MNBrian
Well-Known Member
Hey everybody! So I'm at the airport heading to Argentina shortly. I spent the last week in São Paulo and figured I'd share a tiny bit with you all!
Did some missions work here with the homeless. It was extremely moving and heartbreaking to see the number of brazillians homeless and addicted to crack and cocaine in the streets. The police are so understaffed that they've opted to confine all the drug use to a single 5 block "safe zone" called crackland. Squad cars post up on either side of crackland and just try to make sure no one gets murdered, but inside that 5 block radius, the sale of drugs and use is essentially legal. This method at least helped clean up the rampant citywide use but it also showed the city how truly bad the drug problem is. About 20,000 people were there Friday night when we went. We handed out food and blankets and prayed for people, hoping they could get out of this life and connecting them with a ministry that has had some success moving people off the streets and off the drugs.
I think the most striking thing about São Paulo has been how close in proximity the bad and the good are. In the same block, you could have a slum in an abandoned building right next to a Gucci store. That's São Paulo. The bad and the good, the rich and the poor, living as neighbors.
After 7 days of non-stop ministry, a few bottles of Tylenol and sudafed, and some terrible sinus related flu, we had a day off to go sight seeing and enjoy the markets in São Paulo. It was extremely tiring but I really had a great time. I wouldn't feel right showing photos of what we saw. Many of the people trapped in that life are truly good people who are just suffering in deep ways. I don't want to do anything that might increase that suffering. But I can show you a few pictures from our day off!
I should add, I gained at least 20 lbs from all the wonderful food. Seriously, if brazillians had to choose between paying the power bill or buying good food to cook, the whole city would be dark.
Now we are off to Buenos Aires for 7 days of rest and relaxation and then heading home!
Bon viaje!
Did some missions work here with the homeless. It was extremely moving and heartbreaking to see the number of brazillians homeless and addicted to crack and cocaine in the streets. The police are so understaffed that they've opted to confine all the drug use to a single 5 block "safe zone" called crackland. Squad cars post up on either side of crackland and just try to make sure no one gets murdered, but inside that 5 block radius, the sale of drugs and use is essentially legal. This method at least helped clean up the rampant citywide use but it also showed the city how truly bad the drug problem is. About 20,000 people were there Friday night when we went. We handed out food and blankets and prayed for people, hoping they could get out of this life and connecting them with a ministry that has had some success moving people off the streets and off the drugs.
I think the most striking thing about São Paulo has been how close in proximity the bad and the good are. In the same block, you could have a slum in an abandoned building right next to a Gucci store. That's São Paulo. The bad and the good, the rich and the poor, living as neighbors.
After 7 days of non-stop ministry, a few bottles of Tylenol and sudafed, and some terrible sinus related flu, we had a day off to go sight seeing and enjoy the markets in São Paulo. It was extremely tiring but I really had a great time. I wouldn't feel right showing photos of what we saw. Many of the people trapped in that life are truly good people who are just suffering in deep ways. I don't want to do anything that might increase that suffering. But I can show you a few pictures from our day off!
I should add, I gained at least 20 lbs from all the wonderful food. Seriously, if brazillians had to choose between paying the power bill or buying good food to cook, the whole city would be dark.
Now we are off to Buenos Aires for 7 days of rest and relaxation and then heading home!
Bon viaje!
