Ministry to Children

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Walking on Water

But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”- Matthew 14:22-27

Sometimes it seems like we don’t have the adequate resources to address the immensity of the needs around us.

Igor, the boy who was attacked by the dog, is illiterate. This is the first time I met a young teenager in the streets who could not even write his name. He has never been to school. This young man was so severely neglected as a child that his personal development was affected. Legally Igor is an adult and society would expect him to behave as one. However, mentally and emotionally, Igor does not have any of the tools that would help him get even the lowest paying job in São Paulo.

Rose is fifteen. She is intelligent and full of energy. Recently, she told us that she was pregnant. It wasn’t necessary because we noticed the growth of her stomach. When we asked her if she had any plans for her child, she just shrugged her shoulders and continued sniffing her paint thinner. I saw her last Monday and the growth of her stomach was gone. She miscarried her child. When we asked her about it, she wasn’t able to say anything intelligible about what had happened. She was too high on drugs.

These are just two examples and I could fill this post with examples of children and teens who appear to be so lost that it is easy to feel a sense of hopelessness. These children are born into a chaotic environment and it seems like they don’t believe there is anything better out there. Maybe they don’t have the time and energy because they just try to keep afloat in this sea of chaos.

Last Sunday, we heard the above gospel passage about Jesus walking on water. It is the first time I saw how relevant this text is to our present reality in the streets. The good news is that Jesus was not consumed by the sea of chaos. He walked on water.

At first, the disciples thought that it was a ghost or an illusion. They were obviously afraid. Ghosts are frightening because they challenge our sense of reality and not in a good way. Illusions are worse. They create an image of something that is not there in reality.

A few years ago, one of the teenagers accused our team leader of preaching illusions to the homeless. He said that our words were nothing but empty promises. These were strong words. In a sense, he was right. They are empty words if we don’t make it our reality. Faith is not make-believe, but it is an actual step towards a new understanding of reality. Of all the disciples, only Peter experienced this new reality. He was the only one who had faith while the rest just believed. Of course, he almost drowned as well. This is the risk. Faith is a risk. The gospel only becomes real for those who are willing to take the risk. It is a risk to tell these children and teenagers that it is possible for them to have a full and complete life in this world. For many, it is like a frightening ghost that challenges everything they have known. For some, it is illusion that would only disappoint. It takes faith to step out on the water. It does not mean that we pretend that we are not doing something which is normally not done.

I understand faith as interpreting my reality through the Lord who walks on water. I don’t have to pretend that the sea of chaos is not dangerous and unwelcoming, but it does not determine what we can or cannot do in this reality. Whenever I talk the teenagers of the hope of the gospel, I am also fully aware that maybe everything could go wrong for them or me despite having faith. It is a risk to believe in the promise of abundant life. However, we need to walk on water because Jesus is waiting there. He is bringing a new perspective to Life and we will only understand this new perspective if we walk out to where He is standing. This miracle is perhaps one of the greatest miracles in the gospels. It changes how we understand Jesus working in our reality. He is not hindered the circumstances in which we find ourselves. He transcends them. We know that we are surrounded by the sea of chaos but we also know that we are here because the One who walks on water is able to bring order into this chaotic environment.

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Comfort for the Orphans

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.- Psalm 27:10

A young homeless teenager was attacked by a Rottweiler. It happened in the middle of the night. He was walking to the square where he usually sleeps when all the sudden a big unleashed dog came out of nowhere and attacked him. The dog bit him in the groin area. I don’t know how he managed to get away from the dog but he did. He ran to the square covered with blood. The other homeless teenagers quickly got some money together and tried to find a taxi to take him to the hospital. Fortunately, a passerby noticed the injured boy and immediately called the ambulance. He received thirty stitches but he was not hospitalized. He lost a lot of blood but the hospital where he went is often overcrowded and they could not keep him there. He returned to the square to sleep. The boy’s name is Igor and he is about eighteen. This is not the same Igor from my previous post. Igor happens to be a common Brazilian name. This particular Igor is relatively new to us. We have seen him around but he is quite shy and hardly speaks to us.

