If you were wondering…
if you wanted to know…
here are some basic numbers about Living Stones/PETI
these are based on 100 kids, and these are monthly expenses.
At the moment, the government is paying for 3 workers, energy/water/gas, and food. anything and everything else is up to the workers. the workers receive minimum wage, which is about $240USD (a month).
Workers: $760
Energy/Water/Gas: $300
Food: $1200
It is our dream to also have a PROGRAM. sitting down with Patricia and Cacau and dreaming…this is what we would LOVE to have:
Basic supplies (paper, pens, paint…xerox copies for coloring/activities…games) $150
Monthly theme (hygene, recycling, literature…) $150
Family assistance (food emergencies, medical emergencies, clothing/sandal assistance) $150
bascially, $450 a month could put together a really good program for the kids.
That breaks down to about a dollar a day a kid. wow.
i can’t decide if i am suprised at how low that is, or at how IMPOSSIBLE it feels when i am standing there at the door of the church, giving hugs and sending the kids out to the streets with empty stomachs.
We joke about the solution being to win the lottery.
I met a boy yesterday. an older boy…13? 14?
What was different about this boy?
he was still a boy.
most of the boys get so old–much older than me–by this time, after living on the streets. after struggling to receive their next meal. after so many years of NOT knowing. not having anything for sure–down to where he’d sleep that night. it grows you old.
But i looked into his face and it was clear. open. innocent.
He still had that look that made me happy and sad and longing and scared all at once.
Happy because he was a picture of the world as it should be.
Sad because so much isn’t as it should be.
Longing because everything beautiful makes me ache for my true home, and
Scared because we are so fragile and i cannot protect him. i can’t shelter him…and one day he will be broken.
but today i met a boy who was still a boy.
and i forgot his name.
We will be eating and my friend tells me that she grew up sleeping in a hammock. she can remember the first bed she got–a roll up pad. Her sister lived with her aunt until she was nine, because there were too many mouths to feed.
Another friend is washing dishes with me and tells me how she grew up helping her mom wash clothes. they bundled them up in a sheet and balanced them on their heads as they walked to the river. they beat the clothes out on the rocks until they were clean. the wet clothes were so heavy to carry back.
I sat on the couch while one friend recounted how her dad had left, and she, her mom, an brother made $90USD a month. And they never once went hungry. God provided every day for a year, when her dad returned.
i spend a lot of time just listening in Brasil. Because there is so much to hear.
This week was a lot of ups and downs. and the downs were so very low and the highs were so very high…please do keep Living Stones/Peti in your prayers. The director and the coordinator were fired and so all the money and food assistance is tied up until they have new people in those positions. which trickles down to mean that while the government tries to sort out various corrupt issues, the children suffer. And please pray that these positions are filled by people who actually care about the children, and would do their job well.
At the moment, until the end of next week, the children have food. but after that…no one really knows. Each day is a new day.
Things looked bad this week. very bad. Monday, Patricia’s dog got stolen…the family dog. Then there was no more food for the kids. Tuesday Aninha, and many others were fired from their jobs in the local government office. Wednesday I felt sick to my stomach to send the kids out to the street without any lunch. I know this happens alot…but it had never happened when i was there. i wasn’t ever…a part of the experience of not having.
I went to the Alcance to use the internet and post prayer requests on Xanga. life is too big to live alone. I was so tired. of it.
immediate response.
A friend asked “how much is it to provide food for those kids for a week?”
goosebumps. because i had just sat down with Patricia and Cacau and written down all the expenses. so i knew the answer. that doesn’t happen often. So i quickly sent the data and they said “Because i have been praying about where to give an offering, but wasn’t sure where the need was. And this is it.”
What? And Tele just happened…happened to be changing money and cashing checks in Recife right them. a quick phone call and the money was ready that night. wow.
I went back home (for it is home now) and told my friends the beautiful story…while they told me that Aninha had been called back to her job (with a major pay cut) because so many people had complained. We sat back and smiled at life and Junior said “I guess it is a sad show of faith to be so surprised.” And i said it was more of just being overwhelmed with the beauty of how God does things. We barely had time to pray when it was answered. oh–and Patricia’s dog was returned. unhurt.
Thursday morning i arrived at Living Stones with enough money for food for a week. I told the God story and the janitor/cook/everything else took some of the money and ran to the store. 20 minutes later all the kids were sitting down to a simple snack of crackers and chocolate milk. before we prayed, Patricia spoke to the kids: “You know how this week has been so low in our spirits and no food and hard on everyone? God has seen us, and seen our empty bellies and has provided us with this food–let us thank Him for it! and tomorrow, we will have a full, delicious lunch for everyone–so make sure to tell everyone who is missing to come.”
and oh the cheers of the kids! and oh, the sacred prayer of simplicity of thanking God for the food. For there wasn’t any, and then there was. A more spiritual, deeper, truer sermon i have never heard than those few words and short prayer.
miracles, beautiful miracles.
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So many things. Only emphasizing what I already am learning…that nothing is sound. Everything seems to be falling down or falling apart. Yesterday, I was playing Uno with the boys when Cacau dismissed everyone early. We all knew what that meant—there was no food, and so the kids were on their own to try to find lunch. Talking with Cacau, I found out that some of the food was available, there just wasn’t any transportation to get it from the middle of the city to where we were. She was calling and trying her best to get that delivered. But the rest of it—who knows when it will come. Apparently, the man who brings the meat, fruit and vegetables hasn’t been paid by the government in 3 months. He’s been bringing it until now “on the bill,” but can’t anymore—he himself doesn’t have the resources. And so here we are. Stuck.
This is something that the poor of Brasil know very well—that nothing is sound. Getting a job—you never know. Keeping a job—you never know. Getting paid for your job—you never know. Down to these children, who have nothing, coming and getting a meal—you never know when the next day you might not. And yet they take it so well—so much better than me. I was a little upset, wondering if they were really doing enough—because shouldn’t we give all we can to make sure these kids are fed? We are the last stop—the buck stops here. There is no one else to give them food.
Have I forgotten God? The God who notes when one sparrow falls? He sees this, He knows. God come near.
Today Aninha lost her job. Apparently, the local government has called everyone off work, told everyone to go home, and they are only going to call back to work a few people. Round one completed—Aninha lost her job. Round two—might include the PETI program. And for how many rounds? The coordinator of PETI has already been fired. Patricia and Cacau don’t know what will happen tomorrow.
Please pray for us.
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