On Wednesday I was asked if I could host a team of 26 Canadians on my own for the day on Friday and organise them to do some practical work around the house as well as enable them to do something in the comunity.....so I said "Yes" and laughed in a slightly going-crazy way. I did end up having some help with the practical work from another staff member. So, on Friday (yesterday) they arrived...all 34 of them. It was also a mixed team of Canadians and people from São Paulo - a large city in Brazil. There is a lot I could say about the day but there was one thing in particular which really impacted me - the fact that these Brazilians were from a ´rich´christain background and had never been into a favela. Therefore, when they went into the community here they were extremely nervous and in some areas, particulary when I said that it could be a little dangerous, they even looked frightened. When I asked them about this they said that they thought that favela people would want to kill them or steal their clothes or similar so I got them praying for the community. On returning to the Lighthouse some of them said that the people seemed like normal people from anywhere in Brazil but others said that they would never ever go into a favela again. For me it became clear that there needs to be a lot better education in the rich churches about the people in such communities - that the poor are precious in God´s sight to the extent that he personally fights for them. If you read through the Psalms, Proverbs and examine God´s heart for the poor in Isaiah, for example, you will quickly see that they are special and precious in his sight so we need to show this to them. If you are reading this then it is likely you are from a rich church because you have a computer. What do you do for the poor in your community (?).....they are there you just need to look.