All this happened at night and when we saw the teens the next day we were unaware of what had happened. Igor was lying on a thin cushion covered with dirty blankets. He was sniffing paint thinner and there was no evidence that anything had happened. I guess that no one wanted to talk about it because Igor was hurt in his intimate parts and they respected his privacy. However, something was different. Igor approached us and asked to do some activity with us. He asked me in particular to read to him from the Bible. At first I was a little confused because none of the older teens have ever made such a request. He asked me to sit next to him and read the Bible with him. I did exactly this. I read the story about Jesus calming the storm and we talked about what it means to trust God, not just depending on Him to help us through tough situations but entrusting our whole being unto Him. When I was done, Igor wanted me to continue. We read some stories from the Old Testament and talked about them. Then a woman came with some medicine for him. She was the owner of the unattended dog. Naturally I was a little confused with all the medication she gave him. It was at this point when Igor told me what had happened to him.
The owner of the dog is homeless as well and she has three young children with her. The dog was protecting her children and Igor unknowingly walked passed where the children had been sleeping. The dog was still around and it was not far from where we were. However, Igor appeared to be calm. After the woman left, he asked me to continue to read. He sat close by and listened attentively to what I was reading. It was interesting. Igor had just experienced something stressful and he wanted to have someone close by and read something that brought peace to his soul. He wanted a father figure to be near him.

I asked him if he was in pain and he said that he had taken some painkillers. He wanted to know if there were certain foods that he should avoid. He talked a little bit about what happened and then I asked him if I could pray with him. His face lit up and he said “Yes”. We prayed a short prayer and the other teenagers looked on. It was important that they saw what we did. We want them to know that we are willing to sit with them and bring some comfort when they need it as well. They might be homeless but it does not mean that they have to go through these moments alone. Igor experienced something frightening and stressful and he had no place to go to recover. He needed extra care and attention and he had no family to give it. His biological father is in prison and Igor had never been to school. This is a boy who has suffered neglect all his life. Today, he was hurt and wanted special attention. I am glad that he invited us to do something with him. I am grateful that for a short period I was like a father to this young man.

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Laziness is not an Answer

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.- Matthew 5:22

The above gospel verse was taken from the context of a discussion on the subject of murder. Jesus likens calling someone “a fool” or “raca” (which means useless or worthless) to murder. When it used as an insult, both terms imply that the person is not worth our time and energy or our compassion. Consequently, we would not care if anything happens to them or rather they cease to be considered human beings to us. If we understand murder as robbing someone of their humanity, then words are also capable of depriving someone of their humanity.

We have heard many times people say that the poor are poor because they are plain lazy. Sometimes people make the distinction by saying that there are the deserving poor and there are some who are just plain lazy. By this, they imply that these lazy poor are not worthy of compassion or mercy. In some cases, they would even consider it wrong to help the so-called lazy poor.

The paradox is that saying that the poor are lazy is actually a lazy way to identify the problem. If we are serious about being instruments of the gospel, then we should refrain from using unhelpful terms that rob people of their humanity. Calling someone lazy does not redeem anyone’s humanity and the gospel is about redemption.

No one wants to be lazy. It is in our nature to work if it helps us to get what we want in life. The incentive to work depends on whether we are motivated. Instead of calling people lazy, we should discover why aren’t people motivated to work. I am sure that sociologists or economists could come up with plethora of reasons why people aren’t motivated. We do not approach the problem from their perspective. We do it from the midst of teens and adults in homeless situations. We ask ourselves why is it hard for them to seek employment? They don’t have any motivation to work. We believe our motivation to work stems from relationships. When we believe that what we are doing is going to strengthen and secure our relationship with our family and friends, then we are motivated. Sometimes people put up with tedious and mundane work just to sustain their family. However, it is difficult to be motivated if you don’t have friends or family.

Igor is 19 years old. He has been living in the streets since he was eight. His father died when he was three and his mother was murdered when he was seven. From the tender age of eight, Igor has used drugs and lived without any adult supervision. He was detained in juvenile centers for most of his teenage years. His only experience with a disciplined life was under the threat of physical abuse in the juvenile center. When he left the juvenile center at the age of 18, he made a conscious decision not to be involved with crime or drugs.

A few weeks ago, Igor found a job. It was with a cleaning service. Unfortunately, he only worked for a week at this place before quitting. He did not find the work to be hard. He did not mind the work. Even though the pay wasn’t great, he did not mind the low salary. He quit because he found it hard to keep a regular routine. He sleeps in the streets and has no alarm clock. Besides, he is not accustomed to keeping appointments and relating to bosses and authority figures. He was afraid that he was going to fail and therefore, he quit before he got fired. We asked him if he was ever late for his work. He told us that he made sure that he was punctual for the whole week, but he knew that it wasn’t going to last. Igor quit because he was afraid that he was going to fail.

