Stories

Here’s a really great story from a someone who visited Hope Unlimited this past April. Enjoy!

After a long day of work at the graduate chapel, we drove over the City of Youth to have dinner with the boys. I was exhausted and worried I wouldn’t have any energy to socialize with the kids, especially in my broken Portuguese. But once we sat down for dinner, I connected immediately with one boy – Roner. Luckily for me, he knew a little English and spoke Portuguese very slowly so I could understand. I found an easy to way to start a conversation was to ask, “What is your favorite [insert anything a kid would like here]?”

So I asked him, “What is your favorite movie?” and he replied, “Cheechaneek.”

“Chee… cha… neek..?”

“Si. Cheechaneek!” (as if I should know this movie).

“Is it from Brazil?”

“No! It’s American!”

I was racking my brain. I’ve watched a lot of movies. I consider myself a bit of a movie buff. But Cheechaneek? What on earth could that be?

Again, I repeated the word to him, slowly, “Chee…cha…NEEK…?”

Then Roner said something quickly and I caught the Portuguese word for “house” as he motioned for me to stay where I was. In a few minutes, he was back from his dorm with a DVD in his hand. He passed it to me so I could see for myself what this mysterious Cheechaneek movie was…

“TITANIC?! Oh, of course I know Titanic!”

“Si! Cheechaneek!”

It was then that I remembered that in this area of Brazil, people pronounce the letter T with a CH sound. And like the Spanish language, the I is pronounced like EE. So Ti-tan-ic became Chee-chan-eek.

For both of us, it was a really funny moment and we got a good laugh out of it. But the experience also reminded me that despite the awful situations from which these kids were rescued, they are still individuals with likes and dislikes, passions, dreams, and hobbies. Some liked movies and others liked music (although it’s safe to say all the boys love soccer). And as I got to know them individually, I realized that they didn’t need or want my pity as I’d originally thought. They wanted someone to take interest in them. They needed to be listened to as they talked about their passions, and encouraged as they talked about their dreams.

Hope Unlimited does the hard part; they teach, clothe, feed, counsel, and parent these kids all year round. I didn’t know how I could add to that, especially in only a week’s time. But my time with Roner taught me that even a ten minute conversation can be valuable. Roner may not remember my name or what I look like, but I hope he remembers that a stranger got on a plane from America to Brazil to be his friend, listen to him talk about his favorite movie, and share a laugh together.

Here is a story from Rachel.

I was truly amazed at the joy the kids show even though they have been through the direst of circumstances. We have so much in worldly possessions here in the States. I know in my own house both my kids have an iPod touch, a DS, as well as a Wii & PS3. I’m sure we are not much different from most households in this area.

When we were in Brazil, we saw only 1 Playstation. It was shared by all 6 of the houses on campus, each house with about 12 children. Imagine just how little playtime each child gets under those circumstances.  We crave for more and more here in the US and even those considered “poor” often have many of the amenities mentioned above.  It is truly God’s love and grace that allows these children to feel and give so much love.  They have nothing, yet they are always ready to give.  In fact, they knew our family loves soccer and actually gave us a soccer figurine from their house.  It is so special to us.

I often have to remind myself that I don’t need all the things that are out there.  I try to think of these kids in those times and remember that He can supply our needs above and beyond what we think we want.