Hello Bishop Macedo,

My name is Paulo Ferreira de Almeida, and I am 55 years old. I recently read in your blog about your visit to a prison in Sao Paulo to hand out your book “Nothing to Lose”. I was amazed by your attitude, because only those who have been there know what kind of world these men are living in.

I’ve never been to prison. Thanks to God, I found the Lord Jesus before my paths lead me to a physical prison; however, I can say that, during many years, I lived in a spiritual prison marked by illness, trouble and conflicts in my family, which were only solved after I started attending The Universal Church.

Once saved and baptized with the Holy Spirit, my desire was to save, even if that meant I had to enter hell here on Earth: the old Detention Facility in Carandiru, Sao Paulo. I am not exaggerating about this place. Bishop, every week an inmate would be killed in a gruesome way by their cell mate. For example, they would remove the inmate’s still-beating heart and display it to the other inmates. This is so horrible, I don’t even like to remember it.

The cell block I used to evangelize was one of the most dangerous. It was where they held the most feared criminals, who were convicted of larceny, bank robbery, murder, kidnapping, among others of this kind. They were also the most respected, the ‘owners of the joint’, the ones who would dictate the rules and give orders to kill.

One of the most memorable moments for me was when, during a meeting with this group, I spoke about faith and explained that they should not accept to continue living that lifestyle, there is hope, and that Jesus was their opportunity to erase the past and start a new life.

It was during the Israel Challenge and because I had been blessed through this campaign countless times before, I couldn’t avoid speaking to them about sacrifice. At that very moment, the most powerful prisoner, the leader of the gang, was touched by God and stood up in the middle of everyone. He said, “I have my own cell. I’m going to sell it and give it as my sacrifice. I’m going to sleep in the general population ward with the others. I’m also going to sell my clothes and shoes. But if this God that you are talking about doesn’t change my life, I’m going to be worse than I already am”.

He did his sacrifice, fulfilled his vow, and shortly after that, was sent to the semi-open block. This was almost impossible because he had already led riots and even threatened the Director.

Riots, like the one I witnessed at the Raposo Tavares prison. I was there with 3 other Assistants, ready to evangelize, when it all began. The guard, fearing for our lives, asked us to get out as quickly as possible, but we ended up surrounded by the organizers of the riot and they were ready to kill us. At that moment, fear gave way to boldness and our trust in God made all the difference. I lifted up the Bible and said that if they were to shed our blood, they would bring more curses upon their lives, because our battle was not against flesh and blood. I began talking to them about Jesus. All of a sudden, they began to calm down, silence swept the area and tears rolled from their eyes. The riot ended.

Bishop, I have been doing this work for many years and my greatest joy is when I come across an ex-convict on the street, and they hug me and thank me for everything. When this happens, I tell them that they should first thank God for being so merciful and loving, even after they’ve committed so many mistakes, and second, to The Universal Church, who does not measure efforts to welcome these men and women that are considered society’s garbage. However, once cleansed by the power of faith, they become instruments in God’s hands.

Paulo Pereira de Almeida