We asked him if he wanted our help in keeping a routine. He responded that he did not even know what this meant. His answer made us pause for a while. We realized that simple things such as keeping a routine and fulfilling a commitment are things that we learn in the environment of a family. These things are nurtured in us through the living examples of our parents or parental figure. We were gradually taught explicitly and implicitly to honor our responsibilities. Perhaps we were given the chance to fail and given several chances to learn the value of commitment. All these can be taught in an environment of love and forgiveness. Igor never grew up in such an environment.

Igor is legally considered an adult. However, his social skills are limited and he knows it. For him, it is frightening to make the transition from living in the streets to working in a 9 to 5 job. He is paralyzed by fear. Fear stops him from working. However, in the eyes of the world, he is just another lazy homeless teen. On the other hand, the message of gospel compels us to see beyond the superficial. Igor needs a family to help him overcome his fear of failure. He cannot do this unless he knows that there will be grace and forgiveness.

Igor does not have all his personal documents yet. We offered to help him apply for them. He accepted our help. We made an appointment for him and asked him to meet us at the office where these documents are issued. When we got to this building, Igor was waiting there for us. He got there fifteen minutes early. He was afraid that he was going to be late. We needed to pay for the processing fee and he vehemently refused our money. He wanted to earn the money by doing some odd jobs. Finally we convinced him to allow us to pay for it for now and he can repay us when he has a job. He reluctantly agreed. We managed to get his documents without any hassle. Before we left the place, Igor hugged us and told us that he was going to apply for another job this week. The fear is still present, but he seemed a little bit more confident. We hope that Igor will find some strength through his friendship with us to overcome his fears.

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Death and a Conversation about the Resurrection and Life

Sadly, another young girl died in the streets this week. Her name is Raianne. She was nineteen. This is the third person to die in this streets this year. Mary and I never met this young girl but the team had been ministering to her since she was a young child. On Sunday, she and another girl had a fight over a trivial incident. One girl pushed the another in anger and Raianne fell and hit her head on a rock. We know the girl who was involved as well which makes it even more tragic. Raianne left behind two young toddlers.

Needless to say when we met the children in the streets they were upset and pensive. Whenever something like this happens, the question about their own mortality becomes alive. Raianne had survived many dangerous situations in the streets but it only took a misplaced rock to end her life.

Nobody wanted to talk when we arrived, but they did not ignore us as well. It seemed like they wanted us to be there but they did not know what to say to us. We stayed and waited. Then Eduardo, one of the older teens, opened up. He asked us what happens to our soul when we die. He wanted to know whether we lose our identity or does it remain intact. This started a long and serious conversation about God, life, and the resurrection. Our conversation lasted for almost an hour and it was truly a conversation and not an one-sided lecture. Personally, we were amazed at the profundity of the questions Eduardo asked.

One of the things he wanted to know was whether our memories remain with us for eternity. He especially wanted to know that if we would remember negative events and continue to bear grudges against the people that hurt us for eternity. His concern about this made sense. Eduardo’s life has not been easy. He has been in the streets since he was a young child and it was unfair circumstances that brought him here. He wants to shake all the negatives memories of his life and live a new life. He doesn’t want to continue a life of crime, but he is big and intimidating looking young man who is 19 years old. Not many people want to give someone like him a chance. He does not rob but we suspect that he deals in drugs. However, despite his tough exterior, there is a tenderness in this young man. He wanted to know if, in the afterlife, he would be free from all the baggage of this difficult life.

Speaking about the afterlife is not easy. No one can speak authoritatively about this subject. We told him that we can only speculate but we can know something about Resurrection because there is One person who resurrected from the dead. The Resurrection helped us to address the question about memory. The Resurrected Body of Jesus bore the marks of the hatred and anger, but its resurrected state changed the affects of its scars. We told him that the act of Resurrection is truly a divine act and it can only be understood by faith. Jesus believed that He was to be resurrected by God and this influenced the way He lived his life in the body. He did not succumb to hatred and anger even though he was assailed by these. Instead He chose to find His strength in the Love of God. This Love transformed the scars of hatred into symbols of victory. However, only through faith we can understand the meaning of this.

We told Eduardo that whatever he does in this life with his body will bear the mark for eternity like in the Resurrected Body of Jesus. He can decide in this life what he wants to be remembered for eternity. His past memories do not have to determine everything he becomes now. God is able to take what we have and transform it into a miracle.

