Prayers Needed

If you've followed this blog very long then you know about the Chácara.  If you don't know what I'm talking about then click here to go to Matt's blog. He hasn't updated it in a while but you can go back through the blogs he did to get a feel for this place.

You can also type in the word "chácara" in the little white box at the top left hand side of this blog page to see old blogs that we did about this place and the men there.

The guys at the chácara have a special place in our lives.  Our church family is pretty connected to this place and these men as they battle their drug and alcohol dependence.

I just got a call from our teammate Matt.  He told me that 5 heavily armed men came into the chácara last night around 7:00 p.m.  They made all the men go into the kitchen.  The armed men then proceeded to go through the grounds and steal food and whatever electronics that they had there.

These men literally have nothing and for someone to come in and steal what little they had is just wrong on so many levels.

Getting robbed or having a gun pointed at you is, unfortunately, fairly common here.  It's happened to our family and it's happened to Matt before.  That doesn't make it any easier to swallow.

Matt is taking a group of men from our church out to the chácara tonight to minister to these guys. They are, obviously, pretty shaken up by what happened.

We hope to send more groups out this week to care for their psychological needs.

Matt and I agreed that we have no doubt that our church family will take care of the physical needs that these guys have.  God has blessed us with such an amazing group of servers and they will meet the needs for food and replacing the electronics.

What these guys need now more than anything is prayers.

We wanted to ask you to join us in praying for these men.  That God would bless them spiritually, psychologically and physically as they deal with what happened to them.

If you also feel led to do more than pray for these guys then just let us know.  We'll make sure what you give will immediately help our brothers at the chácara.

Thanks, in advance, for your prayers for these men.

Crack

Things are going great with the guys from the chácara. Benay and I have started teaching a class to the guys that are in the chácara on Thursday mornings and I continue to be a part of the accountability group on Friday nights with the guys that have already left the chácara. Some of the guys are also part of the house church that meets in our house.

I can't tell you how refreshing their honesty is. The way they confess sin is incredible. They openly share things, all things, from their lives. On more than one occasion I've seen them be unwilling to take the Lord's Supper until they go, right then, and confess a sin to a brother. Sometimes they do it privately, and sometimes it's in front of all their brothers and sisters. I've grown up and been around Christians my whole life and I have never seen this Biblical teaching actually acted out in such a way.

One of the things I am amazed at is the way they openly share what their lives were like when they were on drugs. Most of them were addicted to crack.

I have never been around drugs and so I have many questions. Especially about crack because it is so addictive. They always answer every question. They do not hide any aspect of their previous lives on drugs whether it be crack, marijuana, alcohol or whatever.

I've learned that crack was mainly their drug of preference.

I've learned that crack gives a brief high (seconds) but you will do anything to get that brief high. I thought the high lasted for hours.

I've learned that you will be addicted to crack after only one use.

I've learned that, while looking for their next crack high, these guys have seen and done the following: lied, stole, robbed, sold almost everything in their own house (including kids' clothes and things and wives' or girlfriends' clothes and things) to pay for the next high. They've told me of turning their backs on family and friends because the search for more drugs was too powerful. They told me of girls (some as young as 13-14) who would sell their bodies either for money, to buy more crack, or for a "pedra" or rock of crack. A rock costs $5 reais (Brazilian currency). In American dollars (depending on what the value of the dollar has done since we've been here) that would be anywhere between $1.40 and $3.30. I think of my girls being around that age and it just crushes me.

It has been an incredibly eye opening experience for me to be with these guys and hear their stories and learn more about these powerfully destructive drugs. If you have a picture in your mind of a bunch of rough-looking street guys then you need to wipe that thought out of your brain. Some of these guys did come from very tough backgrounds, but there are also a lot that came from good, strong families. You definitely would not be able to pick most of these guys out as drug addicts if you were to look at them in a group. I'm learning that this drug doesn't see color, education, or social status.

I say all of that to also share in their victory. None of these guys are the same since they entered the chácara. They all know that God has given them the victory. They have been to the bottom of the well and know that the only thing that saved them was Jesus. They are always looking for opportunities to share their testimonies.

