by Beijamim Junior

childrenJPJOÃO PESSOA, Brazil (BNc) — Forty-eight hours is a short time for so many things to happen, but time enough to make an impact on the lives of 40 children.

On Nov. 13-14, we had the pleasure here in Joao Pessoa to receive some of the children who participate in the Right Step Project in the city of Cajazeiras, Paraiba state (plus 10 adults, some of which were parents).

So many fun moments and new discoveries!

For most of those children, it was the first time that they had left their hometown in the interior, to discover a new world, far from poverty, bad treatment, indifference and the lack of love.

A walk through the shopping mall, something so common to most, was an enchanting experience for someone who lives the reality of the slums.

To see, for the first time, the ocean (so familiar to us) can be the most fantastic sensation in the life of someone who can’t clearly see God in the midst of so many difficulties. It was an experience capable of making tears of joy roll down a child’s face, in expressions of happiness and thankfulness for living such a special moment in their childhood.

It hasn’t been soccer that has attracted these children to us, nor the activities, though these have a fundamental role in the active structure of the project. These are just a bridge that connect us to these kids’ hearts.

The true motivating agent for these children is the hope that, by having God in their lives, they can contemplate a better future. This happiness is what they share with people that love them.

These children’s reality has changed with the help of the project and those involved, but certainly, with a knowledge of the Word and the transformation bestowed by the God’s love, their life stories can also be rewritten.

Beijamim Junior and his wife Katia were converted in João Pessoa and today work full-time with the church.

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