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It used to be that when people thought of “missionaries,” the image that came to mind was of men going off into dark jungles to live among tribal people in a primitive, pre-industrial culture. This concept has changed over the years as missionaries have reported back to churches from savanna grasslands, major metropolitan areas and everywhere in between. Still, the second time I went to Brazil one of the first-timers (who, by the way, had missed the pre-trip orientation) was nearly shocked to discover we were in a teeming city of hundreds of thousands (Belo Horizonte) and not in a village along the Amazon. All he’d ever heard of that vast South American country involved rainforests, something almost as far from the daily reality of most Brazilians as it is of most Americans. Brazil is a large, populous country with a powerhouse emerging economy that is counted as part of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
Brazil is a connected nation. When I moved to Brazil in 2001 I had to take a bus across town in Uberlândia to use the Internet at a cybercafe. By the time I was able to go online at my house (via dial-up) there were cybercafes all over the city. Now I hear that broadband is becoming common in many homes. Even many of the favelas of Rio and São Paulo are finding their way online, legally or illegally, in much they way that they’ve managed over the years to tap into the power grid.
Still, vast inequalities continue to dominate in Brazil. The strongly centralized governmental system concentrates a great deal of power in few hands, and the bloated governmental bureaucracy at all levels opens the doors to immense corruption. The situation is arguably better than in times past, and certainly an improvement over the inhumane leadership of the military dictatorship that dominated for decades, but hundreds of thousands are slipping through the cracks.
What keeps a poor boy from a life of theft and drug dealing? How can a girl from a home where more than one meal is a luxury find a way to avoid the lure of prostitution? Strong, united families can overcome these obstacles, but throughout the poorest neighborhoods of Brazil (and even some of the less-poor) dysfunctional homes and a pervading sense of hopelessness with the status quo proves too much for many young people.
A resource-rich nation with a creative, entrepreneurial population like Brazil can do better. The elements are all there, it’s just a matter of organizing them and bringing them together. Sometimes the missing piece is simply the Good News that Jesus is Lord. That alone can forge a new community of disciples that labors for the hearts of the lost and the future of a nation.
Brazil is a nation with a broad but shallow Roman Catholic culture. It isn’t unheard of at all for children to take Bible stories to school and have them read aloud. A generally tolerant nation, no offense to other belief systems is intended by the implicit acceptance of Catholic culture. It’s simply a part of life.
With a common identity shared by many in a Christian tradition, it is no wonder that the Bible is widely respected and evangelicalism continues to grow as the biblical message is preached and taught. In my own experience I rarely encountered any resistance when I referred to the Bible as a primary source of religious authority.
In such a context, where infrastructure is being built (albeit unevenly) and can be tapped into, where profound inequalities are known to exist and readily admitted, and where the claims of Christ can unify a vital group of disciples, great good can be accomplished. Brazil has a lot going for it. I believe that with the right community development strategy, including English and tech training courses together with a missionally-impelled program of Bible training, the lives of many can be transformed. Homes, neighborhoods and even entire cities can feel the positive impact of the reign of Christ.
I want very much to be a part of ministering on this emerging grid.
John "maddog" Hall preparing to speak at DebConf10
Around the middle of last year I wrote about Brazil as “somplace wired.” Though a developing nation, it has a power grid and it is possible to get online there. I mentioned in that post something Jon “maddog” Hall was reported to have said in a talk about open source tech in developing nations. Essentially, he said there was nothing he could do for the child in the vast nothing of extremely rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear him say this in person at DebConf 2010. His idea for what can be done for people living in urban poverty, beginning in Brazil, may be just what I’ve been trying to find for part of my own future work in community development.
Project Cauã is an attempt at launching a fully sustainable, environmentally-sound means by which the urban poor of Brazil can support themselves as system administrators. Rather than being job training for a corporate position (of which there are few and for which there is great competition already), this project captures the entrepreneurial spirit of the Brazilian people. When I lived in Brazil I knew people who made candy at home to sell in the street and even saw a man fixing umbrellas in the street downtown. Brazilians in general are quite creative about dealing with hardship and finding ways to make a living.
