From the Slums of Brazil to Mozambique,Africa!!!

Hardly a day goes by when I don’t think about the slums of Brazil. The slums are places for pain, suffering to millions of people living in shacks and violence and every time I go to visit my family like two weeks ago or maybe when we go up to the biggest and most dangerous slums in Brazil to teach English to impoverished children. People living in such conditions long to leave and have a better future.

This is life in the slum—a life of those remembered by few, and forgotten by most… A life which they seek to escape, because to lead a hand-to-mouth existence is so painful. For most, their only option is to collect what cardboard, plastics and metals they can, to sell to recycling plants in the hope that the next day will bring a transaction through which they may escape their cycle of poverty.

I don’t know if you can imagine how hard it would be to get out of the slums for something better but I want to encourage all of you guys that have invested in my life and ministry. I would like to share with you about my sister. She has been in Mozambique now almost a month and she’s loving it. She’s serving as a full time missionary in an organization called “Dream Project” and you can learn more about her work at www.thedream-project.org

Please know your prayers and support helped my sister to fulfill God’s dream for her life. She is a full time missionary now and she is out of the country. Only God!!! She grew up in a big slum in Brazil and saw and experienced abuse by her own father but God restored her and today she is reaching and loving so many people for Jesus. I want to thank personally all the people that made it possible for my sister financially to go to Mozambique and I know God will use her there in a mighty way and you will be a part of it because you invested in my sister’s calling.

See, God can take a nobody and transform this person into a somebody’s in the Kingdom. My sister was rejected and forgotten by the society and the Churches of Brazil but God saw her and he fell in love with her and he couldn’t take his eyes off her until he could have her full heart and my sister gave her full heart to the Lord and she has never been the same and never will and many people are going to learn and understand the love of God through her life in Mozambique and around the world. I am so proud of my sister and I am so thankful to God for this opportunity that he have to my sister Luciana Pereira de Souza. God is so faithful and good!!!

An E-mail Written by My Editor

Hi Everyone

This is an e-mail that was sent by a great friend of mine in the U.S.A and I just wanted to share with you all that you can do the same. Please tell all of your friends, family and church about my book. I know for sure this book will inspire and challenge you to fight for the millions of kids suffering in the big cities of our world. And of course please pre-order your own book now!!!

"Many of you are familiar with some of the young Brazilians my husband and I have been privileged to work with over the past few years. I am so excited to announce that Sidney, one who we have bragged about on many occasions (and many of you have also met) is nearing the final process of *publishing his life story!* God has blessed us to be a part of this project and we can hardly wait to see the finished result! For those of you who don't know, Sidney was born in the slums of Brazil,and at only 6 years old, he was forced to work in the streets to support his very large and very poor family. After fleeing an abusive alcoholic father at the age of 7, Sidney spent the next three years on the streets of the third largest city in Brazil - Belo Horizonte. Miraculously, by the age of 14, Sidney accepted Christ and began serving God faithfully. He has since traveled the world to preach the gospel, from the suburbs of the USA to the slums of Africa, South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. His mission is to love the forgotten, lost, despised, unloved and unreached. While most Americans were exchanging gifts and enjoying Christmas festivities last December, Sidney was overjoyed to spend his Christmas in Darfur, Sudan.

Sidney's amazing story has inspired thousands of street children across the globe, and no doubt the release of his book will empower him to reach millions more. His heart burns for street children, and with the growing epidemic of kids who are forced to live and work in the toughest environments, this book couldn't come at a more urgent time. I invite you to *visit his new website and pre-order a copy of his book!* Scheduled for release in October of 2009 at $19.99 + shipping, if you reserve your copy now you will only pay $14.99 + shipping *and receive your copy a month before the official release* *date!*

Also at the site you can watch clips from the documentary my husband and I produced that chronicles some of Sidney's powerful testimony, see footage from a few of Sidney's mission trips and have the opportunity to donate to his ministry".

*www.RescuedToTell.com*

God bless you and thank you for your support!

Taryn & Damon Smith
Inspiring Minds Publications

Redefining Christianity

Is it true that the church of today, the church that is called after Christ`s own name, would refuse to follow him at the expense of suffering, of phisical lost, of temporary gain? That is a question that is hunting me down every single day. I have read the book called "In His Steps" over and over again and every time I read it God speaks to me in a powerful way about sacrifices and suffering.

Today, our churches contains for the most part men and women who think more of their ease and luxury than of the sufferings and needs and sins of humanity. How far is that true? Are Christians of Brazil ready to have their discipleship tested? How about the men who possess large wealth in Brazil or the U.S.A? Are they ready to take that wealth and use it as Jesus would? How about the men and women of great talent? Are they ready to consecrate that talent to humanity as Jesus undoubtedly would do?

If every Christian in Brazil or the U.S.A did as Jesus would do, society itself, the business world, yes, the very political system under which our commercial and governmental activity is carried on, would be so changed that human suffering would be reduced to a minimum? What would be the result if all the the church members of Belo Horizonte tried to do as Jesus would do? It is not possible to say in detail what the effect would be. But it is easy to say, and it is true, that instantly the human problem would begin to find and adequate answer.

Is it true that Christian disciples today in most of our churche here in Brazil or around the world are living soft, easy, selfish lives, very far from any sacrifice that can be called sacrifice? What would Jesus do? What would Jesus do in the matter of wealth? How would he spend it? What principle would regulate his use of money? Would he be likely to live in great luxury and spend ten times as much on personal adornment and entertainment as He spent to relieve the needs of suffering humanity? How would Jesus be governed in the making of money? Would he work in a bar and sell alcohol? There are so many christians today that work in bars here in Brazil and they sell alcohol the whole day and then they go to church at night and ask God to bless their job and their hands.

Are we ready to take up our cross? What is discipleship? If our definition of being a Christian is simply to enjoy the privilges of worship, be generous at no expense to ourselves, have a good, easy time surrounded by pleasant friends and by comfortable things, live respectably and at the same time avoid the world`s great stress of sin and trouble because it is too much pain to bear it-if this is our definition of Christianity, surely we are a long way from following the steps of Him who trod the way with groans and tears and sobs of anguish for a lost humanity;who sweat, as it were, great drops of blood, who cried out on the unreared cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

I am ready to imitate Jesus. I am ready to do as He would do. I am ready to walk in His steps. I am ready to rescue the perishing, I am ready to care for the dying, I am going to fight for those who suffer, I am going to be part of the solution of this world,I am going to bring Jesus to those that are hopeless. But my question to you is "Are you going to join us?"

