In Brasilia, Thousands Walk for Peace and to Proclaim Their Faith in God

Almost 20,000 Seventh-day Adventist young people walked a major street in Brasilia, Brazil, to make a statement for peace and friendship among nations. The activity was part of the last day of the 2024 Maranata South American Division youth convention on June 1.

Donning the official blue T-shirts, young people and their leaders walked from the BRB Mané Garrincha Arena, the venue of the convention, through the Eixo Monumental and to Buriti Square, around which the major Federal District government buildings are located.

Along the way, they sang Christian and Adventist songs, reveling in their missionary spirit and proclaiming their faith and hope in the soon second coming of Jesus. A flat-bed truck with loudspeakers and a live band led them along the 1.5-kilometer (0.9-mile) walk. “Maranatha, maranatha, very soon, Jesus will come again!” they sang with hands raised time after time.

Praying for God-centered Peace

As young people walked, led by leaders speaking in Portuguese and Spanish from the truck, the crowd was invited to stop several times for special moments of congregational prayer. Leaders prayed for peace among the nations of the world, for the people who still don’t know Jesus and His truth, and for those affected by the massive floods in Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Many of the young Adventists from that region were not able to travel to the convention because of the recent flood devastation, participants learned.

Unlike other marches and initiatives for world peace, this one made a point of emphasizing that true peace can only come from the God of all peace. “Talking about peace is a very complex concept,” a participant from Uruguay told South American Division News. “The true peace we need is the one that only Jesus Christ gives.”

A Statement of Belief

Upon arriving at Buriti Square, participants gathered around a reflecting pool as they raised the flags of their countries and other nations of the world to again pray for peace among the nations. Once more, leaders called on participants and some government officials who joined them to reflect on the importance of trusting God and looking forward to Jesus’ second coming.

Reading the Bible in Less than 30 Seconds

Another activity at Buriti Square that the convention participants and their leaders found meaningful was an invitation to read the whole Bible in less than 30 seconds. Before the walk, every participant had received a small card with a Bible verse on it. Every card had a different Bible verse. At the moment a coordinator gave the signal to begin, every participant read their verse simultaneously, effectively reading the whole Bible in about 20 seconds, organizers said.

“Our main message today was to let people know that we believe in a living God,” Paulo Prazeres, a pastor who organized the event, told South American Division News. It is to tell them “that our faith is based on the Bible, that we are preparing to meet Him, and we want others to have that hope as well.”