,
The Headlines of all the morning papers read,
´The Pacification Begins in Manguinhos and Jacarenzinho´
Dear Praying Friends,
I pause today to write this email asking you to pray for our city. Tomorrow the government plans to pacify three more neighborhoods that are controlled by drug traffickers. The have pacified 17 already and have a goal of 40 by the time the World cup arrives in 2014. These three neighborhoods are where the heart of all the drugs are sold by the Red Command Faction.
We have many dear friends that live in and around these neighborhoods. Our ministry partners Fabio and Lia planted churches in Caju and Benfica. All of these neighborhoods basically connect and are only separated by a physical barrier such as creek, rail road tracks or a highway. Our friends from Rio de Paz (River of Peace) is working in the neighborhood of Mandela, one of the poorest and most violent areas in the whole city. I took these pictures two years ago while working with one of their campaigns. The sign says, Promise of Housing for the Poor: When? Where? And How?
This is when my colleague, Jeff and I had the opportunity to meet Marcelo the "Pilot" the Boss of Manguinhos and Mandela. We were with Pastor Antonio Carlos, the founder of the River of Peace organization. We had just completed a visit to the neighborhood and the sun had gone down and most everybody had left when one of our hosts asked Pastor Antonio if he would like to meet the Boss. Marcelo met us in a lit square where for two hours as he told us his life story and how he came to be the Boss of Manguinhos. One of the things he told us came to my mind now- he said, "I know the day is coming (pacification- which means tanks, soldiers and helicopters) I just don't know when". That night Pastor Antonio Carlos clearly preached the Gospel to Marcelo. He is among the top Most Wanted list in the city. He was the one the special forces were after the night we were caught in the cross fire in Arará, Benfica. He was there but escaped.
Most likely Marcelo will not be there tomorrow when the troops go in. The State announces the arrival of the pacification force about a week in advance. The goal of the pacification is for the state to take back control of the neighborhood and to remove war grade weapons off the street. (Jeff found this interesting paper written about the Pacification Movement of Rio de Janeiro if you would like to know more about that: http://iis-db.stanford.edu/evnts/6716/Stahlberg,_Stephanie_-_Pacification_of_Favelas_in_Rio_de_Janeiro_%28Work_in_Progress%29.pdf)
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Please pray for Marcelo´s salvation. He is a lost man and has been on the run for a long time. I pray that Pastor Antonio´s words will have not been spoken in vain. "Lord may the conviction of the Holy Spirit- of all that is Holy and of sin and of righteousness- come upon this man for your glory and for his salvation- Amen.
Please pray for Marcelo´s salvation. He is a lost man and has been on the run for a long time. I pray that Pastor Antonio´s words will have not been spoken in vain. "Lord may the conviction of the Holy Spirit- of all that is Holy and of sin and of righteousness- come upon this man for your glory and for his salvation- Amen.
· Pray for the safety of the thousands of working class people living in these neighborhoods as the troops invade their streets and homes. Pray for the safety of our ministry partners and their churches.
· Pray for better times! Statistics show that crime in generally and homicides are down as much as 80 percent in some of the worst neighborhoods that have been pacified. There is a new freedom for the residence and the government can provide needed services like policing, trash removal, electricity, water, sewage, health clinics and recreation.
· There is a new freedom for churches! Reaching the poor inside neighborhoods governed by drug traffickers is risky business for outsiders coming in. Now there will be many open doors for churches outside to come in to help.
· "Lord we pray that you will bless the efforts of the Government to restore order to the poor communities of Rio de Janeiro. We pray for an advancement of the Gospel and Thy kingdom Come!"
Delighting In Him,
Craig and Alessandra
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