Are Street-Kids more important than your Dog?

On the streets of Brazil there is somethinbg you can always find. Whereve you see street kids or any homeless you will always see some or a lot of dogs. But the dogs hurt their feet on broken glass, distemper kills the puppies meaning the little dogs but on the streets we were big fans of big dogs, while worms, fleas and other parasites would be great part of our dog’s lives too.

The dogs used to come from different parts of the cities or from the slums. In Brazil we have a lot of dogs wandering on the streets and of course street kids too.Coming from the streets myself I'm sure that the kids on the streets owning pets. We on the streets used take such a good care of our pets then we do ourselves due to the fact that they are the only things we had that we could talk to and know we could trust. I remember we had names for our dogs and we used to talk to them like if they were human beings especially when we were drunk or high that’s when we would talk to the dogs the most and we used to tell the dogs personal stories and I still remember the name of my favorite dog on the streets. His name was “Pretinho” and that means “little black”

But I have a question for all of you who are reading this blog, aren`t the kids more important than dogs? Aren`t we supposed to be fighting for kids who can`t fight for themselves? So why do we have close to 10 million kids around the cities in Brazil? So why we do have around 100 million homeless kids in the world? I love dogs but I can`t understand how people in Brazil and around the world can spend so much money on dog food and caring for their dogs while we have millions of kids suffering around the world. Here in Brazil we have so many rich ladies and families who spend thousand of dollars on their dogs and that almost make me puke or cry my heart out because I was just few minutes ago talking so some street kids here in Brazil and they were all looking for a way out of the streets but they don`t have anywhere to go. They were asking me if I could take them home but I told them I didn`t have a place for them but someday I will. I told them about my dreams and my dreams are to have houses around the world that will take in street kids and missionaries and people will educate, love, care for these precious children that God loves so much. Will you consider fighting for these unloved, forgotten children around the world?

Julia "Neguinha"

I used to love Julia because she was about my age and I was really close to her. I remember everyone used to call her “Neguinha” and that means “black girl” and she used to be so nice to me. I remember we did kiss few times but I never had the courage to have sex with her because I knew she had had sex with many people before. She had sold her body many times before and she was always with different street kids. She always tried to have me sleep with her but I was always afraid because people used to say she had a disease that killed but I never knew what that meant.

I remember one day at night we were seating on the streets and we were really close to each other and we started sharing our lives and our past. I don`t know what was happening to me because I hate sharing about my past but that day I was so open maybe because I felt safe around her. I told her about my father and my past and she just listened and many times she used to agree by nodding her head and that meant her father was very abusive to her too.

Then after I was done she started telling me her story by gazing at the floor. It was a horrific story and I will never forget it. She told me that her mother died by her father. Then her father turned the gun on himself and Julia was found sleeping on the bed between her parent` bed when she was only 3 and a half. They were really poor and they lived on the slums and they didn`t have furniture so they had to sleep together. Julia told me about the domestic violence she had to go through and the chaotic living.

Julia tried very hard to forget about what happened to her and her parents but after that incident she started having nightmares and she became very sad and frightening. When Julia was telling me her story she never looked at me and I remember she started crying telling me about her fears and worries. She was in my life for a year on the streets and after I left the streets, I did see her couple of times but now I have no idea if she`s alive or dead. I hope my “Neguinha” is alive because she was truly my friend and I really liked her because she was good to me.

We Forget That He has a Name Too!!!

I think about Pedro constantly when I am thinking back of my life on the streets or when I am telling my testimony. He grew up poor and he was still very poor on the streets. He was considered the fastest boy on the streets because he used to rob people and they would never be able to catch him. The police either!!! He used to tell me that he left home because he hated going to school and he had no interest in those borings subjects. He used to tell me that he never had nice clothes before he came to the streets because his family was too poor. His clothes were always torn, no slippers and he was always out of the house most of the time. He only cared about soccer and more soccer. He used to tell me the number one rule on the streets, he used to say “Bro(Sidney), you can`t be weak on the streets because the streets are tough”. Pedro was a boy that was totally indifferent to what was happening around him and another thing he used to say to me in his Paulista(People from Sao Paulo) accent was “Bro,you gotta live each day as it goes, if that means robbing or stabbing someone you gotta do”.

But he didn`t stay alive very long. They burned him alive with paint-thinner and he was taken to the hospitals and I never heard about him no more. He was cool but he talked too much. He was too crazy but his craziness took him to the grave. I didn`t really like him a lot because he used to dominate all of us on the streets and to tell you the truth I was afraid of him or what he would had done to me if I did something wrong.

The Most Amazing Woman in My Life!!!

I will forever be grateful to mom and her name will always ring in my memory. Her name makes me cry and laugh at the same time. I love my mom and always will. My mom`s name is Juraci Pinto da Silva and she is a strong woman that has been through a lot. My mom has superpowers – the power to love, the power to understand, the power to sacrifice and to give everything that she has. I remember many times we wouldn`t have food or enough food and I remember she would sacrifice her own food for her us. She would give the last portion of rice and she would assure me that she was very full but today thinking back I know she was hungry and she needed to eat but she gave to me or my brothers and sisters.

I think my mom is very patient because she is still living with my father but now there are couple of months that she filed the papers to divorce my father but she is doing that through public service so it will take very long time, my mom is also very humble, caring, carefree and God-fearing.

My mom didn`t grow up in a city with big buildings but she grew up in the rural area and she tells me that she loved that life because life was very simple and you didn`t have a lot of things to worry about. My grandfather married early but he lost his wife because of diseases, then he married again but lost his wife again and then he married the sister of the second wife that died. He has had so many kids and most of them are still alive. He has had more than a dozen of kids and my mom is one of oldest. My mom just like my father didn`t study that much because in the rural area there wasn`t higher level of education. My mom says she would had loved to study more but it was not possible. My grandfather had a big land with a lot of acres and they used to have animals, plantations, a lot of fruit trees, water fountains and horses, cows, etc.

