Waking Up the World by Alexa Smith

It was when Benedita da Silva was at her lowest—a bad marriage, no job, no food, no nothing—that her vision occurred. Life was so bad she didn’t know what to do. So she opened her Bible and the page fell to the text, “The truth has set you free.”

She says now that it did. “I came from a delicate situation,” she says, describing the dirt-poor shantytown where she was born and where, it seemed, she was forever stuck in a house with no doors, no windows and no beds, with two children and an alcoholic husband.

She had a rocky start. Da Silva began working at the age of seven, selling candy, peanuts and fruit in the rough-and-tumble marketplace of Rio de Janeiro to supplement the money her mother earned washing clothes and selling foodstuffs to support da Silva’s 12 siblings. The best jobs she could hope for were custodial or factory work. “I had no self-esteem. I just didn’t believe in myself anymore. I even doubted God in the situation that I was in.”

After reading that biblical passage on truth, she began thinking of herself as valuable, maybe even pretty. She was, at least, important to God. So much so that someone died for her. And that, she says, made all the difference.

Alexa Smith is a freelance writer and Presbyterian minister who has covered international issues for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the past 12 years.

Photo by David Young

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*How did Benedita turn her life around and become a leading political and social activist in Brazil? Find out in the September/October 2006 issue of Horizons.*	Waking Up the World by Alexa Smith It was when Benedita da Silva was at her lowest—a bad marriage, no job, no food, no nothing—that her vision occurred. Life was so bad she didn’t know what to do. So she opened her Bible and the page fell to the text, “The truth has set you free.” She says now that it did. “I came from a delicate situation,” she says, describing the dirt-poor shantytown where she was born and where, it seemed, she was forever stuck in a house with no doors, no windows and no beds, with two children and an alcoholic husband. She had a rocky start. Da Silva began working at the age of seven, selling candy, peanuts and fruit in the rough-and-tumble marketplace of Rio de Janeiro to supplement the money her mother earned washing clothes and selling foodstuffs to support da Silva’s 12 siblings. The best jobs she could hope for were custodial or factory work. “I had no self-esteem. I just didn’t believe in myself anymore. I even doubted God in the situation that I was in.” After reading that biblical passage on truth, she began thinking of herself as valuable, maybe even pretty. She was, at least, important to God. So much so that someone died for her. And that, she says, made all the difference. Alexa Smith is a freelance writer and Presbyterian minister who has covered international issues for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the past 12 years. Photo by David Young Other Articles Online This Issue Gathering Scrapbook [1st page only] Out of Chaos Community in Diversity Getting to Know Our Global Partners Waking Up the World God's Word—Light for the Journey Joining Together in Love Through an Artist's Eyes Bible study resource Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church Nurturing Our Faith Supporting Mission Working for Justice and Peace Mosaic	Current Issue SEPT/OCT 2006 About This Issue Features PW Resources Departments FREE Resource Sept/Oct Index How to Use In Our Next Issue Items underlined can be seen in this Web site, all others appear in the September/October 2006 (HZN-06-240) issue of Horizons magazine. to Horizons, call 800/524-2612 or this issue ($4 plus shipping/handling)

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