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!