Eduardo asked us how our bodies would restored if they suffer decomposition. We told him honestly that no one knows how this is going to work but it is not impossible to imagine God using these materials to create something new and wonderful. This, of course, served as a wonderful analogy of the bad childhood and rejection that Eduardo had and how God is able and willing to use all these materials to create something great. We told Eduardo that the Bible has examples of people whose histories were radically transformed; people who suffered great injustice like Joseph. God used the rejection and injustice and made it into something wonderful. Even St. Paul who persecuted Christians and the Resurrected Christ changed his history forever.

There were several moments of our conversation which moved Eduardo to tears. Perhaps in a strange way, Raianne’s death opened the door for us to speak about Life to Eduardo. I believe that something happened this day. We changed the nature of our relationship with these young people. They know now that we are willing to converse with them on serious and complex questions about Life without pretending to know all the answers. We don’t need to know all the answers and we don’t want to give easy answers. We can only share with them what we have and we have Hope in the Living Christ that transforms our lives in the here and now.

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Beyond Right and Wrong

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.-Matthew 11:28

Two interesting things happened last week.

The first incident occurred last Monday. We usually work in the evenings on Monday. Our time began with a conversation with a drug dealer who controls an area where the homeless children usually stay. We often bothered by this dealer because some of the older teens also work for him. Besides this, he is often seen there with his wife and two little children. It makes us sad to see these two children born into this lifestyle. However, last Monday, he was alone. Usually he avoids talking to us but it was apparent that he wanted to talk to us this time. He told us that his wife got arrested recently and she was in prison. He claimed that he nearly lost both his children as they were with her when she was arrested. Since then, he managed to get his children back from social services and he believes that his wife might be in prison for some time as she is wanted for homicide. We could see that he was feeling vulnerable and we decided to stay and listen. He started opening up about his life. He shared that he got into this lifestyle because of love. He fell in love with his wife who was involved in drug trafficking. We asked him to consider seriously whether the path he is on is a good one for his children. Then the conversation took a bizarre turn. He desperately wanted to prove to us that even though he was drug dealer, he was still a good person. He claimed that once he almost killed someone for robbing what he called a hardworking civilian. He said that it was wrong to rob people of their hard earned money. He thought that dealing with drugs was not really wrong because he does not force anyone to use drugs. Needless to say, we were disturbed by his distorted ethics. It appears that he needed someone whom he considered worse than him to prove that he was indeed a good person. He wanted desperately be a good person even though he was going about it the wrong way.

The second incident occurred partly on the same night. We found our children in a nearby square and they had puppies with them. They told us that they found the puppies abandoned and they decided to adopt them. They were very excited like normal children would be when they get their first pet. The next day we found the children in the same place with the puppies. These children held the puppies close to their chest with one hand and held a bottle of paint thinner in the other. They were high but still very affectionate with the puppies. This scenery itself was surreal and then we saw a well-dressed couple approach the children and start talking with them. From a distance, we could make out that the couple were talking about the puppies. Then there was some money exchanged and the couple took all the puppies with them. They had paid $50 for each puppy and there were three. This was not a good thing because all the money would be spent on drugs. These children even said this in our presence. The couple saw them using drugs and yet they gave them the money anyway. I suppose they did not think about their actions carefully. From where we were standing, this couple thought that the puppies were more important than the children. They did not care if the children got high and died from overdose as long as the puppies were fine. It did not make sense. We were not the only ones that came to this conclusion. There were other social workers who saw this transaction and like us they too were flabbergasted. The couple went home thinking that they were better people than these children because they saved the puppies from them.

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.-Romans 7:19

The couple and the drug dealer reveal something that is intrinsic in humans. Within us, there is a desire to do good, but having the desire alone is insufficient. Our desires do not necessarily inform us how to accomplish the good we desire to do. The drug dealer uses violence and intimidation to protect his idea of innocent victims. The couple wanted to save the lives of the puppies but they ended up contributing to the self-destruction of the children. All these people want to do good but doing what is right is not easy. The struggle is a real one. Everything seems distorted and confusing. St. Paul was right when he explained the deep inner struggle of the human soul. The good that we want to do is not what we end up doing.

