Safe in Rio de Janeiro

Some people from churches have written to us to ask about the situation here in Rio and our safety.

 

The situation seems to be more under control now, even though this morning there have been new incidents.

 

Yesterday afternoon we were not sure if Suzana should go out with Edward for his afternoon classes. We didn't want to disrupt the routine too much, but also we didn't want to take any unnecesary risks. So Mark went out first, as he had a meeting to attend. Once out in the streets, Mark rang back to tell us that all looked normal. As I walked out of the door with Edward, our neighbour came running to tell us to all gather at the seminary classrooms, because a bus was being burnt at that moment in front of the campus (just 5-10 min after Mark had gone past there).

 

The reason for us to gather was that the forest around the seminary would be the natural place for the criminals to flee.

 

We heard lots of shooting but a few hours later all was back to normal, and nobody was killed around here. Most people actually doing the burning of cars are children and teenagers, under the control of the drug barons.

 

Schools are working normally today and most people are back at work. The seminary and most universities are closed till Monday.

 

Tomorrow we would have had an evangelistic event at our church. About 100 volunteers from all over the town were expected to take part, but it has been cancelled.