This weekend, two in my small circle were assaulted.  The first was Edissa (eh-gee-sa), Fortaleza Academy’s Portuguese teacher.  On Friday after school, Edissa went to the bank with her sister who withdrew a large sum of money.  As the two entered Edissa’s front gate, a man suddenly appeared with a gun, demanding the sister’s purse.  She refused and he shot the pistol into the floor, threatening that the next would be for her.  When the sister again refused, the man called for his partner who was waiting outside on a motorcycle.  The two men easily wrestled away from the older woman and escaped on their bike.  At this point, Edissa fainted.  She was taken to the hospital but returned home later that day.  Later, we deduced that the men must have been tipped off by someone at the bank because the men demanded only the sister’s purse, not Edissa’s.

The other assault hit a little closer to home.  There is a large praça kitty-corner to our church in Edson Queiroz that includes some park benches and a large cement quadra that is often used for soccer, volleyball and occasionally basketball games.  On Saturday afternoon, Lydia, the daughter of ABWE missionaries Jerry and Lynda Neuman, was lying on a bench when she was approached by two guys.  One flashed a revolver and asked for her purse.  Lydia asked if they were joking.  In response, he showed her the bullets in the gun.  She handed over the purse but, in shock, refused to let go it.  By this time, the guy with the gun had taken off, so the other literally ripped the bag out of her hand, the material tearing the handle.  The scuffle ended with Lydia chasing and yelling after them as the second robber made his escape.  The two boys ran down her boyfriend’s street (André actually locked the door as the two ran by, a clear indication of trouble) and so Lydia stopped when she reached his house.  The authorities were able to recover the purse (minus cell phone, I think), but there is now a lot of red tape necessary for Lydia identify and prosecute the thief.  In addition, the family of the thief threatened André and his family should Lydia do so.  Unfortunately, the boy with the weapon was not implicated and cannot be charged.

As I mentioned earlier, all assaults leave an impression on their victim.  Please pray for faith, peace and calmness in Edissa and Lydia’s life.  Edissa, especially, is struggling with fear as the threat occurred within the confines of her home. 

I confess I wrestled with some doubt, as well, after hearing Lyida’s tale, for while I have known since the beginning that Edson Queiroz is a dangerous neighborhood, and Fred and I are just weeks away from moving into our apartment there.  It would easy to allow this story (and that of Lilica, our pastor’s wife, who was very nearly assaulted by these same guys just two weeks ago!) to make me fearful; but “God gave [me] a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control” (2Tim. 1:7).

So I ask that you pray.  Pray for our daily protection and that of our church family.  It is not something we take for granted, especially now with the threat made against André and his family.

Pray also that this incident, rather than incite me to fear, will heighten my awareness and burden of the need in Edson Queiroz.  There are so many lost, hurting souls crammed into this economically depraved neighborhood, and entrapped by their sinful nature, they have no choice but to sin; but praise God for the hope we have in Christ!  And God is at work.  Before this the assaults occurred, I had planned to blog about the testimonies of recent converts and the five women recently baptized at Saturday’s baptismal service; but that will have to wait for another day.  Até mais!

Just now – and I mean now! – a huge section of the school wall fell. Boom!

This would be a problem anyway (for obvious reasons) but there are lots of extras complications right now:

1. As I mentioned earlier, with Carnaval, it is an even more dangerous time than usual in Brazil.
2. With part of the wall down, the electric fence on the rest of the complex’s wall is worthless.
3. It will take a team of men and several days to rebuild it. At the moment (due to Carnaval), we have neither men nor materials. Many of the men missionaries are away, speaking at retreats, including all those who live on the school complex. In addition, there are no materials are unavailable since all shops/stores are closed for the duration of the holiday.
4. Last year, due to financial strain, the school stopped paying for a night guard and instead bought dogs to guard the grounds (Brazilians are deathly afraid of dogs); however, without a fence, we cannot let the dogs roam the grounds. Right now, we’re going to try to find something around campus to put up as a fence (barbed wire, cut up soccer nets, etc.). Such a barrier would not kee out invaders, it would allow the dogs to be free.
5. The complex director is trying to arrange for a night guard, but it will a difficult task to find someone available as the holiday has already begun. It will also be a great expense due to the holiday and the danger involved with the job.

All of that to say, please pray. Pray espeically for our safety here on campus during the next few days; and that God will restrain people from coming onto the complex, either to steal or to be destructive. Pray that we’re able to arrange for a night guard or that it downpours so horribly (rainy season just started) that it would impede those who would steal things from the school. Pray that we will be able to get materials soon and begin to repair the wall.

With all that said, I do want add that I am not worried. I serve an all-Mighty, powerful God who is able to do abundantly more than I could ask or think. He could have prevented the wall from falling as it did or even simply delayed until after Carnaval, but He didn’t which means there He has a purpose in mind. Pray that His purpose will be accomplished, both around us and IN us. As it is, I’m thankful that the wall did not fall on somebody, for it would have seriously injured them if not killed them. When it fell, there was a little boy playing in the street only a few feet away from the section that collapsed. God is gracious, sovereign and good; let us trust in that.Okay. That’s it. I need to go help clean up. Thanks for praying, Kari