Prayer
The LORD does righteous deeds, brings justice to all the oppressed. Ps. 103:6

Ever-faithful God, open my heart to your call to conversion. Give me the insight and wisdom to see where I need to change and grow, and fill me with the courage to follow where your Spirit leads. I ask this with confidence in the love and power of Jesus our Savior. Amen.

Pray for people caught in the cycle of poverty and oppression everywhere.

Fasting
How do you take for granted your culture and way of life? What practices in our culture use resources that others do not have? Can you fast from:
† complaining and instead give thanks for the income that supports your lifestyle and the chance to receive an education.
† using electronic devices by 50% this week.
† buying bottled water and spend time learning about the issue of privatization of water.
† fish as well as meat this Friday and spend some time learning about the causes of the decrease in fish populations in our oceans.
† buying things just because you want them.

Give Alms
There is an old Chinese proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. The people of Maceio understand this proverb. Your donation of the resources you saved through your fast will feed families for years to come. Consider tithing a percentage of your income or allowance. How can your contribution help? Take a look:

Help us change lives in Brazil.

Sisters Betsy and Mary Alice have been ministering in northeastern Brazil since the 1980's. The 800 families in the area of Maceio have supported themselves for generations as local fishermen, farmers and lace makers. The land and the sea have provided them with all they need to sustain their simple lifestyle.

Now developers are trying to take away their land and their access to the sea by deceitful and dishonorable practices. Local entrepreneurs are ignoring legislation that tries to protect farmers and fishermen. Farmers cannot farm without land. Fishermen cannot fish without the sea. The people of Maceio are without livelihoods for the first time in generations.

Two years ago they decided to occupy the beaches in order to prevent further stealing of their land and to protect access to the sea. The families built a barraca on the beach that has a cooking area and sleeps 50 or more people in hammocks. The women lace makers walk over the dunes carrying their weaving pillows on their heads (2 miles on foot) and work in the barraca during the day. During the night, the men and youth take turns protecting the area. On the open fire there is usually fish grilling, and large pots of rice and beans boiling. Every evening, those present say the rosary together and on Sundays they celebrate the Word of God in community.

The people have organized themselves into a new co-op: the algae (seaweed) cultivation project. Thirty families are learning how to cultivate species of alga that are most marketable for medicinal, cosmetic and nutritional value. The work involves seeding the algae plants on long ropes extended out in open sea. The algae are regularly weeded, harvested, washed and dried for market.

The efforts of the families of Maceio are aimed not only at protecting their land and water rights, but at preserving their culture and creating jobs to improve the quality of life for their young people. The algae cultivation project requires equipment. Can you help them get it?