My mom grew up learning how to cook for her mom and take care of the house. My mom tells me some really fun, interesting and exciting stories of her childhood. She tells me stories of when she would steal oranges, bananas, berries with her friends just for fun on the way back from school. My mom grew up with a very innocent childhood and she had a fairy-tale of someday a prince was going to come and rescue her but instead of a prince came someone else. My mom tells me that when she was growing up it was hard for them even to see a car or television because they were living so removed from the city and all those things like car seemed like a dream to be near or even touch someday.

My mom tells me stories of how she and her family would walk for hours to get to a family`s house that had a small Television so they could watch the evening soap-opera or movies. She tells me to have a television back then it was a luxury thing and she used to love to watch the television and she would watch the soap-operas and she would image of someday being married and having her kids .

She tells me that everyone around her would be so afraid to get old and not get married so they would get married very early in their teens and back then it was completely ok. So all my aunties got married very early and my mom too. My mom got married in her teens and she tells me that she didn`t really love my father but she just wanted to get married to get away from home. She didn`t want to stay home until she would be older.

My mom got married and moved to the city and that`s when her life was changed completely from an innocent life to an abusive life. My mom tells me that when she was pregnant with all of us but I mean and especially with me my father used to kick her stomach and belly and he used to scream horrible names. She tells me that my father used to beat her down with pieces of woods, sticks and with his fists in her stomach and many times she thought she was going to lose one of us when she was pregnant. She tells me that my father used to choke her neck when she was pregnant and he would force her to carry for miles carrying woods for the fire because she didn`t have stove to cook with or get water from far away.

My mom has always been Christian and she tells me that when she was a teenager she started going to church and she has always been a member of a Pentecostal denomination called Assemblies of God here in Brazil. The Assemblies of God here in Brazil back then and still today most of them demand their members to wear long skirts and they can`t have their hair cut, trimmed, died and there are other little things like you can`t watch television or the guys can`t play soccer or can`t wear shorts. I think it`s so funny because we are a nation that is crazy about soccer and The Assemblies of God don`t allow the guys to play soccer. I remember when I was a little boy I used to feel like I was sinning by playing soccer or wearing shorts. Since I was little I never really liked those rules but I would go because my mom would tell me so.

My mom is a woman of faith and for me I think she is the greatest woman ever lived and will ever live. She is a woman of faith and forgiveness. I remember days and nights when I would see my mom kneeled down with her face down praying for God to save her children. I remember she used to tell me someday I was going to preach the Gospel and I was going to serve God. She used to call things that didn`t exist like they existed. She used to say that someday I was going to be serving God and today I am. Praise the Lord for my mom!!!

She has never given up either. I bet she has thought so many times to give up but she hasn`t. She had three of her kids running away from home and never coming back and she still never gave up. Even when my oldest sister ran away for a week she still didn`t give. She has been beaten, choked, slapped and she has heard many but I mean I think every bad word from my father and she is still standing and following Jesus.

My mom lost a son when he was just a babe and I never really know what really happened. I keep asking her for the whole story but she only tells me that my brother when he was just an infant and he died in the hospital without being able to breathe. I always try to get more information from her about my brother and I always feel she avoids that topic. I feel there is another part of the story that hasn`t been told and she doesn`t want us to know what really happened. She never mentions my brother that died and it seems like it is too painful to talk about it. But She is still standing and going.

She is a fighter and she will always be in my heart. She has fought for me and she is the greatest example of my life. She has taught me about forgiveness and love. She has always loved me and her love is so genuine and real that is hard to find anywhere I go. I love my mom and she is the most amazing and incredible woman in my life and history. Thank you God for mom and what she has done for me.

My Friend from the Streets of Brazil

I think this is the hardest story I have ever heard on the streets. I had a friend called Lucilene but our crew used to call her by her nickname “Lequinha”. She was 14 years old when I was on the streets and she had a scar to her face that she bragged saying it was her father that did that to her. She used to tell me stories of her siblings and parents and I always felt that she hated her family but I couldn`t say anything to her because I hated my father too.

Lequinha told me one day when we were seating under a bridge downtown Belo and we were watching the cars pass by and we sniffling glue and re-thinking about our past. That is the day she opened herself to me. She walked with that posture that she didn`t care about life and didn`t trust people either. I knew it was going to be hard for her to talk so I gave her a little bit of more paint-thinner to sniffle. I tried to make her feel at ease by giving her that bit of thinner and a cookie I had with me, but she sat there just frozen gazing at the cars passing by.

Her face looked sad and her eyes were always big, almost always she had dried lips and she was so quite and she hated talking to people. She always seated by herself and she always used to sing a song that I knew called “Deus de Promessas” and in English would be “God of promise” and it was funny because I knew that song because they used to sing in my mom`s church. I was always so curious why she would sing that song when she was by herself and I always had that crazy thought that Lequinha had been or grew up going to church with someone.

I tried to make Lequinha to talk but I knew it was too painful to her. Her soul had been scarred and wounded. She was trying to forget her past and I wasn`t helping but I was so determined to talk to her that I was not going to let go. I understood what she felt inside and I think I was attracted to her quietness because most of the girls on the streets were loud and crazy.

She was young but she had seen so much and let`s not even talk about how she had been hurt so severely. Just two years ago she had seen her father beaten and shot, her mother and sisters raped in front of her. She herself was thrown and forgotten for dead in an alley of a slum until nightfall and then someone found her and took her to the hospital. She had been hurted, used, abused, thrown away. Man, I hated life on the streets because I was a lost case and everyone around me too.

It is so sad but funny because where we were seating under the bridge we could see the slum where she grew up from far away. The name of the slum is “Pedreira Padre Lopes” and that is he most dangerous slum in Belo Horizonte or better saying in the state of Minas Gerais. I did ask her if she wanted to go back to her relatives that still lived in the slum and she forced a smile and said “No Way”. She told me about the slum where she grew up and she told me that near her house there were restaurants, bars and magazines stands that there were bullet holes, stains were everywhere. When she was telling me her story I could hear Lequinha` voice drifting through the hot summer, humid Brazilian air.But I knew her mind was churning and she wanted to scream or cry. It was painful thing for both of us but we were glad we were under the influence of paint-thinner.

