WHAT'S GOING ON !!!

Wow! This month has started out with lots of things going on. We are specially excited about our church services. We have had so many first time visitors for Sunday school and night services. Last Sunday we had 26 visitors. The visitors are coming back and bringing others. Last Sunday we had our lunch that we have about once a month. It is a time that everyone can just hang around visist and just have a good time. The kids love playing on the play ground. This week was independence day here, so we went to the farm to work a little and play and just have a good time. We are planting beans and corn. Hope it sprouts and grows well. We have had lots of rain. so hopefully it will do good.

NOW THAT EVERY ONE HAS CHECKED IT OUT.

THE LAND IS READY FOR THE PLANTING.

TEACHING HOW TO USE THIS MODERN EQUIPMENT WHILE THE LADIES SHUCK THE CORN THAT IS GOING TO BE PLANTED.

What all went on in August!

We have had a busy month and an exciting one. Live is always full of surprises. We make plans, but God is who controls it. In one of the pictures below, there is a picture of a lady in a wheel chair. That was the last time she came to church and the last time we saw her. She died the next Tuesday. One of the things she had talked about is that she want her family to be in church. Pray for them.
Also we have had wonderful attendance in church. In the month of August we had a total of 56 first time visitors. What is really neet is that we are not even doing any special programs to reach more people.
In Marilia, where we have the new building we are planing on having a Saturday afternoon service. There are no churches in that neighborhood. We thank all of you for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for us and the ministries.

Special day for the pre teens!

The group of young teens is growing. They do Bilbe studies and from time to time have a special day. This month the had to dress up as some character they like. Their Study for the month was on character. The question was: How does God see you? Based on the Scripture that God see the inside and not the out side. We havea group of kids that are coming to church that have never been to church before. This is really exciting.

One of our workers gets married.

Levi and Katia
Katia is a young lady who has worked with us for a long time. She was saved in one of the churches John Hatcher started many years ago. we have known her since she was a little girl. She loves the Lord and has a special love for kids with special needs. She started her work by teaching in Sunday School. she enjoyed teaching so much that she decided to go to college. She will graduated from college this December. She had never planed on going to college until she came to work her at the home. God has blessed her with a sweet husband. Pray for them for God to continue to bless their lives as they serve in the ministry.

Everyday jobs and needs to keep things up

We still have the same families here with us. They are getting evolved in church and the kids are learning new things and learning about the Lord. We have had many new teens and adult visitor at church. Our boys and others that live here have been bringing some of the school friends to church.
Even though we don’t have many here now we are still trying to keep the building up. We have the day by day expenses and there is always work to be done on the building. Painting is always one of those things that have to be done from time to time. There are still some of the roofs that have not been fixed or changed. Also one thing that we have not done is fix the concrete sidewalks around the home in the front and in the back. Since the building is over 35 years old from time to time we have problems with water and gutter pipe lines. The water pipes are old and are galvanized pipes and cause leaks in the walls. We don’t have lots of extra money but are working hard on keeping up the building. We are working on the projects that we have on our mind. We want to do different things that will reach out to kids and their families. We want to have other projects that work the way the soccer project does. We have been thinking about jewelry, painting and after school support and some other things we studying about. We thank all of you for your prayers and support. Please continue praying for us and that God will supply for the needs we have.

Celebrations!

Edi and Deborah

Today was a special day here at the church and the home. Edi is one of the first boys that came to live with us. He lived with us in our home is Vera Cruz and then came to Garca to the home with us. He left a few years ago to live on his own. His desire was to one day come back and help us help others. We this day has arrived. God gave him a wife in the church he was going to. He live in a city about 5 hours away from here. His wife worked in church in the children's ministry. Her name is Deborah. Some of you that have none us for over 12 year know who Edi is. We are excited about them being here. So today we celebrated their marriage and their arrival here. Every one from church stayed and ate here. It was a wonderful time of fellowship.

