It is a car that draws people’s attention wherever it goes. And not just because it’s a blue 1973 Volkswagen Beetle, the most popular vehicle in Brazil’s history, although now scarcely seen on the country’s roads. Emblazoned on the car is the Maranata logo, and its catchy name “Maralata,” a clever play on words between the title of the Adventist youth convention name and the Portuguese word lata, a colloquial term to describe an old, rickety vehicle.
Maralata traveled northwest more than 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) from the state of São Paulo to the city of Brasilia in four days, reaching the Mané Garrincha BRB Arena, the venue of the convention, in time for the opening of the event on May 29. It is customized with stickers that display the identity of Maranata and Seventh-day Adventist Youth Ministries. The trip was recorded in a daily vlog, with episodes describing the ups and downs of the journey.
The owner of Maralata is Georges Mora, Adventist youth director in São Paulo Conference. Mora said that the car is part of his daily life. “I still drive the Beetle for work when my wife is driving the family car,” he explained.
Maralata on the streets of Brasilia, after covering more than 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) to the venue of the 2024 Maranata South American Division Youth Convention. [Photo: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review] 
Maralata covered more than 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) to reach Brasilia, the venue of the 2024 Maranata youth convention in Brasilia, Brazil. [Photo: courtesy of Georges Mora] 
Adventist Church employees pray for the trip before the 1973 VW Beetle leaves for Brasilia on May 24. [Photo: courtesy of Georges Mora]
Maralata on the Road
The idea for the Beetle’s trip to the Maranata convention came up during a lunch with co-workers, Mora said. “We discussed the idea and eventually turned it into a project. I chose João Gabriel [Brito] to accompany me on this journey. He works in the Communication department of the São Paulo Conference and is a very talented and willing young man. He accepted the challenge of filming and editing the contents of the trip while I was driving.”
Before the trip began, the employees of the São Paulo Conference gathered around the vehicle and prayed for God’s protection during the long journey. As one of the trip goals, the duo visited several cities. They stopped to visit Adventist young people and leaders in Campinas and Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo), Caldas Novas (Goiania), and finally Brasilia.
Another goal was to find caravans of young people who were also traveling to the convention, as well as to exemplify analogies and references to Christianity as an experience that involves movement. “We fulfilled all the goals we had set for this project and created new bonds with these young people. It was a unique, challenging, and rewarding experience,” Mora said. “And of course, for me, it brought much more meaning about what Maranata is, about the fact that we are here in passing, with the mission of helping to lead other people to the best of all journeys, which is our journey to heaven, through the return of Jesus.”
For Brito, Mora’s travel partner, the experience was, above all, spiritual. “Before we made the trip, the car had some issues, but along the way, everything went smoothly,” he said. “We have seen our faith grow with this project, because we perceive God’s hand guiding us all the time. The people we met, the places we stopped, the welcome we received, everything showed how dependent we are on God and how kind He is for caring for us.”
Maralata was scheduled to return to São Paulo after the end of the youth convention on June 1.
The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division news site.
