from getting dragged into the drug industry and it enables their parents to work consistently. The children are absolutely precious. It’s been special to begin developing relationships with them. I’m mostly with the 2 year olds, and when I arrive they say, “Tia Mada! Tia Mada!!” and I get many hugs and kisses.

I’ve been able to help out with English translation in the office at Casa–they want to develop English versions of a number of media documents and I’ve been able to help by editing Google Translations. Besides Casa, I’ve also had the opportunity to lead a worship song in Portuguese/English with a Brazilian girl on Sunday–it was at the small Anglican church that meets on the day center grounds to reach the surrounding community. The picture to the right is with members of the Casa da Esperança team after working a bazaar to raise money for the day care center!

Please pray for…
1: continued improvement in my facility with Portuguese–I can get around fine, I just want to keep improving

2: blessing for Casa in their current work, and provision for the improvements and expansions of their programs toward which they’re working

3: my precious host parents Xandau and Andrezza–that they would be blessed for the incredible generosity with which they are caring for me!

4: that each child that enters the day care center daily would be surrounded by the presence of Jesus and his love for them.

Thank you for your prayers, and the support that makes my time here possible! God is so good. Living and working here is an immensely beautiful gift.

Warmly,
Madeleine

P.S. Follow me on Instagram for more photos of what I’m doing! @madeleineruch

Remembering Malcolm Alexander

Remembering Malcolm Alexander

by | Jun 4, 2018 | Honduras, SAMS-USA

Our brother in the Lord and missionary Malcolm Alexander passed away on May 18.  Malcolm faithfully served for two decades in Honduras, first as a charter member of our Tegucigalpa Church-Planting Team where he gave wholeheartedly of himself to the building up of Iglesia Cristo Redentor, especially through his administrative skills and Biblical teaching.  In response to the devastation of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Malcolm began an outreach ministry to youth in a community for displaced survivors of the hurricane. Eventually, a community center was built and an ongoing program of Christian education, vocational training and recreation were established.  Malcolm continued this vital ministry as an Associate Missionary encouraging U.S. churches to send short-term mission teams and remain involved in this ministry.  Malcolm was a blessing as he brought the hope of the Gospel in both word and deed.  We give thanks to the Lord for his personal sacrifices for the sake of furthering Christ’s work in this broken world.  We await with hope in Jesus our heavenly reunion.

Malcolm teaching at the community center: