Porto Alegre's Newest Rap Stars!

Don't let the cover deceive you - these are the good guys! This is Davi, Jefferson, and Elder, also known as Vid Brasa, Mano Fino and Di'Mc, members of the rap group G.A.P. (Support Group of the Marginalized). I mentioned them in a post several months ago: they turned away from drug addictions and converted from a life of crime to a life in Jesus at the recovery center! They formed a hip-hop/rap group and won a statewide contest for best original song (the only gospel group with enough courage to even enter the contest!) Now their CD has come out, fourteen songs of positive messages about Christian life with creative lyrics "my gun is 66-caliber; it's the word of God!" "the weapons of my war: knees on the floor, Bible by my door."

Imagine my surprise when I opened the CD case and found this picture on the back cover of the CD jacket...I guess I'm an honorary member of G.A.P.! I took several photos that they used for the cover art of the jacket, and I've lent them my moral support. Don't expect me to be singing any background vocals, though...

The producer was so impressed with their project that even though G.A.P. didn't have the money, he agreed to give them free studio time and produce the album for free, and the guys would pay him back when they could! That is just unheard of, especially for unknown gospel hip-hop artists! Please pray that their message can get out and have a huge impact on this community - they are true missionaries working in a field desperately needing harvest!

Kitchen Construction Update

Once again, we are fully engaged in a worthwhile construction project at the recovery center! As I mentioned before, we are remodeling the kitchen and expanding the chapel. The project has taken on unexpected dimensions, such as completely rebuilding the wood-burning stove and chimney. It's interesting how such a seemingly simple task is actually quite complex in terms of the design and execution of the final product.

This is the new wood-burning stove area. The chef has a lovely scenic view of the surrounding nature as he prepares his daily rice and beans!

The biggest job up to this point has been putting up the walls. This task was finally finished this week. Dagoberto, pictured here, has been one of the principal workers on this fun assignment!

Now that all the walls have been raised, it's time to put up the roof! Vandolei and Ezequiel are working hard to make sure that the roofing gets put on straight and true!

This is looking towards the wood-burning stove portion of the kitchen, with the doorway leading to access the stove area. This wall did not previously exist; it was built to separate the stove from the rest of the kitchen, to allow the heat to escape in a safer and more efficient manner. It is taking longer and costing more than we thought, but piece by piece, the structure will be built! The next steps are to finish the walls, then put down the flooring and put in the ceiling and electric/hydraulic fixtures. Keep up the great effort, guys!

A New Kitchen and a Bigger Chapel!

It is time for another construction project at the chácara! Our next goal is to expand the chapel and build a new kitchen space. This is the current kitchen. It is fine as it is, but we need more space for the chapel, because so many family members of the guys are coming on Sundays for visits that there is no more room (a good problem to have!) The chapel shares a long wall with the kitchen, the one that the green cabinet and freezer are pushed up against. By eliminating this wall, we can make available for the chapel a space that can seat an additional 25-30 people.

This is Airton, the cook, standing in the patio where the new kitchen will be built. (Airtion is an interesting story in himself that I will tell in a future post!) The kitchen's other long wall is adjacent to this patio (left side of the photo). This patio is where they do much of their cooking, actually, on their wood-burning stove, and where they wash their dishes. As you can see, this area is a fire disaster waiting to happen. I'm amazed that this structure has lasted as long as it has!

This is the patio/future kitchen, viewed from the outside (the door leads to the cafeteria). The idea is to dismount the wooden walls, rebuild everything in brick, and put in tile flooring, windows, new sinks, and a new chimney for the wood-burning stove. We will also build a depository for storing non-perishable food items, and try to purchase a new refrigerator and gas-heated oven. Work has already begun. Check back in a few weeks for pictures on how the construction is progressing!

Baptisms...

In a previous post I told you about Marcelo, a young man at the chácara who recently completed the first phase of the program and had his jail sentence exonerated. Now there is more good news in his family: Marcelo's mom Diva decided to be baptized last Sunday! God is moving in powerful ways!

What can be better than seeing the generations come together, unified through faith in Christ?!
Pray for Diva and her new walk with Jesus, and that all five of her children will one day decide to follow Jesus!

....and More Baptisms!

The following sequence of pictures portrays the baptism of Vilacyr, a man in his late 30s who came to the chácara several weeks ago and last Sunday decided to dedicate his life to Jesus!

As you can see, there really is no greater joy than being born again, just like Jesus told Nicodemus!

This is Vilacyr with his wife and children. He is rewriting his life story as we speak, turning it into a story of redemption and reconciliation with his family! Pray that he will continue firm in his commitment to recovery and for his family to be supportive!

