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This is one guy's experience, taken from 'A Survival Guide to Frontline Living' by Sarah de Carvalho, published by Hodder & Stoughton available from most Christian bookstores in UK and at www.amazon.com worldwide!

Dave Charley, 18 year old student in his gap year
(Taken from A Survival Guide to Frontline Living by Sarah de Carvalho, published by Hodder & Stoughton 1999)

I decided to take a year out, between secondary education and university, to serve God in some way. I thought that I would be sent out somewhere soon after my summer exams, so God could use the full year to work through me, and in me. I came to realise that everything has to be in God's timing, and it was after six months of searching for what God wanted me to do, that I was called to work with the street children in Brazil.

I found myself, straight out of school, with very limited life experience, in a country where I knew no one, and didn't speak the language. Not only that, but daily I was witnessing poverty and injustice that I couldn't have ever imagined. This was the first time in my life that I really felt I had to depend on God totally for all that I needed. It was a humbling time, but a transforming time. Relying on God for everything deepened my relationship with him so much, and receiving his blessings was wonderful. God became so real to me, in a way I never knew he could.

The initial obstacle in my calling was the sense of uselessness, wondering what could I do to help these children. Yet, in the first week out there, God showed me that it was his life in me that would reach the children. It was holding onto this, the promises of the love of God that had to be my focus always. In all the difficult times, when there seemed to be no hope, it was God's love for these children that kept me going, and helped me not to despair of it all. Once I had my focus, there was the problem that I didn't speak a word of Portuguese. I was never very good at languages at school, and I needed to be able to talk with the kids and deepen my relationships with them. One time, when I was praying, God promised to bless me with the language, and after that I started to pick it up incredibly quickly.

Working on the streets was a joy, but spiritually it was right on the frontline. Everything we did was centred around prayer and it had to be. God also blessed me with the gift of praying in tongues. This was a true blessing, because many times no words could express how I felt. Prayers for the protection of my life, and that of others, became a daily routine. This I found to be very exhausting at times, and it was important to know when to stop, and rest. It is very easy to become so involved in what we are doing that we forget about our relationship with God.

The most fulfilling part of the work was seeing the difference God can make in people's lives. God's love is the only thing that can really reach out and touch people so deeply. The transforming of previously hopeless situations into celebrations of absolute joy will always remain in my heart. Being on the frontline is by no means easy at the best of times, but to be working for our God, and reaching people in his name is a life-changing experience. God can work miracles through anyone, if we will let him. God bless you, trust in God's guidance, and hold on to his love always.

Volunteers to Happy Child Mission

There are both long term (12 months plus) and short term opportunities to work with Happy Child Mission. But these are limited and we have recently streamlined our selection process for those who apply. This is to help applicants understand what our objectives are when we recruit volunteers and to facilitate the processing of applications. We hope the points made below are helpful.

Firstly it is important to understand that Happy Child Mission is a Christian organisation. We therefore ask that all volunteers are committed Christians and have been part of a local church for at least two years.

You will ideally have experience of working with children and/or have specific skills which may be relevant to the project. At times the work can be frustrating, disappointing and conditions are sparse - you will need to demonstrate a sense of calling for the work and to show that you can deal with adversity.

Knowledge of the language (Portuguese) and the culture are important, particularly if you intend to stay for the long term.

These points are essential for people to consider before applying to work with us. If you are considering either long or short term work it is beneficial to have done an Alpha course your local church or a Discipleship Training School with YWAM (Youth with a Mission) or other similar Christian training programme.

Short Term Service

Individuals may volunteer to participate as part of an inter-church team or other team, that, from time to time are sent out. These tend to be for periods of three weeks or three months. There are no fixed timetables and you should contact us for latest information.

Over recent years Happy Child Mission has been supported by the Mission organisation CRUSOE. They recruit, select and train teams of young people to go out to work with us. Their address is CRUSOE, Crusaders, 2 Romeland Hill, St Albans, HERTS., AL3 4ET. Or contact Jessica Davies (Co-ordinator, Happy Child London). Go to contact us.

Annual Training Course

Each year Happy Child Mission runs a three month training course in Belo Horizonte. This is held from March until June and offers hands-on experience alongside challenging lectures and tutorials held in the evening. Go to contact us for more information.

If you feel this mission is for you, then please contact us. On the other hand, there are a range of other organisations (see street children - WHY?) who work with street children and you may like to contact them instead. We would like to encourage everyone to get involved in any way that they are able.

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