Here They Come

Our city Santos is one of many cities located on the coast, about 1 1/2 hour from the mega city of Sao Paulo. Whenever there is nice and warm & sunny weather like this weekend, tens of thousands of people like to get out of Sao Paulo and come to the beach for the weekend. There are 2 main highways that go from Sao Paulo to our area, which is called the Baixada Santista, and on nice weekends and holidays these highways are packed full of cars with people fleeing the big mega city. Below is a picture of the mass exodus from Sao Paulo  that was in an online news site this morning. It was taken at a toll booth area just outside of Sao Paulo.

Divorce Made Easier In Brazil

Last July the Brazilian government issued a constitutional amend-ment that made getting a divorce much easier and quicker. People in Brazil used to have to be separated and wait for a minimum of 1 year before they could file for divorce. The new amendment made it possible for a couple to be divorced in a matter of minutes by visiting a "cartorio". 

A "cartorio" is a place to get official documents in Brazil. Since the new amendment came out the number of divorces has grown immensely. In 2009 there were over 4400 divorces in the sate of Sao Paulo, and in 2010 the number more than doubled to over 9300. This is sad news for Brazil.

"Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."  - Matthew 19:6

Sao Paulo Pollution

Yesterday we went to Sao Paulo to do some things for the dual citizenship process. We were only there for a few hours but by the time we left for Santos our sinuses were bothering us and our throats were sore, because of the air pollution. The air has been drier than normal and the humidity very low, and thus the air pollution in Sao Paulo is much worse. Every time the humidity goes down many people there get sick, and they hope it will rain to improve and "wash" the air. Today I read on the internet that the air in Sao Paulo is the dirtiest in all of Brazil, which is no surprise to us, since we lived there for 3 years and had many problems with it. One of the problems is that there are over 6 millions cars in Sao Paulo, and it will be over 7 million in the near future. Another problem is that even though there supposedly are laws regulating emissions in cars and trucks, there is little or no enforcement. You can literally feel sick driving next to trucks, and many emit huge amounts of black smoke and pollutants. The internet article quoted the World Health Organization as saying that the air in Sao Paulo is 10 times more polluted than acceptable levels. It also said that breathing the air there is like smoking 2 cigarettes per day. Although the government tries to claim that things are getting better, this continues to be a huge health problem for the residents of Sao Paulo, including many of our friends there.

Update On Dengue Epidemic

Last month I wrote about the dengue epidemic going on in Brazil and in our coastal area known as the "Baixada Santista". Dengue or dengue fever is a tropical virus spread by a certain type of mosquito, and it can be a very dangerous disease. Since the beginning of the year there have been 69,148 cases of dengue and 64 deaths due to the disease in the state of Sao Paulo, and many of the cases have been here in Santos and in other cities in our region. Since the beginning of the year there have been 4474 cases in Santos (19 deaths), 4477 in the nearby city of Guaruja (12 deaths), 2960 in Sao Vicente, and 14,579 total cases in the Baixada Santista. We personally know several people who have or had dengue, including one of our interpreter friends. In all of Brazil there have been over 500,000 cases, which makes 2010 one of the worst years for the disease.

Sao Mateus Area Of Sao Paulo

We spoke in a school in the Sao Mateus area of Sao Paulo this week and last week, which is a heavily populated and very poor area. Here are some photos of the area. The cow you see in the 1st photo is not in the country, he was in the middle of the favela (slum).

Sunsets

Here are some photos of sunsets we took recently. The first group of photos were taken in Sao Paulo, and the next group in Santos.

44 Days In A Row Of Rain

Sao Paulo continues to have problems with heavy rain and flooding. Yesterday was the 44th straight day that it rained in the greater Sao Paulo area, and there are many areas that are having problems with flooding. One "bairro" in the east zone of Sao Paulo has been flooded since December.

Floods In Sao Paulo

Today is the 36th day in a row that it has rained in Sao Paulo, and there have been many problems with flooding in various "bairros" (neighborhoods) around the city. Several of the rivers that run through the city have overflooded their banks, causing many problems. Several main highways run on both sides of a couple of the rivers, and thus the freeways have been flooded. Traffic has been even worse than normal, and there have been days where there is over 80 miles of combined traffic jams throughout the city. To date 65 people have died in the state of Sao Paulo because of the heavy rain, and over 20,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. 144 cities in the state have had problems with flooding thus far since the beginning of December.

Traffic, Traffic, Traffic

We spoke in our last school of the year on Monday and Tuesday in Sao Paulo. The school is located in a poor section of the East Zone of Sao Paulo, and it took quite awhile for us to get there from Santos. We spent 2 1/2 hours each way, each day, to get to the school and back, totalling 10 hours of driving time in 2 days ... and it was all worth it. Actually the drive from Santos to Sao Paulo is not bad, only 1 hour. But then the fun starts. We spent 1 1/2 hours each way (each day) in the Sao Paulo traffic, which was horrible. Besides the bad traffic, the drivers in Sao Paulo are pretty bad, so that makes it even more fun. But it was all worth it, and God did a great work in the hearts of many students and teachers. 683 students and 13 teachers accepted Christ and committed their lives to Him. The church we worked with, Igreja Metodista Livre, did a great job, and they had 8 people to help us on Monday and 5 on Tuesday.

