A return not really as expected...

It's been a month since we came back to Brazil and all we can say is that things have not gone as we imagined!


One thing that was expected and happened as planned was to meet our colleagues and friends here: Mireille, Lucivânia and Fabricio. We were very happy to see them again and their welcoming was great! We really feel like a family when we are together, which helps when you are so far away from your own family. And then the good news is that Fabricio made it official that he is staying with us at least for one year! So... we are a team of 5 full time staff!


We told you when we were in Europe, our visas would expire soon after we came back. So we had prepared all our documents before our arrival and the first day after our return we went to the federal police to ask for the renewal of the visa ... What a surprise when the policeman told us that while we were in Europe, the immigration laws had changed! It was no longer the Ministry of Justice to which we had to address our requests but the Ministry of Labour (even with a volunteer visa) in another part of the city. Obviously this policeman did not know how to guide us on the documents to provide nor the procedure... We went to the Ministry of Labour and we had to climb 3 floors and see 5 or 6 people before finding one who knew what we were talking about!! It took us 3 full days to gather all the necessary documents and to be able to make the request on the internet, supposedly simpler and faster. Making it short, we are not outlawed but we have no official document of residence.... It's a subject of prayer!

The day after finalising all this, Mireille sees our garage gate open early in the morning. We knew that the motor of this gate had a problem so Fabricio and I (Nico) start to look at it and see if we could do something... He goes downstairs to get my tools and comes back empty... We realised that the gate had not opened alone but we had been robbed during the night!! A lot of things had disappeared: all my toolbox, a power hose, a generator of energy, a computer from the computer room, school equipment, a big trash can, etc... We were very upset but grateful that nobody was injured. The following night being anxious we weren't sleeping well and we hear noise in the house! We phone the police who arrive quickly and catch a man inside the Rock House house. When he comes upstairs he looks at me and says, "Hey pastor help me please." My first reaction was anger: the guy steals from us and he wants us to help him! I know this man, he lives in the slum and suffers a crack addiction. Crack users often steal to sell for a small price, 10 or 15 Reais (around £3) to buy a little crack. The policeman asks me to follow them to the police station for the deposition ... I spend almost 8 hours there just to... sign it! Such a complicated system!!

Three days later, while I'm in the slum, I see the man who had now been released but has an electronic anklet. He lowers his head when he sees me and changes sidewalk. but I choose to confront him to discuss and show him that our relationship is not broken and that he can come to see us if he wants help in relation to his addiction... How sad to see this man of about 45 years destroying his life in crack and seeing him looking at me like a boy who had done a silly thing!


In the middle of all this, a few medical appointments for Rachel. Apparently it's something that lasts 9 months...
YES, Rachel is 4 months pregnant !!! Our family is expected to grow in early October. She is very tired and this stress of the return with all that has happened did not help her but she is doing well and the baby too! We are super happy and getting ready slowly ...

We then received for ten days, Rachel's friends from Canada, Colin and Judith. This couple started a ministry in Toronto similar to what we do in Belo Horizonte and Rachel worked there for a year and a half in 2004 and 2005.

We had the idea at the end of 2017 to organize a weekend with all the missionaries of YWAM Belo Horizonte (about 45 adults) with the theme "One base serving one city" to try to promote more unity. We had noted over the years that we are so caught up in our projects that we forget that we are part of the same organisation, we have little contact with each other. This weekend was an opportunity to reconnect together and with the organisation. We had times of worship, then Colin and Judith shared with us about the Bible in relation to the kind of work we do, ministering deeply to our hearts. We also had free time and games to be together, to recreate a dynamic of the association. And, of course, a football game for men... we are in Brazil! Everyone has really learnt and we were encouraged to see everyone happy because we were a little afraid that it would not have the desired effects... But finally it seems that it brought some of us closer and everyone had great fun being together. Of course, this is something that needs to be continued.

And in all this Casa Rocha's activities continue. This year we have a few groups that have stopped: dance and computer classes. The dance teacher is doing a course with YWAM in the Amazon and should return in August and the computer teacher had to stop because of his job schedule. We hope to find replacements. The other groups continue and we have a lot of new participants this year. Since we returned, the situation is also quite tense in the slum with a lot of shooting at night and the presence of the military police is very strong. As you know, last year we started with the construction work in the Rock House completing the roof of the big space and building a second toilet. We now start the next phase with the roof of the staffs rooms. We will keep you updated.

If you want to know more about something feel free to contact us and if you can pray for us, remember about our visas, the pregnancy, and the situation in the slum. Thanks for reading and continuing to journey with us here in Brazil!