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.