While many short-term mission trips do involve going to another country and often take place during school or work holidays, the goal is not for participants to have fun, per se. Rather, it’s a “taste of missions,” Debora described. “You can discover that you have a calling there or you can mobilise your church when you come back.”

Short-term missions on repeat

OMer Cynthia Hansen, who does finances for OM Brazil, first experienced missions on a short-term trip to Guatemala with OM. She spent time sharing the gospel in schools and poor communities, supporting a medical outreach by organising supplies and distributing donated shoes to children in need.

“After I came back from the first trip, I was certain [missions] was what God had for me,” Cynthia related. “I liked my job, but after my experience in missions, I didn’t see the meaning of working there.”

Her parents, however, did not want Cynthia to pursue full-time missions. Instead, they counselled her to finish university, get a car, buy a house. Obediently, Cynthia did what her parents asked. She also continued taking short-term mission trips during her vacations—twice to Guatemala and once to Bolivia.

Eventually, she stopped working altogether and used the severance pay from her job to finance her missions training at OM Brazil. Cynthia had hoped to serve overseas, but lacking financial support, she instead applied her skills to the OM office in São Jose dos Campos for a season.

Short-term trips “change how you feel about missions, how you understand missions. Even if you don’t start doing [long-term] missions right away, you are not the same. You feel very motivated to mobilise the church…. There are opportunities to be involved, even not being a full-time missionary,” she said.

Spreading excitement at home

The most exciting thing about short-term missions is seeing “youth be involved and also understand their calling to be part of missions,” said Simone Aragao, another member of the OM Brazil short-term coordinating team. “I’m really sure that God can talk with them [on the trip]. Sometimes they don’t want to go back again to the field, but they really would like to motivate the church to be involved.”

For the churches, short-term missions trip participants bring the idea of missions closer to home. Usually, when churches hear about missionaries, they are “far from their daily life,” Deborah explained. When short-term participants return home, however, churches can see results straight a way.

Lukas, a youth pastor, travelled to Serbia on a short-term missions trip in December 2016. One month later, he emailed Deborah. “I need a trip for some teenagers in my church,” he announced. “When I went back to my church and talked about what I did, my church went crazy… My teenagers want to have this experience, too!”

Balkans project

In 2016, OM Brazil sent about 40 participants on short-term mission trips. In 2017, they launched the Balkans project, designed to send youth from Latin America on an eight-month trip to one of seven strategic countries.

Gisele Pereira, who spent nine years in Bosnia, affirmed Brazilians’ suitability to serve in the Balkans. “It’s a warm culture. They love talking and being together all the time…. It’s very similar in this way,” she described.

Despite the challenge of first-year communication (Gisele used two dictionaries: Bosnian-English and English-Portuguese to talk to her hostess), Gisele saw God answer prayers for the Bosnian people.

Once, after her hostess became violently sick after mistakenly eating a four-day-old hardboiled egg, Gisele offered mild stomach medicine from Brazil and prayed for the lady. Ten minutes later, the woman had dramatically improved.

“Wow, this medicine was amazing! Can you ask your friends in Brazil to send this medicine to me?” the lady asked Gisele.

“It was very hard to explain to her, but I tried [to tell her] I prayed, because this medicine was nothing,” Gisele recalled.

“Wow, your God is a very strong God,” the woman responded.

The short-term team hopes to use the Balkans Project to mobilise Brazilians as well as youth from across Latin America. “They are very similar to us, and we would like to have more people from our area go there,” Gisele stated. “We have a great potential to go out.”

Pray for the short-term team at OM Brazil to connect with youth interested in missions. Pray that short-term missions participants across Latin America would return to fields in long-term capacities and motivate their churches towards greater involvement in international missions.

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

“Our goal is to train young people and [others] to be leaders and to go and to make a difference,” said CTM Director Nelia Leal.

Some students arrive at CTM with little to no Bible knowledge, “but they have a heart to do missions. They have a heart to see others, to help others,” she explained. CTM covers topics such as Biblical foundation for missions, anthropology, cultural studies, personal identity and purpose in order to prepare Brazilians for their time overseas.

“CTM is not just training; it’s life,” Nelia emphasised. “It’s living in a community; it’s learning to give and to give up things, learning to be humble, learning to live with other people and [learning] to respect and be respected. It’s not just teaching them about other cultures, but it’s everyday living.”

During the CTM programme, all the students live on campus. Each semester, they experience “moments where it’s not easy to live in a community,” Nelia noted. “It’s not easy to respect others sometimes. That is in itself is God’s teaching: to love others. And if you can do that here, you can do that outside.”

Impact on the field

Vitor and Ivanir Christovam attended CTM before serving in Moldova for five and half years. At the time, the training looked slightly different—participants spent three months on the OM Brazil base and two months on a short-term outreach outside the country.

“From our perspective, it made all the difference,” Vitor recalled. “[Everything] we had in class, it was good, but especially the practical time because we had some good experiences about how to live together with a team and how to share things…how to work together and to share leadership.”

As Vitor and Ivanir included their two children during their short-term experience in Paraguay, they were able to transition well as a family to life overseas. “When we arrived in Moldova, we could see the benefit of our first experience out of Brazil,” Vitor recalled. “We asked the kids, 'Do you remember Paraguay? How we worked there with the difficulties, with the situation, without understanding everything?’ Here in Moldova, it will be like what we had there.”

“Training is very important, especially if we have not only theory but also practice,” he concluded.

For Evie Costa*, an OMer serving in North Africa, the most important aspect of CTM was “knowing more about ourselves,” that is, recognising that travelling to another country neither makes a person stand out nor earns them special attention.

Humility, love and eagerness to learn – qualities necessary during CTM – become even more essential on the mission field. “You need a lot of love to go out and speak a language you don’t know, to try to understand a culture you don’t know and to try to express things in a way that won’t offend others,” she explained.

