The Brazil feeding program began in the mid-70’s with our brother, Alan Lindsey. Alan bought us a commercial size stove in order to cook hot meals for the desperately poor who live near the mission. Families from the hills of Santa Barbara began to receive a hot meal of rice, beans, meat, vegetable, and freshly baked bread. Each family in our feeding program is interviewed by the mission administrator. A voucher for the number of people in the family is issued. In other words, people cannot just “show up” for food. They are carefully confirmed to participate in the feeding program based on need, employment, and the number of children in the family.
Silvana is our cook for the mission feeding program. She has been with us for six years. Each morning (Monday through Friday) she begins cooking at 9:00 a.m. Andrea, her assistant, also begins making fresh bread every day at 9:00 a.m. Once Andrea is done making the bread she helps Silvana prepare the food. The commercial bakery equipment was purchased by Pastor Glenn Ray and a team of Americans in October of 2007.
The mission church pastor, Pastor Alanir ministers to the people of the feeding program several days a week before they pick up their food.
At 11:30 a.m. we open the front gate to the mission and the people begin to come in and line up to be served. We prepare the meals in carry-out containers. We serve approximately 2,400 meals per month.
New changes in our feeding program at the mission include more vegetables, white rice replaced with brown rice and more black beans. We will continue to improve this program as the Lord gives us grace and wisdom to do so. With these new changes we can now begin to feed more hungry families. As we open our doors to the hungry we are able to have one-on-one contact with them, meeting their physical needs, opening their hearts to receive the message of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 72:12
He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.