Thursday, 23 August 2012

Brasil: the journey continues....

After my break in Cabo Frio, I went to meet Natalie, one of my team mates in Rio as she was flying back in to rejoin the team.  As well as doing a couple of touristy things, we also had some ‘divine encounters’.  One was meeting a mother and toddler sleeping rough on the beach just near our hostel…Mum clearly was not at all well but we were able to chat with her and ensure that she had enough food, clothes and nappies for her little one..as well as giving him some much needed attention (the social worker in me wanted to do lots more but I knew that if I had called the police or someone else in authority then they probably would have just moved her on…sad but true).

A second very memorable incident involved Natalie, myself, our room mate from our hostel and a Brazilian young man armed with a knife (which funnily enough I didn’t see until later!!)  I’ll let Natalie tell the story….
On the roads of Rio de Janeiro we were stopped by a young man. He asked for our phones and got out his knife! After a first nervous moment I told him in Portuguese: "God loves you brother! You don't need to do it!" Now he was confused and still wanted our stuff. We kept talking to him about God's love. He looked lost and asked if we could talk.  We sat down on the steps on the middle of the street.  He shared his story.  When we started to pray for him, he stopped us and gave us his knife.  He lives on the street and robs people every day.  We encouraged him to go home.  The girl with us has a connection to an NGO that helps to get people off the streets.  He gave her his phone number of the phone that he stole yesterday!  When saying goodbye he asked us for forgiveness and refused to take his knife back!  Such a cool encounter!  Thank you Jesus!’

Our next stop was Sao Paulo and has been since.  We have been staying with a lovely host Brazilian family who own their own restaurant which means we have been given lots of nice food to eat!  I have been working on some logistical arrangements for team members rejoining the team after breaks as well as doing airport and bus runs. 
Last week myself and Rachael spent time at one of our Iris bases in two favelas here in Sao Paulo.  We worked alongside another international team playing with the children, chatting and praying with people and feeding people who were hungry.  The drug problem was very obvious as well as the poverty and I am full of admiration for parents who are raising their children well in that environment.  I also got to translate for the team as I had the best Portuguese available!  We will hopefully be returning here with our own team in September.

I have also been taking some time to pray, read and fast and prepare myself for the rest of the team arriving at the weekend!  I am very conscious now that I have been away from the UK for nearly a year now..and I think having had some time to myself I have got a little homesick…but I continue to know that is the adventure of a lifetime which I am meant to be on and that friends and family back in the UK will be glad to see me when I return sometime before Christmas!

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