Green Olive Tree Ministries (GOTM)- History
“But as for me I am like a green olive tree
planted in the house of the Lord. I will trust in the loving kindness of
God forever and ever.”
(Psalm
52:8)
Brent and Debbie Freeman, originally from Mansfield,
Ohio, moved to Brasil with their three children, Benjamin, Kezia and
Elizabeth, in March of 1987. The Lord was asking them to minister in the
Nepomuceno Children’s Home where they served as directors for three years.
In the midst of caring for the 80 plus boys in the home, the Lord grew the
immediate Freeman family by four more members.
Karissa Ruth joined the family at two days old, just a
couple of weeks after the Freemans’ arrival in Nepo. The problem of a
little girl arriving at a boys’ orphanage was quickly solved as the Freemans
saw that it was something they could do that did not require a mastery of
the Portuguese language. Starting out in an extra dresser drawer for a crib
and scraps of cloth for diapers, she was attentively watched over by not
only the Freeman family but the home boys as well, who watched in amazement
as she developed into a real person able to converse in two languages.
Today, at 18 years of age, Karissa Ruth Freeman is active in the care of
other little ones. She has given her life to the Lord and was baptized
several years ago.
Karissa and two-year-old Larissa
Before the end of 1987, with some usable Portuguese
under their belts, the Freemans received a call about an abandoned baby boy
in a neighboring city. Fifteen month old Marcio had been born to a young
mother who was herself being reared in a state orphanage. On her 18th
birthday she was released with her infant son, whom she then abandoned. In
the Nepomuceno home Marcio, as the youngest boy ever taken in, challenged
the counselors with skills such as changing diapers and spoon feeding.
After a time it became apparent that he was one who was in extra special
need of a defined family unit. Brent and Debbie were given legal custody of
Marcio but never succeeded in formally adopting him. Today, just two months
short of his 19th birthday, Marcio is still in special need. For
the past year he has been living in various rehabilitative situations. Pray
that his wandering heart will find its rest in the shelter of the Lord.
In December of 1988 twins were born to the Freemans.
Both those cheering for a boy and those rooting for a girl were satisfied as
Kaleb and Karah came into the world. The clothesline told the story of the
growing family as its daily load included about 60 diapers.
 
Kaleb
Karah
Several years later, in 1993, the Freemans found
themselves 1500 kilometers from Nepomuceno in the Northeastern town of
Pombos, Pernambuco. Once again the Lord initiated their new ministry with a
new arrival. The owner of their rented house came to say that he had
received word that there was a family nearby with 4 children. Neighbors
were complaining that the children were crying night and day. Knowing that
Americans had moved into the neighborhood and hearing that they were here to
help the people, they were wondering if these foreigners could help out this
family. Upon visiting the home the Freemans discovered two little,
malnourished girls, ages 1 and 2. In the back bedroom were three-week-old
twin boys. The parents stated that they did not have conditions to care for
two more and were allowing nature to take its course. Esequias and Esequiel
were lying in the bed with a bottle of manioc flour water propped at their
lips. They were gray in colour and no longer had the strength to cry. The
parents quickly agreed to have Brent and Debbie take the babies off their
hands. At home the Freemans bathed the boys and put them into warm dry
clothes and then began the process of feeding them with an eye dropper to
gradually bring them back to health. They needed to be treated for
pneumonia and scabies infections as well. Today, Esequiel David Freeman and
Esequias Daniel Freeman are bright, energetic twelve year old boys who love
their family and life and the Lord. They each have many plans for their
adult lives, all of which include the care of Mom and Dad in their old age!
Esequiel and Esequias
The Freemans arrived in Pombos in the middle of a
five year drought. In the course of assisting the people with their needs
through food distribution programs, health care, and education, the story of
Kias and Kiel was to be repeated many times over. Some of the babies
rescued from the back room returned to their parents, others were adopted by
Brazilians and still others were taken home by the Lord. Their stories are
not included here. The following biographies are of those who remain as
permanent foster and adopted children of the Freeman Family.
Joseane, Fabiana, Aureliano and
Adriano
In 1995 the first sibling group came into the care of
GOTM because their mother was dying. Joseane, Fabiana, Adriano, and
Aureliano’s father had abused their mother so severely while she was
pregnant that she lost the baby and then her life. Their past life had been
spent begging on the streets. Both parents being mentally challenged, life
was very unstable for the seven children. Joseane remembers days of hunger
and also burning feet as they stomped barefoot through the town at odd hours
of the day and night asking for handouts. She remembers violence in the home
but she also fondly remembers the time her Dad made them a sandbox to play
in until he needed to use the sand for something else.