“Be prepared to accept the differences, to think, my culture’s not better and not worse than any others. Just different,” she challenged other Brazilians pursuing missions. “Have that open mind and have the desire to learn.”

Current class

CTM is often a time of character correction, Nelia observed. “If there’s anything in your life that you’re either hiding or don’t want to deal with it, somehow God does that here: He brings things up to the surface. Sometimes right from the beginning with the mission training. Sometimes not until they come back to do English, but I think it’s a time where God [deals] with everything in people’s lives, so they are more prepared to go overseas and to be a missionary, to really understand that ‘I’m here to serve; I’m here to bless; I’m here to tell others about Jesus.’”

Three weeks into her five-month training, Jemima Bessa, a participant in the January 2017 CTM, said, “Every day I learned something that I needed to change about me, to be a better [servant] of God and daughter of Him and to other people as well. I need to improve things and to be a better person.”

Priscilla Neves, another participant who quit her job to join OM, said, “I know that I have so many things to learn about the Bible, about the ministries, about the others. Living with each one is so different…I hope that in about [five] months, I will go out of here a better person and prepared to go to the mission. And I know that here I will be prepared.”

Trained to serve others

Rafael Bertolino, former mobilisation coordinator and OM ships representative for OM Brazil, said God transformed his life during CTM. “God showed me a lot of things I didn’t know about myself before,” he explained. Before CTM Rafael felt pressure to be the best and perform well, but he never realised the root of pride behind his ambition. He also learnt to live in community, even when it’s difficult. “I think it was important to have this training before going to missions because I felt much more prepared than if I had just jumped in,” he explained.

Gabriel Guedes, who completed CTM in 2015, valued his time at the OM base as a period of growth and defining his calling. The teaching on mentoring especially provided “a freedom to grow in ministry and leadership,” he said.

“It’s a very good training,” stated Marina Christovam, who participated in a 2016 CTM. “They have very good topics that can change your point of view about many things. It helps a lot. If someone wants to go to another country, if someone has a calling for missions, it’s very important to do this training because you go prepared to another place.”

After CTM, Marina began viewing life differently: “I started to understand why God created us, why God created the world and that I need to live for Him. Life is not about me, but it’s about Him.”

“Now I am sure that [missions] is something that I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Pray that OM Brazil will find a new leader for CTM, as Nelia transitions in July. Pray for more students to attend the training, so that OM Brazil can expand its resources and facilities. Pray for the current students to dig deep and allow God to transform their lives through their months living in community and learning about missions.

*Name changed for security

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

Loud parties, spontaneous visits, physical touch, ever-changing plans and, above all, a food-centred culture—the descriptions work as well in Brazil as they do in North Africa, according to Livia. And, unlike others from reserved, time-oriented cultures who have to adjust to such cultural differences, those aspects of life don’t phase her a bit.

Making friendships in the Muslim world has not been difficult in Livia’s experience. “It’s been really amazing, especially to see how our Father brings each one of them into my life,” she said.

Western Asia

Caroline* spent three and a half years in Western Asia. When she first moved to her host country, she encountered bits of her childhood in the culture. “My parents were very strict about clothes, so for me, it was not so hard [to adjust],” she shared. She had to get used to wrapping a headscarf, hijab, around her face before going out in public, but other behaviours—children obeying their parents, families fostering close relationships—reminded her of home.

“We are a very warm people. We like to hug and talk, so it’s easier to make relationships, to make friends with people,” she described. “Brazilians, like Western Asians, [value] family, being together, eating together, talking… Ladies can hug ladies; they like this very much.”

In the host country, Caroline met one of her closest friends, Shima*, at language class. Half German, Shima had grown up in Europe but moved to Western Asia after marrying her husband. As the two ladies chatted before and after class, they discovered Shima’s husband worked near Caroline’s bus stop. Shima’s husband had been dropping her off and picking her up every day, but after meeting with Caroline, he agreed to let his wife ride the bus with her new friend.

One of the first times Shima ventured onto the bus with Caroline, she suddenly felt sick between stops and needed to get off. “At the time, I didn’t know exactly where we were because I didn’t know the city, but I said, ‘Ok, I will be with you,’ and then I stayed with her until she felt good.”

They called Shima’s husband, who picked them up. For Shima, Caroline’s presence that day was proof of friendship. When Shima later stopped going to language school, Caroline began visiting her at home.

Eventually, Shima went to Germany for two months to visit her family. When she returned, she met up with Caroline and said, “Please talk to me about Jesus. I had Christian friends when I lived in Germany, but I never cared about Jesus. Now, after I met you, because you really cared about me, I want to know about Jesus.”

In fact, Shima had purchased a Bible in the local language while in Europe. Her husband’s family were religious Muslims. Even though her husband did not practice his faith, as the oldest son, he refused to contradict his father’s beliefs. Still, he allowed Shima to meet with Caroline, and he even helped his wife read the Bible when she asked him for help translating.

After reading the Bible and studying with Caroline, Shima believed in Jesus. Her decision was dangerous in light of the country she lived in and her husband’s family, but Shima persisted. “Next time I go to Germany, I will be baptised,” she told Caroline.

Middle East

Sophia* lived in the Near East for two and a half years. “When I was living there, I didn’t feel like it was my culture. We have a lot of freedom here [in Brazil] as women: we can do whatever we want, and we can wear whatever we want,” she said quickly. After pausing for a few minutes, though, she modified her opinion, offering some similarities between her home and host countries. “Maybe in hospitality, maybe the way that we talk. In the Near East, we spend a lot of time together talking and eating and drinking coffee. Maybe these things are like our culture,” she mused.

In fact, Sophia spent a lot of time with local women, visiting them, talking to them, drinking coffee and sharing her faith. “My role was to be with them, to try to make friends and, through our friendship, share faith,” she described.

