Information/Emails from Cindy Kimberly
Brazil Trip
May 2007
May 26, 2007
Hello everyone back there in Massillon, Ohio!!
I wanted to give everyone an update about what I have been experiencing
here in Brazil. We leave to go home in five days and I still feel as though
I am in some sort of culture shock. The culture is so incredibly different
here in so many ways. For starters, when people first meet you, they do not
simply say hello and shake your hand, instead they kiss you on the cheek and
give you a hug. It has taken some getting used to, but it makes you feel
very welcomed and loved. The people at the church we are attending here are
absolutely wonderful. The church is called Igreja Presbiteriana de Penha -
which means `The Presbyterian Church of Penha.´ Although I cannot understand
what the pastor is saying in any of his sermons, it is evident to me that
this church is very spirit filled and focused on the mission of spreading
Christ´s gospel. All the service we have been doing here is sponsored by the
church, and originated there. The first week we were here we spent four days
at a place called Projeto Esperança, which mean `Project Hope.` The church
is heavily involved in the project and it is actually affiliated with
Compassion International. We spent time with children that live in poverty.
And when I use the word poverty, I don´t think people really understand what
I mean. Poverty here means a family of ten living in shacks constructed by
random pieces of cardboard and wood. There are thousands of slums that are
referred to a favelas. Favelas are basically the ghettos in Brazil. They
consist of hundreds of these cardboard shacks standing side by side, almost
attached to one another, and actually sometimes stacked on top of each
other. I don´t know how they do not just collapse on one another. These
places are filled with drugs, prostitution, and alcohol. Huge families live
in these houses that are really only fit for two people. The children we
worked with wore the same clothes every day, some of them smelled because
the have to bathe in dirty water, and most notably they were so in need of
love. They would literally run into us whenever we arrived at the project,
sometimes almost knocking us over. One child there touched me especially.
Her name was Juliana, and I believe she lived in one of the favelas. She was
the most beautiful little black girl with a gorgeous smile - but she didn't
smile often. When I would arrive there every morning she would be waiting
for me, but she would not approach me, she would wait for me to come to her.
Once I did come to her and kiss her and hold her, she would not let me go.
Even if put her down after holding her, she had to be touching me. She would
hold my hands, my legs, my arms, anything she could get a hold of. When I
would kiss her on her cheek she would finally smile as though she had never
been kissed before in her life. I don´t know exactly what her situation was,
but the man who is the president of the project says that a lot of the
children are in abusive situations or are severely neglected, and it would
not surprise me if she was living in that type of home. Eighty percent of
the children at the project live in favelas, which means Projeto Esperança
really is their only hope. In America, if a person comes from a bad
situation or lives in poverty, he or she may still have a chance to escape,
to move up in the world and make something of him or herself. It is not that
way here. Only about 1% of the people that grow up in favelas get out of it.
The government here is so corrupt that the politicians actually will steal
money that is meant for the poor, and they do not get punished for it. So,
these extremely poor people are living in horrible conditions and are seeing
the politicians commit these crimes and no justice comes out of it - thus
there is a big crime problem. People, in essence, are taught how to be
criminals. There are thousands of homeless people here. We visited a
homeless shelter this week that takes in homeless people for the day, lets
them shower, wash their clothes, and learn skills that will help them get a
job. They go to therapy sessions to help them work through their issues and
are encouraged to leave the street life, but only 10 out of 100 people
actually do.
Eye-opening is not a good enough description of my trip to Brazil. I´m not
sure if there is one. One thing that has been amazing to see is how much God
can work in such terrible situations. At Servidas, the drug rehab center we
went to yesterday, the recovering addicts were talking about how much they
have seen and experienced God´s work in their lives. He really does make all
things new. I will have much more to talk about when I get back. I have so
many pictures and I will try to show them to you all in church. God bless
you. I thank all of you for your prayers, support, and donations. This
experience has been very worthwhile. Love you all, and I´ll see you soon.
In Christ´s Love - Cindy Kimberly
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