On June 20 a team of Bethlehem members and friends traveled to Sao Paolo, Brazil to help families fulfill their dream of having a home with running water and electricity. As they live out God's call to "serve with the strength God provides" (1 Peter 4) and to put our faith into action, we ask for your prayers for the families and the Bethlehem team.
 

[img_assist|nid=311958|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]Exhilarated by our reception by the families on Saturday afternoon, we forgot all about our 30 hours with little sleep as we met the future homeowners, listened to their stories and heard about their hope for new and better homes. 32 new homes, each with about 450 sq. ft, will stand on what was once a garbage dump, surrounding a small playground and space for community to gather with their neighbors. We were greeted by the president of the Habitat council, the director of the project and several family members who expressed their gratitude for our being here to help build their homes. They had prepared special food for us and shared openly about their lives and dreams for their children.

At devotions we talked about giving then shared a word or phrase that captured our sense of the spirit of the day and of the families, and the relationships we're building. Some of the words were joy, hope, change, amazement at the conditions people have to live in, testament to the human spirit, didn't know context of situation of such poverty, embarrassed by how much we have, blessed in my life.

More to follow.