Lives are being changed because of the chácara. Benay and I are blessed to be a small part of the chácara ministry. We have a front row seat to see how Jesus is taking victory over drugs for those who want to be free.

I was reminded this week of the importance of Christian places like the chácara in bringing deliverance from deadly addictions as I read an article in our newspaper. It was about the death of a 14 year old boy. He had been shot 4 times. Why? He was a crack addict and he owed the dealers some money and didn't pay. How much did he owe? $2.50.

Please pray that this ministry with the chácara will not only bless those inside the chácara, those that have left and are staying strong but also that we can find out a way to effectively minister to those that are on crack and hopefully help them to see their need to go to a Christian rehab center like the chácara.

I've lived a pretty sheltered life when it comes to being around drug addicts but, thank God, I am being allowed to see and blessed to be a part of a ministry that is attacking these addictions. We are being blessed to see God give victory after victory.

Like I tell these guys all the time, I want my kids to grow up around them so they can see the power of God in defeating Satan's strongholds.

Please pray for this ministry and for these men as they battle these addictions.

The Cold

You might be surprised to know that even though we live in Brasil, we have 4 seasons. Most people think Brasil is hot all the time, and that would be true if you lived in the northern part of Brasil. But here in the deep south we have spring, fall, and winter as well.

This year we've enjoyed the warmest fall yet since we moved here in 2002. It's been great weather. That all changed this week.

Two nights ago it was 35 degrees. Not a big deal if you have central heat. No one here has central heat or air. Our homes are not insulated either. Just concrete walls with bricks or stones on the outside. It makes it almost unbearable at night when the temperature drops like that. I can't explain what it is like to get out of bed when it is 35 degrees in your house. Another bad thing about these houses is that once the cold gets in it won't get out. It literally takes 5-10 straight days of warm weather for the inside of your house to get warmed up. During the winter it usually is colder in your house than outside. The same is true, just reversed, for summer.

I could go on and on about how much we suffer during our winters. Is it hard? Yes. Is it
bearable? Absolutely. Do we have options? Sure. Last year we bought a couple of electric oil heaters for the 2 rooms where the 4 youngest kids sleep. We shut the doors and it can get to a comfortable temperature.

I was reminded of how blessed we are this week as I read an article in the paper. In our city (as in many cities in Brasil) we have an insane amount of people who live on the streets. Some by choice (because of drugs and alcohol) and some because they have been kicked out of their homes, etc.

In the years that we have been in Brasil I have read in one of our newspapers (more than once) of someone who lived on the streets of our city and died during the night because of the cold. The article this week spoke of the city going around to as many of these people as possible and offering to take them to shelters to get them out of the cold. Amazingly a big majority of the people refused.

Why in the world would they do that? The power of drugs and alcohol are just too much for them to make, what would be for most of us, a smart decision and go to a warm place with a bed.

This reminded me of how important the ministry at the chácara is and how blessed our family is to be a part of that ministry.

I ask that you please pray for these people who live in the street. Our prayer is that more and more will want to leave this awful way of living and will want to go to the chácara or a place like it where they can not only be freed from drugs and alcohol but can also learn about how much Jesus loves them.

Porto Alegre Marathon/Celebration

You may remember that my teammate, Matt, and I have run a few marathons since we've moved to Porto Alegre. We ran in the Porto Alegre marathon together last year. It was the third marathon for both of us to complete. This year neither one of us felt really convicted to train for another marathon. We both felt like taking a rest year from marathons and get ready for shorter races.

Before I get too far into the marathon subject I realize I've never really explained our ministry to a place called the Chácara. It's a very humble farm on the outside of town where young men go to recover from alcohol and drug addiction. One of our church family members, Paulo Renato, is a recovering alcoholic and has battled and defeated his addictions at this place. He is the most humble, gentle, heart for service man you will ever meet. The love of Christ just oozes out of this man. This recovery center uses no drugs. Their weapon to fight against these addictions is Jesus and He is giving the victory.

Matt met Paulo Renato years ago when he was visiting Porto Alegre when he came with a group of Americans to teach English through the Bible. When our team moved here and began to have worship times, Paulo was an immediate fixture. He has worked for our church family as a prayer warrior, street evangelist and janitor for a few years now. It is through Paulo that we even found out about the recovery center.