As I understand it, the basic idea of Project Cauã is as follows:
- Train a person on how to administrate Linux systems and a Wifi network, to the point where he or she can be legally certified, licensed and bonded (this matters a great deal in bureaucracy-heavy Brazil, and I would argue is a vital step in breaking the underlying chain of corruption that exists on all levels in that country).
- That person goes to the bank and gets a small business loan to by the hardware, including thin-clients computers that operate on GNU/Linux. These computers, using already-available components, would consume less power by design and be far more environmentally friendly than the usual Windows desktop.
- The newly-minted sysadmin takes leases out the hardware and admin services to local users. For example, office buildings in São Paulo are often full of multiple, small companies. A sysadmin could lease services and equipment to users in the building, working from a small office or even the basement. In a residential area the sysadmin would be able to do the same for neighbors.
Figuring in Internet access, payments on the loan and other expenses, “maddog” figures system administrators could make as much as $1800 a month. This might not sound like much to us in the United States, but in Brazil $1000 is about what an entry-level system administrator can expect to make in a company, perhaps as much as $2000 if he or she is really good.
There is more to this than what I’m describing, but that’s the bare-bones outline. It may seem idealistic, but it’s entirely “doable” and makes a great deal of sense in the context of Brazilian economics and civil society. It should also be obvious how this could serve as a key element in an overall community development strategy. I’ve wondered for a long time how open source tech could be used effectively to break the cycle of poverty in a sustainable way in Brazil, and now I think I’ve come upon it in Project Cauã. I’ll investigate further and, hopefully, find a way to go forward with this strategy.
On June 15, 1997 I made a commitment to prepare myself for lifetime mission service in Brazil. A few years later, in January 2001, I thought I was making good on that pledge to God. I had worked fast and hard for a Bachelor of Ministry degree through Harding University’s School of Biblical Studies program. I had raised support, and to provide for what might be lacking I took a distance learning course to teach English as a Foreign Language in Brazil for part of my support. In February 2001 I married the love of my life, Christiane. A Brazilian (now also naturalized American), she brought companionship and greater joy to my walk with Christ. Together we have two children. Now, a little over nine years after my move to Brazil, we live in New Jersey. What happened?
Much of the specifics I covered in an earlier post. I hadn’t completed all of the preparation I had decided was necessary that evening in June 1997. Further, my perspective was skewed. Ministry to me was not the full-blooded, holistic application of the Good News of Jesus. Instead, it was a matter of correcting people’s incorrect religious ideas and baptizing them into Christ. That was pretty much it.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong and quite a bit right about teaching the Word of God and immersing people into Christ. This work is essential to the mission of God. This along is simply too 2-dimensional. The Good News has the power to deliver people from sin and sorrow, but it needs to be lived out in diverse ways to reach people in all conditions of life. This message of God coming in the form of a servant should inspire disciples of Jesus to their own works of service, declaring in word and deed that the kingdom has come, the new creation breaking into this world bringing with it new life and the promise of a future hope in resurrection and New Heavens/New Earth.
The world needs this word. Brazil needs this word. The powers and authorities need to be reminded, however they might deny, mock or ignore, that God alone is sovereign and Jesus is Lord.
What on earth am I doing in the United States? At this point, I would say I am coming back to myself, realizing that recovery from past hurts needs to be brought to closure and preparation for the future needs to take place. At the same time, I am more than a little worried. Time has passed. Does God still have a place for me in Brazil? Looking through photos my brother-in-law Marcelo sent of church activities this year in Uberlândia, I see familiar faces, but also quite a few unfamiliar ones. Things aren’t as we left them in late 2003 when my wife and I moved our family to the States. She
and our kids have been back there twice since then. I haven’t returned yet. It feels as though something inside me is preventing it.
In 2012 the World Convention is scheduled to take place in Goiania. This event, held every four years, is the global gathering of people from churches with roots in the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. I’ve said often that I plan to attend. I hope I’ll be able to do so. Now, though, another thought is crossing my mind. What if 2012 marked my family’s return to the mission in Brazil?
Pray with me on this, would you? Discernment is needed, and answers won’t come overnight.
Here’s the song I heard in church that evening in June, 1997 during communion. At the time I didn’t understand the words, but it spoke straight to my heart. When I learned the meaning of the lyrics, which speak of power misused, justice for the downtrodden and a call to look up to “the Just Judge,” I was in awe but not too surprised.