Sophia met one of her good friends, Hala*, on the street. She asked Hala for directions and discovered that she spoke English. Sophia invited Hala to an English-speaking meeting not far from where they were, but Hala declined. “I cannot say what I think,” she said.

“You can say whatever you want,” Sophia reassured her. “We can just talk.”

“I feel like I can trust you,” Hala replied.

“You can,” Sophia said.

“I pray to Jesus.”

Sophia hugged Hala and said, “You are my sister.” They exchanged phone numbers and started meeting once a week to study the Bible.

“We spent a lot of time talking about Jesus, about faith, about her life,” Sophia shared. “Actually, she’s not a believer… She doesn’t understand Jesus as Saviour, but I can see that God is working in her life, and she’s open to the study the Bible and talk about it.”

Hanan*, another local friend, told Sophia about the many challenges in her life. “I have this feeling in my heart that I want to be different. I want to be born again,” Hanan shared.

“What?” Sophia asked.

“I have this feeling I want to be born again,” Hanan repeated. “What do you think about that?”

Sophia told Hanan how she could be born again through Jesus. Hanan listened to everything and met with Sophia multiple times. “I also believe God is working in her life. I believe she’s open,” Sophia said.

Before she left the Near East, Sophia met with a third Arab friend. “I really wanted to give her a Bible, but I didn’t know what she would think about that,” Sophia remembered.

So she invited her friend to a party and presented her gift. “You are really special to me,” Sophia said, “and because you are very special, I want to give you the best I have in my life.”

Her friend took the Bible and responded, “I know now that you love me because I know this is special to you.”

Not the same but similar

With the new global vision of creating vibrant communities of Jesus followers among the least reached, OM Brazil wants to mobilise Brazilians to go to the Muslim world. “It’s not the same, Arabic culture and Brazilian culture,” Sophia said, “But we have some similarities.”

“We like to spend time together; we like to talk; we are relational people. It takes some time for us to understand and adjust to this new culture, but the things we have in common help us to learn some aspects of this new culture, [which] also helps us to adjust and share our faith,” she continued. “Most of the Brazilians are not afraid to share… They are open. It’s easier for them approach people and talk to them.”

“It’s not easy to learn another language,” Sophia admitted. But “to share with people and to be with them, this is very easy because we do that all the time. We are always together.”

Pray for many Brazilians to be mobilised into missions amongst Muslims. Pray for those living in least-reached parts of the world to have open hearts, establish deep friendships and have opportunity to share their faith in Jesus.

*Name changed for security

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

As an American who's studied English, taught English and learnt foreign languages, I understand the language learning process from the perspective of both student and teacher. During my time travelling with and writing for OM, I’ve interviewed workers from almost every continent--unfortunately, I haven’t met anyone from Antarctica yet--and have had teammates from Germany, Denmark, Panama and Mexico. With few exceptions, my conversations with OMers serving outside their home countries have all been in English.

It wasn’t until I had been immersed in OM culture for more than two years, though, that I realised how much effort non-native English speakers exert to blend into OM’s international culture. In the Near East, my Spanish-speaking teammates and I all attended Arabic classes, but I took for granted the fact that the class language was English.

There’s nothing easy about Arabic, but I didn’t think twice about the English curriculum. For many prospective OMers, though, taking the good news of Jesus overseas requires learning not one but two new languages.

English Short Course

OM Brazil is well aware of the linguistic challenges many Brazilians face when they join OM teams overseas. In fact, the second part of OM Brazil’s CTM missions training programme, the English Short Course (ESC) requires one to three language modules, depending on skill, so students “can leave here with a good level of English, where they can go and use the language and not struggle too much,” explained CTM director and former English teacher Nelia Leal.

ESC’s setup models many other intensive language programmes. Students take 15 hours of lessons a week, three hours a day, and spend the rest of their time completing homework and studying.

“I know you’re going to be tired; I know you’re going to have headaches. Drink lots of water. But you will learn because of the blessing and power of the Holy Spirit,” Nelia likes to assure students.

“And we’ve seen that,” she confirmed. “I’ve been here for seven years. I’ve seen people arriving and struggling, but at the end, you can see victory. I love that.”

When I first met Fernanda Diaz* from Brazil in North Africa, we chatted easily in English. I was surprised to find out she’d only studied for 11 months—five in Brazil and six in the UK, where she'd lived for eight months—before she moved to her current host country and began studying Arabic. In her case, English was critical, not only for team life but also for classes. “I learned Arabic through English. There is no Portuguese-Arabic, just English-Arabic,” she explained.

“The Latin people don’t put focus on English. I was like them,” she continued. But her foray into missions changed her mind. “Language is important. If you don’t have good English, you are going to struggle.”

Student stories

On base at OM Brazil, I wandered into Ruan and Thamyres’ English class. Ruan, headed for South Africa, had been studying for five months. Thamyres, who planned to join the OM Ships ministry, had joined him the month prior. The questions I asked them were not questions I would have normally posed to first-year students. But with translators on hand, I pressed ahead.

“What did God teach you personally during the missions training?” I asked.

“To trust Him because we suffer many, many problems for money and support. And God does a miracle for me. I don’t have faith in Him, but this faith grows, and I’m so happy because I’m believing in Him so much now,” Thamyres responded.

“Before I came to OM Brazil, I was more shy,” Ruan said. “I always had difficulty for having conversation with people I never met. For preaching, I always had this difficulty, but after I came to OM, God changed this.”

The words and the tenses may not have been 100 per cent correct, but I was astounded that two students with so little study could confidently answer my questions in English. And God had truly changed Ruan—instead of shying away from conversations with new people, he was talking to a stranger in English!

Later that afternoon, Eduardo and Beatriz Azavedo* were just finishing their beginning English class when I entered the classroom. The topic of the day had been “personal information”—the kind of details universally required for visa applications and immigration cards.

