A group of 14 volunteers from Brazil spent August 8-18 in the Dominican Republic for a mission project that saw them provide health and dental care to hundreds of people and participate in the finishing touches and inauguration of a new congregation. The mission was organized by Maranatha Volunteers International in partnership with the Association of Adventist Physicians in Brazil (AMA) and the Adventist University Church of São Paulo, Hortolândia campus.
Organizers said they chose the Dominican Republic because it is one of the places where Maranatha already operates, building churches and schools. “It’s easy to access, relatively close to Brazil, without the need for a visa, and with affordable air tickets,” explained coordinator and pharmacist Patricia Moreno Pereira.
To prepare for the mission, volunteers organized a daily prayer chain at 10:00 p.m. and took Spanish classes three months before the trip. “I didn’t notice major challenges in terms of communication since some volunteers mastered Spanish and, in some situations, we had a translator to help,” Moreno Pereira said.
Mission in Action
The daily schedule started at 6:30 a.m. and ended around 9:00 p.m. The volunteer team included a doctor, a dentist, a nurse, a pharmacist, and other professionals. Health team leader Edson Jara has experience in coordinating mission initiatives around the world. For him the small team represented a challenge, given the numerous activities included in the project.
During the consultations Jara observed that the population presented some cases of malnourished children with anemia and parasitosis. Health-care professional also witnessed such emotional challenges as depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. “It is something you can nowadays see all around the world,” Jara acknowledged.
A Wholistic Mission
The group also promoted educational and spiritual activities, project organizers said. Volunteers conducted evangelism for children and adults and helped to finish the construction of the El Rosal II Adventist Church and inaugurate it.
Felix Noronha, assistant pastor of the UNASP Church, Hortolândia campus, explained that the group of volunteers went to the Dominican Republic with the main objective of helping to complete a church building. They also decided to include evangelism as part of their mission.
“In the evening we held public outreach in the garage of a residence in front of the El Rosal II church. The program brought together about 40 people from the community, including adults and children, and resulted in the decision of four of them to study the Bible,” Noronha reported.
Church Inauguration
At the end of the mission stint volunteers celebrated the inauguration of a completed church building. Noronha said that in preparation for the ceremony, perseverance was essential. “The day before the inauguration the sidewalk around the church was still to be completed with three truckloads of stone. But a strong storm came, and we soon realized that if we waited for the rain to stop, we wouldn’t make it in time,” he shared. “Together with two other volunteers we decided to keep working, so we were able to finish just in time.”
According to Noronha, “it was a beautiful and exciting inauguration celebration. It is a privilege to build a church to worship God and to make this place available for the surrounding community to get to know Him.”
For Moreno Pereira one of the most emotional moments happened when she was working at the church. “While I was painting the church walls I began to think about all the people who still need to know Jesus. Most likely I will never see the members of that church again on this earth, but I want to meet them in heaven. And when I get there, how happy I will be to know that people were baptized in the baptismal pool that I painted. It brings tears to my eyes just to think about that day.”
The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Portuguese-language news site.
