Projeto Betânia (Project Bethany)

Location
Recife, PE Brazil. Recife has become known as one of the worst cities in the world for child sex-trafficking and sexual tourism. There are an estimated 700,000 children in prostitution in Brazil and Recife has become the center of that problem. It is a part of the Northeastern Triangle, along with Fortaleza and Natal. On a visit in January, God really put an urgency in Nic’s heart for the city. We called the director of Meninas dos Olhos de Deus and asked why they didn’t have a rescue house in Recife yet, his reply, “because we’ve been waiting for you”.

Purpose
To rescue children in prostitution, abusive situations and from the streets. To provide a place of safety and recovery where these children will be surrounded by trained Christian men and women who will consistently speak love and destiny into their lives. To provide necessary services for recovery including counseling, nutritional guidance, medical care, education, adoption support and legal assistance. To restore broken families and assist in creating new ones. To help these children, not only survive, but to overcome and achieve the dreams that God has for them. To create an atmosphere saturated in the presence of God through 24-hour worship, prayer and art. To cultivate compassionate hearts and spiritual gifts within these children. To raise sons and daughters of the living God who are radical worshipers and who will preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead and reveal the heart of the Father.

Training
Our team, led by Nic and Rachael Billman and made up of American’s and Brazilians, will move from our current city in Curitiba, to the MCM Training Center in Goiania, a city in central Brazil. There we will take part in an intensive training program specifically for operating rescue houses for children in prostitution and abused children. The training begins on January 2nd and runs until May 15th. Training topics include counseling for sexual abuse, legal issues, education, drug rehabilitation, fund-raising and promotion. The training also includes one week a month in one of their rescue houses. After the training our team will move to Recife.

About Meninas dos Olhos de Deus
Meninas dos Olhos de Deus is a part of a larger international ministry called MCM. Meninas dos Olhos de Deus began when Dr. Jose, the director of MCM was in Nepal on a missions trip. He was walking by a trash dump in a local prostitution area and saw the body of a little girl in the trash. One of the Nepalese men said to him “oh yeah, she was probably a child prostitute, they just throw them away when they die.” His heart was both broken and motivated and Dr. Jose came back and met with pastor Silvio Silva and together they prayed and received vision from God to start Meninas dos Olhos de Deus, a rescue home specifically for girls in prostitution. In 2000 Pastor Silva and his family moved to Nepal to start the first home. Since then they have opened seven homes in Nepal including one for boys. Since they’ve been in Nepal the child-sex-trafficking problem in Brazil has grown immensely and they started a training center in Goiânia, Brazil to train and equip staff for rescue houses in Brazil. They now have nine houses in Brazil and will open about seven more in 2012, including ours. We are so honored and excited to be under their leadership and direction. Since God put it in our hearts to come to Brazil and work with those in sex-trafficking, we have prayed this prayer “God, we know what you want us to do, but we don’t know how to do it. Send someone to teach us.” He has done just that! God is such a good father, when we ask for bread he doesn’t give us a stone! For more information visit mcmpovos.com or
www.theappleofgodseyes.com.

Prevention
As we have spent this year on the streets of Brazil we have talked to hundreds of prostitutes and transvestites, mostly adults, and they all have a story. Almost all of them were physically, sexually or emotionally abused as children. Many of the transvestites were sexually abused by a man at a young age and that caused a switch in their mind to dress and act like a girl. We recently heard the story of a girl who was sexually abused by her step-father so she shaved her head and said “I’ll act like a boy so that a man won’t want to touch me anymore”. We’ve realized that if you just go to the streets there will never be an end to it, we see new people every night. There needs to be some kind of prevention. Meninas dos Olhos de Deus does not only rescue children in prostitution but also children who have been abused like this to love them and bring them to restoration before they ever go to the streets. To show them that what happened to them was wrong and not a reflection of their identity or value.

Opening The House
Before opening the house we will need to have a series of meetings and the be approved by the child services department in Recife. We will establish a partnership with the child services department and the local judge and authorities. We will also be advertising in local papers and with a billboard in the city for 6 months prior to opening to create excitement and support. We’ll visit and send information to local churches in Recife and we’ll deliver offering boxes, similar to UNICEF, to local businesses. When we’re ready to open the house we’ll have two inaugurations, the first for local pastors and church leaders to invite them to be a part of the opening. The second with the mayor, the judge, the district attorney, child services staff, business owners and the press. The second inauguration will be featured in the local newspaper. Once the house is open we will begin to receive children immediately.

How Do We Receive Children?
There are three ways by which we will be able to receive children. First, we can find them on the streets and invite them to come and stay at the house, if they decide to do so, within 24 hours we need to report that to child-services, but the child will be allowed to stay in the house. The second way is through child-services and the judge sending children to the house for our care. The third way is through local churches who know of children needing rescue.

Life at Projeto Betânia
One of the keys to rescue and restoration for abused children, children in prostitution or children from the streets is routine. Meninas dos Olhos de Deus’ houses are built around routine. Their weekly schedules include going to school, tutoring, chores like cleaning and cooking, arts, music, church, play, counseling, family time and devotions. The house will be run by “social parents”, in our case that will be two of our Brazilian staff members. They will live at the house and will be involved with all phases of the children’s lives. Unlike an orphanage or a rehab with constant rotating staff, it will be a home with a family structure. Nic and Rachael Billman will live in a separate house but will serve as the “ministry parents” and will be very involved in the lives of the children and their daily routine. We will also have staff on a daily schedule to come and serve at the house in various roles. As we’ve mentioned, worship and prayer will be a big part of our house and where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Family Restoration and Adoption
For the children that came from broken families our desire is to bring restoration not just for the child but also the family with the ultimate goal being total family restoration. However, there will be situations where that is not possible and we will work with local authorities to find good families to adopt the children. Unfortunately in Brazil adoption is a lengthy and difficult process, but we will be working with Meninas dos Olhos de Deus to better that process. Regardless of the circumstances our desire is to have a true family atmosphere within the house so that the children have a family experience and realize their value own value and the value of family.

How Can You Help?
The biggest need for help that we have right now is in the area of partnerships and finances. We will be raising funds for the cost of our team training, staff support, promotion, printing costs, beds, furniture, medical, psychological and nutritional expenses plus the cost house itself. We are raising funds within Brazil but this is a big vision and we need help. Pray and consider becoming a monthly partner or making a one-time donation to help us fulfill this vision with excellence. If you live in Recife you might consider volunteering your time and helping us at the house.