Foz de Iguacu

WOW !!!

These falls are on the Brazil/ Argentina/ Paraguay border. If you ever get the chance to go - they are an amazing series of falls.

I would suggest you go for 2 days to really have time to appreciate the awesomeness of God's creation and the shear magnitude (although for the plane as we flew home they looked like a pinprick in the forest!!)

Open Hands

Our project was to begin the building of 50 of these houses for people to come from the favellas.

The project is supported by the church who are committed to training the new reidents on housekeeping, basic literacy, practical skills and bible study.

When we left the first house was 95% complete withthe 2nd house built up to shoulder level and the 3rd set of foundations were dug. There is enough money to complete 7 houses before the next Mission Direct team go out in March.

Infront of our eyes

Brazil is a country of huge contrast between rich and poor. Unlike the places in Africa that I've been where there is huge poverty for almost all.

These pictures all in from Curitiba. A city of 1.5 million, where the opera house and very swish high rise offices and hotels are situated within a small distance of the favella.

Even there however, the contrast is amazing. We met a lady whose house was made primarily from boards but which obviously leaked and was not wind-proof - she was obviously ill but being taken to the local hospital to have dialysis 3x a week. Her description of the treatment indicated that it was similar to the treatment that she would have got in the UK !!

Despite the obvious poverty in the favella's there is little help from the community themselves - even the church. It was one of our aims that people would be challenged by us coming so far to help and be spured on to do something themselves. People chose not to "see" the problems that are literally on their doorstep - there is a challenge here for us - are we blind to the issues that are infront of our very eyes?