No one deliberately does something evil. Most people think that they are doing something that would help them or others. Sometimes people make very bad decisions thinking that it is going to help them in the long run. Our children are in the streets because they think that this is the best thing for them. Everyone wants to do something good but not everyone knows how to discern what is right and wrong. There are many attempts to provide a foundation for this discernment. The answer does not lie in the actions itself but it has to come from something beyond these actions. The answer is not a mere theological or philosophical exercise but it is crucial for our very existence. Sometimes we hear stories from the older teens themselves that they struggle to know what is the right thing to do. They want to be good people but they just do not know how. This is the burden of being a human. We know in our innermost being that we are the happiest when we do good and our soul wanders aimlessly until we discover how to do it.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.- Matthew 11:27-30

Jesus does not give us a formula or a doctrine. He just points to Himself. He is the answer to knowing what is right or wrong. This is why that no matter how open we are as Christians we cannot succumb to saying that all religions are the same. As Christians, our existence is define through the person of Jesus. The person of Jesus Christ informs our ethical decisions. It is not the doctrine of Jesus but the person of Jesus. It is not a historic person named Jesus but a living person that is experienced through the Holy Spirit by faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is a not a blind leap. It an invitation to an experience to know the One who is able to give us the understanding between right and wrong.

We prayed for the couple and the drug dealer and we also prayed for ourselves. We too need to be constantly renewed in our understanding of what is right and wrong through the living presence of Jesus Christ.

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Prince Harry visits Cracolândia

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.-1 Corinthians 12: 4-6

The World Cup fever hits royalty as well. Prince Harry was here to support the English Team and for a short state visit. This is not his first time in Brazil but it was his first time touring São Paulo on an official visit. He wanted to visit Cracolândia. For those unfamiliar with our postings about this place, you can read about it from the links below. Cracolândia is a nickname given to a place in São Paulo where all the crack addicts go to waste their lives away by smoking crack. It is a dirty and disease-ridden place. The number of the homeless here varies but on the average there are about a thousand people that live in the streets here. Cracolândia is in the center where we live and Prince Harry was in our neighborhood last week.

This visit was anything but spontaneous. There have been some activities in Cracolândia on the part of the mayor’s office since the beginning of this year. They have been systematically cleaning up the area. By this, I mean to say that the local government has been trying to solve the problem of the homeless crack addicts. I always believe that we should give credit where credit is due and the mayor took a commendable approach to solving the problem. The previous path of action would have been one of violence. The mayor would send in the police armed to the teeth and force the homeless to disperse. This time the present mayor, Fernando Haddad, engaged the help of some social agencies and they came up with a plan to provide jobs in exchange for housing and food together with a little pocket money. The jobs were mainly working with sanitation department. Participation in this program was voluntary and many of the addicts enlisted in this program. It goes without saying that the opponents of the mayor predicted that this program would fail. This is just politics. From our perspective, it is too early to tell whether it is going to be success in the long run. However, we do see many positive things happening. The jobs and temporary housing are helping some of the addicts regain their dignity. They like working and having a clean place to sleep. Most of them admit that they use all their earned income on drugs, but they have stopped engaging in illicit activities to finance their drug habit. The program also offers drug rehabilitation services. Perhaps some of them will move towards this direction.

I am sure that local mayor is doing this because of political motives but it does not matter. It only matters that God is using this to reach out to these forgotten people. Prince Harry’s visit restores a greater sense of dignity to these people. The prince got a sanitized version of Cracolândia. The cleaning crew made sure everything looked presentable for the visit. The Prince just wanted to meet some of the people who slept in the streets and he did. We saw some of the footage and he spoke to some people with whom we have good relationship.

My father told me that one of his favorite memories was the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Singapore in 1972. She chose to visit the poorest neighborhoods then and she wanted to visit families in their homes. The visit marked the hearts and minds of the poor then and many like my father have fond memories of her visit. Royalty in some strange strikes a cord in our spirituality. To have royalty visit the poorest of the poor is like something you read in a fairy tale. Prince Harry followed the footsteps of the Queen and visited the poorest of the poor. Whether consciously or unconsciously, he was an instrument of God’s grace for the people in Cracolândia. Some people might say that he made drug addicts into celebrities. I think he just made them feel human and worthy of a royal visit. This is all he did and I think it was a good thing.

* The clip above is a brief report on Cracolândia shown on British television prior to the visit of Prince Harry.

Previous Posts on Cracolândia:

Living in a Labyrinth

The Empty Tomb

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Moving forward towards the Goal

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.-Philippians 3:14

Not all our work occurs in the streets. Our street work leads us to the homes and families of some of the children. Previously I have mentioned Yuri and his family and how we have been helping Yuri redefine his place in his family and life in general.

