This past week has been a very violent one in the cities of Santos, Guaruja, and Sao Vicente. Normally this area is much calmer and safer to live in than in Sao Paulo, but there have been 17 people killed so far this week in the 3 cities. In addition there were 6 people who were shot last night in the nearby city of Cubatao, and thankfully none of them were killed. The majority of these crimes appear to have a connection with some organized crime groups. The attacks were not robberies, and most of them were random shootings by criminals on motorcycles.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week we spoke in the state school EE Gracinda, which is located in a poorer area of Santos known as Vila Sao Jorge. We worked with Igreja Batista Areia Branca, which is located close to the school. The church participation was very good for the event, and we had 6-8 people from the church helping us each day. We had a great time in the school these 2 days, and the students, teachers, and school leaders all liked our project very much. In 2 days 304 students and 7 teachers accepted Christ.
We were also scheduled to speak in the school last night, as they have some night classes for high school students and some for adults who are studying to finish high school. This week there was a shootout near the school and 1 policemen and 1 criminal were killed, and there were threats of more violence made for this area. Because of these threats the school decided to cancel classes last night, so we have rescheduled the last night of the event for May 19th.
interpreters Rebeca & Heloisa, us, and the church team
Nancy and interpreter Heloisa speaking in a class
Students asking Nancy about the US
Part of our team on Tuesday afternoon
enjoying some time with students at break time
Nancy & interpreter Mariana leading the students in prayer
Interpreter Ricardo and I sharing Christ in a class
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