Graduation Ceremony!

Where there's cake, there's a party, and that means celebration for something good that God has done! Last Sunday, we had a worship and commemorative ceremony at the chácara to thank God for seven young men who have successfully completed the first phase of the treatment program. Five of them finished this first phase within the past few weeks, and two of them finished the first phase last year but at that time we did not have this tradition of honoring the victorious. Now we do!

From left to right: Marcelo, Alexandre, Eduardo, Jefferson, Anderson, Rodrigo and Christian. All of these young men were baptized at the chácara, successfully completed a discipleship course, and have now successfully concluded the first phase of the treatment, which involves nine months of on-site rehabilitation. Now we move to the next phase, resocialization: helping these guys finish their schooling, finding jobs, reconciling with their families, and becoming active in a local church. For the time being, all seven guys will continue living at the chácara until they can establish their own living conditions while they seek employment and complete high school equivalency. CONGRATULATIONS to these guys and praise God for this accomplishment!

Time Served & Time Redeemed

This is Marcelo. He is 19 years old and is one happy guy, and he has every reason to be! He came to the chácara in June of last year. Like all the guys who come here, he arrived in bad shape physically, mentally and spiritually. But I could tell from the first time I talked with him that he was determined to take a new path in life. He began following Jesus and was baptized, and right away met a big challenge: juvenile detention for 4 months! Marcelo used to be part of a gang that practiced assault, robbery, and did drugs; one of their armed assaults landed him in juvenile court. As part of his sentence, he had to spend 4 months in juvenile prison. Marcelo did his time - and not only did it, he redeemed it! This is what Marcelo learned to make in juvenile detention. He is a natural artist, and the classes he took in jd only honed and refined his talent for drawing, sculpture, and confection. It takes a tremendous amount of patience and vision to make these paper sculptures, yet Marcelo does it with pride and pleasure!

At the beginning of 2008, Marcelo returned to the chácara to finish his spiritual recovery. Three weeks ago, Marcelo had his final hearing in court to determine if his sentence would be extended or no. He brought one of these paper sculptures as a present for the judge, who ended up weeping as she heard testimonies of how Marcelo has turned his life around. Marcelo's sentence was archived and he is now a totally free man!

This is Marcelo's family - his mother Diva in the center, his aunt Olga in the background, and his sisters and cousins. His mother will be baptized very soon! Thank God for Marcelo and for how this entire family is being transformed because of the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Gabriel the Argentine "Angel"

This is Gabriel Angel (his last name, not his profession :). He is a native of Argentina and has been living at the chacara for about three years now. He has recently begun serving as the assistant director of the work at the chacara. Gabriel's story would make an interesting movie. In his former life, he was a successful lawyer in Buenos Aires, quite wealthy, nice family. Unfortuately, he got involved with some clients who were doing the dirty business of drug running. He ended up having to flee Argentina because a price was put on his head after he shared some sensitive information to the justice department regarding drug dealings. Gabriel himself claimes to have only been addicted to nicotine through the years, but as we know, this drug can be as addictive as any. Through a series of what I could only call miraculous events, Gabriel ended up in Alvorada and the halfway house. He gave his life to Christ and stayed on after the formal treatment program ended to continue helping with the work. We have seen Gabriel take some great strides in maturity this year. In the past, he was more relucant to step up and take charge, but now he is willingly assuming more responsibility for organizing the work and helping the monitors to do their jobs more efficiently. Gabriel can be counted on to take care of things when Isaias needs to be absent. One of his habits is to read the Bible out loud, every day, while walking in nature or sitting at his desk. It is clear that this man's life has been transformed by the Lord Jesus.

Praise God for the testimony that is Gabriel's life, and may he continue to work tirelessly as a servant in the Lord's vineyard!

New Monitors Course

Can you imagine trying to keep 25 guys under control who are recovering from drug and alcohol addictions? One man is not enough; you need guys who can set an example for the other students and toe the line. That's why at the chacara we have monitors. They are current students in the recovery program who undergo a special two-month course to equip them with Biblical fundamentals and practical tools to monitor the conduct of the students, impose discipline if there are rule infractions, and counsel those who are looking for advice. I am helping to teach the current monitors course. There are four participants, as I will describe briefly (l-r photo). Anderson was a change collector on the Alvorada bus line and has a wife & kid. He almost lost everything because of drugs, but now he is in his 7th month of the program and is making a great comeback. Ezekiel is a preacher's son who became the prodigal son, he went down the path of vice, but has recently "come home" to his heavenly Father. Josimar spent time in prison for assault and battery, pursuing a life of crime as his father has done; he is also now in his 7th month in the program and was recently baptized! David comes from a Christian family but never gave his life to Christ until recently, and though his 3 months at the chacara have been turbulent, they are changing his life.

