Last weekend, in the midst of my house-sitting assignment, I managed to squeeze in another trip to Fortaleza for a wedding. Neto is a seminary student at SIBIMA and a good friend who loves English and music; so in addition to the song he sang to his bride, he asked two other missionaries and me to sing “Agnus Dei” in English. As most weddings, it was a fun and beautiful evening, but the real excitement happened the following night at mocidade (youth group).

Just before youth group began, two guys who attend fairly faithfully showed up in an apparent hurry. They talked with a few other teens, hopped back on their bikes and were gone. Contrary to their odd behavior, the youth meeting was quite ordinary with times of singing, bible reading and a devotional. There was a lot of noise outside, but that, too, is par for the course. Near the end of the devotional, however, cell phones started ringing, LOTS of them!

I should take a moment to explain about cell phones in Brazil because you might be wondering if this church is in such a depleted neighborhood, why the kids would have cell phones. The fact is that everybody in Brazil has a cell phone – everybody, including those who live in the favelas (slums). That is because NOT everybody has a land phone in their home. Often it is more expensive to have a fixed telephone than to a cell phone.

The majority of people have pre-pay plans, and they guard their precious minutes carefully. One way they do this is by using the “three-second rule.” If you call someone and talk for only three seconds, you’re not charged for that time. I have watched people call one another back and forth for fifteen minutes using this method. One calls and as soon as the other person answers, he speaks a phrase or a question and hangs up. A short time later, he gets a response in the same manner. Granted, it’s crazy, inefficient, and, in my opinion, a horrible method to communicate; but it saves them money they don’t have.

Anyway, to return to the story, phones started ringing. My first reaction was to wonder why so many had forgotten to turn off their cell phones, but as more and more received calls, it became obvious that something was going on. I soon learned what it was when Fred, the youth leader, closed the evening with prayer. Unbeknownst to me, just a few blocks away, a gang war had taken place during youth group, leaving one dead and very near it. Parents were calling to warn their children not to leave the church without an older teen or adult. Needless to say, no one lingered after youth group. Instead, we formed groups and escorted the adolescents and teens home.

Something else different about Brazil is that when there is a tragedy, people flock to the scene of the crime or accident; but no one offers help.  They are there only to gawk. There is no such thing as a police line, so the people are intermixed among the police. One of the boys from youth group lives on the very street where the fight took place; so to get to his home, we had to walk through the crowd, by the very corner where the crime occurred. The police had ordered the people home, of course, but the area was still full of spectators and reporters. As we entered his street, a wailing woman stumbled past us.

As I have mentioned in previous posts and prayer letters, Edson Queiroz is known to be a dangerous neighborhood full of thefts, drugs, prostitution, etc. in addition to gang wars. The two gangs have a long history, and there is a very definite diving line between the upper and lower parts of the neighborhood. A young man from the lower part came up and shot one from the upper level; but before he could run back to safety, a group of boys caught him. They beat him, knifed him and stoned him before the police arrived (who, by the way, have a permanent watch in the area because of such occurrences). Incredibly, the boy was still alive when taken to the hospital but died once there.

What never ceases to amaze is how quickly the life goes back to “normal” after such tragedies. The next morning as we drove through the neighborhood to church, people were out and about as usual: kids were playing in the streets; men were at the bars; women were conversing on the side of the road.

For those in church, however, the event was not so easily dismissed. The adults have been learning about the Ten Commandments in Sunday school, and ironically, Sunday’s lesson was on the sixth commandment: “You shall not murder” (Ex.20:13). Life is indeed precious and, although we often forget it, very fragile. How often we take tomorrow for granted. “For what is your life? It is eve a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’” (Js.4:14-15). And how important that we seek to accomplish the Lord’s will during our short time on earth for “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hb.9:27).

Please continue to pray for the ministry of Igreja Batista Bíblica Maranata. The people of Edson Queiroz face incredible challenges and pressures, but such difficulties merely expand the platform of opportunity for God to incredible things. Pray especially for those responsible for shepherding and caring for this small flock.

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with might through His spirit in the inner man,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the width and length and depth and height –
to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.”
Ephesians 3:14-21