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What follows is something that I wrote in 2003, at a far different point in my life as a Christian. Recently as I’ve thought about the World Convention to be held in Goiania, Brazil in 2010, this essay came to mind. Although I no longer agree with the tone of what I wrote, the fact remains that there is deep division in Brazil among churches of the Stone-Campbell movement. This is a division with which I cannot entirely disagree. Since the pentecostal Churches of Christ in Brazil appear to be the ones most supportive of World Convention, it seems obvious that neither the International Churches of Christ nor a cappella Churches of Christ will want to be involved. I find this both logical and lamentable…an uncomfortable mix of attitudes, to say the least.
The Truth About Christian Churches/Churches of Christ Missions in Brazil
“…that they may all be one…so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21 Updated NASB).
“…contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3 Updated NASB).
Too often, in my opinion, those promoting unity in the Restoration Movement seem willing to do so at the expense of the “faith once delivered.” I’ve seen this serving among the independent instrumental churches as well as among the brethren of a cappella churches.
Perhaps you’ve never noticed, but Christians have a tendency to support projects and missions overseas that they would never think of supporting in the United States. It’s as though, somehow, the rules change once you leave U.S. territory. Saddest of all is when the churches don’t even bother to verify whether what they are supporting is in line with what they believe. Someone appears asking for financial help, says the right spiritual-sounding words, and the checkbooks and purses open up. If not asked at the outset, rarely are questions asked later about details of faith.
Beginning in the 1960s, the instrumental and a cappella churches of Christ in Brazil cooperated to a certain extent. Most notably, the missionaries from both branches of the movement met in annual missionary retreats. A spirit of brotherhood and unity is said to have prevailed for a while, although some a cappella missionaries expressed disappointment that “the instrument issue” wasn’t being discussed. One year, however, one of the instrumental missionaries gave a talk in which he promoted an embrace of Pentecostalism in order to advance mission work. Controversy ensued, and the joint meetings were ended completely. Pentecostalism swept like a prairie wildfire through the instrumental churches in Brazil, so much so that the only faithful remnant among these churches to be found today is located in north and northeastern Brazil. All of the other instrumental churches of Christ throughout the remainder of Brazil were “Pentecostalized.” The only congregation in central Brazil that I personally am familiar with and know did not follow this path meets in Belo Horizonte. In order to survive, it removed the piano from the worship service (the piano is still in the back of the building and covered up) and is now in fellowship with the a cappella churches.
Fortunately for the sake of New Testament Christianity in Brazil, the instrumental churches in the north are evangelistic and growing, while the a cappella churches of Christ have grown and spread throughout central, eastern and southern Brazil. Unfortunately for the Gospel truth, the Pentecostal churches have grown even faster.
Over the course of years the Pentecostal churches began calling their ministers “Pastors,” electing women to be Pastors, preaching a baptism-free, faith-only plan of salvation and organizing into a loose but formal denominational structure. Their ministry students graduate from the Bible College in Brasília to go out preaching a corrupted gospel, and all too often seek to infiltrate faithful churches in order to lead them into the Pentecostal fold. At the forefront of resisting these deceitful workers have been the instrumental American missionaries in the northern city of Belém. As recently as a coupleof years ago they were called upon to confront a “Pastor” and his self-willed wife from Brasília that were trying to lead a church into what’s known as the “G-12” movement of Pentecostalism. With the Lord’s blessing a good part of that church was preserved, though the “Pastor” still led a portion away to start a new, Pentecostal church.
What I tell you in this article is the simple – albeit painful – truth. I know both from personal contact with the Pentecostals and from first-hand testimony that it is true. I wish that it weren’t. At the National Missionary Convention in Peoria a few years ago I met a veteran Pentecostalized missionary to Brazil, and we spoke briefly. He mentioned to me that in his youth he had preached a stricter, narrower message; but that later his eyes had been opened receive even the Catholics as brethren in Christ. He based this conclusion on the evidence of Pentecostal “gifts” such as “tongues-speaking” among many Brazilian Catholics. Rather than make recourse to the Bible to determine what makes a Christian, this missionary and others like him base their faith on subjective experience. And yes, he continues to receive mission support from independent Christian Churches in the United States.
