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A cry from the streetsBrutality in BrazilA CRY FROM THE STREETS The foreword to this book describes it as 'pleasant and entertaining'. I disagree! How the stories of Brazilian street children, suffering under police brutality, family rejection, sexual exploitation, drug addiction and lack of hope, can ever make for a pleasant read I do not know. True, the author's smooth autobiographical style and simple language make for a quick and easy read on one level, but the reader is left feeling distinctly uneasy at the scale and depth of the suffering these children endure. Yet there is also cause for great hope: stories of individual lives, families and communities transformed by the power of the gospel. And of ordinary people serving an extraordinary God. Jeannette Lukasse writes of her and her husband's journey towards serving God in Belo Horizonte, one of Brazil's largest cities. It is encouraging and challenging to see that although from nothing they have set up a pioneering and extremely effective ministry, from which similar initiatives have begun in other Brazilian cities and in other countries, they are not from a special breed of super-spiritual missionaries! Jeannette is honest about her doubts, her confusion, her lack of faith and the times when she really wanted to give up. But her testimony through those times is of a tender and faithful God who used them to teach and refine her, to do an amazing work in many street kids' lives, and to bring glory to his name. There are many challenges and lessons to be learned from the Lukasses' experiences and ministry, not least their learning to trust in God's sovereign good purposes despite setbacks, opposition and heartache. Millions of orphaned and abandoned children still live and die on the streets of many cities worldwide. By committing to declaring and demonstrating the love of God to these kids, the Lukasses and their co-workers, in obedience to and reliance on our sovereign and compassionate God, have just begun to scratch the surface. May their example increase our faith and compassion. Rachel Watkins,
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