About São Paulo Mercy Ministry
Many things have changed since we came back to this ministry in 2013 but city of São Paulo remains the same. She never sleeps. She stops for no one. She keeps moving forward and growing. She consumes every natural landscape and transforms nature into a concrete jungle. On the outside, she appears to be seems cold and heartless. However, this city is a paradox. Refugees and Immigrants find their homes in her. The poor and hungry learn to survive in her urban wilderness. Abandoned and abused children and teens take refuge in her lonely streets. These are the very ones whose voices reached our ears while we were living in a distant land. They are reason why we call this city our home. We went to the streets thinking that we will testify about God’s mercy and acceptance to the children. Instead we found Him waiting here for us. We did not bring Him to this place. He was and is always present in the lives of the children and teens. It is through His mercy that we are able to see His presence in our midst. We realized that we did not come here to change this city. We came here to bear witness to the One who is here and active in the lives of those who are forgotten and abandoned. This blog is our testimony of His active presence in this city.
About Stephen and Mary Dass
Stephen and Mary are missionaries sent by the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida where Stephen served as an ordained clergy. Stephen is originally from Singapore and served with Youth With A Mission in São Paulo.
Mary was a kindergarten teacher in Maine when she received an invitation from a missionary to serve as a summer volunteer in Brazil. She took up the challenge and went for a month. She immediately fell in love with the ministry to the street children and decided to return as a full-time missionary. We met in São Paulo and have been married since 1995. We spent some time in Maine, the Northeast of Brazil and Florida before returning to São Paulo to do the work that we feel that God has set aside for us.
For further information, please write to Fr.StephenDass@gmail.com