If anyone doubts what I write, let me know and I will help you get in contact with people from the a cappella and instrumental churches in Brazil. You will find that there is no exaggeration in what I write. What I report here is little known among American churches. Missionaries in Brazil from a mission agency associated with the independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, for instance, have confessed to me that they do not tell supporters that the churches they serve in Brazil are Pentecostal. When visitors arrive from the U.S., they explain away the services as cultural, but definitely not Pentecostal. Since visitors don’t generally know Portuguese anyway, they can’t perceive it when some members begin speaking in tongues and they have no idea that the message being preached is Pentecostal and faith only. I’ve actually been asked to keep it quiet, and when I mention it to other Latin American missionaries at the NACC and the National Missionary Convention, I’m generally met with what I call a “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” response. It’s evidently considered an insider’s secret.
I am committed to Christian unity, but not without basic commitments to Biblical teaching. The truth must be told, and I cannot keep silent. Compromise of Biblical truth is not necessary or desirable to attain unity. In Brazil I worked in complete and peaceful cooperation with a cappella and instrumental brethren whose teaching did not include Pentecostalism, and I made no conscious distinction between the two. The unity I seek is, first and foremost, truly Christian.
Adult (over 18) prostitution is not a crime in Brazil. Law books I read on the topic while living in Brazil tend to agree that this can be considered a moral problem, but it is not a crime in a strict, legal sense. The difficulty with this position is that what plays out in reality is not always a straightforward business transaction between consenting adults.
While teaching English in Brazil one of my students explained that a former classmate was a “garota de programa.” The rough translation of that would be “program girl,” I suppose. Sexual services are described as a “program.” He talked about how she had a boyfriend and he was perfectly okay with what she did, going on to explain that she was a “high class” prostitute who could command top money and pick-and-choose her clients. To my student’s mind it was all fine.
Although I agree (brace yourselves) that prostitution in and of itself should not be considered a crime before human law, it is very clearly a violation of the will of God. People were made for committed, on-going heterosexual relationships. Doing otherwise not only goes against what God has revealed to humanity, but is harmful to the well-being of the individual.
“Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself.” - 1 Corinthians 6:18 NRSV
What damage “consenting adults” do to the detriment of themselves and, by extension, their families through engaging in illicit sex is ultimately in their hands to resolve. Things become more complicated when underage children enter the sex trade.
As I shared recently on this blog, child prostitution is a serious problem in parts of Brazil. In a permissive and even promiscuous culture that glorifies sex in every way, situated in a climate that encourages wearing less rather than more, young girls from poor backgrounds in particular can easily be tempted into making quick money in exchange for sex acts. For some it is an addiction to drugs that drives them, even at an early age. For others it may represent the possibility of meeting a well-to-do man (perhaps even from another country) who will take care of her. Whatever the specifics, in the eyes of many girls the best opportunity they can see around themselves involves sex.
What can be done to address and resolve the enormous challenge children in the Brazilian sex trade represents? I can think of a few steps to begin:
- The Good News that the crucified and resurrected Jesus is Lord, and that through him complete forgiveness, redemption and restoration can be provided to anyone.
- Technical and vocational education, both in the schools and in extra-curricular academic programs, perhaps arranged in partnership with local schools and/or community groups, as well as programs that focus on preparing underprivileged students for the governmental college entrance exams that can afford them free admittance and tuition to a public university.
- Counseling, especially from a Christian perspective, focused on rebuilding the family (the family being recognized as the most basic unit of society) as well as restoring individual dignity after the image of God.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” - John 8:36 ESV
During the summer of 1997 I went on a “mission internship” through Christian Missionary Fellowship. Most, if not all, Bible colleges of the independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ require an internship for graduation. Not all such internships are international in nature. Normally young people spend a summer working with a preacher or in a Christian non-profit to fulfill the requirement. The funny thing is that I had no such “requirement.” I was then enrolled only in a community college. In any case, going to Brazil that summer marked a major turning point in my life.
I went into my internship expecting only to gain an awareness of missions and to deepen my ministry experience. For some reason I always imagined that if I ever did any “full-time” mission work it would be someplace like Lithuania. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know.
Even the choice of Brazil as my destination that summer was mere process of elimination. I didn’t like any of the other options on the list the mission organization provided me, so I put Brazil as my first preference. I think Chile was number two. One of the professors during my brief stint in Bible college had mentioned in passing a “revival” taking place in Brazil, with hordes of people (my words, not his) converting to evangelical Christianity. That sounded interesting.