Yuri has been in the streets since he was ten years old. He has been used to dealing and using drugs. However, after his final stay at the detention center, Yuri decided that he needed a change of mind and heart; these were his own words. He asked for our help to fulfill his goal.

Yuri’s biggest problem was time. He had too much free time and he did not know what to do with it. He wanted to do something useful and yet he felt helpless. He did not like this feeling and it was this feeling that led him to the streets in the first place. He wanted to do something helpful for his family. We suggested that he cook for his family while his sister is at work.

We started with giving cooking lessons. This worked for a while but Yuri still was feeling restless. He felt that this was not enough and he was not making any real progress with his life. He finally got a vacancy in night school and he began attending classes. However, he was placed in the lowest grade possible for his age and he had lot to make up for those years spent in the streets. Fortunately, Yuri did not mind. He was going somewhere now. However, he was still free most of the time during the day. Yuri himself admitted that this was not good thing. While he was in the detention center, he told our team that he wanted to be a hairstylist. When we asked him if he was still interested in doing this, he told us that it was still one of his goals. It was something he enjoyed doing. We decided that it would be a good investment to enlist him in a hairstylist school. We decided to spilt the cost of the school among ourselves and pay for it.

Finding a hairstylist school wasn’t easy. Yuri is fifteen and he is below the regular age limit. Besides this, he does not have the necessary school grades to qualify for the course. We explained Yuri’s situation to the director of the school and pleaded for him to make a special concession. He agreed to do it. When we told Yuri this news, he was really excited and he wanted to start right away. The hairstylist school has training three times a week and it does not interfere with Yuri’s school. We had to buy professional hair trimming instruments and then Yuri was all ready for this new adventure.

It has been a month now since he started and we discovered that the school is not very good. The teachers do not actually teach the students anything. They cut hair without any orientation. The students basically teach each other. Despite this, Yuri is actually happy. He is learning new things from his fellow students. He is gaining confidence and he even injured himself while cutting a client’s hair. He is determined to complete the course. We were disappointed with school but we are glad that Yuri is not discouraged. He wants to learn and he is going to take every opportunity that is available to him. We asked Yuri if he wanted us to find another school. He told us that he wants to finish the course in this school first and then perhaps find a better school in the future.

The school is near the center where Yuri used to sleep in the streets. He does not have any desire to go back to the streets or meet up with his old friends. Instead every Thursday after his training he meets with one of the team members to talk about his faith and struggles. He has opened up tremendously with us. He recognizes the good things that he has in this life especially his older sister, Suelen, who has been with him through thick and thin. The last time we had a meeting with him, he asked if we would take his younger sister and him for an outing. He said that he wants to spend more time with us. This made us happy.

Previous posts about Yuri:

Cooking with Yuri

Cooking with Yuri: Suelen’s Story

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Seems Like Reality is not Enough

Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”- Luke 18:16

The FIFA World Cup began last week and consequently Brazil has been in the media spotlight for the past few weeks. There were some reports circulating in the social media that homeless children are being killed in some cities in the Northeast of Brazil. One particular news article in a famous UK newspaper (the actual name of the journal is not relevant to this post) reported that in numerous Brazilian cities prepubescent homeless girls were prostituting themselves for food. When they cannot get money for food, the homeless children resort to glue sniffing to numb their hunger pangs. The report contains many appalling stories of abuse and violence that the children face daily. In another report, there were claims that many as six thousand children are being killed by off-duty policemen hired by the local businesses. I cannot comment on the veracity of the report because I do not work in that particular city. However, I have my doubts. We work closely with many social agencies including the human rights agencies and such news, even if it occurred in another cities, would be brought to our knowledge.

Our children here sniff paint thinner and use hard drugs. They can be as young as ten and so far we have no reason to believe that any of them prostitute themselves. We also know that no one uses drugs to forget their hunger pangs. Most of the time the children are given food by the local restaurants and sometimes the children get so much food that they waste it. The news media tries to sensationalize something that is doubtful and, if it is true, it is perhaps isolated. They are trying to exploit a sad situation and sell fabricated stories. The question is why do they need to go to such extent. Isn’t the fact that there are homeless children disturbing enough? Is this just a symptom of a systemic problem of society in which people will only respond to a certain situation when it is extreme and depraved?

