Lost in a world of the Booming Bass and Booze

On 8th February, after a very long and arduous day, we travelled by car from Sao Miguel Paulista to our new appointment in Liberdade, in the centre of Sao Paulo.  At about 10pm, P. stopped the car and said, 'This is our road',  but we couldn't turn into it because it was heaving with students; they were on the pavements, in the bars, maybe some of them were even in lectures in the university building which we discovered that night was situated at the end of our road, but more relevant to us on that night, they were also all over the road.   They were having a street party and this was no Diamond Jubilee Celebration.

A student had parked his car outside a bar, opened his boot wide to display two loud speakers that the Wembley Arena would have been proud of and people all around him were dancing to the funky beat.   With a pint of beer in one hand and a spliff in the other, these students were celebrating the beginning of term - in our road.

We wondered how we were going to reach our new place of residence but slowly we drove through the partying crowds who seemed surprised that anyone would want to drive down this particular road at this time of night.  Eventually we were able to park outside the Salvation Army Hall and were greeted by the outgoing Officer.  We carried a sleepy A. up to the first floor apartment and discovered that the noise was almost as loud inside the building as it was outside due to the heavy bass beat and crowds of students walking past our windows.

Rua Tagua is well known in Sao Paulo, perhaps even Brazil.  It has been featured on the television because of the problems that are caused by the students during term time.  The students not only celebrate the beginning and end of term with a party, but every Friday night they celebrate the end of the week and on other nights, although not as loud or as crowded, the road is still noisy.  I have been told that it is not as bad as it used to be.  About 10 years ago there was a bar situated directly opposite the Salvation Army Hall and Officer's apartment.  The noise was unbearable and officers with young children had to move.  Further back than that, so I have been told, people would dance naked in the street.  I thank God that things have improved since then, however, it is still a problem for the residents of this area.

Jesus told His disciples to, 'Go into all the world and make disciples of every nation..'  Well, we do not have to travel too far because the world comes to us every night.  Soon after we arrived I began prayer walking the street, putting Rumos (the Brazilian War Cry) through each door and talking to as many people as possible.  In this road there is a University, a Seventh Day Adventist Church and School and The Salvation Army building which houses our church, a Social Project, Divisional Headquarters and three apartments with residents (which includes my family).    My vision is that these establishments work together to restore order in this place and my first step is to try to arrange a meeting with the Principals of the school and university.

There have been evenings when I have left the comfort and security of my apartment to talk to the young men (it's always a young man) who are playing their music so loud that the walls of our apartment are vibrating and my head is thumping with the incessant bass beat.  So far, I have been received with politeness and all but one have turned down or turned off their music.  They are students and they are studying subjects like Radiography, Law and Physical Education.  They are doing what most students do in countries all over the world - but whereas most students have a Student Union Bar they can go to - here they party in the street. 

In every group there is a leader and so I prayed to God that He would touch the lives of the key people in this group.    After the winter break and a quieter period of  four weeks, the students returned and celebrated the beginning of term in their usual style.  The music was so loud and the base beat so depressing that I had to go out and find where it was coming from.  I walked to the other end of the road and was amazed by the sight of about 200 students doing a kind of funky line dance in the middle of the road.  The music was pumping out of the back of a red car parked outside the bar and I asked who the car belonged to.  A tall, young man  with no shirt and a gold chain around his neck introduced himself as G, the owner of the car.  I explained to him that I lived at the other end of the road but we could hear his music inside our apartment and it was very difficult for my 6 year old to sleep.  We agreed that he would stop at midnight and in fact, the music stopped half an hour earlier.  An ex-student, F, friend of G, was keen to practice his English and at that moment I realized that an opportunity had just been presented to me.  Surrounded by students partying I shared the gospel with him and told him that God had called me to work in Brazil and God had told me to walk down the road and talk to him and to tell him that God loves him and he needs to change his life and follow Jesus.  F's eyes opened wide and he was eager to listen.  He told me that he had attended a Catholic School and was now working as a Lawyer. I offered to pray for him on the street and he accepted but do you know what, at that moment, another car parked up beside us and started pumping out music in competition with my new 'friend' G.  I bellowed my prayer as loud as I could and I doubt very much if F heard anything but I know God did.  I will never know if he opened his Bible when he went home or if he even remembered our conversation the next day but I keep praying for F and G - I am sure I am going to see them again.   In fact, last Friday the party was in full flow when I spoke to G at 11pm once again.  These students are very determined and the music didn't stop until 12:30am that night. 

It is obvious that I cannot continue this ministry on my own so I am praying that we can find some way in which our church can develop a ministry with these students.  In the meantime, please pray for my friends G and F.  I believe God gave me an opportunity to speak to them and I pray that they will respond to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  God is on these streets; He owns them and He wants them back!