She began to unfold her story. I had made her feel good about herself I think. For a moment the pain was clear to her. I can`t believe my next reaction My hands reached out for hers and I wanted to hold her hands so tight during her sharing and I remember she kind of hesitated it but she allowed me to hold her hands. We smiled. Our eyes met and we looked at one another and we knew we were very similar in many ways. So after that she talked to me about her pain and her past. She talked, I listened, and tears welled up in my eyes as I heard her story in childlike terms. I felt her heart, I felt her soul, felt her pain. It was as if I was experiencing it vicariously with her and I couldn`t hold but cry with her. She saw my tears, she felt my hand squeeze hers and I could hear her heart beat so fast and she stopped using the paint-thinner and you could see for that moment both of us forgot about our addictions and we were in a time of healing together even though we didn`t know we were being healed by Jesus in that moment.

Lequinha explained to me with details about the ache of her heart and about her rejections, of feeling thrown away like a used Kleenex. I felt so bad for Lequinha because she was dumped somewhere to die by herself. I had never been dumped somewhere to die so I couldn`t really fell her pain but I could image that would be hard as hell. She had so many scars in her life that I even thought to myself that she would never be healed of her past.

That day I will never forget because it was the only time on the streets that I felt someone really understood me and I really understood someone. She wasn`t a close friend on the streets but I will never forget that moment we spent together. After two months and a half Lequinha died in a car accident downtown Belo Horizonte running for her life because there was three other street kids trying to attack her and she crossed the streets without looking.

“Looking at the World through the Eyes of God”

John 3:14-21 – “Looking at the World through the Eyes of God”



I can’t think of a greater condemnation to be levied against a people than this: They loved darkness instead of light. I would never want that to be said of me. But that is the way God sees the world. You and I see the world as it is right now. Most of the people around us try and do the right thing and when we are wrong hopefully we apologize. So we tend to think well of most people. But look out on the passage of time….



The Ancient World of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Hellenism, Rome, Persia, India, and East Asia was filled with the ignorance of hundreds of thousands of gods, magic, rituals, superstitions, human sacrifice, conquests, sewage(refuse was mostly thrown into the streets for the rats and dogs), disease (priests attempted to foretell the course of a disease by examining the livers of sacrificed animals). And the list doesn’t end there: ethnic bigotry, civil wars, persecutions, despots, tyrants, class rule, and the systematic murders of tens of thousands.



The Middle Ages of Persia, Constantinople, Islam, Britain, China, India, Genghis Khan and the Mongols, Timur and the Turks, Europe, African Empires and the Americas. All of them covered in the darkness of man’s inhumanity to man: Revolutions, expansionism, Mohammad’s Conquest and Christianity’s Crusades, warlords, heretics, witchcraft, increased trade bringing death and plagues to millions, and the crowding in the cities spreading the misery all the more. And on top of this misery wars fought for every ridiculous reason known to man.



The Enlightenment and the Modern world also have faired no better. We too have loved the darkness instead of the light. Europe, Africa, Mid-East, India, and the Americas have all dipped their finger into the cesspool of sin: Guns, germs, slavery, the need for women’s suffrage, massacres, socialism, resistance to democracy, religious fundamentalism’s resistance to progress, Fascism, Communism, The Holocaust, the Ku Klux Klan, greed, the market crash, The Depression, world wars, The Bomb, terrorism, the crisis in Africa.



I can’t tell you what a short list this is. And this says nothing of the millions of women and children who have suffered throughout the ages at the hands of ruthless men. There is no way to write that history because it is hidden from the pages of history.



Yes! Men have loved darkness rather than light. There is a morbid destructive tendency in all of us. We dabble in the diabolical. We revel in revenge. And we hate in our hearts. My, how we love to live in the shadows! What must God think of us?



Here is his verdict, as true today as it was when it was pronounced 2000 years ago: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light, because their deeds were evil. This is Jesus’ description of mankind. And can any of us argue with him?



For a few moments let’s look at the world through the eyes of God. What does he see? He sees that....



1. There are those who acknowledge not the darkness.

2. There are those who acknowledge the darkness.

3. There are those who acknowledge their need for forgiveness.

Africa is Rising!!!

I have heard my whole life about Africa and the issues Africa is facing. It is really sad when you think about the natural as well as man made disasters that have lampooned the continent in pretty much the same way with the droughts and famine such as endured for years in countries like Ethiopia and the region of Sub-Saharan Africa, and now Niger where millions are at risk of annihilation. I have witnessed civil wars and related conflicts that have culminated in genocides of the sort that have been witnessed in Rwanda, some parts of the DR Congo, and lately Sudan’s Darfur region.

I might say that Africa is like a demonstration continent that is constructed and then demolished, and constructed again, only to be demolished once again. It literally goes on and on in Africa. There seems to be no permanent or consistent pattern of development and advancement on the continent that is one of the richest in resources yet has the poorest and most miserable people in the world.

Something I really fight for is the change of social problems in Africa because there are some well to do African families that are living quite comfortably although these are surrounded by the sad realities of deprivation that hound the generality of the African populace.

Once again the pleading eyes of African mothers and children are watching us from our TV screens. They are destitute and starving. This time it is Darfur, Sudan. The terrible TV images of children with bloated bellies and stick-like limbs. Why does it keep happening? Is Africa somehow doomed eternally to hunger and misery? Can we not do something about it? Yes I believe we can.

I have been very frustrated every time I go to Africa because I see horrible social injustice in Africa and I think about our world that is just standing by and watching what`s happening in Africa. There are millions of refugees and internally displaced people from conflicts in Africa. Hundreds and thousands of people have been slaughtered from a number of conflicts and civil wars like in Sudan. I have been to Sudan and I heard the missionaries and people telling me stories of kids fighting for something they don`t even know. They are just kids but child soldiers in the same time and if you would ask them how old they are they would tell you I believe that they are 11 or 12 years old. If this scale of destruction and fighting was in Europe or in Americas, then people would be calling it World War III with the entire world rushing to report, provide aid, mediate and otherwise try to diffuse the situation.

I am going to tell you stories from my mission trips to Africa and I am only telling you these stories because I believe we can change Africa. We were created to be agents of transformation, change and healing. God has called us to be a difference-maker and a generation that is willing to give up everything for the Gospel and my greatest joy is Africa but it is also my greatest cross.

