Jake Hosier

Mama B, thank you so much!  Letha Sines, you are wonderful!

I received two real packages since arriving here in Brazil and wanted to talk about them, mostly because they have made me happier than almost anything else.  Last week I received a care package from Trish Brunkhart, my adopted mother in Kentucky.  Mama B sent over all the essentials, including popcorn(thank God!), crayons and paper for the kids, and some really awesome small notebooks.  She also sent glue, which we gave to the moms, as the kids here like to sniff glue :(  Check out the photo album called I Love Mail to see pics of all this.

The Dirt family received the crayons and paper and promptly put them to good use.  I included some pictures of them drawing and stuff.

Letha Sines, my previous supervisor and a wonderful friend, sent me a wonderful card as well as a Hoops and YoYo t-shirt.  If you are not familiar with Hoops and YoYo, check them out at www.hallmark.com under the cards section.  They are really funny and can provide an hours worth of entertainment.  Thank you Letha!

I’m back in Sao Paulo now and should be able to write some more over the next week.

Deus te abencoe,

Jake

A few days ago I was on the phone with a good friend who happens to be in Mozambique right now. We were chatting about life here and life there, the various challenges we are both facing, and how God is working in the midst of everything. I was talking a lot about some of the problems I have run into here in Brazil, the seemingly insurmountable conflicts and tensions that have bogged down our work for so long. She reminded me of something that I so easily forget, “God doesn’t focus on our problems, He calls out life, He looks at us for who we really are and interacts with us in that way.” Romans 9:14 describes God as the one who gives life to the dead and brings something out of nothing.

Allow me to be honest for a moment. We have faced some extraordinary difficulties here. During the last few years we have had enough bricks and building supplies stolen from us to build at least one, if not two, complete houses. We have endured more gossip and slander than one would imagine as being possible. We are constantly forced to be on the defensive, wondering if someone is telling us the truth or a lie. We have had organizations volunteer to help only to stop after spending a day in Jaragua. Every day we seem to be met with a new challenge, a new obstacle, a new reason to give up. It is so easy to become overwhelmed, to wonder why we keep going. Even our friends and family have brought discouragement, wondering why we waste our weekends with poor people who steal from us and treat us like garbage. Team members have been attacked personally, coming under intense feelings of depression and internal strife. Our relationships with each other and with God have been challenged. And yet we continue. We press forward. We tenaciously pursue the goal of loving this community into change, believing that now is the time to be strong, the time to try, the time to keep going.

The reason I have hope is this–when it looks impossible I know that God will move. He is the one who brings something out of nothing, who looks at the chaos we are in and brings it to life. I once read the following quote about God’s love: “My love does not deny reality and the messiness of situations but it does call forth truth within them. My love propels the beauty inside to the surface.” We are learning to love like God, to keep going despite opposition. We can do this because there is hope, there is beauty here in Jaragua, there is life, and it just needs to be brought to the surface.

I am so grateful that we do not have to deny the reality of this messy situation. I don’t have to pretend it is all ok, to act like everything is going just fine. Jesus allows us to acknowledge reality, to be brutally honest about where we are and what is going on. He allows this because there are, I believe, two layers of truth that are operating at once. The first layer is purely practical, and it is here where we meet the most difficulty. This is where we must admit that we do not have enough money, that many of these people will probably never change, that everything we do may not make a difference at all, and that, despite our best efforts, we will be scorned, mocked, slandered, and stolen from. And yet there is another layer of truth, another reality. It says that these children deserve a better life, it says that they are beautiful and full of life, that they can and will change, that what we are doing has an eternal impact, and that God will always provide.

One of my favorite things about God is this–He lets me be honest. I don’t have to hide from Him. I don’t have to gloss over the issues, to pretend like there are no problems. I can say exactly how I’m feeling and acknowledge exactly how reality appears. And I know that in the end His love will draw beauty from ashes, joy from mourning, and life from death.

We will not give up.

-Jake

P.S. If you would like to know how to support our work please let me know. I am always looking for new partners! I would also ask that you pray for our team. We need to experience the peace of Jesus during these difficult times, as it is only in Him that we have strength to love.