I asked them to write down their names in English, then requested, via translator, to hear the story of why the middle-aged couple, parents of two teenage daughters, would quit their jobs to start a journey that would eventually require learning two new languages.

Both Eduardo and Beatriz had pastored a church that lacked a vision for missions. Slowly the couple became convinced they needed to go deeper into what God was calling them to. Beatriz took a trip to Egypt through the Baptist church. Afterwards, Eduardo travelled with her to the Near East (an OM field consisting of Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria). “Then we understood that we needed to be in missions,” Beatriz summarised.

Based on Beatriz’s Lebanese heritage, the couple decided to work with Arab people. Pursuing God’s call to missions dramatically affected the family’s lifestyle: They left their big house, sold their car, transferred their daughters to a public school, enrolled in OM Brazil’s training programme and started learning English. “For us, it’s difficult to understand English or another language because we are not young,” Eduardo admitted. “We have to put more effort into understanding another language.”

Still, they decided to press on. In the fall, they plan to go to England to continue learning English, and the family hopes to move to the Near East in early 2018. Through the entire process, Beatriz said, “We learned to rely on God. The direction [for our lives] is from Him, and He takes care of us better than we take care of ourselves.”

God-sent teacher

Liliane Nascimento had recently established her career as an English teacher when she understood God’s calling to missions. “But God, I need to get married. But God, I need to finish university. But God, what about my career?” she prayed.

For almost five months she wrestled with the Lord, finally quitting her job in 2012 to start the training programme at OM Brazil. Then she joined the OM Ship Ministry for two years.

When she returned to Brazil, Liliane felt God leading her to invest in her career again—this time for His kingdom, not only to earn money. Obediently, Liliane took a course to teach English to foreigners as a second language. One day, on a visit to the OM base, she talked to Nelia about ESC.

“Are you coming back here to teach?” Nelia inquired.

Liliane hadn’t been planning on the position, but she realised God had opened the door for her to teach English at OM starting January 2017. “I didn’t have to give up what I liked to do,” she explained. “Actually God brought it back into my life to use for Him.”

The intensity of the class--and the subsequent difficulties students face--is similar to other courses, Liliane described. “We use the same books and talk about the same topics.”

However, the students’ motivation and the rate at which they progress exponentially outshines outcomes at “regular” language schools, she said. In addition, Liliane creates extra curriculum so students can operate in English on a spiritual level as well as communicate everyday topics.

“They memorise Bible verses, they learn how to share the gospel, how to pray in English…They learn to share their testimony, they read books, they watch videos, they learn [worship] songs—things that they will encounter, so they are prepared,” Liliane stated.

Her role as an English teacher directly impacts students’ ability to create vibrant communities of Jesus followers wherever they go.

“Once the students know English and feel confident to speak, they feel the world is limitless. There are no boundaries. They can go wherever they want. They can talk to whoever they want to talk to,” Liliane said. “They won’t be shy or afraid to share the gospel because [they] don’t know how to say, ‘God loves you,’ in English. They know.”

*Name changed for security

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

She set four plates on the table, for herself plus the three visitors in the kitchen. By the time the meal was prepared, she added two more plates—her husband, Vitor, and another friend were due home from church any minute.

After the six people finished their first round of hamburgers, the front door opened. Ivanir and Vitor expected their daughter, Marina, and a friend, to join the ever-expanding dinner table. But four young people trailed into the kitchen. Ten people sitting around the table originally set for four.

“I love it,” Ivanir exclaimed, referencing her full house. “I am such a mom.”

Move to missions

In fact, the couple’s move to missions coincided with starting a family. The church Ivanir and Vitor attend as a newly married couple hosted an annual missions service. That year, they had invited a pastor from OM to speak about missions. “God touched my heart, and I couldn’t stay in the chair. I said, ‘OK, God, I am here. Send me. I want to go where you want.’” Ivanir remembered. At the time, Marina was one and half years old, and Ivanir was pregnant with their son, João Vitor.

After the Christovams felt called to missions, they waited six years before joining OM Brazil’s training programme in 2004. There, one of the leaders shared about needs in three countries: Moldova, Kazakhstan and Iran. “Moldova is a nice place for a family to work. I think you can pray for this country,” he suggested.

Vitor and Ivanir took his advice and began praying for and investigating the country. When they told Vitor’s father about the possibility, he said, “Wow, this is the country where my mom and dad (Vitor’s grandparents) came from!”

“It was a nice coincidence, and we started to pray more,” Ivanir said. But when they finished their training at OM Brazil, they didn’t have enough money to go to the field. At the last minute, the Christovams received a donation from another OM field, in addition to the money from their church. They sold their car and some furniture, and in 2005, they packed four bags and headed to Moldova.

Unofficial ministry titles: Mom and Dad

Vitor and Ivanir spent four and half years in Moldova with varying official roles. Their “unofficial ministry” was member care. Ivanir counselled Moldovan girls about living in community and talked to young Global Action participants from around the world who needed help living as a team. “My job was to be the mom there,” she said.

Vitor and Ivanir became parents to the many Moldovans and foreigners who spent time at their house. “They called us mãe and pai,” mom and dad in Portuguese, Vitor said. “Many Moldovans said that we, Brazilians, we were very familiar for them. Maybe that’s why our house was always full of guests… Almost every day we had someone in the house!”

Food was a common tie between cultures. “In other cultures, sometimes, people don’t spend much time in the kitchen. In Europe, it’s normal to be more practical. They put it in the freezer and put it in the microwave, and in five minutes it’s all ready. In Moldova, they like to cook—to pick each [ingredient] and put it together, and it takes time to prepare. It’s like that in Brazil, too. We like to prepare the food.”

Each night, the Christovams lingered around the table long after dinner. “We like this place more than the living room,” Ivanir explained. “Here we talk, here we eat, here we pray together. We do almost everything together here. And Moldovans are the same. Maybe it’s everything about food. It made our relationship easier. It was very, very easy for us to love the people and to be loved as well.”