I love Africa and I always will. I have been to Africa 3 times and this year I am planning and praying to go twice. I have been to many countries like South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, Sudan,etc. God has been so good to me because he has allowed me to see or hear many different things in Africa. I will never be the same. My testimony seems or becomes small when I am in Africa. My problems become small when I hear or see what`s happening to millions of people in Africa.

My heart is to bring doctors, lawyers, police officers, nurses, teachers, politicians, pastors, missionaries, worship leaders to Africa for short-term or long term to see the realities of Africa. And I know when they see the realities of Africa they will never be the same and I pray many of these people that go to Africa with me they will go back to stay and live in Africa to transform communities from the inside out.

Africa is in the heart of God and I know he loves every African person just as much as he loves me and you that live outside of Africa. God is bigger than the problems in Africa and he will raise up a generation in Africa that will love and serve him with everything they are. I believe Africa is going to be the epicenter of the revival that is about to happen in our world. I believe Africa will shine and will be great among us. God is rising up a new generation in Africa of pastors, missionaries, worship leaders and true followers of Jesus Christ that will impact the whole world for Jesus. Africa is ready and the time is now!!!

I will never forget Peru!!!

Peru is located in western central South America. It is a country that is pretty big, it has close to 30 million people. Over 90% of the population adheres to Roman Catholicism and only close to 8 percent out 100% are protestant Christians. It is a very oppressed country and the people in Peru likes to practice Vudu or better saying Witchcraft. I spent a little bit over a month there and I was preaching and trying to disciple the missionaries on the ground and pastors. I spoke in some mission conferences but to tell you the truth you can drive or walk for hours in Peru and not find or see a church. That is the reason why I really wanted to go to Peru and I knew God was going to do amazing things in that place. I knew I was going to see signs, wonders, miracle happening in Peru because the church is at the earliest stage in Peru. God is pouring down his fire in that place and many, I mean like multitudes are coming to Christ.

I traveled all over the country and it is a very beautiful country and I love Peru and especially the people. They are so open and receptive to foreigners. They love Brasilians so I felt at home in Peru. I worked with streets kids too trying to restore their dignity and there are so many street kids in Peru and God used my life to impact their lives because I could tell all of them that I was an ex-street boy from Brazil and now I was a preacher of the word of God. I did a lot of leadership training with the missionaries and I also visited the slums of Peru and I cried out to God to rise up that nation as a nation that serves God.

But the most memorable thing that happened in Peru was when I got an invitation to preach at one of the most dangerous prison in Cusco, Peru. It is one of the largest and tightened prison in Peru. It was a Sunday morning and the sun was radiant and I was so happy because I was going to meet all these guys that had done horrific things in life that had harmed them and other people. I was so excited but so scared at the same time. I thought to myself this is real church and I had the conviction in my heart that if Jesus was still on earth he would be chilling with the people in that prison. I know he would and that is the reason why I accepted the invitation to go.

It was close to 9 o`clock in the morning and I was in front of the that huge prison with this pastor and his crew. They were giving me all these instructions of how to act and what to say inside of the prison. I was paying very close attention because I didn`t want to die or get hurt in that day. They told me that the worst criminals of Peru was in that prison and many times they would riot and evoke their rights by getting people hostage in a visit day meaning an open day for their family members and friends to visit them. I was processing all these things and I was thinking “Oh, God. I know we are going to have a lot of people in our service this morning and what if these crazy guys go crazy and decide to get us in hostage here?” and God quietly answered in my spirit “I have called you, I have a calling for your life and even if you wanted to die you wouln`t because I am not done with you yet.” I was so encouraged by that word that I couldn`t stand still and I started singing and praising the name of Jesus right in front of that prison and the people that were waiting on line were looking at me and thinking I was a crazy foreigner that had a relative inside or someone I knew.

The line kept walking and I could still hear the voice of the pastor explaining to me how did the whole prison ministry started and about the hardships of his ministry. I was right in front of a hero in our faith and he was definitely a miracle. He was so in love with God and you could see in the pastor`s eyes that he loved God above everything else in life and he loved the lost souls inside of that prison. He was willing to give his own church to be full time as a counselor and pastor of that prison. He helped the prisoners in everything they needed from lawyers to supplies of food and clothes.

It was a very tight security and it took us close to an hour to bring all the equipments and boxes inside. Everything we had were checked by the prison guards and they were very tense you could see that because I tried to be nice to them by trying to talk to them but they didn`t even look me in the face and they were short and mean. But I was willing to shine the light of Jesus in that day but it wasn`t working maybe it is because of my Spanish. Maybe not!!!

After they were done checking everything we had and checking out our own bodies if we were bringing anything illegal to give to the prisoners they let us go but the funny thing is that they didn`t want us to go by ourselves because of security reasons. I remember walking inside of that prison and thinking the prisons in Brazil are luxurious mansions compared to this one. The structure was horrible and falling apart and it was a dirty place full of people with mean looks and tattoos. All the prisoners were checking us out and they wanted to jump us. Some of them asked me for money and some of them even threatened me to give them money. I wondered to myself “Are these guys going to be in the chapel this morning for service because if they are I want to leave?” The prison guards were protecting us and they made sure nobody would touch or steal us. One guy heard I was going to be the speaker for the morning chapel and he started yelling and telling all of his friends that a Brazilian preacher was going to be there that morning. He was very excited that he went through his whole section announcing there was a Brazilian preacher there and everybody had to go.

I was shaking during worship time and I was crying out to God and saying God “what do you want me to speak this morning?” and God said speak about my restitution and just tell your story to these guys. I remember after 4 songs in Spanish the pastor got up to introduce me in front of that big crowd and I remember I was sweating and I wished God would take me out of that place because first I was going to have to preach in Spanish. I can understand and speak Spanish very well but I had never preached before in Spanish. I thank God now for all the classes I had taken of Spanish in Brazil and all the Hispanic people God had brought into my life years passed. I had many friends from Spanish speaking countries and I kept in touch with all of them and now I was desperate for God`s help.