These four guys have two more weeks to complete the monitors course. If they finish successfully, they will be taking a giant step towards fulfilling the mission of the Youth Recovery Center as stated on this sign: Drug Addicts Transformed in Men Useful to God and to Society. This course is a great preparation for success in the rest of their lives! Pray for their success!

New Reception Area

This is the newly remodeled reception area we have been working on this year. We started remodeling it last year, doubling its size, but didn't get all the final touches done until now. We put in flooring, new paint inside and out, a new door and window, and roofing to regulate the interior temperature. It looks fantastic!

This building serves a variety of purposes. It is an office for Isaias & Gabriel, the director and assistant director pictured here. It is a place where the guys can come and talk privately with either one of these men. Potential interns and their families are interviewed here to determine if they should be admitted to the program. Also,the families of those currently interned can visit with Isaias & Gabriel about how their relatives are progressing. Thanks God for this much-improved administrative space!

A New Generation of Runners!

Since the beginning of the year, one of my goals in working at the chácara has been to form a running team. I have experiencd firsthand how running gives me an incredible high and is a natural form of "therapy" to help build physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual toughness. It started very naturally with just a few of the guys and me running together on Wednesday afternoons, at the conclusion of my weekly visit with them. The idea began taking on a life larger than its own, and I perceived that God was leading me to help these guys come together to compete, and learn about setting goals & perseverance in the process. The more we ran together, the more guys joined up, and I sensed that they were taking their recovery and their relationships more seriously. They were beginning to realize that anything is possible!Last Sunday this "dream" became a reality, as we formed an eight-man team and each one ran 5.25K in the Porto Alegre Marathon Relay! You can run the whole 42K marathon alone, as I've done before, or you can run the race in teams of 2, 4, or 8 people. The team was composed of myself, Kevin Blume, Marcio (the young man I featured earlier in the month) and current students Wilson, Rodrigo, Eduardo, Fabio, and Christian. Anderson and Josimar came along as the auxiliary unit. We finished in 4th place out of 13 teams in our category!! What an amazing accomplishment for these young men! Who would ever think that a group of ex-chemical dependents could form a running team and finish a race at an average of 13k per hour?

This is Wilson, who was our fastest runner of the day: 21.40, he beat out the coach! (I ran 23.10 still recovering from strep throat the week before). Wilson has been at the chácara for two months and is determined to beat the odds and finish his treatment. He has made amazing progress to this point and the sky is the limit for him as it is for all these guys!

These two guys are Eduardo and Rodrigo; they are brothers. They have been at the chacara for seven months now. They are both monitors; the have certain responsibilities within the halfway house in terms of looking out for the other guys and enforcing the rules. They are winning the victory in Jesus and burning up the track!



Pictured here are Christian and Fabio. Both of these guys are on their second stay at the halfway house; Christian stayed for nine months the first time, while Fabio stayed for four months. This time, they are both taking their recovery to a new level, one that was missing the first time. They are great examples of guys who got a second, a third chance and are making the most of it!
As amazing at it sounds, the best of Sunday was yet to come! After the race was over, we went to Sogipa for our monthly celebration worship service. And believe me it was a celebration! Christian, representing the guys, spoke about what this race meant in the context of the larger race of Christian faith that the apostle Paul spoke of in various instances. The church was really enthused by the interaction with these young men and the powerful testimony they shared of the lessons learned through their race today.


Praise God for working in the lives of these young men through the world of sport! Who knows what these guys are capable of? "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." That's our motto!

Consruction Continues - New Classroom

We built a new dormitory last year at the chacara, but we're not stopping with that! This year we are making several major structural upgrades. This is one of the old dormitories. It is a space of about 22 sq meters that housed 10 guys - pretty crowded. As you can see, it is not in the best of shape. Our idea was to turn this space into a classroom: a library/media center, a space for the guys to read, use the computer, watch videos, learn about God and gain knowledge and skills that will prepare them to re-enter society as useful, competent citizens. This is the reformed structure from the outside. We gave it a dynamic new paint job, new windows and doors, tile flooring, and new lighting. It is all ready to go! When we finish reforming the reception building, and obtain the equipment we want for the classroom, I will post about the new reception area and also the inside of the classroom (right now it is serving as the temporary reception/office area). The guys love it! Next week I will be telling you more about some of their stories and new directions in life!

