Favelas

The homicide rate in California (population of 39 million) for 2017 was 1,829 victims, often described as a war-zone.
I’ve done inner-city work there and I can tell you I have felt uncomfortable more than a few times. 17 years volunteering at the Union Gospel Mission in Salem and for 30 years God has allowed me to serve the homeless.
Our daughter Danielle and her husband Thiago teach churches and other missionaries how to evangelize in Brazil. They often go into the most difficult areas in the cities of Rio and Sao Paulo. She tells me stories of how as she enters into the slums (favelas), men with automatic weapons warn them, “If you steal from us, we’ll kill you.” They frequent these places enough that now when they enter, these same men ask them, “Please pray for me.” And they spend time with the women and children, sharing Christ and meeting the great needs there.
The homicide rate in the state of Rio de Janeiro (population of 16 million) for the first 6 months of 2017 reached nearly 4,000 victims . These statistics give you an idea of how violent the places are that we live in.
Many think of Rio as a paradise. But, it was reported earlier this year, that for the first part of the year, more people died in Rio than in the Syrian conflict for that same year.
Christ died for these precious people and I”m grateful for the heart of my daughter and her husband, reaching some of the most difficult places to reach.
Please pray for them as they are presently in São Paulo doing this very thing.

Leave a Reply