What Would You Fight For? by Ruth Mercy: Courage is love in action.

Courage is love in action.

As we left Argentina, the rising sun reflected in our van window.

Crossing the border into Brazil was super easy! Usually you have to go through one process for people to enter and then another for a vehicle and another for the trailer and usually along the way you run into technical difficulties (that could delay you anywhere from an hour to a day). But entering into Brazil they did not need any paperwork or documentation for the van or our trailer which was awesome and saved so much time. We started this drive so many miles ago in Colombia and after coming so far I cannot believe we are in Brazil! It is hard to switch our minds from Spanish to Portuguese and right now we only speak at a basic level. A lot of words are similar in the two languages, but not pronounced the same and many words exist in both languages but mean completely different things. I think the more we get Spanish out of our heads, and absorb ourselves with Portuguese the easier it will get and hopefully until then I will not get into too much trouble.

Crossing the border after a very long day of travel.

The most southern state in Brazil is cowboy land, or as they are called, Gauchos and they take their culture very seriously. The land is beautiful, full of livestock, horses and ranchers. They have a cool cultural dance (which we hope to learn a little of) and are definitely a very distinct and passionate people.

One night as we traveled it was getting late and we were looking for a place to stay. After only finding places that were either really bad, or too expensive, we finally came to a ranch type hostal. The owner was a very kind, elderly rancher and gave us accommodations at a discounted price. He had a slight speech stutter which made understanding his portuguese even harder, but he was so very patient and quick to smile that we got along with him easily. He lit a fire in the hall and we all warmed up before heading to bed. It is as if passion is written in the very language of Porutguese and Brazilians do everything, including speaking, at a very high level of energy and you have to really work to keep up.

Warming up by the fire with my brother.

I had read things about about this city that said it is one of the richer cities in Brazil, since it is a port city, and so I pictured a developed down town area and a rich kind of atitude. But in reality, it was quite different. There are scores of homeless, and poor, so much so that throughout the city there are make shift tarp houses and tents all over. Even in developed places places like the airport, bus station and shopping markets. One day I saw this man wander in the rain looking through the trash. He stopped by a big heap of junk on the curb that had a flood of water running under it. I thought he was going to look through it as well, but then he stopped, ducked under it and crawled into his home! He lives in this pile of trash. I later took him some stuff but I wish I could give him a home.

This was the pile of trash that is a mans home.

The down town center is absolutely packed with crowds hustling and bustling about. Everything in Brazil seems to be big and busy. As soon as we set up our music equipment in the center plaza, a large crowd gathered. We stayed out for hours, performing and sharing many things.

We do an act where one of us wears the costume of a homeless man and walks about begging. I am in the back ground acting as an artist, drawing the homeless man. I watch as a man ignores him and won’t help (one of my brothers playing the part) and then finally a young man stops, gives him his coat and cares for him (another one of my siblings plays the part). At the end I, as the artist, show the picture that I have been “drawing” and it is of the face of Jesus, conveying what Jesus said, “whatever you do to the least of My brothers, you do to Me. (Mt.25:40)” This is always a very powerful theatrical act and encourages others to care about each other and to care for those less fortunate. When we did this act for the first time here in Brazil, as my brother was acting homeless and begging, people from the crowd came out to give him something and care! They wanted to show they got it. One of the guys that came up was actually homeless himself, and had a few extra coins. We also do a version of this in prisons where instead of conveying a homeless man, we convey a prisoner who is sad and another prisoner cares about him. It is the default of our nature to think and care about ourselves. We can become consumed with our problems even if the guy next to us has it ten times worse. The Gospel calls us to forget about ourselves and love others. That is true fulfillment and joy.

Doing the "Artist" act at the prison (I really did draw the picture of Jesus you can see it on the "Art Gallery" page).

Doing magic down town, this routine is about time.

After a few phone calls, we were able to set up a meeting with the director of the main prison which is one of the worst in the nation. It was pouring the day we visited and rain poured through the roof and many areas of the prison were flooded. The director and his first and second in command were extremely kind and grateful that we would be willing to come there. They took us on a complete tour and showed us everything in the prison and how bad the conditions are (because of severe overcrowding). I am glad that they were very patient as we communicated in Portuguese because whenever we get a blank stare, we have to stop and grab the dictionary. I study a lot and listen to Portuguese when I run, but communicating in real life at a fast pace is a whole different thing.

On stage at the prison.

There is a long history of abuse, gangs and violence in the Brazilian prison system. This particular prison had to be taken over by the military because the situation got so bad. It is now run by the army, verses the state prison system. It is law that when a guard, civilian or social worker passes a prisoner, the prisoner has to turn his back to face the wall and not make eye contact with another person. This constantly humiliates the prisoners and creates an atmosphere of depression and tension between guards. The entire guard prisoner relationship seems to hang on a thin thread, compared to other prisons where there is somewhat of a chemistry. Usually when I pass prisoners in the hall or walk by their cells, they will call out or offer greetings, looking for attention. But here, there was only silence, averted faces and wary looks. I knew it was going to be a challenge to reach these men and effectively communicate hope to them.

