Time to hit the infamous favelas of Rio

Saturday 8th September we left Carole's home in Cabo Frio and drove south to go back and minister in Rio, where what should've taken about 2 hours to get to took about 8. An hour into driving we stop to fill up with petrol only to find when we wanted to leave that one of the cars wouldn't start. The starter motor which we thought had been fixed had in fact not been. So 8 of us who'd been in that car stayed behind at the gas station while the other 3 cars went on to Rio. Lucky it was a nice gas station with a restaurant and wifi to pass the 4 hours of waiting time! In the end Carole's parents drove all the way from Cabo Frio to pick us up and take us to the favela. Altogether this probably took them about 6 or 7 hours round trip, definitely way out of their way and schedule!!

Packing Carole's parents' car in the gas stations - fitting

a LOT of luggage and people in a LITTLE bit of space!!

The trip to the favela took about 2 hours, gotta love Rio traffic. With 7 million people, Rio is very big. So much so that 90km outside of Rio it was already Rio Residential area starting. Shew. No wonder there was crazy traffic. Arriving on Saturday night at 9pm in a favela the day after Brazil's Independence Day was crazy. Narrow steep winding roads, not sure where we were going, unpacking our cars with almost the whole team's luggage in the street with loads of people everywhere, chaos. Did I mention Favela da Rocinha used to be the most dangerous favela in the world? It's also where the movie Fast Five was filmed. But all was good and we got settled into the church and our new "home" for the next 36 hours no problem.

Our ridiculous looking caravan driving

into the favela causing chaos

View of the favela up the mountain

Sunday we woke up to find a street fruit and veg market right outside our front door. Awesome! So after our relaxed church service where we ministered to the core congregation, answering their questions, sharing words and wisdom with them, off I went to investigate. It was crazy, filled with life and energy and craziness, I loved it. Some questions are better not to answer, like what are your feet walking on, what's that smell or why is someone skinning a cow's head from its horns to its nose just there on the street. 

A crazy testimony from the pastor was that at the beginning of the year God had told him that a group of international missionaries would come minister in his church this year and that it would be significant for him. Our visit there only got organised that very week through a contact in another church we'd ministered in just before. Plus we were there for the weekend of the church's anniversary - they'd been wondering how to celebrate their anniversary but God had told them don't worry to organise anything, He had something in mind. How cool of God, there really are no coincidences in His Kingdom when we follow His leading, He brings us to exactly the right places at the right time in the best way possible, far better than we could ever plan or arrange.

Would anyone like to be the

electrician in this community?!!

In the afternoon we went with a local guy from the church to walk around the favela praying for people. This was awesome. And crazy. I loved it so much I want to move there. The craziness, loudness, crampedness, even the dirt where you don't want to know where your feet are walking, let alone the smells in the very dark and narrow steep walkways between the buildings, all of it. A definite highlight was praying for a lady in the favela who afterwards told us she'd had a dream a few days ago where a group of foreigners came to lead her back to Jesus and this group would be brought by someone she knew. She knew our contact from the church who'd been guiding us around the favela so we could pray for people (that place is crazy, you'd be lost within minutes alone), and our group of 5 people were from 5 different nations: Canada, America, Australia, Brazil and South Africa. Wow God, we were an answer to a lady's prayer with us appearing in her dream just days before we got there!! God really is a God of the miraculous. Yesterday, today and tomorrow. He's not just a God of bible times 2000 years ago. 

Another crazy sleeping arrangement... about 13 girls

(I lose track how many we are these days!) sleeping

on the floor of a classroom in the favela

Home in time to freshen up before the evening service. This was just crazy, seeing the power of God move, physical healings took place, hearts were moved, it was amazing. I'd love to explain just how awesome some of our meetings are, but words can never explain the move of God sufficiently.

Eating dinner from a street vendor on the pavement

Monday we moved to spend 2 nights at a retreat/camping type place. Just getting here was a miracle, with God somehow shrinking us and or our stuff to fit 17 people, bags for nearly all the team (we're now up to about 32 people), not just us 17 people into just 2 cars. Another God setup - we didn't actually have anywhere to stay and being Rio all accommodation is super expensive, but on Sunday night while the other half of our team were ministering with an Iris (the missionary organisation we're with) base somewhere else a contact was made who organised for us to stay here for like $10 a night which is such a blessing. Plus the establishment is feeding us! So today, Tuesday, we are having a much needed rest day.