Southern Brazil Young Missionaries Enjoy Serving Others in the Amazon

Throughout 2025 at least 15 groups of missionaries have united around one goal—to provide assistance and affection to residents in the heart of the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil. Lasting usually 10 days, volunteers participate in mission trips to serve riverside communities along the Manacapuru River, in places often hours away from any major town.

During the winter break (in July) and summer holidays (at year’s end), mission trips usually increase as teenagers and young people use part of their free time to make a difference in the lives of people in need.

On July 24 one of those groups departed from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, in the South Rio Grande do Sul Conference (ASRS) to fly several hours north to Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon. After a two-hour bus trip, they arrived to Manacapuru, on the banks of the Amazon River. From there they faced another nine hours by boat until they reached the Rosa de Saron community. On the way the boat became the home of the missionaries, who enjoyed the landscape shaped by the floods of the Manacapuru River. Those who live there have a floating house, which allows them to adapt to the changes along the river.

Bruna Perales, a teacher and member of Central Seventh-day Adventist Church in Porto Alegre, said that she always wanted to participate in a mission trip and serve as a volunteer. The young woman revealed that her desire to have a real experience with God was the driving force that motivated her to participate in this edition. “God can use us in different ways,” Perales shared. “I arrived here thinking that I would only take care of the children, but I ended up getting involved in home visits, in which I was able to get acquainted with a little of the reality these people experience.”

Perales said that in the riverside community she was mostly disconnected from social media, but developed new connections with the people she met. “I was especially drawn to the affection they showed toward us. This experience impacted me and led me to reassess other aspects in my life,” she said.

Major Challenges

Rafael Gomes, one of the coordinators of the missionary projects, explained that even though the mission trip lasts only 10 days, the initiatives to serve the riverside communities are there to stay. In the Rosa de Saron community the team was involved in the construction of a residence that will house long-term missionaries who plan to stay to serve local families.

The team also engaged in the renovation of a school, home health care, dental treatments, care of children, and Bible studies for those interested. “The biggest difficulty they face is access to any type of product or service. Access to education and health are precarious; they depend on the navigability of the rivers, which sometimes dry up,” Gomes said.

Andressa Naomi said she was impacted by the realities she met in the community. “During home visits I met people who had not received medical care in years, and others who had never been seen by a doctor,” she shared. “I saw people crying because health professionals treated them well. . . . It was very gratifying.”

Ataiza Silva is part of the Rosa de Saron community and works as a teacher at the small local school. She said she highly values initiatives such as this one that sends volunteers to the region. “We feel loved and seen. You bring medicine and the Word of God. These benefits are precious to us. Without this project, our school would only be a two-room wooden structure,” she said.

Fulfilling God’s Mission

Alex Florenço, Youth Ministries director of the South Rio Grande do Sul Conference, was one of the leaders of the group. Florenço explained that the mission teams to the Amazon also preach the gospel. “One of the benefits for young people is that their faith is strengthened,” he said. “Events such as this one open a range of possibilities for them to use their talents to reach people for God.”

Florenço also emphasized that preaching the gospel in different places requires sensitivity and, at the same time, the ability to adapt the message to the local reality. “You need to approach the task of sharing the gospel within a context. I preached on John 15, which talks about vineyards. They had never heard of vineyards before, or knew they existed. I then used the cashew tree as an example, and they understood the message,” he shared.

Rafael Gomes, coordinator, agreed. “Every Christian should be involved in the salvation of people. Mission fields are people, souls and hearts. Whether in the interior of Amazonas or in another country, young people must fulfill God’s call,” he said.

Miguel Bittencourt, a participant, from the southern Brazilian city of Pelotas, said he was impressed by the simplicity of the residents and shared that he understood that God had chosen him to bring love to these people. “To be a missionary is to bring God’s love to all people, even those who I don’t believe deserve His love. He wants me to bring His love,” he said.The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Portuguese-language news site.