Pacification (Kristin)

As many know, Rio’s favelas (slums) were pockets in the city where the police had no presence or control.  In an effort to control violence and lawlessness with the upcoming World Cup (2014) and Olympics (2016), special police units have been created to subdue and control the favelas in Rio.  First, the BOPE enters (think military police specially trained in favela warfare) to kick out the drug dealers and take control (Jeremy wrote about it here).  After a specific time, control is handed over to the UPP, Unidade de Policia Pacificadora (Pacification Police Unit), whose role is to maintain peace and order and be the law in the community.  On November 30th, 2010, the UPP was officially inaugurated in Morro dos Macacos.  What does the arrival of the UPP mean?  Peace? Normalcy?

I've asked several residents what effect this has had on their lives.  Do they see a difference?  Most respond similarly, shrugging their shoulders and saying “things are mostly the same except that we don’t see guns.”  Apparently the UPP only provides a more superficial "peace." But there is actually more crime now in the favela whereas before most of the crime (other than drug dealing) took place outside of it.  When the drug traffickers were in control, residents would not dare steal from one another.  Such crime was severely punished.  A friend went to the hospital recently and saw a young boy with a bullet wound in the middle of his palm, a common consequence enforced by drug dealers on thieves.  But now, when I ask if they can report these incidences of theft to the UPP, residents respond in horror, “no way”.  You see, some of the drug gang has returned (though mixed in with the population) and they are watching to see who is talking to the police.  Fear still rules in the hearts and minds of those living there.    

This false display of peace is evident all over society, even down to the individual.  Externally we have an impression of safety, order and tranquility, but internally there exists distress, corruption and violence.   The only hope we have, as a society and individuals, is found in Christ and in letting “the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” (Col 3:15).  Please join us in praying for this internal peace to come and reign in the hearts of all men. 

Having a Charlie Brown Christmas? (Jason)

“Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you the meaning of Christmas.  Lights, please!”  A friend of mine said that when a life falls apart Linus’ words are a message of hope.  Charlie Brown had been seeking the true meaning of Christmas.  He knew that he didn’t get it.  He knew that he was missing something.  Why else should he be feeling so disappointed and depressed?  He seeks help from Lucy.  We learn that, for her, only real estate translates into happiness.  Likewise, his sister thinks that satisfaction comes from 10’s and 20’s.  Charlie Brown himself seeks fulfillment in being the director of the Christmas play.  This only ends in greater disappointment and depression.  We all have a similar tendency to take Christ out of the manger and replace him with our frankincense, gold, and iPhone 4’s.  All this sets the scene for Linus’ famous monologue.  Linus the Wise understands the meaning of Christmas.  He knows that the only way to satiate the pining of the human heart is to put Christ in the manger.  It is only after Linus reorients Brown’s values system that the story is resolved.  Charlie Brown smiles.  He finally gets it. 

It is our prayer that we all put Christ in the manger this holiday season.  Merry Christmas.

A Nontraditional Thanksgiving (Jeremy)

Nothing on the table last Wednesday night would have indicated that we were celebrating Thanksgiving. No turkey, no dressing, no sweet potatoes - just 3 pounds of noodles and a bucket of spaghetti sauce. Yet, for all its simplicity, the evening transmitted a sense of gratitude that would have made our forefathers proud. After the meal, each of us had an opportunity to express our appreciation to God for the things He has given. Here's a run down of what each had to say (besides Claudinho who was working).

Jason - my wife, Jacob, the baby on the way and Sombra Road
Kristin - my mom's successful surgery, the baby and Jacob (besides those mentioned in the previous blog)
Paulo - Sombra Road and how it is a family for him, the guys in the house and his mother
Ronnie (a guy from the favela) - His mom, his girlfriend, his friendship with Marcos Paulo and Jefferson and his relationship with the people of Sombra Road
Adilio - his family, his girlfriend and his growing relationship with Jason

Jeremy - Marriage with Carol, privilege to be around the guys, Kristin, Jason and family and friends here and in the States

Anderson - the hope he feels for the future that God is preparing for him and the way Sombra Road has become a family for him

Carol - our Sombra Road family, her parents and brothers, and a loving, servant-minded husband that does not merely listen to her but actually intuits her very essence (she didn't exactly say this last part, but I could tell that this is what she desired to express)

In looking over the list, I know there is nothing remarkable about it. The entire activity could be little more than a mindless exercise in civic responsibility - like a kid expressing his gratitude for the socks his grandmother gave him for Christmas, parroting the words that mom and dad had scripted for him on the ride to her house. However, I think that these moments allowed us to step out of the routine and appreciate the privilege of our present reality. I hope that even if your own Thanksgiving was too busy for thankfulness (as mine often is) that you would prioritize stepping back this season to find it in your own life.  

Thankfulness (Kristin)

'Tis the season...to be thankful.  It's sad how this coming holiday is almost completely overshadowed by the commercialism of the one to come.  I wish more emphasis was put on Thanksgiving...on being thankful to God for what this year has brought us, the good and the bad, knowing that our perfect heavenly Father has our lives in His hands and transforms even ashes to beauty. 