A few months of support-raising and organizing later and I was in Brazil. I had little notion of Portuguese and nothing in the way of previous international travel. By the end of that summer I could speak basic Portuguese and was convinced I had to devote my life to mission work in Brazil. A year later I returned to Brazil with a team from Harding University, where I was studying in earnest for a ministry degree. Two years later, after graduation, I met my beautiful wife. After all that I spent slightly less than three years in full-time mission work. I hope to return to it someday, with a fresh perspective and improved outlook.
Today marks the 13 year anniversary of the day I made my commitment to Brazil. I still hope to fulfill that promise.
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Doing It Wrong
“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” - John 8:36 NKJV
The title of the report as posted on the BBC News page, “The dark side of Brazil’s sex trade,” seems rather odd to me. One is left wondering what the “bright side”of Brazil’s sex trade might be. In any event, please watch the video before proceeding to read the rest of this post. I’m sorry it isn’t available to be embedded here.
Click here to watch “The dark side of Brazil’s sex trade.”
Disturbing though they are, reports of this type help shine a light on a grim reality that is completely foreign to most of us. It’s hard to imagine mothers prostituting their own children and little girls having sex with strangers so they can buy crack. This is the unfortunate life of many young people in Brazil and elsewhere.
What children in the Brazilian sex trade represent is not so much the desperation of extreme poverty but the enslavement to sin that breaks down human dignity. Having lived for a few years in Brazil and being married to a beautiful Brazilian-American woman who grew up in difficult (though not in the favela) circumstances, I can say with a fair amount of insight that children being “driven” to prostitution out of dire necessity is rare.
When extended families fail to help (or grow weary of doing so) there are still public and private entities available to provide assistance. Evening begging is an option better than the sex alternative. It isn’t uncommon for children to hit up bakeries in the evening for leftover bread. It isn’t ideal by any means to resort to asking people for help, but it is far better than the easy money to be made in selling a child’s innocence.
“They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” - Ephesians 4:18-19 ESV
That said, I have to insist that no body is better equipped than the church to confront the underlying societal, familial and personal ills that create these circumstances. When I say that Brazil needs more solid Christian community development efforts, this is the sort of thing that comes to my mind.
Did you notice in the video how Patricia’s mother seemed much more concerned about the money her daughter wasn’t bringing home that with the child’s well-being? That’s a family in complete breakdown and disarray. A mother who needs to be called to repentance and a little girl who needs drug intervention, recovery assistance and counseling. Who will provide that?
The women prostituting their children in broad daylight…who will summon them to justice? Who will provide a way out and a future for the children? Who will report the “Johns” to the authorities and then demand that the powers that be take action? Governmental agencies need to be active and responsible, but no one can provide the moral basis for change and Good News of forgiveness and restoration that the church has in its possession.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” - 2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV
If anyone reading this knows of Christian-based community development organizations that are dealing with child prostitutions and other societal ills in Brazil, please post the information in a comment here.
For my part I continue committed to seeing educational programs, chemical recovery and other practical works of ministry fostered in poor Brazilian communities.
The image of those little girls walking the streets will haunt my waking memory, compelling me to act.
“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” – 2 Timothy 2:24-26 NRSV
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When I told a Brazilian friend that David Bayless had been in Brazil for 50 years as of last year (2009), he was surprised. You see, my friend comes from the a cappella Church of Christ and was only familiar with the story of the missionaries of that branch of the Stone-Campbell Movement arriving in Belo Horizonte in the 1960s. Looking into it I’ve learned that the sustained work of those churches started slightly earlier in São Paulo. In any event, the thought that brother Bayless and the team he was part of had been there in the late 1950s was new information to my friend. Then again, it makes sense that he wouldn’t know about this part of the movement’s history in Brazil. The churches which David Bayless and his co-workers planted were “instrumental” in their worship.
When, sometime in the 1960s or so, Pentecostalism swept through the instrumental Churches of Christ in Brazil, the missionaries and churches Belém resisted. These northern churches remained largely isolated from any but American churches until the past 20 years. David has made an effort to maintain contact with the a cappella churches to the south, attending their missionary gathering from time to time and submitting news from the Belém area congregations to The Christian Chronicle. Having attended a couple of the churches there several years ago I can say they are essentially non-instrumental anyway.
