How do you choose who gets fed and who doesn’t?

It’s not a theoretical question, it is very real.

In Ubaúna we have 123 kids who have been sponsored through the Seed of Hope program. Through the support of $30 per month by Americans, they get a meal a day, clothing, rudimentary medical attention and help with their education. The average family income is $60 per month; the average number of people per household is eight.

You do the math.

We have another sixty-seven kids who we’ve registered into our program but for whom we don’t have sponsors. We have an additional 100 “pre-registered” but cannot even consider getting their hopes up that we will have sponsors in the near future.

I had the task of looking several mothers in the eye and telling them that I was sorry but I couldn’t help them. There are hundreds more.

Again, this is just in Ubaúna.

In Tianguá, we’ve been given an incredible opportunity to plant a church and serve the children in a section of town that is rampant with prostitution and drug addiction, especially crack. Riding through the streets we were overwhelmed by the number of young teenagers who were pregnant, the open display of drug dealing on the corners and children younger than 10 years old strung out on crack.

We’ve been asked to help ten kids from two families who are in immediate danger. Both mothers are prostitutes and crackheads; neither is older than 18. Both want what Jesus offers; both are unable to break free.

On this one I couldn’t say no. These kids will be taken care of even if it has to come out of my pockets.

Life in this particular fast lane gets real ugly real fast…