A Testimony of Perseverance

The guy pictured with me here is named Marcio. He is one of many examples of victory that we are seeing with our work at the Youth Recovery Center. Marcio entered the center in January of last year and sucessfully completed the nine-month treatment program. He even became a monitor, one who is trained and given responsibility to help the other guys in the program stay in line and stay encouraged. Marico went back to live with his family in September last year and got his old job back as a certified mechanic - even though he is only 20, he already has an impressive knowledge and practice of how to fix any motor you can imagine! He is also faithfully attending a church and recently began dating a young lady! Praise God for the power that is transforming Marcio's life and pray for his perseverance!

Deutsch Land Visitors

Last week we had the privilege of receiving some young people from Germany at the chacara! I've become friends with Gerald and Nicole, who are German missionaries working in Porto Alegre. They recently received a group of German young people on campaign, and wanted to show them a Christian social work going on in our city. So we invited them to come experience the chacara, and the Germans loved it! We had a great day of fellowship, lunch, testimonies, and forming new friendships. It was a truly international day - English, Spanish, Portuguese and German were flying around left and right. Paulo Renato directed an awesome devotional and gave his testimony, which is always a real emotional moment for him. The guys really get pumped up for visitors and gave the Germans a warm and loving reception! It was a shame the day passed so quickly.

Who knows - maybe God will call some of these folks to return to Brazil one day as missionaries, or be missionaries in their own backyard? Thank you Lord for these young people, and continue to work in their lives in powerful ways!

Hip Hop for Jesus

These guys are three of the most righteous dudes you'll ever meet! They are called G.A.P. (in English, Support Group for the Margins). The guy on the right with the cool "doo," David, overcame his drug addiction two years ago through his experience at the chacara. The other two guys, Elder and Jeff, also had serious drug problems, and overcame their addictions at other youth recovery centers. You wouldn't believe their stories if I told them to you: they have literally been to hell and back, with all that they have survived in terms of violence and drug abuse. Yet God has given them the victory! Recently they joined forces to form a hip-hop music group, G.A.P. Their message is simple: Jesus can give you victory over drugs! Last month they entered a statewide competition and, among 50 groups, won first place for best original song "Klick, Klack, Krack." They were the only gospel group among these 50, so it was a pretty amazing feat that they won and gave a powerful testimony for Christ!

Last week, the local public TV station came to the chacara to interview the G.A.P. guys and talk about the chacara's work in helping youth overcoming drug problems. They interviewed Isaias and the group members, and the show was aired the following Sunday! The show has already attracted dozens of phone calls from around the metropolitan area, from families interested in getting help for their relatives. Hopefully with this increased exposure, more people will want to get involved in our work and also get involved with other recovery centers who are trying to assist youth in conquering these vile drug demons. Victory is possible in Jesus!

G.A.P. is now trying to record a CD. They have 75% of the funds they need but are lacking about U$1,400 to finish this project. I would encourage all of you to pray about this and if you sense God leading you to assist them with a financial contribution, feel free to contact me. We need to value young people like these three men whom God is using to evangelize in incredibly difficult places - their message is extremely important! To God be the glory!

Industrious Lads

It's been a few months since I've reported on what's happening down on the "farm," but believe me, things are really hopping right now! This year, one of our major goals with our work at the Youth Recovery Center is to help them create a small business - sources of income that will allow them to rely less and less on donations for their survival, eventually becoming self-sustaining. Not only will this help them financially, it will also help the young men to learn practical job and life skills that will help them for the rest of their days.

We are working on two major sustenance projects right now. The first is the construction of a greenhouse. As you can see, we are just in the beginning stages. When finished, it will measure 27 meters long, 10 meters wide and 3 meters high. The plan is to use this greenhouse to cultivate seedlings of savory herbs and spices, rare aromatic plants, and flower bulbs. We are already cooperating with a local floriculture shop that is interested in purchasing the products. Check out Marco and Anderson as they put the shovel to the ground!

The other project that is in the works right now is arts and crafts. There is a young man at the chácara right now named Marcelo who has a tremendous talent for making crafts. He learned this while serving a five-month sentence in juvenile detention before coming to us. He knows how to make these incredible figurines, as you can see below - dolls, swans, you name it, he makes it - all out of small pieces of colored paper and glue!! Amazing stuff.

Marcelo is the young man in the middle of the picture below. He is flanked by his assistants Adam and Walter. These guys are the "production team" for the crafts, folding the hundreds of little pieces of paper necessary for these figurines. There are other things that Marcelo does as well, like painting little wooden boxes to hold remote controls, key rings, jewelry, etc...Once he begins teaching the other guys how to make the crafts, there's no telling how far this project could go!

Please pray for the successful developing and implement of these projects! We don't just want to give fish, we want to teach these men how to fish! Working together in this manner, they can achieve far more than they ever dreamed on their own.