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Brazil: Brazil preachers minister to addicts

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Dressed immaculately, the evangelical preachers head out to work when night falls. They journey through the gloom into the cracklands where addicts consume crack cocaine in open-air dens, areas well hidden from the eyes of tourists heading to Rio de Janeiro for the World Cup.

Brazil, a drug addict rests against a wall in an area known as 'crackland'
In this April 12, 2014 photo, a drug addict rests against a wall in an area known as ‘crackland’ at the “pacified” Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After midnight, grime-covered addicts lie on the sidewalks of the Jacarezinho slum. They’re focused on little more than the next fix, on finding a lighter to put flame to pipe. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

After midnight, hundreds of grime-covered addicts lie on the sidewalks of the Jacarezinho slum. They focus on little more than the next fix, on finding a lighter to put flame to pipe.

Rifle-toting police observe from a corner as the preachers calmly mingle amid the chaotic scene of users seeking a fix.

Brazil, a former drug user and member of the God's Love rehabilitation center
In this April 11, 2014 photo, a former drug user and member of the God’s Love rehabilitation center holds he head of a drug addict as he prays for him at the “pacified” Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Some of the preachers know the horror scene well. Not long ago, many were crack addicts themselves. But now they’re here to preach the gospel, not pull toxic smoke from a pipe. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Some of the preachers know the horror scene well. Not long ago, many were crack addicts themselves.

Now they’re here to preach the Gospel, not pull toxic smoke from a pipe. They talk of God to those who will listen, hoping to find converts, to rescue souls from the crack epidemic that’s swept Brazil in recent years.

Pastor Celio Ricardo, who leads the team of street preachers, has had hit-and-miss success in persuading users to at least try quitting.

Brazil,  Pastor Celio Ricardo, center, prays with members of the God's Love
In this April 11, 2014 photo, Pastor Celio Ricardo, center, prays with members of the God’s Love rehabilitation center before distributing food to drug addicts at the “pacified” Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pastor Ricardo, who leads the team of street preachers, has had hit-and-miss success in persuading some users to at least try quitting. He offers them a roof in a makeshift shelter in a nearby neighborhood, a simple structure next to his humble Love of God evangelical church. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

He offers them a roof in a makeshift shelter in a nearby neighborhood, a simple structure next to his humble Love of God evangelical church. He relies on donations and handouts from local supermarkets to feed those he is trying to heal.

There, young men sleep side-by-side on plain, raw-wood beds. Clean shirts hang from roof beams, meager belongings gathered tidily on battered dressers.

On a recent day, 25 young men gathered in a circle outside the shelter, lifting their hands to the sky and shouting: Glory to God! Glory to God!

Ricardo says the first challenge is taking to care of the physical needs of addicts — only then can they go on to tackle spiritual issues.

At first they need to rest because this drug leaves them hallucinated, he says. They lose hunger, they lose the will to live. They want to drug themselves to death, and here we try to reverse that situation.

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Article from: bigstory.ap.org

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Brazil: Brazil preachers minister to addicts

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