Brazilians enjoy spending time together and talking. “For us, it’s easy to stay with the people and talk about [their] heart, to start a deep conversation,” Ivanir said. “I think it’s natural; it’s a gift from our nation.”

It was also the Christovam’s joy.

Home away from home

Sometimes the field leader asked individuals on the team, who were struggling with various issues, to spend time living with a family. “All the time they chose our family,” Ivanir described. “Until now, we have friends from all over the world. This is our natural ministry.”

“I think it is important because when people are in other countries, they don’t have mom and dad. They don’t have family, and then I think they need a place that they feel comfortable… They need to feel like home,” she shared. “My family is a family that can receive other people.”

Because OM fields require different amounts of training, some individuals arrived on the field without sufficient preparation. One young lady from Eastern Europe joined a ministry team in the southern part of Moldova while the Christovams were living in the country. “We saw that she was not very well [emotionally] when she arrived there, and after a few months, we had to go and take her off the team,” Vitor recalled.

The field leader was out of the country on furlough, and the interim leader didn’t know how to help. “If you don’t mind, we will take her home and take care of her,” the Christovams offered.

In the beginning of her time in the Christovam home, the worker couldn’t even listen to the Romanian language, so Vitor and Ivanir spoke English to her. “We started listening to all the problems and the issues she was passing through, giving her space and time and praying for her, and God did everything to heal her.”

After two weeks, she returned to her ministry.

Another young lady from Western Europe also needed help dealing with emotional and spiritual issues. She asked the field leader directly if she could stay with the Christovams. For 10 days, they welcomed her into their family, again listening and praying. “I think we also helped her to get better,” Ivanir said. “God used us to open the door and to receive and to listen to people.”

Besides these two “intensive cases,” the Christovams regularly invited people into their home to talk. “We are sure this treatment makes a difference, just to be friendly, to listen to them, to be ready to receive them,” Ivanir stated. “Not to say, ‘No, today I am cleaning the house.’ If I am cleaning, you can help me clean. Come in.”

Before going to Moldova, Ivanir wasn’t sure how God could use her on the mission field. There she learnt God could use her natural ability to care for people to spread His word. “I didn’t talk about the gospel with people in Moldova. Our ministry was to take care of the missionaries who work there.”

Experience and opportunity

In January 2017 Vitor and Ivanir launched into their new role: member care for Latin America. “Of course, we are going to be prepared with [people care] courses, but in practical ways we have learnt [in Moldova] how to take care of people from different cultures,” Vitor said.

Ivanir agreed. “God showed us, in missions, you can take care of My people that I called.”

Pray for Vitor and Ivanir as they adapt to their new role in people care for Latin America. Pray that God continues to guide them and provide for their practical needs.

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

But by the second year, the boys had improved their football skills. They had also learned about Jesus.

Agape FC, the football club in Brazil’s Jardim Telespark, started over two years ago as a way for former professional player and OMer Mafe Campos to share Jesus’ love with the community. Today, the project provides tri-weekly trainings for around 150 six- to 17-year-old boys. A volunteer shares a devotion at each practice.

“Since the beginning I told them that the only reason I was there was to talk about Jesus,” Mafe emphasised. She explained to the boys, “We want to share with you things that have changed our lives, transformed our lives…Jesus can do this here as well.”

Agape trainings alternate between two courts, both located in a gritty neighbourhood. The area is nearly a favela, or slum, Mafe said, but a mix of wealthy families also live alongside those who can’t afford food. During practices, drug dealers occasionally congregate near the court.

“This is the reality that some of the kids have here,” she stated. “We just try to show them another way. We try to show them that God can change their lives—not where they live but how they deal with all of this.”

Prayer and Bible study

During initial trainings, the boys squirmed around during the prayer time on the court. After a few months, however, some of the younger players started volunteering to pray.

At the first practice of the club’s third season, following an energetic warm-up, the 13- to 19-year-old boys huddled together to pray, illuminated by tall lights, bright against the darkening sky. Acknowledging God’s work in their lives—now a natural part of practice—has extended beyond the football court.

Many of the boys come from a Catholic background, but most grow out of the religious activities parents mandate for younger children, Mafe said.

Last year she and another volunteer started an off-the-court discipleship group at a nearby church to study the Bible. That boys showed up “was a surprise for me,” Mafe admitted. “They come [to the court] and listen to us reading the Bible, but afterwards they know they’re going to play, so there’s a lot of motivation. But when I saw they’re just going to church to learn about God, this is what we want.”

The discipleship group covered different topics than the boys had learned through their early experiences at the Catholic church. “They had a lot of questions,” Mafe described. Despite the community’s strong denominational background, the Agape volunteers did not encounter resistance.

One of the mothers told Mafe, “My son doesn’t like to go to the Catholic church with me. I have to beg him to go. But every Monday, I see him getting his Bible and going to this Bible study with you. I like this. I thank you [for] what you are doing for my kids.”

Michael’s story

Michael, 19, was one of the first boys to join Agape FC.

There’s not a lot to do in the community, he said. “I grew up in a really hard environment with drugs and alcohol…but I never wanted to be involved in all of that.”

So, when Mafe started kicking balls around the neighbourhood court, Michael recognised the football programme as a positive place to spend time.

“I learned a lot with Agape,” he shared. “I learned about God, I learned with the boys. I learned about life and how to respect others, no matter if you are rich or poor, white or black.… I learned about Jesus and how to be firm [in my faith] and to give a good testimony to my family.”

“It’s been really great to see how God’s working in his life,” Mafe enthused. Through the football and discipleship programme, “he became a Christian, got baptised, and now he’s one of the teachers. He’s helping us a lot here, and he’s from the community, so it’s kind of an example for the other boys.”

Michael’s wish for Agape this year? “To win tournaments,” he answered without hesitation.