We are thankful this year...

for Jeremy and Carol's marriage
for the blessing of new life growing in Kristin's belly (and growing, and growing)
for Anderson successfully completing a rehabilitation program and returning to live and grow with us
for Claudinho's good job
for Paulo returning to the Sombra Road House
for Adilio growing more and more in maturity in Christ
for Jacob's health and joy
for God's guidance and direction in the future of our ministry
for God's provision even in difficult times

What are you thankful for?

Additionally, we would like to invite you all to a beneficiary concert in support of Sombra Road.  Our dear friend, Kristin Turney Jones, has kindly offered her (and her band's) amazing talent and time in order to help us raise needed funds.  The entrance to the concert is free, with donations requested.  Please see the invitation below and invite your friends:

Good Try (Jason)

 

Several months ago Jeremy sent me this email:

Claudinho recently bought a cell phone direct from China. He asked me to translate something from the manual into Portuguese. This is exactly what is written:

You can information and others of the usage writing carry on confabulation. Chat has diagrammed a mark to show at which chat room. Chat function of operation with get to the Internet chat homology.

I thought maybe you could help me out. I know so little about confabulation these days.

I can just imagine the guy who wrote this manual bragging to his co-workers saying, “English - English is practically my first language.  I got this.”  When it comes to cell phone manuals it is not the end of the world if you get it wrong.  The same does not apply to life.   

We have been talking a good deal about Paulo lately, both in our blog entries as well as in our staff meetings.  Paulo thought that, in his own strength, he could be good enough, smart enough, motivated enough, etc. to succeed and achieve all his dreams.  He has come to a point in life where reality has weighed down hard leaving him disillusioned and depressed.  We have been trying to help him see that he has at least three choices: he can give up, he can try harder, or, he can lean on Jesus.  This may seem simplified, but I think that this is the reality.  Paulo is not the type to give up.  However, he, as well as all of us, runs the risk of just trying harder.  It is our prayer that Paulo would not settle for what he can do for himself.  We pray that he, coming to the end of self, would rest on Christ.  We hope that Paulo, unlike the manual writer, would not say, “I got this”, but that he would turn to Jesus in desperation and say with Peter “Lord, to whom shall we go?”  Please pray for Paulo this month.  We believe that he is in a very impressionable period.  Pray that his life would be marked by dependence on Christ.

A Different View of the Favela (Jeremy)

There are a couple of recent events that I wanted to relay, so this post will run less like a story and more like an update. First, the special forces police assumed control of Morro dos Macacos on Thursday of last week, supplanting the local drug lords. Rumors have been circulating since March that this would happen sometime late this year or early next, as Rio prepares for the World Cup of 2014 and the Olympics of 2016. Still, we were all quite surprised when it actually happened. The interesting aspect of this somewhat non-traditional coup was that it all went down without a shot being fired. The drug lords had been forewarned of the attack and chose to flee to neighboring favelas instead of putting up a fight. Police occupation of the favela has engendered a type of temporal and superficial peace. Now, we walk the tight streets with less concern about where to hide if we got caught in crossfire between gang members and police. Today, we were even able to take pictures of Kristin, Jason and her family (see above) in the favella, an act that would have been inconceivable a week and a half prior. This means that the scene that Kristin captured in her last post on our blog will play out on other hills for the time being. But, we are not convinced of the long-term effectiveness of this measure. While it makes life easier for now, it could be creating more problems for tomorrow. I compare it to placing a band-aid on skin cancer. Nonetheless, we wait to see what God will do with the more favorable conditions.

As for the guys in the house, this week was marked by some encouraging conversations. Adilio is starting to connect the dots between today's habits and tomorrow's reality. Claudinho made a great comment about his tendency (and ours) to make morality rather than God's grace the central theme of his story. Anderson trusts himself a little less and God a little more these days. Finally, Paulo is starting to believe that the bad things he learned about himself while he was away are not a threat to God's grace but rather an invitation to it. We love living with these guys because of all they have to offer us (which doesn't negate the fact that they still need to learn to lift the seat).



Not Just Fireworks (Kristin)

We have a wonderful view of "our" favela from our apartment. We not only get the view, but the sounds that come with it as well.  Sometimes that means all night rave parties that make me wonder how anyone living closer manages to sleep at all.  Sometimes it's the fireworks that are set off at seemingly random times (normally in the middle of the night).  Many times it's police helicopters and such, and occasionally it's machine gun fire and other atrocious racket.  Here is a video clip of one such night.  It only lasted 15 minutes or so, but it leaves one shaking knowing that those bullets are landing somewhere and thousands of people and children are huddled on the floor of their rickety homes in total fear.

These favelas are mini war zones, but people are still engaged in life: going to work, to school, having birthday parties, planning a wedding, etc.   Most importantly, churches still meet, prayer is lifted up, our Lord is worshiped and His gospel is spread.  No matter where we live or what we do, this is our calling: to worship our God and spread the Good News.  Please pray for the churches in this favela, that they would be bold, faithful and glorify our Lord.  Pray also for the teenagers we work with in this favela, that their hearts would be open to our God of hope.