Yesterday afternoon the city was more agitated than usual because of a Brazilian game. Offices closed early and even the banks closed after lunch. Everyone was rushing home to catch the game at 4 p.m. We were doing our regular rounds in the streets and saw some of the children walking towards the center where there is a large screen on which the games are going to televised live. They were all sniffing paint thinner. We noticed that one of the boys was walking a little strange. We asked him what happened and he said that he dislocated his arm and possibly broke something. He was in pain but claimed that it was getting better. We insisted that he needed to go to the doctor but he refused. We are not allowed to take him to the hospital by force; only his parents can do this. The boy’s name is Diogo (10 years) and he recently came to the streets. His older brothers, Daniel (11 years) and Dreyson (12 years) have been in the streets for a few months. Their parents never once came to look for them. We strongly doubt that his parents are going to take him to the hospital. We were greatly disturbed and we kept insisting that he needed to go to the doctor but it was pointless. He was too young to understand anything that was happening to him. Yet he was in the streets. His brothers have no idea that their brother is seriously hurt. They were too high on thinner and too excited about the upcoming soccer game. They were not going to listen to us today. The World Cup is on their mind. We left them a little sad and disturbed.

We decided to go to another area where some of the children usual stay and found Vinicius and his sister, Ana Paula. These children are new to the streets. We met them about a month ago. Their mother is a squatter in one of the abandoned buildings. We are not certain but their mother gives us the impression that she is mentally challenged. She does not seem to be aware of her surroundings most of the time. Vinicius and his sister spend the whole day in the streets unsupervised. Vinicius is 10 years and his sister is only 7. Today, it was particularly worse. Their younger siblings were with them and one was two and the other was three and their mother was no where to be found. Vinicius was responsible for the three and he has no clue what he was supposed to do for them. He wanted to play with me but I had to refuse. His younger sister soiled her pants and needed to be changed. She was not wearing a diaper. The poor girl was crying. The mother was not around. The other children did know what to do and we are not allowed to do anything. We stood there with the children and waited. It was a sad scene but we were helpless. There is really nothing out there for these children that is going to make their lives better. If they were taken away from their mother, they might be separated from each other. They would not understand why they cannot be with their mother. We are not sure that the mother would understand either.

This was our day today. It was disturbing and sad. We don’t need to sensationalize the harsh reality of these children. Children of all ages should not be in the streets but they are here. We thought the numbers would decrease during the World Cup but it seems to have increased. There are more children below 13 years. They are surrounded by drugs and violence. They are vulnerable to all kinds of evil. They are not going hungry nor are they prostituting themselves but they are abandoned. I think this alone is disturbing and we don’t need to sensationalize anything.

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Talking about Sin Comfortably

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”- Romans 3:23

The meaning of the New Testament word for sin is missing the mark or target.

All of us aim for something in this life. Aristotle summed up his works on ethics with the thought that we all aim at happiness. There is a general consensus that this is true. However, we know that the world is full of unhappy people. We are not successful in getting what we want. It doesn’t matter who they are and what they have and who they know. The world is quite an unhappy place. The problem is that we don’t know what exactly constitutes happiness. We look to the wrong things to make us happy. We have a deficient idea what brings happiness to our lives. This deficiency in itself is not sin. Our sin lies in not recognizing that we have a deficiency. Sin blinds us from realizing that we are aiming at the wrong things for happiness. This failure to acknowledge our deficiency is an obstacle to happiness.

If we want to help someone to be happy, we cannot avoid talking about sin. However, it is a personal conversation just as the pursuit of happiness is a personal quest. Before out talk about sin can occur, there must be an intimate relationship. We can only talk about sin with those whom we love.

Igor, who is 21 years, is an orphan and has been in the streets since he was a young child. He can read and write because he was forced to go to school in the long periods he spent in the juvenile detention center. He got into a life of crime because he thought money would help him achieve happiness. Instead it just brought more problems and suffering. Now, he is not sure what is going to bring him happiness. He is not motivated to make a change in his life. He is not sure if it is worth the effort to try because there is no guarantee that he is going to succeed.

Igor is not waiting for government help. He does not want handouts. He does not even think that things are going to get better for him. He wants to know if there is a reason for him to hope for happiness in this life. I think that it is impossible to answer any of his questions without a meaningful conversation about sin. However, we cannot talk to Igor comfortably about sin if we do not genuinely care for his well-being.

