BIG HUG at Maracanã Stadium: Brazilians and Others From Many Nations Gathered at Maracanã To Stand For Justice.
This
peaceful protest of prayer, Bible reading and artistic presentations involved
approximately 1.200 people. By Amanda Ribeiro
Since
the end of May, the sounds ringing through Rio de Janeiro are akin to those of
alien invaders, literally everywhere you go you hear people speaking a myriad of different
languages...Spanish, English, French, Korean and many others. The sounds are
non-stop, muddled and even a bit confusing. But
on Saturday, June 21st, in the late afternoon, all this chaos was silenced and
all these different languages in 1,200 different voices were in one accord as
they lifted high the name that is above every name, Jesus. Why? All because of
an initiative, called "Hug At Maracanã" (Abraço no Maracanã),
spearheaded by the organization Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Its purpose? To
gather around the stadium and pray, read the Bible
and seek God's plans and purposes for the nation of Brazil.
One of
the event planners. David Barreto, originally from Bahia, has lived and worked
with his family with YWAM in the Rio communities
of Parada de Lucas, Tuiuti and Borel for 20 years; commented, "I
understand that The Church needs to be alert to society´s daily challenges" said
Barreto. He stated that the main
purpose of the event was to pray for the government, church, and for justice to
be brought to bear in the areas of corruption and human trafficking,
After
praying, each person was assigned a portion of scripture and then at the same
time each person read aloud their assigned passage so that the entire Bible was
read in twenty minutes, "The Word of God is the source of the life, joy
and inspiration to see Nations transformed'", Barreto
said.
Teams
from Australia, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, and United States
participated in the event and held banners and flags in different languages.
According to Barreto, one of the positive points of this event was, "...to
see Argentinians and Brazilians, praying together for the
nation." (As an aside, Brazil and Argentina are intense
soccer rivals.) Barreto believes that, "...everyone
who participated will leave changed and will be more proactive in the daily
life of their nations and society as a whole."
Yuri
Xirimbimbi is from Angola and has lived in Brazil for almost a year. He
said: "It was very nice to see people from different places
gathered, praying for justice and for the principles and values of God´s
Kingdom to be established in Rio de Janeiro and all of Brazil." Xirimbimbi
was also surprised because, "I thought Brazil was a very well
developed and culturally advanced country. I never thought the same needs that
are in Angola are also here, like improved infrastructure... I understood there
are needs everywhere, some places need more than others. And Brazil also needs
the Gospel and discipleship training in God´s Word, just like any other nation."
Art
And Awareness at Maracanã
One of the teams came to the event from
Piratininga City (locates in the State of São Paulo) to present the show
"Ninguemdade" (Everything and Nothing). The drama explains the roots
of the Brazilian people.
To one
of the team members, Rafael
Pereira, the performance at Maracanã "....was
a good way to explain human trafficking for those who are unaware of it
happening around them. Artistic expression is generally a very good way to
reach a wide variety of people. The drama was based on a Darcy Ribero´s book
called "Povo Brasilero (Brazilian People)". The drama introduced our
strong cultural roots and values to people from the different nations gathered
for the event. We believe that cross-cultural understanding pleases God."
Carol
Martin, is a Colombian actress, who lives in Argentina. She came to Brazil to
attend the art school that developed the show "Ninguemdade". She
had this to say. "We prayed against human trafficking and
while we were praying I was shocked to discover how many kids are involved in
child prostitution and the fact that Brazil is the major international
destination for sex tourism. We know that lots of tourists think
that exploiting a minor is 'culturally accepted' here and they do it. People
from all over the world should know that this is not acceptable. We must make
people aware because the government does not and these activities were a great way to inform the community about something that
is unspoken, almost taboo."
Carol
also said, "Brazil is more than "Selling Easy Sex". I
have found that most Brazilians have great
values, care for people who are suffering, and children who are/were
abused and/or sold". The
actress has vacationed in Brazil prior to this and said that "Almost
everybody outside Brazil presumes that Brazilians are samba dancing all
the time, everybody is happy and walks almost naked on the streets. But it is
not so, it is a completely different reality. "
Kickoff
RIO will continue working for 2 weeks after the end of The World Cup.
More
information about Rio Kickoff project can be found on the websitewww.jocumkickoffrio.org.br or
on the Facebook page, "YWAM Rio Kickoff".
http://blogjocummorrodoborel.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/abraco-no-maracana/
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