On Thursday, April 7, 2011 a gunman killed twelve children and wounded twenty more in a public school in the West zone of Rio de Janeiro. Even with the history of violence in Rio de Janeiro, the murder and wounding of school children was something previously unheard of in Brazil.

Exactly one week before, on Thursday, March 31, we had a guest speaker at our church. Chad Daniel who is an evangelist that ministers to youth. His messages “are Christ-centered messages that hit at the heart of everyday issues and provoke listeners to think about where they are, and where they are going with their values.”

A number of the youth that came to hear Chad Daniel speak were from a church that is literally right next door to the school where the shootings occurred. Those in attendance had heard the message “to press into God’s plan and purpose for their lives and for the lives of those around them!”