I came around the corner with a smile to greet these beautiful souls who weathered the storm just to see me. I was about to hug them when I noticed they had some type of official badge hanging from their neck.
“Are you Rabbi Peter Oliveira?…” They asked.
“Yes?!…” I replied.
“Where are your four and six year old children?…”
“…” I responded.
“We are with the New York department of child care services, here to investigate a report of child endangerment… Can you tell us where your four and six year old children are?…”
“…” I responded.
“Which one is this?…” They pointed at Noah who was shirtless in front of the blazing cole stove playing League of Legends…
I looked at Rich with my mouth semi opened… “Who is this???..” Rich just ignored me and looked like he was going to kill some one…
“This one!.. Is this one of them???” The officials asked pointing at Noah.
I gathered myself and said: “I’m really sorry… Can you please explain again?… This is Noah, my youngest son, he is twelve years old… I don’t have a four or six year old…”
“Where is your boat?…” They asked as they looked at one another as perplexed as I was… “Does your wife know where you and your children are?…” They continued in a desperate attempt to make sense of the situation.
Lisa peeked around the corner… “Hi… I’m Mom…”
“…and your children are ok?” Asked the lady official.
“Yes, Noah who is 12 is right here, and Gabriel who is 16 went to spend a little more time with his girlfriend in Rhode Island, while we are staying here through the storm, and waiting for a filter for our boat…”
“What kind of boat?…” Asked the man.
“it’s a Columbia 45…” I replied, glad to have an answer that actually made sense.
They looked at one another… “Columbia 45… That’s a yacht…” He explained to his partner.
“Yes it is…” I agreed with a smile.
“OK…” The man exclaimed as if he was about to help us all understand what this was all about; he lifted up a piece of paper and explained: “We received this emergency report: ‘A rabbi named Peter Oliveira has taken his four and six year old sons on a boat, intent on bringing a Torah scroll to Haiti for religious purposes. At this time of year, the Atlantic Ocean is very dangerous; at least one time the father has already fallen over board, nevertheless he is going forward on this trip putting his children in grave danger…”
“Well, I am a rabbi, I do have a Torah Scroll, and I am on a journey with my family to Haiti where we have a little orphanage. And yes, I am aware that this is not the best time of year to make this journey, but we are making sure we take our time, and travel in the best weather windows as possible… As you can see, here we are in the safety of our friend’s home during this storm.” I explained.
The lady just shook her head… “At this moment, there is a child being abused somewhere, and we are here instead, in the middle of a snow storm investigating some bogus report made by some one who is either very jealous of what you are doing, or despises what you are doing… This is not a report from someone who is concerned about you or your children….”
One of the officials asked to speak privately with Noah… We agreed… For those of you fuming at the audacity of government officials intruding into our lives, relax… When it comes to the safety of children, the system is sure not perfect, but its intent is to protect innocent children, and having spent 16 years doing specialized foster care, we are very well acquainted, and have many friends in the department of child care services.
After a brief chat with Noah, where I think the only complaint was the lack of internet on board, they were ready to bring our awkward visit to a close.
“I just can’t understand…” I replied.
“Mister Oliveira, you’re a Rabbi… You know how wicked people’s hearts can be… We need more people like you, have a great life. Sorry to have disturbed you. Good night.”
I have been led to share this and many other journeys we have had to Haiti, and I have always done so intending on blessing those who read it, and most of all, to bring glory to G-d. Today I’m aware of something I never thought of before: there is at least one reader in this audience who has a tormented soul. And though I have never intended to communicate in this forum with an enemy, how can I pass up this moment…
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Tormented one
You have sent earthly officials with false information against me, attempting to hinder the work of Israel’s G-d. I send the spirit of Israel’s G-d with truth and love on your behalf, hoping for the restoration and peace of your soul…
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Shortly after our shock, we received a call from Hernst, our orphanage director, who has been calling us since we began this journey, to know what he and the children should be praying for. Lisa explained the attack we just experienced. The next day, we received this email from Hernst:
———————
“Don’t worry who ever tries to stop you from coming is already lost the battle, Adonai is with you wherever you go. our children are very strong on praying their Lord, we pray God for you every morning every night, we even pray from 8 to midnight for you, and then I even pray during the night. God is the one who created everything,when you are serving him, his protection is right there for you as it says in psalm 91.
we will keep praying for you.
your servant in Christ Hernst.
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Next stop?…. Well, due to the nature of our journey, and in light of recent events, we will have to share that information long after we have gone past that “Next stop”, but know the gates of hell will not prevail…
To be continued
Your words are uplifting and encouraging. G-d is ever so close to you, Lisa and the boys. I am confident that this is going to be the best, blessed, and anointed journey G-d has prepared for you. Fear not for He has made the way for you. I am so excited about this journey, because like you said “the gates of he’ll will not prevail” Amen! 🙂
Standing in agreement with your prayer for this person. Ad-nai bless you all.
Well, if that isn’t the oddest of situations to be in, must be someone within your closest of circles, how they knew how to find you in mind boggling. God has giving us the power of free choice, throughout the ages people have left their homes, their families and all that they know and love to better themselves, or in your case to help others, the Haitian people. To get out of bed in the morning is taking a risk, leaving the house even greater a risk, we each decide how much is acceptable to us. I think of you often and pray for your safety as you press forward. Unbeknownst to me, our own church has had its hands in helping the Haitian’s and several other nations plagued by poverty. Love you all, God speed!
No worries, I’ll be glad to help. Are you on a mac or pc? Basically you just want to open up the photo in what ever app you view your phoots in. Then you want to look for the option to resize the image (usually under the option to edit.) You’ll want to make the width something like 580 and leave the height blank. If you see a quality slider / option move it down to about 80%. Than click export, or save as, and save as a new image. (Make sure you don’t save over the original photo.) Then you should be able to upload no problem. These are sort of the basics of how to resize a photo, but if you can’t figure it out, let me know what type of computer / image program you are using I’ll try to help you figure it out. (And if anyone else wants to chime in and help, they are welcome to.) Looking forward to seeing your picture.
One thing I’d prefer to say is car innacusre canceling is a hated experience and if you’re doing the right things as a driver you simply won’t get one. Some people do get the notice that they are officially dumped by their own innacusre company they have to scramble to get supplemental innacusre after having a cancellation. Low-cost auto innacusre rates are frequently hard to get following a cancellation. Knowing the main reasons regarding auto innacusre termination can help people prevent sacrificing one of the most critical privileges readily available. Thanks for the concepts shared through your blog.
26 |October 30, 2012 I am starting a Bible study using your Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus , and agree with Donna above. I would LOVE to have a good study guide to the book, and it’s ctnoents. Donna, if you read this, I would love to see your lesson plans and how you did your study. Lois, I can’t get enough of your writing, so whatever you write I will read! As a pastor of 32 years now, you have breathed a fresh new life into my personal relationship with Jesus! Thank you! http://mubjzuq.com [url=http://ibuxgimsawl.com]ibuxgimsawl[/url] [link=http://nhzehmlzuki.com]nhzehmlzuki[/link]
LOL…Scott put Merry’s underwear on seawidys the other day. Then he took her to the ocean in NJ…she kept saying that something was wrong with her panties, but he didn’t see anything wrong.When she got back to the house, I took her potty and immediately spotted the problem. Cinderella was SIDEWAYS FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE!!!lolLove ya.Kendrap.s. Remind me to tell you a cute story about Kelsey okay?