Fevelas are areas of land occupied by drug lords that the police normally will not enter. These slums are where women and children are most vulnerable to enter prostitution. They are target areas for pimps looking to recruit or buy kids from their families. Other times children run from the fevela’s to sleep on the streets which they find to be a safer alternative than the abuse in their own homes. We have developed strong relationships with many of these families. The children come to the base every Saturday for a pool party (photos above) and stop by throughout the week just to say hi. One parent, a single mother who is stretched very thin to sustain her family, is now entering nursing school.
We visit the nearby fevela several times throughout week. On Monday nights we bring back close to 20 children for church at the base. You can’t drive into the fevela, so we park the van at the entrance. My first visit to this particular slum we had to scale the walls of the houses to get through the dirt streets, which were entirely flooded out. Upon entering the first home – dirt floors, tin walls, bare wires, one light bulb, a shredded sofa and water pouring through the roof – we were greeted by 4 smiling children. They were alone, the oldest around 12 years old got his younger sisters showered for church.
Another single mother, that we spend much time with has a 3 year old son who was born with a paralyzed leg. After receiving prayer one day she took him to the doctor for a routine checkup. Upon examining his leg again, the report came back there was no longer anything physiologically wrong. She is now teaching him to walk as his muscles strengthen. Miracles like this occur weekly while we visited families, but the greater testimony is watching people fall deeper in love with God as they taste his goodness and realize his faithfulness truly is new every day, even in the midst of brutal conditions. We had the privilege of sitting with one woman while she poured out her heart to Jesus for the first time. She then prayed over her sick infant, who was up and well later that day!
The photos below are from a baby shower (again for a single mother living in the slums). As you can see this is an ongoing theme as 50% of babies born in Brazil do not have a fathers name on the birth certificate. Brazil is considered a machismo society in which women are often disregarded and left with few options. Photos are a luxury most cannot afford and I love being able to bless people with this gift.