I stood up and suddenly something happened inside of me. I knew I was just like Moses because in that moment I felt like I couldn`t speak and didn`t have the words for that type of crowd. But the Spirit of the Holy Ghost fell upon me and I remember I said good morning church. And to tell you the truth, it was one of the best experience of church I have had in my life because I heard God`s voice and I saw God manifesting himself in ways I had never seen it before. The worship was genuine and those guys you could see they were really hungry and desperate for Jesus. Jesus seemed to be their everything and they knew without God they were done. They knew their sins were too big and they knew that God was bigger than their problems and sins. They were crying, kneeling down, jumping, praying during worship and now I was looking at these guys with a different eyes. I was looking at them not as prisoners but sons of God. They were physically in Jail but their Spirit wanted to be free or better saying I believe most of them were free in God.

I stood in that pulpit looking at the audience and I could see some familiar faces from the moment I came in and they were asking me for money. I don`t know how long I stood there but I think couple of minutes and all of them stood there waiting for me to start preaching. They were staring at me and hoping I would say something that would change their lives. I was praying inside and asking the Holy Spirit to anoint me and suddenly the power and anointing of God fell upon me and I opened my mouth and I started declaring in the spiritual world that God was going to do super-natural things that morning and I started calling things that didn`t exist like they were and God started doing some crazy powerful things in that prison. I told all of them that God could restore their lives and families. Their past was their past. Their past didn`t have to determine their present of future. They were so passionate and ready for change and in that day many but many accepted Jesus Christ. It was hard to count how many accepted Jesus Christ but a Christ revolution was about to start in that place. Many of them came to the altar call crying and screaming for Jesus to come and change their lives and family. They felt really encouraged by my testimony and they started believing they could so it too. Until these days, almost two year later I still hear about what God did in that prison in that day. Many started reading the Bible and obeying the prison system because now they were willing to fight for purity and their families. They are walking in victories now and many of them have left and they are doing good. I still hear from my friends in Peru that the fire that started that day has not stopped but it is growing and it is spreading across the prison guards, family members and different cities that are involved in the prison in anyway.

I love South America and I know God is going to raise a generation that will follow God 100%. I know we have problems with idolatry, extreme poverty, millions of street kids, child prostitution, child slavery, forced prostitution, killing addictions like alcohol and drugs that are destroying families, unemployment, huge slums with horrible conditions but still God is raising up a generation that will change the face of South America. It is time for South America and I know we will fulfill God`s calling in this era.

Você pode ajudar a África?

África, um continente dotado de imensos recursos naturais e humanos, bem como grande novidade cultural, ecológica e diversidade económica, África ainda permanece subdesenvolvida. A maioria das nações Africanas sofrem de ditaduras militares,corrupção, Guerras civil e extrema pobreza, do subdesenvolvimento e millhares de pessoas morrendo por causa do Virus do HIV/AIDS. A maioria dos países classificados pela ONU como países menos desenvolvidos estão na África. Várias estratégias de desenvolvimento ainda não conseguiram produzir os resultados esperados. Embora alguns acreditam que o continente está condenado a perpétua pobreza e escravatura económica, a África tem imenso potencial. África é a minha cruz e minha maior alegria, ao mesmo tempo. Hallelua!

As imagens de dor e de sofrimento em todo o nosso canais de TV. Essas imagens vêm do Iraque, Afeganistão, Israel, Palestina e África. Vemos a morte e o sofrimento de perto. Pensamos que é apenas notícias, como imagens alimentadas a nós através de câmeras, satélite, telefones vídeo, imagens fixas. A cada ano, vemos milhares delas, elas vêm de todo o mundo.

O mundo está apenas olhando e não estar fazendo nada. Vemos as imagens, temos pena, mas a maioria de nós não fazemos nada. Vemos imagens da África, as crianças com fome, garotos soldados no Congo, no Norte do Uganda e do Sul do Sudão onde milhares e milhares morrem de fome e por causa das Guerras civis.

Há anos que eu tenho levantado dinheiro para Projetos africanos ou viagens que eu fui para a África. Fui três vezes à África e sempre quando eu volto para o Brasil, eu sempre tenho encontrado essa atitude de piedade das pessoas, essa atitude de sentir pena da África, mas essas pessoas não colocam em ação seu sentimento. Gostaria de contar a história da África, as suas possibilidades, suas riquezas, seus recursos, a história de um povo que tem fome de liberdade, fome de Deus e fome das coisas básica da vida como comida. Eu encontro pessoas nas Igrejas e elas falam assim pra mim as vezes “Tenho pena das pessoas na África, mas porque elas não têm menos filhos e os seus problemas podem ser resolvidos - ou - Por que precisamos ajudar a África - se tudo o que eles fazem é matar uns aos outros - Eu sinto muito por eles, mas a África é longe e temos necessidades aqui no Brasil ou nos Estados Unidos, mas eu tenho pena deles. "

África não precisa da nossa pena, nosso sentimento triste por eles, mas o que eles necessitam é da nossa compaixão. Pena conduz à inação, vemos as imagens de crianças com barrigas distendidas, vemos mulheres emaciado, homens sangrando e sentimo-nos tristes, mas não fazemos nada sobre isso. Pena leva a sentimentos de inação, se tornando anestesiados do sofrimento, dor, injustiça que está perante os nossos olhos sobre a tela da TV ou nos Jornais.

Estou tão animado, porque Deus está me permitindo levar uma equipe para a Uganda e Sudão, em Dezembro de 2009. Neste momento temos 11 pessoas que vão e a maioria de nós não temos idéia de onde vamos conseguir o dinheiro para ir. Cada um de nós temos que levantar perto de 4 mil dólares para a nossa viagem. Nós acreditamos em um milagre e sabemos que Deus vai providenciar de alguma forma. Por favor, peço-vos a todos que têm orado e clamado pelo continente africano. Agora é a hora de agir todos vocês que conhecem o nosso ministerio, e você pode fazer isso de muitas formas, uma orando para nossa equipe, orando por mim como o líder da equipe e, obviamente, financiando a nossa viagem missionaria. Por favor, Se você quiser fazer uma doação para nós como equipe ou se você quiser enviar uma doação financeira para mim especificamente . É muito fácil e rápido. Basta me enviar um e-mail: sidneypereira915@hotmail.com ou ligue no meu cellular (19) 9291-1278.

Sua ajuda é fundamental, porque as crianças da África precisa - agora mais do que nunca! Crianças que necessitam de cuidados de saúde, educação, alimentação, abrigo e cuidados e apoio. Mas, com o seu apoio, A nossa equipe vai poder satisfazer todas as necessidades básicas dessas crianças; também você pode trazer esperança, oportunidade e salvar vidas de pessoas!