Through the years our church family has helped this recovery center in different ways but it has always been in a spotty way. Some food here and there, financial help when needed to help build a dormitory, etc. but no weekly, personal committment until this past year. Matt began to feel led to go out to the recovery center each Wednesday to just be there and do what was needed. Two other women also go as well and help cook and have become mother figures to the young men. Paulo Renato also goes. Our other teammate, Sascha, and Paulo Renato led a 9 week study about sexual purity with the guys out there. It finished in March.

This is a place where you think you go out there to encourage these men and you come back much more encouraged because of your time with them. Matt does a great job of sharing about the Chácara on a blog he's made just for what is going on there.

A few months back Matt felt led to end his day at the chacara with a run. He encouraged any who wanted to join him to do so. It started off with just a couple of guys but then it grew. Soon he began thinking of forming a team to run in the relay part of the Porto Alegre marathon. You can make up teams of 2, 4 or 8 people to complete the 42 km. It's a little over 5.2 km per person. Matt formed a team of 6 guys from the recovery center and himself, and he asked if I would help him round out the team of 8.

What an incredible blessing it was for me and my family to witness what happened on Sunday. We picked up the guys at the recovery center at 6:15 in the morning. Four people piled in Matt's car and five got into our car. It was at least a 30 minute drive to get to the marathon and these guys sang the entire way.

Matt had made up running shirts for this race. On the front it had the name of the recovery center and on the back it said "It's possible."

That phrase was something I heard over and over from the guys during the race. Matt kept telling them, as they arrived, that they were running faster than they ever had before. Their response? "With Jesus it's possible!"

This is Wilson. He was the first guy out on the team and he set the pace as he ran faster than anyone else.

Matt said that the overall time of the team was about 20 minutes less than what he expected because everyone ran faster. God was glorified during the race.

I personally have never run with such ease before. Something about running with these guys had my mind focused on Jesus for almost the entire race (something that just doesn't happen with me as I tend to focus on who I'm going to try to pass next) and I barely got winded. I am also blessed to have a wife who, after almost 20 years of marriage, knows me very well. As I was about 300 meters from the finish I passed her and she "lovingly" asked "is that gray hair on your head?" Yes I have some gray hair and even though I knew she was pulling my chain to make me run faster......it worked. Isn't she great?

I really like this picture. This is Matt finishing the last leg of the race and the guys are on both sides of the road taking pictures, clapping and encouraging him as he finished. We ran into our brother, Sergio, who ran with another team.Each guy got an official race tee-shirt and a medal to go along with their feeling of accomplishing something that they had never done before. Matt and I spoke last week of a "runner's high" and how there is scientific proof that this occurs. We praised God that these guys experienced a high like this without the use of drugs or alcohol. This is a picture taken after the race where Matt was lifting the guys up and reminding them that through Jesus anything is possible. God was honored on Sunday.

After the race we all went to the church family celebration together. These guys blessed us with a song to end our time together. It was one of the songs they played and sang in the car on the way to the marathon and Benay asked if they would lead our church family in this song later in the day. They loved the idea and it was an incredible time of praising God together. There is an excitment in worshipping God when we are with these brothers. Christian, one of the guys from the chácara shared about the race and how it applied to the Christian walk as Paul explained in the Bible. Now you can see how the videos we showed at the celebration applied to the marathon as well as the race of our Christian faith.

Here is a picture of the guys at the Celebration while Matt shared their victorious day with the church family. Notice how some are proudly showing their medals.

Monday night after Sunday's race I got a call from Matt. He asked if I had seen the results of the race. I told him I had not and he waited for me to get online to check it out. I couldn't believe what I saw. The team finished in 4th place out of 13 teams!! It was obvious to Matt and myself that the top three teams were part of serious running clubs. Because of this finish, these guys will also now get trophies. How cool is that? Six months ago these guys couldn't run hardly any distance at all and now they are finishing 4th in a marathon relay. With Jesus, it's possible!

Please pray and keep praying for these men as they continue to learn to rely on God and not drugs and alcohol to guide their lives.