Saturday, July 11th through Thursday, July 16th
The team of thirteen arrived safely at São Paulo airport Saturday morning after having left Friday night for a minimum of a twelve hour flight. The team consists of members from Philadelphia area, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan and Hawaii. Two members are originally from Brazil and fluent in Portuguese and a friend of one of the members in São Paulo assisted one of the groups with translating questions from people that did not speak English which is the majority of the population.
By mid afternoon the team had arrived at the hotel and had lunch. As it was raining, and many were tired from the long trip the team didn't go out to hand out tracts except for later that evening when some members went to a mall and handed out a few tracts.
In the morning, we took the subway to the Praça da Sé (Cathedral Square) in the downtown area of São Paulo and upon emerging from the subway exit, found hundreds of people singing carrying banners having just left the cathedral in the square. Tract reception was very good although it was raining at the time. The team then split up and passed out tracts in the area for a couple of hours while attempting to catch parishioners entering and leaving the church.
That afternoon, we headed out to the São Paulo Morumbi Football Stadium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estádio_do_Morumbi and http://www.panoramio.com/photo/18266823) with a capacity of 80,000 people to pass out tracts before a game between the rival soccer teams of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Many tracts were handed out but with some ending up on the ground.
Being that Brazil is in the southern hemisphere, it is winter so the sun rises late and sets early. As a result, it's usually in the 50's in the morning and evening but gets up to 70 or so mid-day.
As with Sunday morning, the team headed down to Cathedral Square via the subway and then spread out into the center city area. Regulations prohibit distributing literature in the subways and stations so the team would stand outside a white line painted around the perimeter of the subway entrance and hand out tracts there.
A good portion of the center city streets are paved with cobblestones and are primarily used for pedestrian traffic. This arrangement is ideal for passing out tracts as so many people are on foot and there's lots of room to move around.
One team headed down to the Market area near center city where there are many street vendors and a large number of people. Later the Municipal Market building was visited but there weren't many people there. By noon time, the busy streets back at the Market area were even more crowded with a constant stream of people entering and moving about the area. Tract reception was moderate and few ended up on the ground.
The entire team again headed down to Cathedral Square and then spread out. One team went to a commercial area at the intersection of São Bento and Largo Café streets and handed out tracts for several hours with good reception. People from all walks of life make their way on these pedestrian ways.
Some team members found that giving a simple greeting in Portuguese when offering a tract is more likely to catch the attention of the passer by and many times they will take the tract.
One team went to Luz, an area two subway stops outside of the center city that's an area specializing in clothing. The team made their way down a main street handing out tracts to many and even were able to enter many stores giving tracts to salespeople that were otherwise idle.
Later in the day while passing out tracts at a major thoroughfare near Cathedral Square, one team member met a man that spoke very good English from Florida. He thanked us for the work we were doing and wanted to look into our fellowship.
While otherwise blessed with health and endurance on the trip thus far, two members were not able to participate so the three teams were combined into two. One team in center city started off in the commercial area before lunch where the reception was good and then after lunch, returned to the Market area visited on Monday. There were huge numbers of people everywhere but the reception was rather poor and a number of tracts ended up on the ground.
Following are some experiences by team members so far on the trip.
•.Two team members had their flight stop in Rio de Janeiro for three hours. During which time they met a Family Radio listener in the airport coffee shop from North Carolina but originally from Boston.
•.Two team members became separated from the group in the subway due to the significant number of people making their way around the station. They walked back to the hotel from the nearby subway stop and while handing a tract to an older gentleman, he indicated he already had one and then pulled it from his pocket. We have no idea where he had received the tract.
•.A homeless person gathered bundles of tracts and gave them to Lester to hand them out again.
•.In many cases, children would take tracts while walking with parents.
•.An older gentleman coming out of a mall was wondering how God came into being.
•.A young man with an earring asked about the Mayan calendar and was told that was not true or trustworthy. He happily said he would read the tract and look into it.
•.A young man helped two missionaries order lunch in Portuguese and then told them he lived in San Francisco for a while. He was a Christian and reads the Bible to his family every day. Said he will send a tract to his family.
•.Paulo, an office boy already had a tract when offered one. It turned out that earlier in the day, Jayson had given him a tract and the booklet, “To God be the Glory.” Paulo had read both during the day and in the afternoon was asking for, “We are Almost There.” He wanted more literature for people in his church. He has since been stopped by and visiting with us several times since then.
•.A man and his son had heard about 2011 from a friend at work and seeing the group seriously handing out tracts, he wanted more information. He talked with a team member for quite a while—he did not want us to leave since he had found us. A team member gave him our web site information (including that of Family Radio) as we departed to continue handing out tracts.
•.Oswaldo, a former preacher in Philadelphia for nine years spoke excellent English. When told about the end of the church age, he asked for prayer. He is now a Lawer practicing in São Paulo.
•.Two boys on skateboards were given tracts and then entered the mall. They came out a short while later requesting more tracts for their family—especially their father.
•.A man approached a team member in the center city of São Paulo and said that he had been looking for the team all day. He then asked for more tracts for his family in other parts of Brazil. He was given 30 tracts.
•.A young man and his girlfriend received a tract and then asked for a Bible.
•.One man upon receiving a tract in Cathedral Square, proceeded to stand at a phone booth for at least 20 minutes intently reading the tract before leaving (photo available).
•.A young man encountering team members was very contentious. When team members decided to leave, he would not let them go—pleading with them for more information on the May 21st date on the tract. Upon hearing the gospel shared, he broke down in tears and after being consoled, wanted to alone and grieve.
•.A team member spoke with a 20-year old man about the Gospel of grace. He was soaking it all in and discussing how the rapture will happen, the Lamb's Book of Life, how Christ paid for the sins of the elect. The man gave his cell phone number for further contact.
This is the information and experiences of the team thus far in the trip. By God's grace there will be a second and concluding part to follow.
We thank God for His almighty hand in blessing His Word of Life in the great city of São Paulo.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalms 126:6)
The EBible Fellowship missions team