Today, Joseane is 17 years old. She has just this
year come to real peace in the Lord. Up until now, though she was accepting
of the teachings of the Bible and even asked to be baptized, her life was
tinged with the bitterness of having been robbed of her mother at the age
of 7 and whisked off into a strange new world. She was never able to bring
herself to completely trust in this new kind of love that she was being
offered. As she has recently revisited her biological relatives and seen
their lives up close, she has seen the reality of the difference of life in
Christ and life in sin. She is now rejoicing that the Lord took her out of
that home and gave her the opportunity to learn of Him. Her desire is to
study diligently the story of the Bible and speak of it often and clearly to
her aging grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. “But it is this family
that I love and where I want to stay.”
Fabiana is now 13 years old. She is mentally delayed
and is on daily medicine for Epilepsy. She is quiet and pleasant and likes
to putter around the home. Her greatest desires are to learn to cook and to
sew clothes for her baby doll. She is slowly learning to read.
Adriano, age 12, is a bright young man with a green
thumb. His goal in life is to become a missionary pastor “like Dad”.
Aureliano, called Liano by the family, is 11 years
old. He is the picture of sweetness when he is not busy being the picture
of mischief. His joy knew no bounds when he all in one week learned to ride
a bike and sing in harmony. He is busy looking for a little car that he
buried in a deep hole one day and has many plans and desires for his
future. His soft but angry heart is a challenge. We pray that the Shepherd
will bring him home soon.
Tony
Tony’s mother was a student at the adult Bible and
literacy school which was the forunner of the present GOTM elementary
school. In 1996, Josefa (Tony’s mother) was pregnant with her thirteenth
child and needed someone to care for her as she entered the hospital for a
C-section. Debbie watched Antonio Jose enter the world, cared for him in
the hospital and then again for six weeks while his mother recovered from an
infection as a result of the delivery process. (All the mothers who gave
birth that day suffered the same with one dying). Six months after Tony’s
return to his family, his mother sent word to Debbie to come immediately to
her house. Tony was dying. He had been in and out of four hospitals for
the past month and was finally released home with no chance of survival.
His mother, not wanting him to die in her home, asked if Brent and Debbie
would take him in for his last days of life. The Lord blessed and guided
his care and today, at age 10, Tony is a delightful part of the Freeman
home. He has not been officially adopted, the mother wanting to retain him
in name, but his heart belongs to his Freeman family and theirs to him.
Tony’s greatest disappointment was his “almost” trip to the US. One day
before the scheduled departure, 9/11 happened and the judge withdrew
permission for him to travel to that violent country. Tony announced that
when he grew up he was going to be a judge and to give all children the
opportunity to travel. The good news is that after 4 years of patience his
wish has been granted and the new judge is allowing him to travel with Brent
and Debbie to visit the US and Canada in September. He is looking forward
to meeting the relatives, tasting all the good food and bringing back
brownie mixes!
Jeremy, Leticia and Luana
Jeremias is the second child of a mentally deficient,
second generation “street mom”. His mother gave birth to him on the dirt
floor of her fathers’ house in 1997 and then disappeared several hours
later. Although the Grandfather tried diligently to care for him with his
meager means, Jeremy quickly became ill and was taken to the Pombos
hospital. After his recovery the Freemans were asked to take him in, the
whereabouts of the mother still unknown. Eventually she was found and she
asked to leave him with the Freemans saying that she did not want a boy.
She only likes girls.
1999 – Leticia and Luana
Two years later, Luciana, the mother of Jeremias, was
again pregnant. On her frequent visits to the Freeman gate to ask for food,
she talked about leaving the new baby with Jeremias (especially if it was
another boy). Shortly before the birth of her child, Luciana’s father’s
house burned down taking all their worldly belongings with it. Luciana took
up residence in the Pombos hospital. After the birth of Leticia (1999), she
decided that she could not care for two girls without a house and asked to
leave her with the Americans so she could grow up with her brother. The
Freemans were called by the hospital and Leticia Marie entered the family.
Jeremias was a proud brother. About 5 hours later the hospital ambulance
arrived at the gate with Luciana and three-year-old Luana. Mom had decided
that all three would be better off with the Americans. It is assumed that
thinking was helped along by the hospital staff. Luana arrived with a head
full of lice and only able to make animal sounds to indicate her needs. Her
tender three years had been spent on the streets with her mother.
In August of 2002, at the request of their mother,
Jeremias Carlos and Leticia Marie were both legally adopted as Freemans.
However, Luana, the pride and joy of her mother, remains in her mother’s
name but in the Freemans, care. All three are well adjusted, happy and
intelligent children.