As I was walking the other day I remembered the following quote from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: “‘And doubtless the good stone-work is the older and was wrought in the first building,’ said Gimli. ‘It is ever so with the things that Men begin: there is a frost in Spring, or a blight in Summer, and they fail of their promise.’ Yet seldom do they fail of their seed,’ said Legolas. ‘And that will lie in the dust and rot to spring up again in times and places unlooked-for. The deeds of Men will outlast us…”

I walked past a park in Bauru and noted its incredible state of disrepair. The benches had fallen over, the grass was dead, the concrete cracked and broken. No children played there. “It wasn’t planned like this,” I thought, “No one builds a park with the hope that it will become ugly and broken.” How did this happen, I asked? Why didn’t someone do something, why was nothing here maintained? When I drive in Sao Paulo I think the same thing–I have never seen so many ugly patches on pavement as in this city. The best roads in Sao Paulo were build ages ago, by the Portuguese…since then everything has been makeshift, an improvised attempt to get by.

I’ve been pondering this situation for a long time, reflecting on everything I see and also thinking about Tolkien’s quote. It does seem to be true, doesn’t it, that things don’t work as we had planned. This truth applies to every aspect of our lives, from the cities we construct to the relationships we build. They begin full of promise, ripe with vision, but then, as Tolkien writes, “there is a frost in Spring , or a blight in Summer, and they fail of their promise.” Our lofty visions degrade into the mundane, our beautiful parks turn into garbage dumps, our most majestic cathedrals stand empty and in disrepair, our friendships often end in bitterness, our marriages in divorce.

In the completion of Tolkien’s quote I find a description of my experience, the expression of my hope, and a reflection of my best friend. Hope springs unlooked for, in the most unlikely of places. I find the most generous people living in favelas, people willing to give out of their lack and their need. I’ve been completely overwhelmed by the gifts I’ve been given by the poorest families here. My hope in a better future is expressed as well; I believe with all my heart that a better world can be built, that we can reverse this decay and create beauty in its place. And finally I see the reflection of Jesus, my best friend and the only one I want to serve. He is the embodiment of hope, the living God who came in a time and place unlooked for, the bright Sun who arose to heal the world. I see in Him the future I desire; the life He lived and continues to live is one of unceasing service, never ending love and grace.

In Him I find hope and the strength to carry on. His word teaches that He will come and live in us, joining himself with us if we so desire. This is the foundation of my faith–the Healer continues to live and to heal through me, so long as I grant him permission. This is why I believe that hope continues to often spring up unlooked for, Jesus continues to reveal himself among the lost and the poor, to shine his light among the darkest night.

Jesus embodied a life that was not lived in vain–his dreams did not end in failure, his beauty did not turn vile. I have been asking myself over and over how he managed this–after all, is it not our nature to decay, does it not seem that all beauty fades and withers away? I believe that part of the answer is found in John 10:30, when Jesus states “I and the Father are one.” I am not a theologian, I don’t understand the intricacies of the trinity or the subtleties of Greek. From this passage I gain a simple truth–Jesus had fully surrendered his life on earth to God, he was a vessel through which the divine poured, or a reflection of the image of God. Our greatest hope lies in emulating Jesus, in asking him to mold us into his image, in allowing the divine to live through us. As we do this we bring the kingdom of heaven to earth, we build it brick by brick, shaping a different, a better, world.

I started this entry with the phrase “It is not supposed to be this way…” The very fact that it rings so true in our hearts reveals our need for a different kingdom, our innate knowledge that there is a better way, a higher road. As we lean on Jesus and ask him to live through us his kingdom becomes reality around us, we ourselves are transformed into the hope we would look for, the change we desire to see.

The key is maintenance. Just as the roads need to be repaved and the potholes fixed, just as the trash needs to be cleaned and the grass in the park watered, our relationship with God must be nurtured, we must daily ask for him to come and live in us. Without a daily pursuit, without the conscious effort to draw near to him, we will fade, our dreams will wither, and our promise will fail. But when we turn our lives to him, when he becomes the life we live, then hope will spring up in places unlooked for, light will shine in the darkness, and we will finally say, “This is the way it is supposed to be.”

For those of you who have never heard about Iris Ministries(http://www.irismin.org/), go to the website and check them out. Iris is an amazing organization that operates out of Mozambique, Africa, caring for orphans and establishing churches. Several of my best friends are in Mozambique right now working with them.

Iris has a partner ministry here in Sao Paulo and I had the chance to visit the base yesterday with Joao. We met with Pastor Dirceo, who led us around the favela in which they work and introduced us to some families. Iris is doing some of the exact same work we would like to do in Bauru–it was great to see a working example! They have a small community center that is mostly a kitchen. They serve soup every day to about 200 kids in the neighborhood, and also hold services. I was so blessed by Pastor Dirceo’s heart–I look forward to going back and visiting again. It brings such joy to meet with others who have the same heart, who want to see change and are actively working to bring it about. It always strikes me how easy it can be to connect with some people, to feel like you share a heart, even when you barely know them…

I know that a lot of people have been wondering about the progress of the Community Center, and here is the best update on the situation I can give.