He also wanted to learn more about God and share the changes in his life. “I want to focus on Jesus more,” he said.

Commitment and change

To join Agape FC, the boys need to sign a contract of conduct, which includes no swearing. They also have to commit to showing up for trainings and staying on top of school work. “If they’re not doing well [at school], they don’t play games with us,” Mafe explained.

Everything else—balls, clothes and transportation—came from donations. “We are trying to get another donation to buy balls and bibs,” Mafe said, gesturing to the well-worn balls gathered along the chain-link fence edging the dusty blue-green court. In between plays, the boys pass off torn jerseys haphazardly held together with an assortment of knots.

One of the most recent donations, a pair of neon soccer shoes for every boy, showed less signs of use. Only two-thirds of the boys wore them to training, many preferring to play barefoot instead.

“We have seen God do a lot of miracles here,” Mafe stated. “It’s a good testimony for [the boys]. We share everything with them. ‘We didn’t have [something], but now we have because God touched someone’s hearts to give to us. God is looking [out] for us.’”

To get to weekly tournaments during the five- to six-month season, Mafe and another volunteer arranged (and sometimes financed) transportation. Last year, a particular tournament’s high entry fee would have prevented the Agape team from participating, but the parents pitched in to pay. “They are getting involved in this as well. It’s really nice to see,” Mafe noted.

This year, Mafe is passing off Agape leadership to a church member and football enthusiast from the community. His church embraced the project and subsequently started a new church plant in the community as a result of Agape FC.

“I know this project has helped us build a bridge to share with [the boys], to be with them. It’s amazing, to see what God is doing,” Mafe said. “I’m dreaming that they have a different life than their families and get to know Jesus, be transformed by Him and find life and purpose in Him.”

Agape FC started as an OM Sportslink ministry in 2015. In 2017, a local church took ownership of the project. Mafe will train the new leader through the transition. Pray for God to continue to provide needs for Agape FC. Pray for the new leadership of the project to be sensitive to God’s voice and continue His work among the boys. Pray that the new church started in the neighbourhood will develop into a vibrant community of Jesus followers that will change their surroundings.

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

“A lot of things happen during the one day. We are not able to see everything” that goes on, Helen explained. Nonetheless, from her perspective as organiser and journalist, “we did all the things we were supposed to do, and then we came back. It was a nice event.”

Months later, another OM worker returned to the church to follow up with a different ministry opportunity. Whilst connecting with church leadership, she asked how the previous event, ArtsXpress, had gone.

Using the Portuguese expression “divisor de águas” (dividing the waters), meaning ‘before and after,’ the pastor explained that the ArtsXpress training had totally changed the mind-set of the church. “We felt more motivated to use our talents, not to hide them. The teens saw that they can dance; they can have a group. The musicians, they were challenged that they can write songs; they can glorify the Lord with their talents,” he said.

Arts as mobilisation

Helen and her husband, Rafa Santino, started Artespaço, OM Brazil’s art ministry, five years ago. From photography to painting to dance to theatre and even circus, the couple have pioneered arts events to engage and mobilise young, creative evangelicals throughout the country.

“Usually young people think about missions as something where you have to leave everything, be a poor person and live in a bad place or it’s just for people who have a specific call,” Helen explained. “We started to have this challenge inside of us that we have to share a different way of doing missions for young people.”

Artespaço’s arts camps, weekend trips, monthly courses and other events are geared toward young people, mainly 12 to 30 years old—many who have never heard of OM or considered missions. “They are probably not ready now to come to [missions] training, but we are planting a seed for the future.”

Rafa, Helen and other volunteers hope to invest in young artists, give them tools to develop their talents and offer opportunities to apply arts in global missions.

Artespaço events take place at the OM base or at churches around Brazil. “We are working with the church that is already established in a place, so we are helping this church to be more expressive and learn how to be more involved with their own community. With that, we want to open their minds to see what’s happening around the world,” Helen said. “We’re not just going there and helping them save their neighbors, but showing them how to use their talents and to send people to other countries.”

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

“O,” he called out, as the group circled their arms high in the air. “M,” he continued, as they lowered their arms. “Now you’ll never forget the organisation where I serve.”

A personal touch

As a church mobiliser for OM Brazil, Rafael’s goal goes deeper than having people simply remember “OM”; rather, he’d like to see hundreds get involved with the Great Commission. Still, people cannot be sent if their pastors are not on board.

“We have realised that we go to churches, we talk about missions and everyone wants to go, but then the pastors stop [the process], so we are trying to focus on the pastors now,” Rafael explained.

Some, like Pastor Ademir Machado of New Alliance Baptist Church in Indaiatuba, have caught the vision. His church’s ministerial focus is to develop members’ callings through small group discipleship, and “in addition to that we have a priority to witness Jesus everywhere, especially among those who have difficulty accessing the gospel,” he said.

To that end, the church has sent people, past and present, to the mission field with OM. “I am very grateful to OM for being a channel of blessing in the missionary life of our church,” Pastor Ademir expressed.

However, having met with over 100 pastors during his two-year term serving in mobilisation, Rafael said most church leaders do not prioritise overseas missions.

One reason for reluctance is the generational gap, explained Pastor Humberto Maia Argao, a former field leader of OM Brazil. “A few pastors are young, but most of them are my age, 62, and they have never been outside [Brazil]. They don’t know much about missions,” he explained.

Furthermore, “they cannot trust that a little office without [many] resources…can mobilise the church in Brazil,” he suggested.

Pastor Alcir Garcia Ramos of Memorial Baptist Church in Inhoaiba first heard of OM when his daughter began volunteering at the São José dos Campos office. His church prioritises preaching the gospel, participating in world and national missions and engaging in social work within their community.

“We are already involved with missionary agencies of the Baptist denomination in Brazil,” he explained. “Even though we are a small church, with 40 people, we contribute considerably.” Introducing a new organisation to his congregation – especially OM, which is unknown in the Rio de Janeiro region – and finding additional financial resources would be difficult.