Can you help?

Africa, a continent endowed with immense natural and human resources as well as great cultural, ecological and economic diversity, remains underdeveloped. Most African nations suffer from military dictatorships, corruption, civil unrest and war, underdevelopment and deep poverty. The majority of the countries classified by the UN as least developed are in Africa. Numerous development strategies have failed to yield the expected results. Although some believe that the continent is doomed to perpetual poverty and economic slavery, Africa has immense potential. Africa is my cross and my greatest joy at the same time. Hallelua!!!

The images of pain and of suffering move across our TV screen. They come from Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine and Africa. We see death and suffering up close and yet are comfortably enough removed from it. We see them as news, as images fed to us via cameras, satellite, video phones, still images. Each year we see thousands of them, they come from around the globe. Most of the time we see them as mere images and not as the people and lives, the families, the communities they represent.

The world is standing by doing nothing. We see the images, we have pity, but most of us do nothing. We see images from Africa, children starving, boy soldiers running around in Congo, Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan where thousands upon thousands have died.

For years now I have been raising money for African Projects or mission trips I took to Africa. I have been three times now to Africa and I have found this attitude of pity from people, this attitude of feeling sorry for Africa but not putting it into action as the prevalent mood of the day. I would tell the story of Africa, its possibilities, its riches, its resources, the story of a people hungering for freedom, for the basics of life and I would get “that is nice, I pity them, but why don’t they have fewer children and their problems be solved – or – Why do we need to help – if all they are going to do is kill each other – I feel sorry for them, but Africa is far away and we have needs here in Brazil or in the United States, but I do pity them.”

Pity regards its object not only as suffering, but as weak, and hence as inferior, and I am sorry to say that such an attitude still exists in the year 2008. Africa does not need our pity, our feeling sorry for them, but it needs our compassion. Pity leads to inaction, we view the pictures of children with distended bellies, we see emaciated women, bloodied men and we feel sad, but do nothing about it. Pity leads to feelings of inaction, becoming anesthetized from the suffering, pain, injustice that is before our eyes on the TV screen or in print.

Compassion on the other hand leads to action that is not based on pity for someone lesser than, but reaches out to a fellow human being. Pity might give a handout, whereas compassion not only tends to the immediate needs at hand, but also empowers the person in need to be all that they are meant to be.

I am so excited because God is allowing me to take a team to Uganda and Sudan in December 2009. Right now we have 11 people going and most of us have no idea where we are going to get the money to go. Each one of us needs close to 4 Thousand dollars for our trip. We believe in a miracle and we know God is going to provide in some way. So please I call all of you who have prayed and cried for Africa. Now it is the time for all of you to act and you can do that in many ways by praying for our team, praying for me as the leader of the team and of course by financing our mission trip. Please let me know if you want to do a fundraising for us or if you want to send a financial donation. It is very easy and fast. Just send me an e-mail: sidneypereira915@hotmail.com or call: (19)9291-1278.

Your help is critical because the children of Africa - now more than ever! --- are in need of health care, education, food, shelter and care and support. But with your support, they can meet all basic needs; also you can bring hope, opportunity and save their lives!

You were not created to be Mister "Cool"

Have you ever noticed what "Christians" look like or like to perceive themselves? Of course it is not all of them but most Christians have tried to show to the world that they are perfect if not perfect close to perfect. Many people in the church think they gotta have everything together and be good or sometimes they even describe themselves as cool people. But something you never really hear is that they are messed up people and they have no clue of what`s going on in their lives or around them. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and I know life is not going to be all good and fun like we want it to be. But we don`t hear that from Christians or churches anymore. We only hear that after we accept Jesus Christ, everything is going to be fixed (good,fun,easy). But I have some bad news for you or I am going to mess up your theology.

After you say yes to Jesus or better saying become a follower of Jesus Christ, disciple of the King. Your life will never be the same because it just can`t be. It is funny how Jesus or the Bible always teaches us the contrary of what the world values or says we should have. Remember? We serve an awesome God and he is very different than the God we hear in churches. We serve a God that loves the prostitutes, murderers, street kids, prison inmates, Osama Bin Laden, Hitler, Fidel Castro the same way he loves us. His heart is crying out and calling all the destitute, forgotten people to have a relationship with him.

For example if you think about Jesus ministry. He used to hang out or better saying talk to prostitutes, tax-collectors, murderers, fisher men, lepers, orphans, widows and most of the time Jesus used to slap spiritually the religious people and he used to call them liars, fake and a bunch of other ugly names. Oh, I almost forgot to tell Jesus never looked at this people and thought I am talking to a prostitute. Not even once. Never!!! but he always I guarantee you thought I am talking to my daughter, someone that I love and care about. Wow!!! It messes with your theology. Hum?

Jesus is tired of all those people in the churches trying to fit in and be cool. God is trying and calling out those people that want to jump from the windows instead of going through the doors. Almost every christian is coming in and going out through the doors, but God wants to raise up a generation that is radical and is not conformed with the normal anymore. God is tired of people that are tiptoeing through life but he wants people that are willing to run as fast as they can or jump in life for Jesus and the kingdom of God.

Is Our Generation ready for the Challenge?

I hear a lot about our generation` selfishness, pride, lack of commitment to God. Sometimes I wonder if our generation is going to make it? But when God allows me to speak at cell groups, youth services, churches around Brazil or around the world I find some young people that are willing to pray that dangerous prayer "God, Here I am, so use me."

When our generation decides to pray this dangerous prayer and when they decide to stand up, stand out and make the difference then something radical and noble it is going to happen in our world. It is hard today to find a devoted, fully committed young person completely in love with God in our generation and ready to impact our world. Nowadays, we need young people that are willing to give up their comfort(family, fame, power, fun)for the cause of Jesus and the expansion of the kingdom.

I went to a cell group last Friday and I met some awesome young people and I am so thankful to Jesus because when I meet young people like that it really encourages me because sometimes I feel I am a weird, strange, radical young person that is by himself. It is so encouraging to meet and find other crazy young for Jesus. God is good!!!