We need some prayer!! I am faced with several different options for a building and am having a difficult time deciding where to go from here. Part of the reason I came back to Sao Paulo was to take some time off to pray and think. I don’t want to go into too much detail about the problems we are facing, but will simply say that I need a lot of guidance and assistance from the Father.

I expect to come to a decision within the next week and will write as soon as I do…Thanks for praying!

Sorry about the long wait for this update–so much has happened that I am not sure where to start.

Last week I stayed in Bauru with my friend Cleber’s family. His mother is an absolute saint and took great care of me. During the day I would get up, walk to the Dirt Family’s house, and then start to work. [A brief explanation is probably in order regarding the Dirt Family. When we first came to Brazil 3 years ago we met this kid who loved to roll around in the dirt, so we promptly nicknamed him Dirt Boy. It turned out that his brother also liked to roll in the dirt, so we named him Older Dirt Boy. Well, imagine our suprise when we learned that there was a whole Dirt Family--Marilza, the mom(widowed), and her 7 children(2 girls and 5 boys)!! For the last few years we have affectionately referred to them all as the Dirts!]

So during the day I worked on building the Dirt’s new house–a duplex that Marilza will share with her sister’s family. A wonderful man named Marcello doing the construction and the whole family has been helping. Make sure to check out the photos to see the house being built. A few things should be mentioned about this house and also Brazilian construction methods. 1)We are building this house because the Dirts do not currently have a house. A few years ago the father was killed and since then Marilza has struggled to take care of her children. She lived for a while in a house with some relatives and now lives in a small shack with her family. She is a very hard worker and makes a living doing odd jobs, recycling, and also making handicrafts. This construction project has been going on for over a year now and it is exciting to see it picking up some steam. 2)Brazilians build everything out of bricks, because lumber is very expensive here. I love watching Marcello level a wall with a weight and make sure the walls are straight by tying some string to 2 bricks and eyeballing the line! It is absolutely insane, but it works.

It is great to see the whole family helping build, from the youngest ones carrying in bricks to myself and the mom mixing cement and helping Marcello. Marcello, by the way, is a father of 3 great girls and is currently living with some relatives. In exchange for him building this house we have agreed to purchase the materials for his new house that he would like to build. It is a really good trade for us and for him.

My portuguese has improved dramatically, mostly thanks to Cleber’s mom’s constant chatting. Her husband says that the reason I go to bed so early is that her talking gives me a headache!! I actually love it, she is so patient and helps me a lot with conjugation.

I left Bauru last weekend and am now relaxing a bit in Sao Paulo, spending time with Joao and Christian and trying to sort out the next steps for our work here.

A few random notes–1) I received a care package from Trish Brunkhart, a great friend and second mom to me from Kentucky. Thanks Trish!!! 2) I have had a random craving for Skittles since I came to Brazil–random because I rarely ate skittles in the States. I found them at the movie theatre, but not in any stores. Needless to say I’m pressuring Joao to take me to the movies again! 3) Portuguese joke of the day–I recently asked a waitress for Suice…I though Juice in my head, but it started to come out like Succo, and got a little mangled along the way…

More soon…

Jake

P.S. The kids are all doing great…they really miss the team and constantly ask where their other Tios are…it is amazing to see what an impact the team made in such a short time here.

So I´m in Bauru, the town where I plan on staying for most of my trip. Right now I am at my friend christian´s house but tonight i will go to stay with my friend cleber´s family. Cleber is in another city in brazil, but his mom has offered to let me stay at her house–joao and christian and san will be gone tomorrow so this will be my first real immersion experience. Pray for me!

I thought i should share some of my funniest moments with portuguese so far. Last night we were at church and everything was going very well. we sang some worships songs and i understand them all. one song had me very confused though. it went “i believe that jesus is savior”, followed by this confusing line “eu acredito que ele se fez carne.” Now keep in mind that I have not had much experience with relfexive verbs, so I interepreted this line to mean “I believe that he makes meat” I turned to christian, exteremely confused, and when i explained my confusion he laughed so hard I didn´t think i would be able to get him to tell me what it actually said. He finally managed to say “No no no, its reflexive–he made himself into flesh”…well, after church when I explained to the pastor that i thought Jesus had opened up his own BBQ shop we all had a good laugh!