To counter these perceptions, OM must form solid relationships with church leadership across the country, Pastor Humberto stressed. “Brazilians, they like personal touch. We love to see people talking to us. I believe as the church in Brazil, we need to see more relationships between mission agencies and churches.”

Churches in Brazil “need help to understand their own context and to understand the world,” he added, but “it’s a matter of information from a friend...That’s why for me it’s very important to have guys like Rafael, who know the heart of a pastor and the heart of a missionary.”

50 million and growing

According to OM Brazil, in 2010 there were 97.5 million evangelicals in Latin America, with nearly 50 million of those in Brazil. They project that number rising to over 100 million for Brazilian evangelicals by 2020.

“I believe, theologically speaking and also as growth is concerned, that Brazil is one of the top countries today,” confirmed Pastor Humberto. “What we need is to have relevance to the things we do in missions. The church wants to see today from [people] who can facilitate the ministry in mission for the church.”

To build relationships and mobilise Brazilian churches, OM partnered with Global Focus to host a seminar on the OM campus in São José dos Campos in March 2017. Global Focus aims to empower local churches for global impact. Practically, that means “we walk with them for a whole year, and through this year, the church will see [members] become more involved with them [locally], but the church will also see the importance of missions globally, and we will offer them a lot of opportunities with OM,” Rafael explained.

While some relationships between OM and churches must be fostered over time, others spring up instantly. At a meeting of Brazilian pastors, Rafael shared about the OM Ships ministry. Afterwards, a pastor came up to the OM staff and invited them to share at his church. “When we left the meeting, we already had a date set,” Rafael remembered.

When the appointed Wednesday evening service came, Rafael presented OM to a room full of young people. Within a few months, the pastor’s two daughters had joined the ship. “He’s not only opening time in the service for us, but he even sent his two daughters. It was really nice. He’s been a really good partner for us,” Rafael said.

Key characteristics

In addition to increasing numbers of evangelicals in the country, most Brazilians exhibit key characteristics that allow them to thrive in international contexts.

Many young Brazilians join the Ships Ministry after their missions training (CTM) at OM Brazil.

“Normally the feedback we get is that the Brazilians are very adaptable, and they often receive leadership positions,” shared CTM director Nelia Leal. “Latinos are very warm, and they like talking…often they get called to help with other things because of being outgoing.”

“We are really flexible, especially about challenges. If something doesn’t work, it’s ok, let’s try Plan B,” explained a Brazilian OM worker living in North Africa. She has also found similarities between hospitality in her home and host countries: “In our culture, people are more important than duties or your time. So it’s ok to spend three hours on a visit or receive people to your house for a long time or even [have] unexpected visits.”

“The Brazilian church has received so much help throughout the years and now can make the difference,” stated Pastor Ademir. “Our people are relational, and this characteristic can be strategic to reach the world.”

Ten-year time lapse

Last year, Rafael was discouraged, having seen little fruit to his mobilisation efforts. Then he learned from a colleague working in mobilisation for a different organisation that research showed it normally takes ten years from the day someone feels drawn toward missions until the day he or she goes to the field.

When he thought about his own experience, Rafael realised that statistic held true. “My uncle was in a discipleship training with George Verwer. He came back and said something about a ship when I was seven or eight,” Rafael recalled. “God brought to mind the ship, and I googled it when I was 24. But when I actually said, ‘I’m going to missions,’ or at least I felt the calling, I was 14.”

Realising that those joining OM now probably had missions exposure close to a decade ago “was a relief at least,” Rafael said. But in 2017, half of the students attending the January CTM programme at OM Brazil came from churches where Rafael had presented the previous year—“It was an answer from God.”

Pray for OM Brazil to build strong relationships with local churches. Pray that pastors and churches will prioritise global missions and mobilise thousands of Brazilians to take the gospel to the least reached.

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

As millions of people came to Brazil for the Olympics this year, the church united in order to seize the opportunities this event brought.

OM Brazil worked in partnership with “Movimento Braços Abertos” (Open Arms Movement) to gather many churches, mission organisations, and individuals willing to serve from different countries, backgrounds, and cultures with one single goal: to share about Jesus. Together they prepared for months beforehand through training and by making arrangements in order to receive teams from overseas.

As the time came for the games to start, the OM team counted 45 people from 12 different nations coming to work alongside at the Olympics and Paralympics outreaches. They were then split into three teams in order to better serve in the different locations around the city of Rio de Janeiro.

In the words of Mafe Campos, OM Brazil’s Sportslink representative, “God opened so many doors for us to serve, bless, pray, cry, rejoice, love and play in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was a life changing experience.”

The team shared about Jesus using arts, sports and creative evangelism in order to reach people in slums, streets, parks, arenas, and fan zones. It was a great opportunity to connect with a lot of people.

When talking about the impact of their work at these events, Mafe shares the story of a young boy named Andrew. The team met him during the Kids Games in the community of São João. After hearing the Good News of Salvation, he came up to a team member and asked how Christ could be his Saviour. After giving his life to Jesus, the team was able to continue in prayer and conversation with him about the decision he had made.

The team also experienced God opening doors in front of the Maracanã Stadium. There was a huge crowd and the team was gathering to share the gospel with people. As they looked around they saw the police force preparing for their task of protecting the games, and they went over to speak with them. One of the policemen was a believer and called all of his colleagues over so that the team could pray for and share the gospel with them.

Overall the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro brought unity among churches and organisations as well as many open doors for the teams to connect, serve, love and share life with people. OM Brazil trust that the blessings that came out of those weeks will impact a multitude for years to come.

Ulisses* gathers scrap metals to live. Despite his low income, he takes care of his two young sons. He says he doesn’t have many friends.

