Serving and Dreaming of Possibilities in Brazil
For the third straight year, several Globalscope campus ministries from Latin America have teamed up to travel to a different location to serve together. It’s called Proyecto La Paz and each year has been a new and amazing experience. In January students and staff from our ministries in Chile, Uruguay, and Mexico travelled to Brazil where they served with an existing CMF ministry and dreamed about starting a new one.
For the first phase of the trip, they partnered with a local church in the city of Piancó in northeastern Brazil. Under the leadership of Pastor Tarsicio, they helped put the final touches on the church’s community center where they minister to around 1,000 children and young people by giving them an alternative to a life of drugs, sex-trafficking, and other addictions through sports like soccer, volleyball, basketball, handball, and activities where they can experience the Gospel of Jesus.
They were able to paint, rebuild walls, put up new walls, lay cement floors, work on roofs, as well as host activities for the children, read them stories, make crafts, and play with them. But they received as much as they gave, as they experienced the hospitality, affection, and care of each family that welcomed them in. One team member said, “We have witnessed the faithfulness of this church family, we have witnessed genuine love, we have witnessed how the love of Christ, no matter what language it is, is something real and constant in their lives as in ours.”
The second phase of the trip took place about 250 miles away in the university city of Joao Pessoa, a place where the church in Piancó saw a need and who has expressed an interest in starting a Globalscope ministry. The team spent their days exploring the possibilities and talking with as many people as they could.
They wanted to host an event for students while they were there and as the group was on a prayer walk, they stopped at a small food establishment at the university and were welcomed by a person who miraculously offered her space to do it. And, 24 hours later, the group was joined by more than 50 students who had received an invitation no more than 2 hours before. They said, “We shared a delicious meal, we played a language trivia game that brought us closer together culturally, and the best thing, we made friendships that would last a long time.”
The next day the team visited a group of young people from the Joao Pessoa Baptist Church, where they were able to lead the worship, give their testimonies, share the vision of Globalscope, cook, lead games, and learn more about Brazilian culture and the Church. They also had a meeting with 12 pastors from different Brazilian churches who gave them encouragement and a good perspective on the future of Globalscope in Brazil.
Before the trip, the Proyecto La Paz team made a list of their dreams, fears, and desires and gave them to God. We are eagerly waiting to hear from God if Brazil is a place where we can take Globalscope and continue reaching university students for Christ.