Leaving with a little bit of brown in you

“Please, help me get out!” he mumbles and you can barely understand. This man is crawling on the floor, dirty and unkept. Dozens pass him by with the response of indifference. Patrick, a brother of The Way who has just picked me up from the airport, hands me the backpack he was carrying for me. He immediately picks this man up and carries him, like a baby, to where he needed to go.

– The following events occurred between Aug 27th and Sep 5th, 2013

The Way of St. Francis

Founders

The Way is a fraternity of religious brothers and sisters formed in Brazil about 12 years ago. About 15 years ago, its founder was deeply moved after participating in a retreat (where he concealed his identity as a priest) and had a strong encounter with Jesus through the poor and drug addicts who were there. Out of this encounter The Way would be born.

St. Francis of Assisi (circa 1182-1220) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Francis of Assisi shook the Christian world in the early 13th century with his radical witness to the imitation of Christ at a time of high corruption in the church. He was the first person since apostolic times to receive the stigmata, the 5 wounds of Christ in his body. He and his brothers lived for the poor, with the poor and like the poor. They would beg for food, sleep in austere conditions, accept no money, and use the same habit (patching and fixing when needed). Their humble and self-giving way of life inspired so many others that as the years went by they would start receiving many gifts of money and goods. With time they stopped living like the poor, and many went more in the direction of study. In modern times, yes they live with austerity, but their way of life is far removed from the radical ways of how St. Francis lived. The Way community in Brazil is a renaissance of this way of life that more closely resembles how St. Francis and his followers lived.

The Brazilian Northeast

“It is a different reality up there, another Brazil. It would be good if you can go there.” That’s what the novitiate sister of The Way told me in São Paulo. The brazilian northeast is much closer to the equator so I would finally escape the cold and be welcome by the summer warmth. The northeast is a historically poorer area of Brazil where its inhabitants are considered by some to be a backwards people. Recife is a city known for higher crime rates, and persistent shark attacks (surfing has been banned here).

First Impression

The welcome sign for me. Because of pronunciation differences it would be normal for brazilians to think that my name is spelled “Ruan”

When I arrived I knew this was going to be a very different experience from the ones I had with the communities of Eucaristos and Cancao Nova. I arrived in the evening at an old and rickety townhouse in the city center. As I walk in I notice other people already sleeping on mattresses on the floor. When I ask who they were, the brothers told me they were the “chosen sons”. They are the homeless they host, many of them drug addicts. “Would I be sleeping in the same space as them? Am I safe here?” I wondered. But then I’m reminded that since I arrived in Brazil I had this strong sense that there were angels with me, that I need not worry.

My bedroom

The brothers take me to my “bedroom”, which was the sacristy, with its musty smell from the nearby bathroom. I looked around for a bed and a pillow and there was nothing. All I got was some thick sheets on the floor. Showers were cold and there was no washing machine. I knew I would be living on little more than the essentials.

The day after I would meet the women of The Way and noticed those that weren’t wearing habits, the sisters in their formation period, had short hair. This is an outward sign of doing away with vanity in their lives. Then after meeting all the brothers and sisters of The Way I had this surreal sensation after I realized that I’m the oldest one in the room. It was strange because when I think of a community of monks and nuns, I expect to see many old monks and nuns. And here the oldest one was 26!

Me with the brothers of The Way

The sisters of The Way

Don Fernando

The next day I would meet Don Fernando, the only person in the house who has his own room and actually sleeps on a bed. He is an older gentleman who was taken to the house a few months ago, and asserted he would stay living here. He is not quite sane and that first day in the house he went to use the bathroom and left his poop everywhere except the toilet. He has no ID and no one who knows him. He enjoys to scream and curse at the brothers and particularly likes to punch and beat brother Israel, who is the responsible one for the house. He also enjoys to rinse his mouth with a cup of water and then spit it out on the hallway. I saw him once punch one of the brothers, but he was quickly apprehended until he was calmed down. His outburst made many days much more colorful. He would never talk to anyone directly, and would only speak out when he needed something. The brothers were fond of him nonetheless and were trying to find a suitable place where he could be taken care of, and not leave him on the streets. I only spoke to him directly on my last day as I was saying goodbye. Surprisingly, he was a true gentleman and kind in his response bidding me farewell.

Patrick cuts Don Fernando’s fingernails

A month later I would hear from the brothers that they found a house for Don Fernando. On the day he was being taken there, he would be insulting and trying to punch brother Israel who was also inside the car. The brothers told me it was sad to see him go and that they miss having him in the house. They visit him when they can.

