From Rio and Fortaleza, a very long way!!

We spent some time in Rio taking care of family matters, including what to do with our cars. Getting towards the end of the journey we needed to be thinking about practical things such as this! We decided to keep them a little while longer, at least until the north of Brazil. 

Farewell Rio...

Next stop Salvador on route to Fortaleza via Porto Seguro. Brazil is a very big country so we needed to break up the long travel days a bit. Porto Seguro was a good family rest day next to the beach. It's also an important place in Brazil as it's the coastal town and island just off the mainland where the Portuguese first landed in Brazil. So of course off we went to the island to minister and pray over the land.

Porto Seguro

Salvador is a town with an interesting history. It is the largest town in the north-east coast of Brazil and was the first capital city of the country before Rio de Janeiro in 1763. There is a street called the "Whipping Post" where slaves were taken to be whipped in days gone by. Horrific I know. So this is where we set off to minister, where blood was spilt, many of it I'm sure innocent. Praying on the steps at the top of the famous road we had street people coming right up to us asking for prayer, admitting addictions to drugs etc and wanting freedom. Beautiful.

The "Whipping Post" street

Us girls :)

Kelly sharing Jesus with a street vendor

From favela to rubbish dump to one of Rio's most expensive areas, all in one day!

Saturday and we were off to minister in the rubbish dumps with three people from a local Iris church. They visit garbage dumps in Rio every weekend to play with children, visit families, pray for those in need and show movies in the evening on a big screen for the community. They even get a street vendor to come and serve popcorn for the kids! So fun!

No one joins them or participates in their ministry, even just to visit, so having 30 of us come with them to the dumps was a dream come true for them. The rubbish dump is apparently now officially closed as Brazil starts to clean up for the 2014 World Cup Football, but people still live there. Being here was was the closest to Africa I think I've seen in the last year of travelling through Central and South America - the dirt, waste, extreme poverty and sense of no hope, and all this just half an hour from Rio. What was sad for our three contact from the local Iris church is that their friends and fellow Brazilians in Rio don't even know that these rubbish dumps exist, let alone think about how the people living there need love to be shown to them to. 

We spent the afternoon going house to house, praying for healing, playing with the kids, riding bikes with the kids and just carrying and loving on the kids, giving them the touch and attention they so need.

Bringing joy to the kids!

By the evening, completely exhausted after a full day of favela, rubbish dump, our day of complete contrasts was not over with one of the girls who'd brought us to the dump took us to her one of family's apartments where we would stay and rest for the rest of our time in Rio. Turns out the apartment would be in a rich area of Rio, not surprising once we found out she is actually a famous Brazilian bikini model, and her dad happens to be Bebeto, a very famous Brazilian soccer player who played a key role in Brazil winning the 1994 World Cup. 

Another surprise for my day, finding a famous Brazilian bikini model who happens to be madly in love with Jesus and passionate about spending her spare time playing with kids in garbage dumps. And now as I write she's in Mozambique sitting in the dirt with the African children while she attends Harvest School, the same missionary training school I did with Heidi Baker in 2011.

Parada de Lucas - the favella where no one wants to go

Wednesday and we were off to another favela, Parada de Lucas. This is apparently quite a dangerous favela, in that even the police don't go there (unlike Rocinha where the police presence was pretty strong, especially while us white people were there!). We went to serve with a YWAM base there who had to get permission from the narco leaders (drug traffickers) for us to enter the favela. This is a community where no visitors are allowed. Enter without them knowing and you'll be shot. Questions asked later. As such every time we wanted to leave the house where we were staying we had to take a local kid with us, partly to show us the way so we didn't get lost, but more importantly to keep us safe and prevent us from walking into areas we shouldn't be.  

View of the favela from the outside

Even right up until we got there the YWAM leader was expecting us to pull out and say we didn't want to stay there. Needless to say sleeping arrangements were a little tight trying to fit nearly 30 people in a house meant for not more than 8 I reckon!! One bathroom between all of us meant showering times were between 3am - 7am :)

Wednesday night we lead the outside Church service. And by outside I mean literally on road between the church and the pavement on the opposite side of the road - we had cars, bikes and pedestrians walking between the congregation and the preacher/worship team! A highlight was praying for the lady next to me (she was reluctant to ask for prayer, her husband kinda made her) and she was healed of her backpain. 

Sometimes I really do forget just how crazy and extreme our lives are, and when we leave things in the (very capable) hands of the Lord, well, there's no telling what exactly will happen! Thursday was just one of those days. I woke up to fireworks going off (these are set off by the gangs to warn each other that the police are coming into the favela), walked past gangsters standing right there in the streets with assault rifles and pistols "bon dia, God bless you" (what else could I say to them?!), right to a community centre in
the favela where companies have sponsored rooms aimed at community development, such as music studios, dance rooms, etc. Before I know it I find myself sitting in a professional music recording studio with a famous Brazilian rapper, praying for him and then worshipping God together with him while played and sang the guitar. Say what?! And this was before 11am!!

Video clip of guys jamming in the community centre

People from the community can record CDs etc there for free, very cool. We were offered the opportunity to record some music but unfortunately we didn't have time. Another highlight was the next day Moose getting a lesson in mixing music - he has it on his heart to make worship music when he gets home, and praying over and blessing the DJs and would be DJs. This just goes to show that while we go out to bless others, God blesses us by giving us the desires and dreams on our hearts as well. 

