Possible Partnership

One of the blessings of being involved with our local Rotary club is the possiblity of forming international partnerships with clubs from other countries for the purpose of developing community service projects. Through Rotary's Matching Grants program, funds can be obtained from Rotary's international foundation to aid in community development projects. We may be on the way to forming such a partnership with a group from Holland...who recently visited the chacara and saw firsthand what good can be done when community service groups join forces!

We are in the "talking stage" right now about developing a greenhouse project that will allow the chacara to grow plants, vegetables, flower bulbs, herbs and spices to sell to the community, and use the profit to cover operating expenses so it can become a self-sustaining entity! Now let's put the dream into action...

Another Victory

This is Jeferson Pereira. He is the most recent graduate of the recovery center 9-month program! He comes from a large Italian family in Viamao, a suburb between Porto Alegre and Alvorada. He has moved in with his older sister and has obtained a job as a machine operator at Mu-Mu, a company that produces jellies and sweets. Praise God for Jeferson's victory and pray for him to persevere in his new life!

Hip-Hop City

One Saturday last month, I went to Alvorada to visit another therapeutic community and took a friend with me - Jefferson Braga, one of our recent chacara graduates. A simple stop at his brother's bait and tackle shop led to an invitation to go to a radio studio and participate in a live broadcast of gospel hip-hop in Rio Grande do Sul!This is Vinicius, the host of the show. It comes on every Saturday at 5pm on the station SaraBrasil. Vinicius interviews local and regional gospel hip-hop artists, plays their music, reads Scripture, and serves as a call center for folks who need help finding a drug or alcohol rehab center. This show reaches people who might otherwise never be interested in hearing the gospel!

On the left is my buddy Jefferson, and on the right is Di-Mc, or Elder, one of the members of the hip-hop group G.A.P. that I've helped in the past (David, Jeff's brother who works at the bait and tackle shop, is the other member of G.A.P. who couldn't be on the broadcast because he was working). With Elder are his wife Elisangela and his son Eminem (yeah you read that right!) We all shared a bit of our faith story on the radio, and Elder got to publicize their CD.

I thank God that a Saturday can begin ordinary and end extraordinary!

Recent Graduates!

Well, I am way behind on my postings for this remarkable ministry, so it's high time to get caught up. Here I'll talk about the guys who have (fairly) recently completed the 9-month recovery program and are now out and about in society again!
The main factor we have noticed in the ability of these guys to maintain a successful recovery is getting involved with a local church. Besides that, it's very important for them to find a job, continue schooling, and find a place to live that is not where they lived before, in areas of drug trafficking and hoodlum activity. We try to help these guys to make wise decisions in all these areas, and ultimately it is up to them to follow the path of recovery they've started on.

Marcio is the man in the photo on the left, while Ezequiel is the man on the right, on the far right side. Both of these guys finished their treatment on Christmas Day! From what I have heard, Marcio has unfortunately not been able to sustain his recovery, but I just saw Ezequiel on Sunday and he is doing great!

Josimar, picture above, is quite a character. He finished the program back in September. He will be the first to tell you about his colorful background: arrests for assault and robbery, prison time, high on drugs...but no more. He would make a great actor, he really knows how to get inside a personality and portray the ups and downs of a person, probably because he has lived so on the edge. Josimar is one of the guys that is sharing a special apartment with other graduates, which I will tell you about in a coming post.

This is Leandro. He actually finished his 9 months back in October, but decided to stay on until February to reinforce his recovery. He has moved to Cachoeirinha, a suburb of Porto Alegre, and is working in an industrial cleaning service. From what I understand, he is also reunited with his wife and daughter. Leandro is a very quiet and discreet man, one who doesn't make waves but wants his example to do the talking. Keep up the good work Leandro!

There are four victorious ones in this photo ! From left to right - Jeferson, Wilson, Dagoberto and Renato. Jeferson is only two weeks away from completing his 9 months, and is serving as one of the program monitors. Wilson and Renato finished their time in January, and Dagoberto finished his in February. I have seen Renato a couple of times; he is working at a automotive sound system shop, which is good, but he seems to have latched onto a girl he just met, which may not be so good (more on that later). Wilson is living with his father, and I do not have any news from him. Dagoberto went to live with his aunt and is doing OK, but could be doing better.The guy in the middle here is Diego Souza, flanked by Paulo Renato on his left and Isaias on his right. Diego just finished the program at the beginning of last month. He is now living with his mom and working in a plastics factory near his home. We are in constant contact with him and he seems to be doing well!

Last of all, I will mention Jorge, the guy on the left here. Jorge has completed one year of the program and for now has no intention of leaving. Jorge has some mental deficiencies that require special attention, and we are not sure yet how his exit will take place, if his family has conditions to take care of him. He is another guy, like Leandro, who is quiet but works his tail off and lets his example do the talking. He's also a very skilled guitar player!

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!