The Breakfast of Kings

Breakfast

I won’t forget the first morning. They ring the bell at 6am, I get up from the floor and we were off to mass. Afterwards, we would come for prayer in the house chapel. By 7:30am we were having breakfast, which was simple: plain couscous (which is the everyday food in the northeast), a piece of bread, and coffee. Then at 8am the doors were opened for the breakfast they serve to those who live on the streets. About 40 people came in, many had an appalling appearance and some would be screaming. Here comes what made the morning so memorable. I thought they would be served the same thing we ate, but it was not the case. Their couscous was not plain like ours, but had veggies and sauce. Their bread was not plain like ours, but had cheese and ham. I started wishing I had their breakfast instead. The brothers serve the best of what they have to the poor, even at the expense of themselves eating more poorly.

Roaming the Streets at Night

In the evenings they also prepare a ton of soup with loads of veggies and meat (which once again we don’t eat from it) and around 9pm we started taking it on a shopping cart throughout the streets of the city, places you wouldn’t normally want to find yourself walking at this time. One of us would carry a guitar and play for those we served. We would be approached by several people who were intoxicated, but we were generally respected. We would be back by 11pm.

Identifying With the Poor

Getting ready to beg for food in the markets

The van full of food

The brothers and sisters of The Way seeks to identify with the poor in order to better understand, love, and serve the poor. They go once a week to a large food market to beg for food. This is the food that will be used primarily to serve the poor that come to the house and also for their consumption. This was something I participated in, and I was surprised how well it went. Within 15 minutes we had enough food for 50 people, within an hour for 400. There was so much food in the van we could barely fit in.

An even more radical way they seek to identify with the poor is by twice a month going to the streets and sleeping with those whom they serve, in the same conditions. And no, they don’t take air-mattresses and warm sheets. They go out with nothing, find cardboard boxes and look for a place just like the rest of the homeless.

How they seek to identify with the poor  and how they serve might be seen with a disapproving eye. One might say that it only perpetuates the problem of poverty, that they should work on capacitating the people and going to the root of the problem in order to effectively be part of the solution. But the harsh reality is that the poor are still there in the streets, right now, and not just in a spreadsheet containing demographics, statistics and statements. And in proper perspective the primary call by God within the church is to love our neighbor today, in the present moment. In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, it is written:

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’

In their service they live out this last sentence literally. They see Jesus in all who come through their doors, especially in those who are considered “the least”. The last day they told me I would be leaving Recife with a little bit of brown in me, referring to this experience I lived with them. The brown refers to the color of their habit.

Rehab in the Farm

Getting to the Chacra

Remember the “chosen sons” I found sleeping in the house? Well, those who are willing to deal responsibly with the addictions in their life are offered the opportunity to go to the Chacra. It is a 2 hour car ride inland to this isolated farm-house. There they go through a 9 month program, a gestation period if you will, to a new life. The three principles followed in this program are work, discipline, and prayer.

Waiting for my turn to play in the field

Playing dominoes

Getting there felt like entering an oasis of peace. We were warmly welcomed by the brothers and those recovering. I spent hours with some of the “chosen sons” playing dominoes, which is like a national sport back in Puerto Rico. It was my favorite experience with the community of The Way. I spent only one night there and wished I could’ve stayed longer.

It would not be the last time I see them. There was a 3 day retreat a few days afterwards, with several hundred people, where they participated. There they would bond even more so with me and look forward to sharing lunch or just talking in the breaks. Not very many people in the retreat would interact with them, and some would be afraid. They are for the most part marginalized and considered to be lost by the world. I also admit that it was difficult at times for me to deal with their strong language, their poor hygiene, and their disfigured physical appearance (be it from drug related violence or the degenerative effects some of the drugs have). It was a beautiful experience to see their hearts and minds renewed through the powerful awakenings/healings that were produced in the retreat. It was hard to say goodbye to them, knowing I won’t be seeing them again.

Growing Weary

One thing is to experience what those of The Way do, another is to be in it day in and day out. You really need to have a vocation for that, and I don’t. I was getting exhausted from every day sleeping on the floor, waking up early, eating basic food with barely any protein, fruit or vegetables, having to deal with the people on the streets who would come all the time. Even the little things like the musty smell, the noise, hand washing my clothes, it was all tiring me. The last few days I stopped participating of their community prayer and the food service for the poor. I was also going away during the day to spend several hours at a café. There was a community I planned to visit in another nearby city afterwards, but for 5 days we tried calling them and they either weren’t available or they would say they would call back (which never happened). I also started feeling much desolation, to doubt of everything experienced as a whole from my choice to travel this way, living with the communities in Brazil. I felt I was missing out, and I wanted to travel in more traditional and worldly ways. During those days I also learned of all the money that had been stolen from my bank account, which was difficult. I was getting sick of it all and wanted to leave!

The Last Straw

Then one morning I found two cockroaches in my bedroom, which I killed, and that was it. I decided I was leaving that same day and I don’t care that this other community didn’t respond. In fact, I’m tired of being hosted, I want to find a nice hotel on the beach, dance some salsa and de-stress. It’s time for a vacation!

The chain and padlock is a sign of slavery to JesusChrist through the hands of Mary