Moose learning how to mix music

Funny story is two of my friends almost getting shot when they came back into the favela after going to the embassy to get one of their visas renewed. Don't worry, they were absolutely fine with no actual bullets being fired once one of our contacts informed the lookout gang members that they were YWAM, but just goes to show they really do operate on a shoot first ask questions later basis. 

One of the nights was just crazy loud with no hope of sleeping until way into the early hours of the morning. Turns out it was the birthday of the main gang leader of the whole favela so there were fireworks and celebrations all day and night. Kinda crazy walking down the road in the afternoon past a public swimming pool where families are swimming inside and men with guns are standing guard outside. I guess even gang members want their kids to enjoy swimming on a hot afternoon but life is life and the reality is there they'd need to stand guard outside the pool protecting their families. Oh, and I'm really sorry I haven't included more photos, but no cameras allowed in the favela. Gangsters rules!

So instead I'll include a photo of Acai, which all of us have come to love in Brazil... Acai is a berry type thing which is served frozen which granola, honey and banana, delicious!!

Acai... oh how I'll miss you!!

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. 

Love

Love. People often ask what does love look like. It looks like something. But what. How do you explain it. I think that only love can explain what motivated me (and 12 others) to drive 2 hours leaving Cabo Frio at 9pm on Thursday 6th September to drive (very crowded with 10 of us in one camper van!!) to another town, Macae, arrive at a church about 11pm, hang around waiting to go out after midnight, drive to another area of town pray for and minister to street people and transvestite prostitutes in the red light district for a couple of hours before having to leave due to gun shots close by, going back to sleep on the floor of a classroom behind the church (without enough bedding for all of us), to wake up sick the next day, get up to minister in the evening service and then drive 2 hours back to Cabo Frio to arrive back at Carole's home at 1am to find not enough space to sleep as more people had joined our team in the 24 hours we'd been gone and were thus sleeping in some of our beds. And to think that this was one of the best moments of your life. Why? Because we do it all for love. This is what makes me come alive. To show God's love to those many people don't think are worth stopping for, let alone going out of your way to see. 

Is it worth it? To have Leonardo (one of the homeless men we spoke to) recommit his life to Jesus? I think you'd agree with me that yes it was worth it. 

Cabo Frio

Staying in Carole's family home was like heaven for us. We were incredibly blessed by members of her church bringing food in excess for us. We are a big group so we go through food etc at a very rapid pace! It was a little squashy, picture 9 mattresses touching top to bottom, side to side, with 2ft of free space, and that was just one of the two bedrooms to sleep about 17 girls, but somehow her parents managed to source mattresses for all of us. This is the first time we've stayed in the family home of one of the member's of our team. Such an honour. 

Me with Carole and her family 

Church that night at her church completely rocked, it was crazy anointed. Below is a link on YouTube of Ben preaching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bXh8Eda2hqE

Our team being introduced to the church

The week was filled with ministry - homeless ministry, dedicating a new church, street ministry, youth services, hospital ministry, ministering in a gang area, etc. One day we were ministering with a pastor of a church which was only about 2 months old in a poor rough neighbourhood. Turns out a man had given them this brand new church building built and paid for ($150,000) out of his pocket for the pastor to do with as he pleased. So we prayed over the pastor and the building, asking God for vision etc as to how to best use the building. 

Blessing the pastor 

We also prayed for people in a nearby hospital, people we just met on the street, at bus stations, everywhere. A tiring but good day. What I'm learning in street evangelism with other churches is that it's not so much about us, it's about the church we're partnering with - many of them do not know how to connect well with people in this way so they learn a lot from us. So that makes it worthwhile because honestly, handing out tracks is definitely not my style of evangelism!!

This is how we travel - for our day off we went

to the beach, 7 people in the back of the car

(3 in the front!) plus two surfboards!!! 

We're off to Rio, Rio!!

Friday we set off for what should've been an 8-12 hour drive to Rio. Well, when 2 hours into the journey we have to pull over us the break pad in our car cracked and broke into many pieces, and it took us about 5 hours to fix it, we decided perhaps we wouldn't make it to Rio that day. Plus when after setting off less than an hour later the A-frame of our trailer broke... another hour later of fixing it on the side of the road (good thing we were right next to the sea as this made it way more picturesque!) and we were off again, only to have the whole trailer collapse while driving down some cobbled roads in the next town. Ok, definitely time to call it a day. While the breaks were getting fixed that afternoon when we knew we wouldn't be getting to Rio that day a couple of us starting praying asking God for a good hostel to stay in. Which He gave us. Honestly one of the best hostels we've stayed in. Plus at only $10 a night and $2.50 for a delicious buffet breakfast, hot showers and comfortable beds God had blessed us more than we'd asked for.

Saturday we had to decided what to do with out trailer. Thing is we need it to carry like a dozen bags, but having being trawled through 19 countries we can honestly say it's seen better days. We decided to leave it right where it was, on the side of the road in the town of Paraty where the council guys (we spoke to them) would get it to the church we'd just passed a block away who had someone who would like it. So now are down to no trailers, having left the other one on the side of the road in Chile. The rest of the day was smooth sailing with very few car troubles (just a little overheating of one of the cars) with us arriving at Carole's house in Cabo Frio (just north of Rio) in time for a delicious braai prepared by her parents. Carole is a member of our team and from Rio so for the next couple of weeks we'll be ministering with her church and other contacts.