"A Cry From the Streets" review

 

In the dark world of Brazil, street children, toddlers and teenagers search trash cans for food, steal knives to protect themselves at night, and live in fear of being beaten or even killed by the police. For these desperately needy children, nothing was free--until they encountered the love of Jesus through the compassion of Jeannette and Johan Lukasse.

When this young Dutch couple asked God if He could use them to do something about the immense suffering they saw in the world, He led them on a winding path from their home in the Netherlands to the coast of Greece and eventually to the streets of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Their calling was clear: millions of orphaned and abandoned children were living and dying on the streets, caught in the deadly grip of drugs, violence, prostitution, and abuse.

What followed the Lukasses' step of faith is a stunning example of how God miraculously uses the surrendered lives of believers to transform the lives of others with His hope and healing. 

My Review:

   A Cry From the Streets is the amazing story of how a Dutch couple gave their lives 100% to Jesus with no reservations.  Their lives were completely changed forever.  Their families called them crazy.  They ran out of money.  Their children grew up with dirty, un-schooled, street children.  Yet they were happy for they "gave what they couldn't keep to gain that which they could not lose."  Their story was impacting because of the vast difference that they made in the world.  They were able to give hope to children who were living on the streets in dire circumstances.  The way Jeanette shares their story shows the terrible way in which hundred of thousands of children are forced to live.  It's heart-breaking how they are forced to search for garbage to survive.  So many young children are killed before even reaching their teen years.  This story will make you want to make a difference.

   The only thing I didn't like about A Cry From the Streets was that it has adult content.  This is because so much of what happens in Brazil to street children is pretty violent.  I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under the age of 15.

About the Author:

Jeannette Lukasse has been a missionary with her husband Johan since 1980 with Youth with a Mission. They are both from Holland but live and work since 1984 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil among children in need, where they founded JOCUM (YWAM) Belo Horizonte. They started out working with street children, but later extended that to children in all kind of difficult life situations: children with HIV or AIDS, physically challenged children, children in the slums, trafficked children, etc.


Have you read A Cry From the Streets or any other stories about life in Brazil?  Comment below!