So, what gives us the authority to speak about sin? This is an important question we ask ourselves constantly. Before we have this conversation with him, we need to know for ourselves whether we are aiming at the right target. Jesus warned us,

“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”-Matthew 7:5

Perhaps we feel uncomfortable talking about sin because it requires constant self-examination. We cannot talk about sin in terms of us and them. We need to talk about sin including ourselves in the mix. Sin is very much part of our lives. We have a deficient idea of happiness as well and we in ourselves cannot claim to know where to aim.

Talking about sin makes us aware that we need to help finding the target. Who can help us find this target? Who can point to us the path of Happiness? The best we can do is to point to the person of Jesus Christ. Many do not think that Jesus has something to offer. However, for those who realize that our vision of happiness is deficient, Jesus can open our eyes to see a new reality in the Cross. This is our hope for Igor, but first we need to talk to him about sin.

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The Feast of Pentecost: The Birthday of Missions

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.-Acts 1:8

Not all churches commemorated Pentecost Sunday in Brazil. There is a strong anti-catholic sentiment among the evangelical Christians and they avoid anything that bears any resemblance to the Catholic Church. This, unfortunately, means that traditional feast days are mostly ignored in the evangelical churches. Consequently, it has impoverished them. We need to reflect on the important events of our spirituality. It reminds us of our spiritual vocation. Our team is made up of mainly evangelical Christians but we did not allow this day to past without reflecting on its meaning in our ministry. The presence of the Holy Spirit is crucial in our ministry. It gives our ministry a purpose and most important of all, it is a reminder of what it means to work in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In São Paulo, most people have grown accustomed to the presence of the homeless children and teens. A good Christian man who was not afraid to be honest and politically incorrect told me that most people in São Paulo are more disturbed to see stray dogs in the streets than to see children. He said that homeless children have always been there whereas stray dogs are something new.

None of us, including the only Brazilian in our team, are from the city of São Paulo. We are sent and supported by churches outside the city and country. Sometimes we feel like we need to justify ( this is perhaps a feeling just in our hearts) why we are serving in a place that has nothing to do with the reality of our sending churches. Why invest time and money in a Catholic nation where there are ample churches both Protestant and Catholic? Sometimes we feel like we need to justify our presence here and then it hits us. We are here because of Pentecost Sunday.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.”-Acts 2: 4-6

We cannot separate the speaking of different languages from the coming of the Holy Spirit. In some churches, the gospel is read in many different languages on this day. It is an important symbolic act to show that the Holy Spirit changed the way the first disciples understood the message of the gospel. God’s favor was no longer restricted to one people, but His Spirit is upon all peoples. The presence of the Holy Spirit has been with the Jewish people always, but now it is poured out to the world. The word for “Spirit” in Hebrew could mean “breath” or “wind” with which Jesus symbolically describes the movement of the Spirit in His conversation with Nicodemus. It is an appropriate symbol. We cannot domesticate or control the wind or air. It is free to go where it pleases. The church is only truly a church when it is willing to allow the wind of the Spirit to carry it to places and people to testify to the power of the gospel.

We cannot understand the reason for missionary work if we do not understand the power that comes from the Hoy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has only one purpose according to Jesus. The power of the Holy Spirit lies in this role. Our power comes from recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit.

He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.- John 16:14-15

Our power comes from recognizing the presence of Jesus in our midst. This is the only thing that makes the church relevant. If we allow ourselves to be distracted with other tasks, then we lose our authority and power in this world. If we make power our goal, then we lose all authority. Our goal is to testify to the work of the Holy Spirit.

The feast of Pentecost reminds us of this. The New Testament writings after the gospels are about recognizing the presence of Jesus in this world through the Holy Spirit. The apostles never wrote about doctrines; they just testified to the living presence of Jesus. The doctrines become alive and living testimony of the gospel’s power when we use them to recognize the presence of Jesus. They become dull and lifeless if they are end unto themselves.

The feast of Pentecost reminds us that it was the Holy Spirit who brought us to the red light district of São Paulo. None of us ever imagined spending the prime of our adult life walking through trash and filth to find homeless children and teens who might be too drugged out to talk to us. However, we wouldn’t be anywhere but here because the Holy Spirit brought us. This is the only reason we need to be here. We need to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost to remind ourselves of this Truth.

We are here for the sole purpose of testifying to the transformative presence of Jesus. Every encounter with the living presence of Jesus is transformative. This is why our power lies in recognizing His presence in this world.

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