Sao Paulo Visit

We arrived in Sao Paulo around 9:00 Friday morning on a bus from Campinas, but it took us over an hour to get from the bus station to the downtown where we parked and began to walk thru the center of town, to Plaza Sé (Plaza Zero), in front of the Cathedral and other main office buildings, and parks. We spent much of the day walking which gave us a good feel for what Sao Paulo is like. People everywhere! Sitting, lounging on benches at the memorials, selling, "making-out," Pentecostal street evangelists, some hurrying through, others going to mass, and who knows what else? About 1:00 PM we walked to the Municipal Market which is located in a beautifully restored building, about 150 years old. It is now mostly a colorful fruit and vegetable market and eatery.

There were hundreds of people there at the cafes, mostly on the mezzanine, with long lines waiting to be seated, to order, or to pay. After getting tables we were able to order the traditional lunch, a bologna and cheese sandwich! But this was no "Oscar Meyer" type of bologna. Each of these babies must have weighed close to a pound with mounds of thinly sliced, Portuguese style bologna. They were wonderful, although at least twice as large as what any person in their right mind should eat. It was well into the evening before anyone was even interested in talking about food again, though.

Mid-afternoon we went to a homeless shelter and got acquainted with their ministry before we walked thru the neighborhood. This shelter feeds hundreds of people daily, provides showers, beds, TV, medical and dental attention, along with evangelistic services and worship. They also help the people get an education, and once free from addictions, they begin the process of reintegrating them back into society. This ministry is located in the center of an area of Sao Paulo called "crack land." During the day and until early evening prostitutes work the area; at night it becomes a major center for drug traffick. No imagination is required to see the horrors of sin.

We walked through the area to what looked like an alley with steel doors. Behind them, though, a lovely home is being built for the babies and small children of the prostitutes. The colorful house has many design characteristics that will make it an ideal place for a nursery and day care for these babies. While the house is a gift, the folks that are building it (also from the homeless shelter) are praying for another miracle, that some church or organization would sponsor it and send a team of missionaries and workers to minister to the at least 50 babies they expect when they open the doors.

Several of our team members were on the verge of tears much of the time we were there and wanted to know how they could come back to begin working with the babies and mothers. I kept thinking there could be few projects more worthy for the University to sponsor than a ministry where childcare, counseling, prayer, loving the young mothers (many of the prostitutes are in their teens), providing early pregnancy health care, and lovingly sharing the gospel message of forgiveness and restoration. Across the street are three hotels that are primarily used for prostitution and drug dealing, but along the sidewalks, open doorways, and stores you can see that business is not confined to any certain location.

Does God care?

Someone mentioned that there are about 8 million cars (besides buses, trucks, utility vehicles) and another 1 million motorcycles in this city of about 22 million people. It seemed like they were all on the streets of the city Friday evening since it took us two hours of riding in an old van without air conditioning, sitting at times in intense traffic jams, breathing noxious fumes, to get from the shelter to the Nazarene church where families were to meet us to take us to their homes. It is amazing how quickly we became family and special guests in these homes. New families, but then, we are all just part of the larger family of God.

Of course a couple of days and nights in a city like Sao Paulo are hardly more than a glimpse into what God is doing in such a place. While the human diversity and beauty is vast, the needs are also beyond description. Much more exciting, though, are the signs of God’s work and grace where so many of his people are found.