From landfill to new life in Brazil
A life of suffering turned around by meeting Jesus
Photo: Carlos (right) with Rafael, a volunteer
at the community market in Olinda
A member of a community market in north east Brazil has turned his life around and no longer needs this support providing food.
Carlos grew up in Aguazinha, then a landfill site in the city of Olinda, with his family.
Their living came from scavenging on the landfill site, but Carlos’s mum had an accident that limited her mobility.
Carlos suffered throughout his life, and as an adult in this community (now adjacent to the landfill site) he lost two sons to gang warfare.
Carlos has struggled with alcohol for years, though he gave it up for a time when he first met CMS mission partners Rosie and Stu Bayford at a community market they started with Agua Viva church.
When his second son was killed, Carlos started drinking again.
A few months ago he went to a church weekend away and decided to turn his life around.
A local vicar was touched by Carlos’s story and offered him a job as caretaker of a church, which gave Carlos a new purpose.
Carlos has stopped drinking again and is much happier and healthier. Because of all this, Carlos no longer needs to come to the market.
Rosie and Stu dream that many more people will have opportunities to work and find their way out of poverty through this project.
