‘Hope Brazil’ initiative empowered Adventists to serve, share mission during World Cup
July 08, 2014 – Brasilia, Brazil…ASN staff
During the FIFA World Cup, thousands of Seventh-day Adventists in Brazil are participating in the Church’s local “Hope Brazil” initiative to offer ministry outreach and service to international football fans and tourists visiting during the tournament.
Image courtesy of ASN staff
At many of the Cup’s 12 stadium sites, Adventist volunteers donated blood and coordinated assistance ongoing blood drives, distributed a missionary book, and advocated against sex tourism with the distribution of a special issue magazine about the issue.
“We wanted to motivate youth to donate blood, distribute, and participate [in the project] with outreach actions,” said Areli Barbosa, Youth Ministries leader for the denomination’s South American Division and coordinator of the “Hope Brazil” project.
In São Paulo, volunteers used an Adventist church a few miles away from the Arena Corinthians stadium to prepare 500 meals, which they distributed along with water and missionary books. Adventist distributed approximately 100,000 missionary books at Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport in Guarulhos and in metro stations.
In Porto Alegre in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, Adventists distributed 60,000 trilingual pamphlets with Christian messages and information on connecting with the Adventist Church online. Volunteers distributed pamphlets near the Beira-Rio stadium and at other tourist attractions, including the Gasometer, Redenção Park and the Brazilian Navy Park.
Adventist youth took to the streets on June 14 to offer football fans hugs, words of encouragement and kits containing missionary materials.
One of the biggest impacts was made at the state blood center as several groups of 60 people packed the venue to donate blood.
Local New Time Radio reported on the activities of the “Hope Brazil” initiative and invited listeners to join the 2,000 volunteers working on the project.
In Salvador in the northeastern state of Bahia, 30 Adventist volunteers from the Pituba Adventist Church distributed some 2,200 missionary books on June 14 at the Deputado Luis Eduardo Magalhas International Airport.
Near Arena Amazonia in Manaus, 1,000 Adventists distributed 50,000 missionary books on June 18, 22 and 25.
In Brasilia, about 130 Adventist young people distributed books on June 21.
Even though the city of Juiz de Fora in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais didn’t host a match, Adventist youth donated blood and distributed leaflets.
In Rio de Janeiro, young people donated 200 units of blood on June 14. In a symbolic gesture of the cause, 4,000 people formed a large “drop” of blood on the field of Olaria Atlético Clube stadium.
On the same day, 300 Adventist young people distributed missionary books, hugs, glasses of water, and information leaflets in front of the Maracana stadium. The next day, June 15, 40,000 books were delivered on the beaches of Copacabana and Leblon. Spanish-speaking tourists received the missionary book in Spanish.
—With reporting by Andréa Figueiró, Andréia Raquel, Dina Karla Miranda, Felipe Lemos, Ionara Wichinheski, Jéssica Guidolin, Lucas Rocha, and Vanessa Lemes.