One of the most widely recognised symbols of Brazil would have to be the yearly “Carnival” festival, with its spectacular street parades and vibrant music. Held 40 days before Easter (and marking the beginning of Lent), the festival not only reflects the religious background of this nation, but also the joyful spirit of the people living here. In Brazil, there is a lot to celebrate!

The fifth largest nation in the world, Brazil is a place of intense natural beauty. One of the first people to be wooed by this new nation was a

Portugese king (Dom João VI), who came, fell in love and just couldn’t tear himself away from his adopted homeland.

Despite these things, Brazil is also very much a nation going through a time of great upheaval. There are many growing opportunities in industry and business, but there also remain 40 million people (in a population of 190 million) under the poverty line. In the favelas (slums) of Brazil, drug related crime and gang warfare are rife, and homeless children are abused by people in power.

There is much injustice in Brazil towards underprivileged children and the tribal Brazilian Indian peoples. Pray for God’s justice to be restored.

There are more Catholics in Brazil than anywhere else, but the majority of Bra-zilians are involved with spiritism too. Many people would claim to be Chris-tian but visit a spiritist doctor or medium for healing or advice!

Over 50% of Brazilians are under 18. Pray that the church can communicate God’s truth to this generation and ef-fectively disciple them. Pray for the growing movement to plant new church-es that are relevant to youth.

The native Amerindians have been exploited, murdered and oppressed throughout their history, sometimes even by the church. Pray that Christians can reach these people in a way that is sensitive, without robbing them of their cultural identity.

Pray that the mission movement in Bra-zil will continue to grow and that those sent out from Brazil will be well sup-ported, protected and encouraged at home and overseas.

Brazil’s most widely sold books are about magic and the occult. Pray for change through Christian publishers and Bible distribution.

Due to the vastness of the Amazon

rainforest, Brazil loses an average of

34,660 square kilometers of primary

forest per year. That is about twice

the size of the Kruger Natinal Park!