“Pow! Pow! Pow!”
Gunfire rings through the ominous streets of a favela (ghetto) controlled by dangerous, criminal, drug-trafficking gangs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It’s a common occurrence in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. With police unwelcome in the favela, there’s little hope that the violence will stop.
And yet, innocent children are unfortunate bystanders in the crossfire of darkness, like twin sisters Eduarda and Emmanuelly. By the age of seven, the girls had suffered abuse and rejection. After being abandoned by their mother — who was caught up in drugs and prostitution — they went to live with their aging grandmother.
“You need love and support from your mom,” 14-year-old Emmanuelly said sadly. “You need your mom more than your mom needs the streets. But, our mom wasn’t there for us.”
In their heartache, the girls angrily lashed out at those closest to them. In a desperate attempt for change, their grandmother took them to a church, where they met Pastor Antonino. Because the community’s conditions were so bad, the local drug lords granted him permission to minister to the teens in the region.
When the drug lords need your help, you know the situation is severe.
But God’s Word, sharper than any two-edged sword and more powerful than any man with a gun, cut through the girls’ pain. As Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon forged against you will prevail … This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,” (NIV).
Thanks to your generosity and the gift of Reach4Life’s New Testament Bible and discipleship program that your support makes possible, Eduarda and Emmanuelly received answers to questions like, “Do I matter? Does God really exist — and if He does, does He really love me?” They accepted the love of their Heavenly Father, recognizing God has a good plan for their lives.
Today, the girls and their grandmother live in a favela surrounded by guns, drugs, and gangs, but they don’t live in fear. The sisters know and love Jesus and lead a teen discipleship group with the Reach4Life New Testament so more youth can meet Jesus Christ.
But there’s still more work to do.
Millions of youth in crisis around the world need to hear the Good News. They are growing up stuck in cycles of addiction, poverty, pain, and abuse — and are searching for truth.
“These children are absolutely in crisis: hunger, violence, fear, dread, anguish,” Pastor Antonino said. “The kids who come to us are emotionally destroyed. Only the Word of God can restore them.”
Together, we can help teens like Eduarda and Emmanuelly. Your generous gift could change the trajectory of their lives.
