Under the premise that mission work is an essential part of Christian life, Brazil Adventist University (UNASP) Mission Center recently organized a mission trip to the country of Guinea-Bissau. The mission group that traveled to the West-African nation included 13 people who dedicated 27 days of their Southern Hemisphere summer vacations in early 2022 to that initiative.

The entire project was led by the UNASP Mission Center, located at the Adventist school’s Engenheiro Coelho campus outside São Paulo. One of the goals of the trip was to complete a project for the Seventh-day Adventist school on the island of Bubaque. Participants reported on the initiative and posted updates on their social networks.

Group leader Caio Conceição said that the outreach and mission experience was relevant to the participants and was well received by residents of the communities that benefited from it. “We spent 27 days doing mission,” Conceição said. “We saw the power of God acting through the Holy Spirit.” He explained that they stayed one week in Bissau, the nation’s capital, and two weeks on the island of Bubaque. “We served the villages, schools, the military, and the merchants of the island,” Conceição said. “Also, the families of Pathfinder and Adventurer club members.”

Outreach and Mission Contributions

The mission group from Brazil contributed in many ways to doing evangelism in Guinea-Bissau, organizers said. They assisted community members with medicines, bandages, and dressings, held a Vacation Bible School, and helped with the purchase of a plot of land to build an Adventist church on the island of Sogá.

Volunteers also helped to hold evangelistic meetings every evening and Bible classes in the afternoons. They organized the donation of Bibles and other resources to support the evangelistic initiatives of the local church. Their efforts resulted in 17 baptisms.

The outreach and mission activities directly impacted the lives of the participants, organizers said. Journalism student Isabela Rodege acknowledged that she experienced a culture shock so strong that nothing could have prepared her for it. “I became aware of how urgently we must help preach the gospel. Now I wish Jesus to come back as I have never felt before,” she said.

The various initiatives carried out as part of the project and previous mission visits have opened doors for church members in the country to see these short-term projects with good eyes, leaders said. “The image of the Adventist Church in Guinea-Bissau is very good thanks to the contribution the church in Brazil has provided in recent years,” Conceição said.

Every outreach initiative is a direct contribution to the community, but at the same time they are fulfilling their ultimate goal, organizers explained. “We strengthened Pathfinder clubs, worked on the Adventist school building, did evangelism, taught basic hygiene principles to children, and brought medicine to the population,” Rodege said. “However, our ultimate goal is for them to understand how good God and His mercy are to everyone.”

The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Portuguese-language news site.