There is nothing better than living my life for Jesus and for this suffering and dying world. I want to love the unloved, care for the forgotten, embrace the orphans, care for widows, accept and minister to the despised people of our world. My calling and purpose is to serve and bring help to the poorest of poor. "God, Thank you for being with me".

Is the Church Dead?

The church today is not changing and upsetting the world, it has lost its way. Christians doesn`t speak from the rooftops the things they have heard in secret anymore. Satan is winning in this world. Over a million babies are slaughtered in the womb. Divorce is rampant. Children are abandoned by their fathers. Parents are not parenting and the children are lawless. Pornography is a national disease that ruins the minds of young boys. And the Gospel is not being preached in most pulpits. The Gospel of Jesus has been replaced with a message of convenience. Preachers are pressured to offend no one. Leaders have heard the cry for ear-pleasing worship and they are giving it.

For example: Most churches just wait for special holidays or events to help the poor or in the slums here in Brazil. Most of the churches here in Brazil and also in the world wait for Christmas time to give things to the poor communities. But God has called us for something greater. He has called us to be agent of change, restoration, healing in this world. We need to influence, impact locally and globally especially on this issue of poverty. We cannot become weary of doing good and think we can`t do anything. Nowadays we have a lot of lazy and faithless Christians inside of the church. We have so many Christians that are fat spiritually speaking, obese spiritually speaking and they are just concerned about themselves and their little world but when they are doing that. Just check this out:

The world, some 26,500 children die every day.

That is equivalent to:

- 1 child dying every 3 seconds

- 18 children dying every minute

- A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring every week

- An Iraq-scale death toll every 15-36 days

- Almost 10 million children dying every year

- Some 60 million children dying between 2000 and 2006

The silent killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. In spite of the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.

Unfortunately, it seems that the world still does not notice. It might be reasonable to expect that death and tragedy on this scale should be prime time headlines news. Yet, these issues only surface when there are global meetings or concerts (such as the various G8 summits, the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005, etc).

Who is going to speak up? What is the church of Christ doing today? Are we sitting by on the sidelines saying it is not our business or are we speaking up and proclaiming God's will? Where does the church stand on the things that matter to God?

Something comes to mind when I think about a church that is thinking about a global issues but that church is taking global solution. I think about the the morally energized, spiritually motivated church in the Bible that was viewed as radical and a force to be reckoned with. An example of the influence the Gospel is seen in Acts 17. I can assure you that we can become that church again and we can make the difference and we can change our world and especially the numbers of children dying because of hunger or better saying starvation.

5 But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. 6 When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have upset the world have come here also; 7 and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus." (Acts 17:5-7)

I am never going to live for myself and I am ready to fight for this dying world and I am ready to take as many with me to Heaven. I will make the difference and I invite you to do the same. Lord, Help us all. Amen!!!

If I could change the world!!!

If I could change the world, I would do it by putting an end to abortion.

About 4,000 babies die a day in the United States. About 120,000 babies die each day in the world. That's in only one day, and that is a lot of babies. More babies are killed a day by choice than the total men killed in World War II. 545,108 men were killed in World War II and since the year 1995, 34,000,000 babies have been killed by abortion.

Dr. Jean Garton once said that we would have to be quiet for 10,000 hours if we were quiet a second for each baby that was killed by abortion. That is over a year. That is a long time to be quiet. I don't know if you could do it, but I know I couldn't be quiet that long.

Did you ever wonder why we don't have a cure for AIDS or a cure for cancer? With all the babies that have been killed maybe one would have grown up and found a cure. Think about how many famous athletes, musicians, scientists, and teachers must have been killed. How many Michael Jordans, Beethovens, or Albert Einsteins have been killed?

A life starts inside a woman's body. This life will grow, and if allowed to be born, will become a person like you and me. As early as 3 weeks or 18 days you can hear the baby's heartbeat inside its mother. To find out if someone is alive or dead, a doctor listens for a heartbeat. Why doesn't the heartbeat inside the mother mean that there is life?

Another way a doctor checks a person to see if they are alive is to check for brain waves. A baby's brain waves are present at 6 weeks or 40 days. If brain waves indicate life, then why doesn't a baby's brain waves mean that there is life inside the mother? What kind of people are we to kill our own babies?

In the state of Ohio, there is a law that says if an "unborn member of the species homo sapiens, who is or was carried in the womb of another is killed, it is considered a form of murder or manslaughter." That means that in Ohio if you get in your car and have an accident, and an unborn child dies, you can be charged with a form of murder. But, a pregnant woman can get in a car and get an abortion killing the life inside her, and it is not considered murder.

I can't go to the mall and get my ears pierced without my parents signed permission. But I could go to an Abortion Clinic and have an abortion without my parents' permission. It seems to me that what they are saying is that getting my ears pierced is more important than a life of a child.
What would make a woman consider abortion? Could it be FEAR?

Women have abortions because they are afraid their lives will change: they are afraid they can't afford a baby, and they are afraid they will have to raise the baby alone. If you become pregnant, don't be afraid, and don't choose murder. There is help out there! You can choose to give the baby up for adoption to people who want to have children or you can have your parents help you raise the baby. But don't kill the baby.

Just imagine if you couldn't buy a Wendy's cheeseburger, a hot cheesy slice of Dominoes Pizza, or type e-mail to a friend on an Apple Computer. The people who created all of these were adopted. If Dave Thomas's mother had considered abortion there wouldn't be any cheeseburgers from Wendy's. If Tom Monaghan's mother had considered abortion, there wouldn't be any Domino's Pizza. If Steve Jobs's mother chose abortion, you would not be able to type on an Apple computer. What would our world be like without all these great contributions?

About 57% of Americans believe that abortion is murder. What do you believe? Do you believe that abortion is murder? Remember that if your heart beats or if you have brain waves, you are alive. Why shouldn't a baby be given the same right? The fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution says that "The State shall not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law." Where are the rights of the baby?

Three things that we can do to reduce the numbers of abortions are to educate ourselves, and others, write letters, and vote. We could write letters to the media about how we feel, and visit your elected officials telling them how we feel. You could also collect signatures to change the law about abortion. If you are old enough to vote, you could vote for those candidates who are against abortion. There are a lot of different ways that you could help.

Because of abortion we are losing valuable human beings who could make endless contributions to our world. Maybe by raising my voice, I could change the world by putting an end to abortion!