From The Heart of Chelsea Northrip

Alpha Omega Children’s Home is not a quiet place. At any given time, one might hear a number of sounds: the clanging of metal pots and pans in the kitchen as meals are being prepared…the shouting and laughter of children as they play on the playground…a woman singing praise songs as she mop a hallway or hang laundry up to dry…dogs barking as they playfully chase the kids around the yard…a man working on the engine of a car. When all of these sounds are put together, it might seem a bit chaotic. And yet for me, these sounds blend together to form the most beautiful of symphonies. For amidst the chaos of everyday life there in the home, there is a peace unlike anything I have experienced elsewhere. It is a peace that can only come when the Spirit of the Lord is present. And though I have been in beautiful American churches with stained-glass windows and ancient European cathedrals with lofty ceilings and gorgeous designs, they do not compare with the simplicity of Alpha Omega. Some of the walls need repainting, some of the tiles need to be replaced…but the Lord’s presence is stronger there than anywhere else I have ever been.
Alpha Omega is not merely a place. There may be a building that serves as a housing facility for dozens of people, but the heart of Alpha Omega lies within its people…people who love the Lord with all they have, who give generously and selflessly and sacrificially, people that know what life is all about. It is these people—people like Kathy and Odali Barros, the owners of the home and the most loving people I know; people like Lizene Schimming, a servant leader who goes above and beyond to help everyone around her; people like thirteen-year-old Ari or eight-year-old Gabriel, who can brighten your day with a simple smile—these people are what draws me back to this incredible home again and again. This past May I had the pleasure of leading a team from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, to come and experience the home I have come to know and love. This was my fifth visit to Alpha Omega, and as always, I was not disappointed. I have watched the home go through various transformations over the past four years, as the people there have faced challenges and loss and have endured trials that would cause many to crumble; yet, Alpha Omega remains a refuge of hope and a sanctuary for practically anyone seeking help. Orphans, abused children, unwed mothers, teenagers trying to stay off drugs…anyone who needs it has a home there and experiences the love of Christ in a very real way simply by living among His people. For those who work and live at the home are indeed children of God; they love without condition and without restraint. It is a beautiful thing to behold.
While our team there for this trip, we were able to see God’s work being done firsthand. We saw families being ministered to, mothers provided with support as they worked to raise their children in a godly and safe environment. We saw children learning what it means to obey and follow the Lord even from an early age. We saw older children mentoring the younger ones, taking time to play with them and serve as role models. We saw teenagers and adults working hard at numerous tasks, cooking or cleaning or planting…all for the sake of serving those around them and keeping the home functioning smoothly. We saw it all…and we were humbled. We came to serve; yet it was us who were served. We were so blessed by the people of Alpha Omega, as they ministered to us in countless ways.
When it was time for us to leave, everyone on my team expressed that they did not want to go. In the short two weeks we spent at Alpha Omega, everyone fell in love with the people there. Our team was so impacted by their time at the home that we spent our last day in Brazil discussing what we had learned at Alpha Omega with one another. As we began to talk about what we had experienced, many of our team members shared the common sentiment that what they had learned was unforgettable and invaluable. Nearly everyone pledged to return next year. Many of us found it difficult to give voice to what it was that had affected us so deeply. One girl put it this way: “ Alpha Omega is just so different from any other place I have ever been. It’s like no matter who you are, where you’re from, or how different you might be, you can go there and have a home and family. Because you’re surrounded by love…love that’s stronger than any differences…love that’s real, because it comes from God.”
That is the best way to express what life at Alpha Omega is like, yet even that does not begin to cover how special it is. I cannot find better words to describe how much I love Alpha Omega or how strongly I support the ministry being done there, but I have always heard that actions speak louder than words anyway. If that’s true, than perhaps my actions can speak for my heart. By the time I left Alpha Omega this time, I knew it was no longer enough to merely keep visiting. Alpha Omega has become my home, and the people there my family. When I am there, I feel like I can serve God to the best of my ability, because I am surrounded by others whose goals are the same: glorifying the Lord and serving people. That is why I have decided to move to the home as soon as I can and stay for a long-term period. I fully and whole-heartedly embrace the mission of Alpha Omega and want to be a part of the vision shared by the others who live and work there.
I do not know exactly what the next several years will hold, but I have utter peace about my decision to live and work at Alpha Omega. The people in the home are proclaiming the gospel with their mouths and their lives, “being Jesus” to those around them and sharing their servants’ hearts. That is what true Christianity is about, and that is the kind of environment I want to be surrounded by. Life at Alpha Omega will certainly not always be easy; it will involve hard work and sacrifice. But it also involves living amidst a love unlike anything else I have ever known…a love that can only come from God. For that is what Alpha Omega is all about: sharing God’s love…with Americans, with Brazilians, with children, with mothers, with teenagers…with everyone.