WHAT A GREAT PARTY!

Yesterday (May 20th), I participated in the annual luncheon promoted by SVS - Seniors Volunteers Service, an organization I work for as a volunteer. I want to share some information about this organization with you all, because I felt so moved yesterday listening to the accomplishments of SVS, and to some very touching testimonies that managed to bring tears to so many eyes. Some statistics presented were very scary; for example, 15,000 school-age children in Broward face the situation that one of his/her parent is presently incarcerated. Also, it may further encourage us, the volunteers of BM, to keep our hard work to the benefit of so many families and individuals.

SVS has several wonderful programs, and counted on the help of 1,004 volunteers last year. Their key programs are:

• Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) --- under this program, SVS matches the interest of volunteers with nonprofit organizations seeking assistance. Last year, 698 volunteers provided 79,640 hours of service working with 70 organizations;
• Foster Grandparent Program --- volunteers provide support and service to children and youth with special needs in a variety of settings (tutoring, mentoring, nurturing, and such). 205 Volunteers contributed with nearly 145,000 hours working with 3,690 children last year.  
• Dropout Prevention Program ---  volunteers from the Foster Grandparent Program (above) help children in danger of academic failure in elementary and middle schools.
• Senior Companion Program --- Volunteers provide in-home, supportive, individualized services to home bound, frail elderly and adults with disabilities. Volunteers help their clients maintain their dignity and independence. Last year, 101 volunteers helped 473 elderly and home bound adults, involving 78,067 hours of work.
• Respite for Caregivers --- a program that provides in-home respite by senior companions to relieve caregivers of older adults.
• Executive Senior Corps of Broward -- a program that utilizes retired executives to help nonprofit organizations improve its effectiveness and efficiency.

SVS is not a religious type organization, and its budget is not as big as you might think. However, a limited number of born-to-help employees make all this happen. 

Thank God, for SVS and many other organizations of this type that are there to work on the first and most important of the Divine's Laws.

Gilberto
May 21th, 2011

A LIÇÃO DO FOGO

Um homem, que assiduamente comparecia às reuniões de um grupo de estudos, sem comunicar a ninguém, deixou de participar das atividades coletivas.

Depois de algumas semanas, um integrante desse grupo decidiu visitá-lo.

Era uma noite muito fria.

O visitante foi encontrá-lo em casa. E o achou sozinho e  sentado diante da lareira.  Onde o fogo estava brilhante e acolhedor.

Adivinhando o motivo da vinda do visitante que chegara, o dono da casa lhe deu as boas vindas,  e aproximando-se da lareira lhe ofereceu uma cadeira grande em frente ao fogo e ficou quieto, esperando.

Os dois homens somente admiravam a dança das chamas em volta dos troncos de lenha que queimavam.

Depois de alguns minutos,  o visitante examinou as brasas que se formaram e cuidadosamente escolheu uma delas.  A mais incandescente de todas.    

E afastou-a para longe do fogo.

Sentando-se novamente o visitante permaneceu silencioso e imóvel.

O anfitrião prestava atenção a tudo, fascinado e quieto.

Dentro de pouco tempo, a chama da brasa solitaria diminuiu, até que após um brilho momentâneo, seu fogo se apagou em um instante.

Em pouco tempo, o que antes era uma festa de calor e luz, agora não passava de um preto, frio

e morto pedaço de carvão recoberto de espessa camada de cinza.

Nenhuma palavra tinha sido pronunciada desde a protocolar saudação inicial entre os dois amigos.

Levantando-se  para ir embora,  o visitante movimentou de novo o pedaço de carvão já apagado, frio e inútil, recolocando-o no meio do fogo.                                             

Imediatamente o pedaço de carvão incendiou-se na chama alimentada pela luz e o calor das labaredas dos outros carvões em brasa ao redor dele.

