Alvear's letter

[Sister Alvear]

A little about the vast land of our calling:



Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world; in terms of
population (186 million in 2005) as well as land area, covering an area of 8.5
million sq. km. More than half of Brazils children live in families
below the poverty line (earning less than half the minimum wage per
capita). Over 7 million children aged between 10-17 years old (nearly one
third of this
age group) have to work for a living, many working more than 40 hours
per week. Street children are a common and frequently distressing
sight in every major city in Brazil. The vast majority of street children
maintain some contact with their families, but poverty and violence at
home often force them onto the streets. However, life on the streets
rarely escapes poverty or violence. In 1998 alone, 600 children are
estimated to have been killed on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
I am reminded what George Bernard Shaw said: The worst sin towards
our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them;
that is the essence of inhumanity.

The call of God to go to the ends of the earth is to every believer.
I have spent most of my life in the world of missions. I know that God
provides but the race is not for wimps, nor for heroes, but for
committed servants prepared to endure no matter what. I am more on fire for
world missions that ever before and most people have no idea what ensues.
My vision is clear. I know the facts, the odds we must face. The
number of street children in Sao Paulo infected with the AIDS virus is
growing by 30 percent a year, according to a physician at a major
hospital there. About 4,500 children are homeless on the streets of Sao Paulo,
South America's largest city.
In our city robberies and killings take place everyday. Poverty
drives even the honest people to the streets. What gives me hope in the
face of all of this is the fact that we are able to truly make a
difference in the lives of many of the people. We are seeing God open doors and
make ways and fill people with His spirit. New Bible training centers
are being built, new churches are going up. People are getting healed
and their lives have made a complete turnaround. We could not do what
we are doing if it were not for our precious noble homeland
supporters(C.T. Studd)said: There is only one life which will perish soon.
Whatever you accomplish for the Lord, that alone will remain.
Through what you have done we have been able to make a
difference in many lives. Through your burden we have reached many who would
have otherwise been only a statistic. Now they are in turn reaching
others.
Keep us in your prayers as we reach out for another lost soul.
Love and Prayers
The Alvears