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!