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JOCUM Questions

Youth With A Mission (the USA version of the name - in Brasil they are known as JOCUM - Jovens Com Uma Missao) is a group of people that do evangelism with help in the local churches. They do performances in public places, sometimes quite close to one of the churches. The performances are good enough and big enough and public enough to draw a crowd. The presenters also talk of how God is involved, and has been involved, in their lives. This creates an environment where those who may not know much about Christianity can discuss it with those who are living it. In Brazil, the majority of the population is nominally Roman Catholic, but in culture only. In many cases people have very little background into what Christianity is really all about.

Data: 12/10/2000 10:56
Assunto: Re: En:Another Brazil Update

> GLENN, THE PART OF YOUR EMAIL ABOUT YWAM GOT CUT OFF. WHAT ARE THEY
> WORKING ON THERE? AND WHAT DID YOU MEAN THEY ARE DOING WELL FOR THE MOST
> PART?

Cut off? It didn't get cut off, I forgot to finish that part!

The YWAM group ( here they are called JOCUM ) is doing dancing and other presentations all over the city. Afterward they give at least one testimony, and then do an invitation to find out more about Chrstianity, and have an alter call. These are happening in churches, schools ( there isn't much objection to schools here inviting Christians to come in and do such things.) and they will also do some presentations at the shopping center, the Calcadão ( the "big sidewalk marketplace" area in downtown ) and the ampetheater at the Zerão, which is a small branch of the large park alongside Igapo lake.

The Youth With A Mission group that is here is doing a great job, for the most part. They have been getting mixed results in places, but in some locations they are meeting a lot of resistance. At one location where Prescila was working as a staff member, one woman in the audience started screaming and yelling at the girl that was presenting, and then finally left the place. Its not as if anyone was keeping her from leaving the place without a fuss, but for some reason she felt it necessary to let her objections be known to the speaker. The speaker, who I think was somewhere slightly under 20 and probably never had something like this happen to her before, was quite shocked, but Prescila was able to get the girl started again almost as if it didn't happen. There are only two problems that I am seeing. The slang some of the speakers used at times during the start of the events was very hard on some of the translators. For the most they have been able to eliminate this problem now. The other problem I am seeing is that a number of them are already sick. Its not like it was during the English camp - the temperatures have been in the 70's or more pretty much all day and night, so in this case it is not possible to point at the weather. I've looked at their schedules, and they are having to do two or three or more presentations a day in cases, and I'm thinking that some of this is a bit excessive. Their schedules are so full that they are honestly missing some opportunities, let alone the exhaustion problem. For example, one group spent a brief period visiting the seminary, but it was so brief that the were gone by the time a television news crew showed up to interview them. Despite the busy schedule and the problems, they are doing a great job, and they are having an effect on the city here. I visited one group's presentation with Gezer and Gustavo. There was a big enough response that I had to help them briefly. I wrote a bit of a note of encouragement to them, and left it with Gustavo when he translates for them again soon. I also included an excerpt from Clevy's description about what is happening in Maringà, and particularly his pleas for more workers here, and told them if they knew anyone in the states who could teach seminary level classes, to invite them to come stay here a while.

> GOD WILL GIVE YOU CLEAR DIRECTION ON WHETHER YOU SHOULD STAY OR COME
> BACK. YOU MAY BE SURPRISED. > AVIE

Thanks for the note of encouragement, Avie. It was good to hear from you!

-Glenn

There is one thing that I didn't tell Avie: one comment that a few of the Brazilians made to me was that " We have Brazilian groups that can do what these guys do, and are just as good if not better." That may be the case, and if it is the case I sure hope that those groups get out and do more street evangelistic work.

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