Poliana - Urgent Request

I got this in the form of an email from our friends Steve and Kristin yesterday. I wanted to pass it on to you all for several reasons. Obviously, the first is to pray for this little girl, this family, and just the whole situation. The other reason is because I just wanted to give you a glimpse of the things that we will be working with here...the situations and ministry opportunities that will come our way in the future. This is not an uncommon situation. It is just the way it is and has always been. The tribes have their traditions and customs. The government organization exists to protect those traditions and customs, it seems at all costs (even life). I think I've mentioned before, for instance, that twins are seen to be born because of an evil spirit...therefore twins are killed. Just another example of this way of life.

Please as you read this, do not look at this tribe with disgust and horror. This is all they know...these things have been "their way" for generations and generations. But instead, pray for them, look to them with hope in what can be done through the saving and transformation of Jesus Christ. That is what will truly change the people and their customs...their hearts; not laws. For a great real-life story of what a transformation looks like for an indigenous people group, just rent "Beyond the Gates" or read any related book on the subject of the Auca indians in Ecuador. Such a great story of redemption, amazing transformation, and forgiveness...something that we can be praying for within the peoples of Brasil.

But, now for the urgent prayer request for a sweet little girl...


Dear Friends and Family,
I’m sure you will remember Poliana from my last email. Since sending that email, I have learned more about her story and I would like to share what I have learned with you. And as some of you suspected, we are one of those families that are interested in adopting her!

I have been in regular contact with Patricia, the missionary who cared for Poliana in the tribe and now in the hospital. Poliana (and consequently Patricia) has been in the hospital for a month now, mostly due to the fact that if the doctors release her, she will be sent right back to the tribe. I asked Patricia why Poliana was rejected by her mother and I was not entirely prepared for the long story that followed.

Poliana’s mother and father were no longer married by the time Poliana was born. The mom is very young and wants to marry again, so having a child by another man is a big problem in their culture if you want to marry again. So the mom gave Poliana to her sister to kill. The aunt went into the jungle to get leaves to stuff down Poliana’s throat to suffocate her and left Poliana lying on the ground. Another sister of the mother saw what was going on and took Poliana to the mother’s mom (Poliana’s grandmother). The grandmother didn’t want to take care of her either, so she took Poliana to Patricia and told her that nobody wanted the child and she was going to throw her into the river if the missionary didn’t want her. Of course, Patricia took Poliana. Soon after, another sister of the mom (3rd sister in the story and her name is Rebeca) came and told Patricia that she wanted to have Poliana because she only had sons and wanted a daughter. Patricia gave Poliana to her and kept trying to supply for Poliana by offering milk to the aunt to give to Poliana. Rebeca must have mental/emotion instability because she would starve Poliana and refuse the food from Patricia. Patricia heard the baby crying from hunger so she kept begging Rebeca to let her give Poliana milk, but the Rebeca repeatedly refused. Then the following day Rebeca would show up and and give Poliana to Patricia to feed as if nothing had happened the day before. Rebeca beat Poliana regularly, often bringing Poliana back from the jungle with black eyes from the abuse. The grandma even tried to rescue Poliana a second time when she saw two big marks on Poliana’s chest from where Rebeca BIT her so hard that she left raised up, purple marks that became infected. Unfortunately, it wasn’t difficult for Rebeca to find out who took the baby and she promptly took her back from the grandmother. Everyone is afraid of Rebeca because she has already killed two people in their community…her own father and another woman. So the violence against Poliana continued to the point that she suffered from paralysis on the left side of her body, pierced ear drums, and lesions on her brain. There is a lot of talk going around in the community about Rebeca and the stir-up that the situation with Poliana has caused. Rebeca is now anxious for Poliana to be returned so she can kill Poliana and put an end to the talk. When someone dies in the Yanomami culture, you must never again speak that person’s name. It is hard to believe that this is for real and not a movie, huh? There are people in the community that want Poliana back, but only for trading purposes. Not to mention the fact that Rebeca will kill her with the first chance she gets. However, the government organization that is “in charge” of all indigenous affairs (FUNAI) will send Poliana back for sure if the decision is left to them. They don’t care what happens to Poliana…if the community wants her back, she has to go. Patricia has given her testimony and the process in underway to remove Poliana from the authority of FUNAI. This is VERY hard (close to impossible), but we are praying that God opens the doors for this. Humanly speaking, it is our only hope of saving Poliana.

On a happier note, Poliana has regained her hearing and the paralysis is almost completely gone. She is grasping things in her left hand, but she doesn’t have a lot of strength in that hand yet. The physical therapists are quite sure that she will regain full strength of her hand with continued therapy. Poliana turned 11 months old on Nov. 3 and continues to charm and surprise the doctors and therapists with her happy spirit and quick recovery. She is constantly fighting off viruses that circulate in the hospital, but compared to what she has already been through, those are small battles!

In the meantime, Steve and I continue the process for adoption here in Anápolis. First, because those who work in the adoption department of social services told us that if we are approved for adoption here, it will greatly facilitate our process being approved in Boa Vista, where Poliana is. Second, we are very aware of the fact that we are in an uphill battle when it comes to Poliana. Besides needing the miracle of removing the authority of FUNAI, it is also highly unlikely that the judge would give Poliana to a North American instead of a Brazilian. In our favor, Steve is legally Brazilian, but the fact that I am not and that we are linked to a mission in the United States could be a problem. In light of all these obstacles, we don’t want to close the door on an opportunity for adoption that could come our way here in Anápolis. Of course right now, we are concentrating on Poliana until God closes doors to show us that this is not His will. Patricia has told me that she feels a peace about us adopting Poliana, and that means an awful lot to me because Patricia has been and continues to be a mother figure for Poliana. Patricia would have to stop her work in the Yanomami tribe and leave the mission agency that she works with in order to adopt Poliana herself, so for now she is hoping and praying that we can be Poliana’s family.


Here is how you can pray with us:

»Pray for Poliana to be liberated from the authority of FUNAI

»Pray for us to be sensitive to God’s leading

»There could be lawyer fees, airfares to purchase, etc. if the process of adopting Poliana continues. With the dollar continuing to drop, we do not have a reserve for these expenses. We are trusting that God will provide the means should we get to this point in the process.

Once again, we thank you for your prayers and continued support. Poliana needs our prayers for this fight she is in for her life.


Hugs to all,
Kristin

Steve & Kristin VanBeveren
Avant Ministries – Brazil
Missionary Flight Training