Luciano
Ten year old Luciano came to the Freeman home at age
five in 2000. He is from a very poor family. His father, a painter by
trade, developed mental problems as a result of the paint fumes. Luciano
came to the attention of social workers when he was four years old and spent
a year in and out of hospitals with eye infections and respiratory
infections. During his last hospitalization the medical staff informed the
social workers that if he returned home one more time he would probably
die. In their search for a place to put Luciano they heard of GOTM. Brent
and Debbie visited the hospital to meet Luciano and meet with the medical
team. Luciano was in a crib rocking back and forth seemingly unaware of the
goings on around him. The medical team said he was nonverbal with obvious
autistic tendencies. He is also completely blind. After much thought and
prayer the Freemans decided to accept him into the home. Arrangements were
made to pick him up at his biological home after release from the hospital.
In preparation for his arrival, Brent and Debbie blindfolded the family for
a day so that all would have a little understanding of what Luciano’s life
was like. Excitement was high in the Freeman household as the car
approached carrying this new boy. As soon as he was out of the car, six
year olds Kias (Ezequias)and Kiel (Ezequiel) each grabbed a hand and said
“Come on Luciano, we are going to show you everything!” And that was the
beginning of Luciano’s renewed life. He was soon swimming and climbing
trees and caring for the goats and fluently speaking in English as well as
Portuguese. His greatest pleasure is the family nightly story time and his
two desires are to be able to read books for himself and to ride a bike out
on the road! He is learning Braille in both languages, but the bike riding
is restricted to the driveway. With spotters!
Larissa
Larissa, born on April 8, 2003, came to the Freemans
when she was two days old. She is the niece of Joseane, Fabiana, Adriano
and Aureliano. Her single mother had tried several times to end Larissa’s
life in the womb. At birth the man she was presently living with insisted
that she get rid of the child. She sent for the Freemans deciding that she
would like her baby to grow up with her own brothers and sisters. Last year
the mother decided that she would like the Freemans to adopt Larissa. The
legal work has finally been completed and on June 19, 2005, she was declared
to be Larissa Mae Freeman. She is a very articulate young lady and can also
sing songs in French, Latin, Portuguese and English and is the current pride
of the whole family.
Edson
Five year old Edson arrived at the Freeman Shelter
home in August of 2003. He was brought by the Children’s Services of Pombos.
He was being abused by his stepfather and thus both parents were
imprisoned. The mother was subsequently released but until the present date
has been denied renewed custody of Edson. Edson is a sweet, soft spoken
boy who uses a unique mixture of Portuguese and English. All the kids
understand this third language but sometimes have to translate for Mom and
Dad.
Andy
Anderson came to the Freeman Shelter home in November
of 2003, just two months before his second birthday. He was malnourished,
sick and was not yet walking or talking. Andy had lived most of his life in
a crib behind a locked door. An aunt who was visiting from a distant town
discovered the conditions in which Andy was living and reported them to
Social Services who then sent him to GOTM. The Freemans have had some
contact with the maternal Grandmother. She rears many of her grandchildren
and did not have energy or space for Andy. Both Andy’s father and mother
are mentally challenged. The Freemans have never met the mother, but the
father has been to visit twice in the 18 months he has been in the home.
Now at age 3 ½ , Andy is walking and running. He loves to sing and often
his clear voice rings out above the rest of the congregation during church
services and also in the middle of the night!
_____________________________________________________
Today, although the health, education and economic
conditions of Pombos have improved, spiritual poverty is rampant and
unwanted babies, children and adults still abound, often disposed of either
by abortion or by allowing nature to take its course in a back room. GOTM
stands for, teaches and models the dignity and value of human life, at all
ages and stages, as created in the Image of God. The family continues to
grow.
The original three Freeman children are now adults.
All three are committed to continuing in the ministry that they believe the
Lord called them to as children back in 1987.
Benjamin, age 25, will be married on September 23,
2005. He and his wife-to-be, Stephanie, are committed to the discipleship
of teenagers and young adults in the new Discipleship Center at
GOTM-Lebenshaus.
Kezia, soon to complete 24 years, is returning to
Brazil in September after spending a time in the States in further personal
preparation for her continued ministry. Her desire is to develop a future
orphanage ministry along with a ministry to unwed mothers and those
considering abortion. In the meantime, she will continue to assist in the
rearing of her large sibling group and in the GOTM School.
Elizabeth, age 21, although physically and mentally
challenged, gives cheerful loving care to the smaller children and helps in
many other ways in the running of the home.
"Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants, and our daughters as
corner pillars
fashioned as for a
palace... How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord."
(Psalm 144:12, 15))
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