At that same dinner last night I tried to explain that i was having a problem with my flight, my voo, and that is why i needed to return home a little earlier than i had planned. i was pretty confused at to why the pastor´s wife was questioning me about my grandma, did i live with her, was she sick, etc, until i realized that i had said i was having a problem with my avoo, not my voo, and had to promptly stop her questioning while i tried to act out an airplane until she understood!

Here is my last portuguese story of the day - We had a great meeting this morning with Luiz, Dona Madelena, Sucorro, and Sonia. We discussed our ideas for the community center and i think we have their complete support. Everyone got really excited thinking about the various things they could do to make money and make the center self-sufficient. It really feels like our dreams are becoming reality. After the meeting I was showing Luiz the empty land near the building where we could build an additional bathroom and kitchen. I said that i thought it looked like a perfect place for our coxinha–he looked at me a little confused and then said “no no, cozinha…hahahahahahaah….hahahahah…” A coxinha, you see, is a small snack made from potato and chicken!!

I hope everyone back in the states and the rest of the world is doing well. I will write more when i can.

Deus te abencoe,

Jake

P.S. For those of you who remember Miyoko, suffice it to say that i feel like miyoko every day down here!!

So today is the 4th of July…it just doesn’t mean the same thing down here in Sao Paulo!! I’m sitting in Sandreia and Joao’s apartment catching up on emails and getting settled. I’m about to start some Portuguese study and definitely need to take a shower, but I thought I would write a quick post first.

Last night I watched the Fantastic 4 with Joao and Christian. The movie was ok, but a little lame I thought. The experience was so surreal–it felt just like America. We were in a really nice movie theater, eating popcorn and drinking coke watching an American movie…only the Portuguese subtitles let me know I was in Brazil and not the U.S.!

Today for the 4th I am going to make a carrot cake(special request of Joao) and then we will all go bowling tonight. Its not how I normally celebrate the holiday, but why not, right?

I miss my family right now, because its Cody and Collin’s birthday week!! Cody’s birthday was the 1st and Collin’s the 5th. Happy Birthday guys!! I wish i could be there with you.

I wanted to jot down a few things I’ve been thinking about lately

1) Tea–for those of you who know about my obsession with tea, namely the fact that I only like to drink one brand of tea and that prefer to make it a certain way, this trip is really changing all that! Brazilians do not drink black tea. Period. That’s not to say they don’t drink tea–they do–apple tea, mint tea, green tea, herb tea, strawberry tea, chamomile tea, lavendar tea, native herb tea, and all sorts of other teas. Just no black tea. You should see the looks of confusion when I try to ask for a black tea with milk at a restaurant!! I have perfected the system though…first you ask if they have black tea. If they do have black tea, you order black tea. Then you say, “Could you please make me a little tiny cup of hot milk”..they will still look confused, but at least they’ll do it. Never try to order tea with milk…that does not exist here. You may end up with a hot cup of condensed milk and a tea bag, or some cold regular milk and a tea bag, or some strange combination of the tea. Remember–’Cha preto, com um poco de leite quiente tambem”…

2) Language practice–Portuguese is coming along. A few days ago I purchased a children’s bible. I was hoping that my familiarity with the storyline would help me understand what was going on–that is only mildly accurate!! I’ve got a new notebook to write down words I don’t know and am trying to figure out conjugation. Thank God I took some Spanish and Latin, or I would be really hurting. A side note - the conversational interjections and non-word sounds, ‘I.E. “uh-huh”, “hmm”, etc.” are different here. I’m trying to perfect the use of the words ‘ta’ and ‘ne’ in conversation, but it is taking a while!

3) Sao Paulo is too big! Cities were never meant to hold 20 million people. That is simply too many people in one place. Driving around this place is a nightmare. (Although I did drive the team around most of the week and didn’t get into a single accident, or anger a single motorcyclist, quite the feat!) I’ve determined that I never want to live in a city this big. It just isn’t natural…

Ok, that’s enough for now. Happy 4th everyone and I’ll write soon.

Now this is a random post, but I had to write about something that just happened…two of the girls on my team, Moriah and Courtney, gave me my going away present. Somehow they new about my love for Shakira (which was somehow confused with a love for Hillary Duff) and they gave me both a Hillary Duff CD and a Shakira CD as a going away present!! This may not be what you would consider a great going away present, but man, I was starting to miss Shakira and had left my cd in the states, so this was perfect. I’m also really touched by their thoughtfulness–these two girls are so cool!