Out on the streets during Carnaval 2013

 

Reaching out, making the presence of the church known

Update on the first day of Carnaval:

We started the day with prayer, directions and lunch at the church in Caju.  It was a hot day (95+/-), but not super hot.  We hit the streets around 2:00 in the afternoon and started marching and dancing for Jesus!  There were around 200 of us, of all ages, though I (Jeff) was probably the oldest.   

What a beautiful sight---200 Christ Followers marching through the crowded, drunken, filthy, steamy hot and hurting streets, singing and dancing for Jesus!  It is a thrilling thing to be a part of!! 

We went into an area that I shared about in December (Araa - ah rah ah).  Last year when we went through it was controlled by the drug lords and so we encountered young men with large guns.  A few months back the military invaded this area and took it over, so yesterday we encountered the military men with large guns.  They were amazed by our group and we greeted them and thanked them. 

We had many chances to stop and share with people along the way, but mostly we marched, sang and danced.  Between the 200 of us I’m sure we drank the equivalent of a small Minnesota lake dry.

We covered about 6-7 miles and then returned to the church around 7:00 for supper.  We got in our car around 9:30 and headed for home.  Diane and I slept like rocks.  Today we start at 1:00 (9:00 your time) and will be out until late.

Pray for our partner Craig who is sick from our Haiti trip and so was not able to go yesterday.

We have 2 more days on the streets, including Monday when we go downtown into the heart of the beast that is Carnaval.

Serving together with you here in Rio,

Jeff and Diane