There aren’t many good feelings either from the Belém-area churches or the 120 or so a cappella congregations in Brazil towards the instrumental Churches of Christ that went Pentecostal so many years ago. Quite frankly, most rank-and-file members likely have no idea such churches exist. Those who were around for the controversy or who have heard the stories don’t have any desire to be connected to the “Pentecostalized” churches.
That isn’t to imply that the “Pentecostalized” churches have been out of touch with the rest of the Stone-Campbell Movement. In fact, after the “split” these churches busied themselves with evangelism and growth, spreading to most parts of the nation. Further, they continued to receive missionaries from the United States (apparently the missionaries kept the Pentecostalism quiet or the sending churches didn’t care). It could also be said that the “level” of Pentecostalism varies among the congregations, with some being more reserved and others less so. Most continue to teach baptism, and I was pleasantly surprised during a visit in 1998 to the Flamboyant congregation in Campinas to hear the pastor read every New Testament passage directly relating to baptism and then explain at length that baptism is essential for salvation.
As I stated in the title of this post, there’s to be a gathering in Goiania, Brazil in 2012. It will be the 18th meeting of the World Convention. The convention, held every 4 years, is intended to be an international gathering for people from all branches of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Given the divisive history of the churches in Brazil, and the fact that Goiania is one of the focal points of Pentecostal Church of Christ activity in Brazil, I rather doubt that anyone from the Brazilian churches outside of that group will be in attendance.
Well, I plan to attend.
My Brazilian friend told me that before he moved to the United States his perspective on what Churches of Christ are like was somewhat limited. All he had known from childhood was the congregation in which he was raised and other churches in the region. For him, that was what the entire church everywhere was like. When he came to the United States he began to see that within the same branch of the movement (a cappella) there was modest variation on some points. When he met me and learned of churches that are committed to being simply Christian, and which use instruments in worship, his perspective was further stretched. Of course, that doesn’t mean he agrees with it, only that he has a somewhat broader vision now. While that may be the case with him, such is not true in much of Brazil.
To be entirely honest, I am somewhat conflicted about World Convention 2012. While I believe in the value of meeting with others within the movement and sharing in our common faith heritage, I also understand the resistance from I some quarters to participating. Involvement could be seen as endorsement or a lowering of standards. Further, stories have circulated for years of “Pentecostalized” folks infiltrating the non-Pentecostal churches in order to turn them. I have no direct knowledge of such activities, but I have it on pretty good authority that it’s true, rather like how non-institutional brethren have been reported to cozy up to “mainline” a cappella congregations in the U.S. and elsewhere to try to change them.
Additionally, I’m not one who believes in “unity meetings” for their own sakes. As I have written elsewhere, there is a missional purpose to unity. Getting together with Christians who hold other viewpoints on some matters can be worthwhile, but I truly believe that it’s meaningless unless used to advance the mission of God. Putting everyone in the same room may be a first step, but it is only that unless we proceed to work out a path forward.
Still, I prefer dialogue over debate and cooperation over isolation. The fact that I worked mostly with non-instrumental churches over the past decade or so has never been considered an endorsement of their views. When the topic comes up (rarely) I state my views. The world, so far, has continued to turn. In attending the World Convention it should be no different. I will go into it looking for like-minded people and will attempt to discern what level of collaboration we can engage in for the sake of Christ’s reign in Brazil and around the world. There will be some with whom nothing beyond a friendly conversation can be realized. Perhaps others will invite me to speak at a revival or seminar in the future. Still others may be so much on the same “wavelength” that we can partner in ministry more fully. Unless I go, I won’t know what is possible, if anything.
So, Lord willing, I hope and plan to be there in Goiania in 2012 for the 18th World Convention of Christian Churches/Churches of Christ/Disciples of Christ. This is also why I hope you will try to make it too, if you share in the Stone-Campbell heritage and value simple Christianity.
Anyone who’s been to Rio de Janeiro has seen favelas. These are shanty slums built on otherwise unoccupied land, and in Rio they climb the mountainsides at seemingly impossible angles. The ongoing move from smaller cities to larger in search of better opportunities — or mere survival — spurs the continued birth of new slums. What can be done, or even should be done, to help the poor in these neighborhoods?