we were in the Sao Paulo traffic for 6 hours in 2 days

Nancy and I with part of the church teamInterpreters Eduardo & Victor and the church teamInterpreters Debra & Andre and part of our team

A Terrible Place To Drive

Many times the hardest part of our work here is getting to and from the places we are speaking at. This week we have been speaking in a school in the East Zone of Sao Paulo, in an area called Jardim Grinaldi. It is about 25 to 40 minutes from our house, depending on traffic. On Monday alone we had 3 near accidents, 2 going to the school and 1 on the way home. All 3 of the close calls were because someone turned onto the street we were on and cut right in front of us. If we hadn't hit the brakes hard we would definitely have had an accident each time. We love the people here, but they are absolutely the worst drivers. I am not exaggerating when I say that we see something really bad or dumb every time we go somewhere. The drivers have absolutely no respect for the other drivers or for the rules. Plus there are no police that are out enforcing the rules of the road. The only thing they have here is radar at some intersections to catch someone speeding or running a red light. They have alot of traffic laws and regulations, but the problem is that no one follows them and no one is there to enforce them. I will certainly not miss driving in Sao Paulo when we move to Santos. It is much easier and better to drive there, and it is nothing like the "white knuckle" driving experience we get to enjoy in Sao Paulo.

Waiting For Schools To Open

Since the state of Sao Paulo and some other states in Brazil extended winter vacation 2 more weeks for schools because of swine flu concerns, we have been trying to keep busy. We have been visiting some parks and other sites in Sao Paulo, and have been going to Santos once a week to look for apartments. We also have been organizing our next 3 school events, and thankfully we will start speaking in schools again next week. We will be speaking at EE Gallicho school in the Mooca area of Sao Paulo on August 18-20, at EE Padre Grigolli school in Sao Caetano on Aug. 24-26, and EMEF Roquette Pinto school in the Sapopemba area of Sao Paulo on Aug. 31-Sept. 2 ; please pray that God will bless our visits to these schools and that many will be touched and reached for Jesus, for His glory. Here are some photos of the botanical gardens and of Parque Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo.

Parque Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo

A huge tree in the park

Some small parrots in a tree

Nancy and Sampson in the parkthe botanical gardens in Sao Pauloa flowering treethe elevated jungle trail in the botanical gardenssome monkeys swinging in the trees

Swine Flu In Brazil

The number of confirmed swine flu cases in Brazil is growing, and there are now almost 3000 people with the sickness. As of yesterday, 129 Brazilians have died from the disease. The south and southeast parts of Brazil have the most cases, including the state of Sao Paulo, which is one of the most populated states.

The state of Sao Paulo extended the winter vacation for all public schools for 2 more weeks until August 17, due to concerns and fears caused by the swine flu. This has caused us to scramble and reschedule 2 schools that we were set to speak in for the weeks of Aug. 3rd and 10th. We are hoping and praying that this will not hinder us anymore in our efforts to help students, teachers, and families to have a personal relationship with God and a better life.

Another Great Week In A School

We had another great week speaking in a large school in the Aricanduva area of Sao Paulo (in the East Zone of the city). We spoke on Monday & Tuesday mornings and on Wednesday & Thursday afternoons in the EE Moacyr Campos school (we spoke in 56 classes so far), and we will be there again next Wednesday night. The school has students from 5th grade through high school. We are working with Pastor Marcos and Igreja Batista Vila Antonieta, since they are close to the school. The response from the students and from most of the teachers has been great, and God is doing a great work in many peoples' lives in this school. So far 1725 students and 19 teachers have accepted Christ. This is a very special time here in Brazil, and God is touching and opening many hearts, and a great number of people are responding to the Gospel and accepting Christ.

We did have a couple of men teachers who were very cold towards us, and one of them refused to let us into his classroom. He coldly stated that he does not like Americans and that we needed to get out. We talked to the director about this, and he was very helpful. We were able to go back and speak in the class the next period. Fortunately we have never seen this before, and the vast majority of Brazilians really like Americans (and other nationalities too). The vast majority of students and most teachers have a great curiosity about foreigners and Americans, and are very interested in having us in their school. They also are very interested in hearing the Gospel and about God's love and His special plan for their lives.

Nancy and I and Elisvaldo sharing Christ in a class

John and interpretor Elaine speaking in one of the classesMe, interpretor Eduardo, Eliane, Elisvaldo, and Alfredo sharing JesusJohn and interpretor Alessandro sharing ChristSharing Jesus with interpretor Iraci in a high school classSome of the high school studentsNancy & John, interpreters Elaine & Andrea, Pastor Marcos and part of the church team

Crazy Driving In Sao Paulo

Driving in Sao Paulo is always an adventure, and it is far more difficult and dangerous than driving in the US. Besides having many roads in bad or poor condition, especially in the poorer areas of the city, there are many other problems: poor driving skills, (many people pay off someone to buy their drivers license instead of learning to drive), a lack of enforcement of rules and laws, an excess of cars (over 6,000,000 cars every day in Sao Paulo), smaller and crowded roads,... Another well known problem is the intensely crazy driving of the "motoboys", which are people who drive motorcycles. Many of them are deliverymen, and they are everywhere. They essentially have no rules, and they are famous for driving extremely fast and for weaving in and out between cars. On average there are 2 motoboys who die every day in Sao Paulo.