Finding a Happy Home by Jill van Opstal-Popa
     

Finding a Happy Home: A Journey of Faith and Redemption

by Jill van Opstal-Popa

Genres: Christian Living, Memoir

ISBN: 9781649606914

288 pages

Price: $28.99

Growing up in small-town Ohio, Jill van Opstal-Popa never dreamed she would be making her home among the orphaned children of Brazil. But when she and her husband set out to be missionaries, they found themselves building a home for the children who had no home.
As van-Opstal-Popa sought to make a home for many who had no home, she found herself finding a happy home in the arms of her Heavenly Father. Through trials and tribulations, hurtful gossip and whispered accusations, and a worldwide pandemic that left her isolated from her family, van Opstal-Popa points to the joy that still can be found in Jesus.
In Finding a Happy Home: A Journey of Faith and Redemption, from the heart of a mother to many comes the stories of the people of Brazil—from the brave parents who had no choice to the workers who took on the role of parent to the fatherless. Your heart will be pulled to the stories of each child whose story is unique but also like so many others. Follow one missionary’s journey as she shares her heart and the mission of Lar Feliz.

 

Jill’s memoir offers a look into an exceptional life of resilient trust, obedient faith, steadfast hope, and enduring love. Her life shows what can happen when one says yes to God. Her account not only opens new doors of opportunity, but it also gives hope to countless others who have been marooned in life. Home is a place where you are welcome without having an agenda. Home is a place where you belong. Home is a place where others can find refuge.
Offering a home to children who don’t belong or have any other source of refuge is truly ministering to Jesus; so, come along on this journey to read about how God can take the ordinary and transform it into something supernatural. Yes, it will require obedient sacrifice; but the fruit of this obedience will bless generations.
—Carolyn Ros
Author, Missionary, Leader at YWAM Amsterdam

Jill and her husband, Paul, became my dear friends when our ministries in Brazil crossed a couple of years ago. What a love and determination I see in this beautiful daughter of God. When you read this story of where she came from, what she has been through, and where she is now, you will be sure nothing is impossible for those who believe! For me, it is an honor to write a recommendation for this inspiring book about overcoming the world with faith. Jill, you are a true inspiration.
—Brenda Toet
One in Him Foundation

In fact, there is no greater support than talking about what we live. Sincerity, love, transparency, and a relationship with the Father are what Jill takes with her wherever she goes and wherever God places her. The love and affection she and her husband, Paul, have for our nation is beautiful; and the way God transported them to Brazil is a true miracle, which can only be experienced through faith.
Even though they are foreigners in a nation very different from their own, their courage and boldness are admirable. Through many difficulties, they allowed themselves to experience something completely new by the Lord’s leading; and in showing favor to the less favored, they witnessed firsthand a beautiful story of miracles—all by faith, literally. And today, we see just how much God’s favor is on their work and on their lives.
If your heart cries out for an intimate experience with the Lord, this book will demand a lot from you! All of the stories that she shares with so much love were lived with great intensity in a life of great communion and surrender to the Lord. I am sure that this reading will take you to a deeper level with God and to a new story in your own life.
—Joice and Leandro Pasqualeti, Senior Pastors
Evangelical Community Chamados Church, Holambra, Brazil

We were created to belong, and we were made to be in a family. This has been the mission of Paul and Jill van Opstal Popa—to create a happy home for people who have been left on the outside. In this incredible book, Jill shares their life’s journey as they worked with over two thousand children to provide love, care, and hope for their future. They have instilled in these kids the fact that they were created for a reason and that God has an incredible plan for their lives.
You will no doubt laugh and cry as you read their story; but above all, you will find hope in a God Who longs for us to find a happy home in Him.
—Andrew and Penny Toogood
Founders and Pastors of Exchange Church, Belfast

It is with great honor that we celebrate the Lar Feliz, an institution that has been a fundamental pillar in supporting and protecting children and adolescents facing social vulnerability. Founded in Jaguariúna on May 2, 2001, by the missionary couple Paul van Opstal, of Dutch origin, and Jill Ann van Opstal, an American, Lar Feliz was established with the aim of sheltering and protecting children and adolescents who, by court order, have been removed from their families due to situations of risk.
Lar Feliz is a non-governmental organization that provides institutional care to children and adolescents in situations of social vulnerability, as outlined in the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA). This care is provided through the protective measures of shelter, in accordance with Article 101 of the ECA. Its mission is to offer a welcoming environment with an adequate physical structure and the necessary support to ensure that these children and adolescents can rebuild their lives safely and with dignity.
Lar Feliz is an example of dedication and commitment to social causes, serving as a pioneer in the Campinas Metropolitan Region and even on a national level, given the complexity of the services offered. They work tirelessly to ensure that every child and adolescent has their fundamental rights guaranteed.
More than just a shelter, the main goal of the Lar Feliz is to re-establish family ties whenever possible, promoting the reintegration of these children and adolescents into their families and communities. To this end, the project works collaboratively with the social assistance network and other organizations in the municipality of Jaguariúna.
Paul and Jill have transformed lives and built dreams over the years. Their dedication not only provides shelter and safety but also offers these children and teenagers the chance for a better future, away from neglect, violence, and abandonment. Lar Feliz is undoubtedly a significant achievement for our city.
Jaguariúna is proud to support and collaborate with this noble initiative. May Lar Feliz continue to be an example of solidarity and social transformation, inspiring our community to always reach out to those who need it most.
—Gustavo Reis
Mayor of Jaguariúna

About

Jill van Opstal-Popa is the wife of Paul and the mother of three adult children. Together with her Dutch husband, she has been a missionary for thirty-three years. She served first with YWAM Amsterdam, and then she worked in Brazil, founding a children's shelter called "Lar Feliz" or Happy Home. In recent years, she and Paul planted a church. She is an ordinary person who believes in an extraordinary God and the matchless grace of Jesus Christ Whose love goes higher than any mountain, deeper than any pit, and wider than the sea. She is originally from a small town in the Akron area of Ohio.