Leaving Washington DC behind with a few days delay after hurricane Sandy passed, I finally arrived in São Paulo last Friday. I will spend the next weeks with Padre Cyzo Assis Lima and his community. 26 years ago he founded the “Fraternidad Palavra e Missao” which is helping various neighborhoods and especially children in need all over the country.
The last years I was already supporting Sister Aurelia, who is living and working in Bonn (Germany), with raising funds for those projects also in Germany and Austria by maintaining the internet site www.strassenkinder-brasilien.com. My visit here gives me finally the chance to see in person what great work is done here by the fraternity.
For sure Brazil is quite a different country compared to the ones I visited throughout the last year. On the one side personal safety is an issue in this country, especially in big cities. On the other side my first days with Padre Cyzo already gave me some strong impressions about life in the communities and I’m sure those upcoming two month will leave some long last memories for me.