Quando o visitante se aproximou da porta para ir-se embora, seu anfitrião lhe disse:

Obrigado pela sua visita e pelo belíssimo e silencioso sermão...                                                                                                      

Retornarei ao grupo de estudos que muito bem me fez.

Reflexão:

Aos membros de um grupo vale lembrar-lhes  que eles fazem parte da “chama” do grupo

e que longe dela perdem todo seu brilho.

Aos amigos de um grupo vale a pena sempre lembrar-lhes que eles também são responsáveis por manter acesa a chama da amizade entre cada um dos seus membros e de promover a união entre todos eles, para que o fogo seja sempre realmente forte, eficaz e duradouro.

(Autor não identificado)

EL EVANGELIO EN EL HOGAR

¿Que haces para proteger tu casa contra los ladrones? y contra los huracanes se vives en Florida?
¿Y lo que haces para proteger tu casa, principalmente a tus entes queridos que ahí viven contigo, contra las vibraciones negativas y las malas influencias espirituales?

El último domingo, en el Centro Bezerra de Menezes-Miami, hablamos al respecto de la importancia e de los beneficios del culto del evangelio en el hogar. Empezamos por recordar a todos que el primero Evangelio en el Hogar (EEH) fue implantado en la casa de Pedro por nuestro Maestro Jesús. Es decir que tal práctica no fue inventada por los hombres, pues que si vino de Jesús, entonces hay que tratarse de un acto divino. Jesús aprovecho la oportunidad para también hablar de la importancia del hogar en el desarrollo moral de los hombres, pues que es en el hogar donde se encuentra la escuela más importante para la felicidad de la humanidad. En hogar se enseña y se desarrolla las virtudes superiores, tales como el amor, la caridad, la compasión, la humildad, la solidaridad, la fe, la esperanza, y otras de igual importancia. 

El culto del EEH establece una fuerte conexión del hogar con los espíritus amigos, los cuales se quedan siempre en el aguardo de una oportunidad de ayudarnos. O sea, que nos pongamos en sintonía con la frecuencia vibratoria de las fuentes sublimes de donde recibimos las energías que necesitamos para nuestro equilibrio emocional, además de inspiraciones que nos van a servir de guía en nuestros desafíos diarios. 

Que la paz de Jesús este con nosotros siempre.
16 Mayo 2011

CAMP ERIN - BEREAVEMENT WEEK-END

Hello friends,
It is Monday, 5/2/11. This last weekend (Friday/Sunday) I spent two and half days in Camp Erin, Homestead, FL, where about 50 kids from the Miami Dade area were offered a free program designed to help them overcome the pain of having lost someone they loved. Some have lost a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, or others in the family that they miss. The age of the kids ranged from 6 to 17 years old. This is fully packed program where the kids are able to express their feelings in several different ways, while also enjoying sports and other recreational activities. I was the "Big Buddy" of 3 kids, 11 years-old (two other kids of my group did not show up).  
All those kids have something in commom: they have lost someone, and for most of them it is very diffilcult to talk about that without getting emotional. Some cases involve suicides and homicides. Some of the kids will eventually overcome grieving, and some will have difficulties to do it because of the circumnstances of the loss (may have been traumatic to them, like suicide).

One theme well explored in the program is our "connectedness", in the sense that we are all connected, even with those that are no longer living with us, and that we will meet our loved ones again one day. It is interesting to notice that when men come accross some situations they can't possibly handle they revert to God and surrender the issues on His hands. That is the case of "life" -- men and science have no definite control over it.  But it also happens in many other cases; for exemple, with substance addicted people (alchool and other drugs). Their lives come to a point where they have to surrender themselves, and accept the fact that only a "higher power" can help them as they feel completely hopeless and helplesly unempowered. The support group programs that exist to help these addicts, like the AA (Alcoholics Anonimous), have a great deal of faith and spiritualism as the base of their programs. An "AA" meeting also ends with the Lord's Prayer.

It would be great if most people did not have to "hit bottom" in this life to turn their eyes to God.

Gilberto