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Brazil Journal: Doing "evangelism" by being present
by Jennica Jardine
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - It is midnight and I am sitting on a dirty, beat-up blanket beside a graffiti-filled wall. The smell of paint thinner and urine sting my nose. I am sitting in the midst of a dozen or more children and one little girl just told me that her mother turned her back on her. She looked at me with indignant eyes that pierced my soul with their hardness, and she broke my heart because I could do nothing. With all my heart I want to do something for this little girl. After all, I am an American, I am a planner, I have an advanced degree - surely I can do something.

Again it is midnight and this time I am sitting on the steps of a cathedral. I am sitting next to a tear-soaked boy of 14 who tells me that his parents are dead and his sister wants him to pay $30 Reais a night to stay with her. The average poor Brazilian makes $240 Reais a month. Again I want to do something. $30 Reais is not much for me, a wealthy Westerner. Surely I can do something.

These are just two of the many kids I have come to love in the last three months living in Rio de Janeiro. I am here for four months on a servant team with an organization called Word Made Flesh (WMF). WMF is a small nonprofit organization that seeks to build relationships with the poorest of the poor.

It is almost certain that when I leave in December, these kids will still be roaming the streets of Rio, sleeping on the sidewalks, running from the police. Does that mean that my presence here is irrelevant? I believe the answer is no. I hold onto hope that even though I may not see these kids leave the streets, perhaps just for a few months these kids can escape the sting of poverty.

How, you ask? The opposite of poverty is community, being present with one another, even when there is nothing to say or do - especially when there is nothing to say or do. Community, friendships, being present in another's life is the greatest gift that we have to give one another. It is why God sent Jesus - to be with us, in the flesh. It is the purpose of Word Made Flesh, to be with these kids, especially when I have absolutely nothing to offer them on a material, intellectual level. I can be with them, I can hug them when others spit at them and shoo them away - even if their senses are too dull to feel the immediate sting of hate. Only love and forgiveness overcome hatred and dullness. ...