As we had coffee with the director we organized events and he spoke of his desire that eventually, we could reach the whole prison (over 6,000). The patio where we were going to visit was flooded out the day we were set to perform and so they made an exception and allowed prisoners to visit the auditorium normally meant only for staff so they could see us perform from on stage.

The stage was really nice with curtains, lighting and we were able to use our projector to show video behind us. The prisoners were all reserved and skeptical to start with, and it took hard work, humor and genuine love to open these guys up and show them they could trust us. Sincerity is clearly seen in a person, and it is our greatest weapon to counter the hypocrisy of the many churches that bombard these prisons and seek to take advantage of others. People often just cannot understand our motives to do what we do and to do it free of charge and are often skeptical that we have a hidden motive our unseen charge or something. They do not understand why we would give up everything and come here to them. The answer is simple, If Jesus gave all that He gave for us, giving Him our lives is the very least we can do.

On stage for the prison staff and guards.

It was really cool doing our Capoeira dance here in Brazil (where it originated). We always get people to participate in a “Roda” (which in short, is a circle in which you play Capoeira with another person while others stand around and clap to the rythmn). In some countries we have to explain what Capoeira is and encourage them to join us but not here! Half the audience came up and crammed on stage waiting to participate and got into 100 percent. It was really fun and the energy was high since all the men were clapping and shouting. Capoeira is a beautiful combination of fighting and dancing. There are schools all over if perhaps you were ever interested in learning some, besides being fun it is great exercise.

After our performance we talked with the guys and said goodbye as they left. Many were in tears and said they had never seen anything so beautiful. They were grateful to be remembered, especially since their prison is known for being so bad. We definitely “reached” them.

My family with some of the prison guards and commanders.

The guards took us to their cafeteria and gave us lunch. All though I did not know what a single food item was, it all tasted pretty good and we were grateful for some energy before our next performance (I will admit I skipped “desert” which was a very odd looking jello type thing). We then moved all our equipment to another section of the prison to go directly into a patio. There was this one gate you had to go through, (kind of like a turning door that you go through at a bank or certain stores, the kind only one person fits in and you have to keep walking to get out except this one was really narrow and made of bars) anyway, we had a hard time fitting our speaker through it and it took a good 20 min to finally figure out the right angle.

It was visiting day for this group and so they had their sons and daughters with them. It is really heartbreaking to see some of these broken families and to see the kids say goodbye to their dads when they have to leave. We were able to bring some laughter to everyone including the little ones and the men were happy that we did magic, they felt like they were giving it to their kids. They told us they have never had this before. One young man really thanked us and said he was just laying on his mattress wasting away another day and now we came and changed his mind. Another man said he just could not believe how in such a short time we completely changed his thinking about so many things and gave him another perspective. They had a huge cake there for the kids and the prisoner that cooked it insisted on giving us a piece, I felt a bit nausea after dancing and putting out so much energy and declined, until I saw how disappointed he was. And then, after I finished the large piece he gave me I made the mistake of telling him that it was really good and ended up with another huge piece (of wet, milky funny tasting cake with unidentified berries in it). Luckily I found a sweet little boy who was thrilled to have two pieces.

Posing with a group of prisoners and staff.
We are making a "L" with our fingers for "Libertad" (freedom).
Not physical freedom, but freedom of the heart and mind, freedom from self.

On our way out they showed us a work shop they had where some prisoners with certain privileges are allowed to work. The artist there was very talented. He said how much he would love to have an airbrush because he could do a lot with it and it would increase his income with which he supports his family. A few days later my brother and I were able to find one affordable and gave it to him. He was extremely grateful and gave us a beautiful painting.

After the director saw our performance, he asked us to perform for an event they had for the guards and staff the following day. It was a little intimidating looking out from the stage at a few hundred uniformed guards and military personal, but the Lord gave us the courage and grace and it all went well. We were able to bring them laughter and encouragement as well as trying to encourage them to treat the prisoners fair and just. The director was very grateful and told us that when we return (we will have to go back to the States for a while) he will allow us to get into all the patios, even the very large ones. Some of the patios are like small cities and normally they do not allow civilians inside, but after seeing the good influence we had, he said they would work it out. He said he was surprised by the courage our family showed in coming into this place. I have never really seen it like that. I imagine you would do anything for those you love and would not really consider it courageous to risk your life for them, all though others might see it like that. We do what do motivated by love, our love for the Father and courage is the face of love.

Hope is such an amazing thing. It is like the dawn, spreading rays of warmth to those it touches and once it has risen, it fills the sky and gives birth to light. Goodbye for now and in this dark, cold world, may the light of the Father find you and give you hope.