Sometimes people forget that these shanties were built on someone else’s property and that officially legitimizing them by putting them on the grid (utilities, schools, roads, etc) may encourage more land invasions. At the same time, folks in these slums are poor for a reason, and in my observation for the most part drugs and laziness are not the primary factors.
First, two questions must be asked about any favela neighborhood in Brazil. ”Is it safe,” and “Is it legal?”
The above video illustrates the type of tragedy that can occur when people build on unstable land not prepared for human habitation. In the video you see the results of a mudslide following intense and sustained rainfall in Niteroi, a major city in the greater Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. The homes were built, without title to any land, on a “hill” that in fact was an unofficial dump up until 1981. People started moving onto the available space shortly after the dump was closed and covered over with dirt. In recent years local specialists warned that there were toxic substances in the sub-soil, but to no avail. When the rains fell and completely saturated the ground, the results were devastating.
The second question, regarding legality, is somewhat more sensitive. It’s easy for relatively affluent North American Christians to show up and criticize the fact that people are essentially living on stolen property. They may have built the homes, but the land underneath was never theirs. It may belong either to some level of government (municipal is most likely) or a private landowner. In either case, even without any documentation proving ownership, homeowners living in these conditions may feel justified in thinking they have a claim to the land. It was typically idle when they came upon it, neither inhabited nor in agriculture, so they think something along the lines of “finders keepers.” Then, after the community’s been there for a while, usually hacked into the utility grid, the city comes along with a program and sets up legal connections power and water, even without the residents being legally on the property. When this happens the impression of permanence is given.
Although I lived nearly three years in Brazil and was engaged in mission work while there, I was nowhere near the favelas. Also, my work didn’t focus as much then on community development then as it would now, were I to have the chance. That being the case, I’d like to open the floor and invite comments from those actively working to improve the lives of people in Brazilian slums. Whether you self-identify as “Christian” or not, if you are a community activist/organizer/developer in Brazil, please have your say. What do you think about the situation of the slums in general, at-risk “irregular” residential areas in particular, and the government’s treatment of these communities? Also, please try to comment in English if you want your response to be understood by most other readers.
At this point, all I can say is that both the systemic ills need to be addressed as well as the physical/educational/emotional/spiritual concerns of the poor.
What do you think?
See Also:
Improving Slums, One Step at Time (GlobalPost)
Niteroi Mission Team (not directly effected by the landslide, it’s a really big metropolitan area)
Over on Facebook a while back Keith Brenton quoted from Star Trek: “If I may be so bold: It was a mistake for you to accept promotion. Starship command is your first, best destiny. Anything less is a waste of material.” – Mr. Spock to Admiral Kirk, Star Trek II. Then Keith asked, “What’s your first, best destiny?” The answer that came immediately to my mind: “Mission in Brazil.” That’s got me thinking. A lot.
For a couple of years I taught English and did missionary work in Brazil, South America. My wife is Brazilian-American, and my children were both born there. One day while I still lived there a letter came in the mail from a woman who attended a church I’d served in Missouri. I don’t remember anything else she said in the letter, but I do remember she said: “you’re living your dream!” That day as I rode the city bus home from work I saw a Brazilian flag flying high over a John Deere dealership (yes, they have those there) and remembered her words. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. It’s been a while now since I felt that way.
We left Brazil for a multitude of reasons, not least of which being the tenuous financial situation of both the country and our household, and the fact my permanent visa was taking so long to be approved. Our intention was to move back in five years. That was 2003, it’s now 2009 and I haven’t been back once. My wife went to visit her family in 2006 and my mother-in-law has been to visit us in New Jersey a couple of times.
What happened?
There’s a large Brazilian population in the part of New Jersey where we live, and we attend a Brazilian church. Products from Brazil are readily available at area supermarkets. I don’t have to deal with the frustrations and indignities of life in a developing nation still hung over (though they’d scarecely admit it) from years of a military dictatorship and rife with silly, counter-productive ideologies. Still, it just isn’t the same.
We have a good life here in the United State and I can’t see uprooting our family for another major move, but that doesn’t change my sense that Brazil was, is and will always be my “first, best destiny.”