Both parents shared that despair tried to overtake their minds and hearts, as their families are the most precious gift from God to them. Both were eager for answers and help.

The OM team met Renata and Ulisses during OM Brazil’s recent Arts on the Road project, in partnership with IBNAI church in Indaiatuba, located near São Paulo.

In this project, a group of 30 artists travels to different cities in various states of Brazil, taking the message of Jesus and salvation to those they find in parks and town squares, including Renata and Ulisses.

The artists share about Christ through different activities, such as flash mobs, dance and musical performances with modern songs. For the kids, they offer clowns, balloons and face painting, and through these activities they share the Gospel.

The programme also includes artistic workshops for the local church, focusing on the use of arts to evangelise on the street and mobilise churches.

Volunteers found Renata at the end of the Sunday church service, where the OM Arts drama team performed a play about the story of the prodigal son. Tears rolling down her face showed her need for hope and restoration. Renata expressed thankfulness when the church welcomed her into their midst.

Ulisses expressed gratitude and happiness as he had attended his first Sunday church service after receiving prayer and an invitation from the team in a park. The same day, he signed up his two sons for the child choir at the church.

The IBNAI isn’t the only church that wants to reach beyond their church walls. Others are also ready to host the OM Arts team in the coming months and share God’s love on the streets. The group is excited about hearing more stories of hope and restoration, like Renata’s and Ulisses’.

For more information, contact OM Arts Brazil through email at omarts.br@om.org.

 *Name changed

With an open heart, willing to serve and share God's love through football, OM team members started a futsal ministry in November 2014.

OM Brazil named the project Agape FC. Futsal—a type of football played on a smaller court—was developed in Brazil in the 1930s and 1940s and is still a popular sport in the country.

The neighborhood where OM opened the futsal school is a slum like any other, with drugs, violence and no hope for the future. Nevertheless, OM SportsLink Brazil saw an opportunity.

Through the futsal school, team members aim to reach children and teenagers between 6-16 years old. The goal is to serve the community by offering a healthy activity after school, seeking a practical way to relate to the kids and share about the true Life.

"They feel that we’re trustworthy and that they can put their trust in us to open up and talk about private subjects," said Maria Fernanda Campos (a.k.a. Mafê), sports coordinator at OM Brazil. "They even ask us for advice. And in all this, we have the opportunity to walk together and to teach them according to the Word of God!"

The results speak for themselves. In just a few months of work, around 85 kids from the neighbourhood have joined the project.

"These results show just how impressive the doors are that sport opens," said Mafê. In such a short time, the relationship between coach and players went past the game of football and formed a strong bond between them and their families.

"Our dream is to serve these kids and teenagers with excellence," said Mafê. "We want to promote a healthy environment, to walk together and to see them being transformed by the power of the Gospel that gives life!"

Working with sports is a constant challenge for OM team members. They strive for the best to overcome obstacles on and off the court. Please pray for the project, the work, and the children and their families. Are you interested in joining OM Brazil to reach people through sports? Ask your local OM office for more information.  

More than 600 Brazilians were challenged for missions during the three-day missions event, held from 17-25 July in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, southern Brazil.

"This is an area that we never worked in before," said Simone Aragão, short-term missions coordinator of OM Brazil. "Reaching a new region in our country was a challenge."

The team is convinced, however, that this city, more than any, needs the Gospel. Amongst others, Criciúma is a city that has opened its doors to welcome refugees from many countries, such as Haiti, Senegal and Ghana. Most of them are Muslims.

"This region needs Jesus!" said OM Brazil Director Vitor Christovam.

OM Brazil was invited to challenge churches to go about missions in a practical way. They answered by providing the tools and training for church members to reach people.

Put into practice

Besides encouraging talks from keynote speaker Roberto Façanha, who is the leader of OM in Latin America, participants enjoyed workshops taught by highly qualified people, who shared on topics such as urban missions, sports evangelism, human trafficking, creative evangelism, reaching the Muslim World and OM opportunities.

After the conference, participants were challenged to put things into practice. Over a week, they worked in two underprivileged communities in Criciúma, where drug dealing is very common. The participants helped local churches, worked with children, used sports with Bible principles, had team devotionals, helped in projects with prostitutes and transvestites, performed dramas, hosted kids’ games, used creative evangelism and did much more.

Accepting the call

"As a result, we had many people accepting the call to get involved in missions," said Simone. Amongst them, three young people will attend OM Brazil's 10-month Missions Course for Churches. Other participants signed up for OM Brazil’s six-month, full-time missions training programme, starting in January 2016.

"The church is formed by disciples of Christ who have a vision for sharing the transformation of their lives through the Gospel in their communities, with the love of Christ for the people," said Simone. "The reason we’re not with the Father yet is because of the great task we have in our hands—as the Bible says in Matthew 28:18-20."

“We´re very pleased and full of expectations for this new season at OM Brazil,” he said.

Some of the new workers have worked with OM in other parts of the world, while others are starting their missionary journey, but one thing they have in common is the desire to work hard and to see the seed of the Gospel planted.

“I am very glad and excited to be here, with so many expectations,” said Emanuel Mafra, who graduated last year from OM Brazil’s missionary training. “I hope to serve God and people with my hands and heart, and to honour God with my life in Brazil.”

The OM Brazil team now has 30 workers and four volunteers serving in different areas, such ministry to those living in poverty, medical ministry, evangelism, short-term outreaches, missions training, Freedom Climb, Dalit Freedom Network, AIDS ministry, OM SportsLink and OM Arts. They have special plans for 2015, and with more people involved, the courage and desire to serve God and mobilise the Brazilian church for mission have been renewed.

Praise God for sending new workers to OM Brazil. For information about how you can get involved in the work of OM Brazil, contact your local OM office.  

Apart from the main services, OM team members offered workshops to the participants, which included topics such as the future of evangelism, reaching out to the Muslim community, urban ministries and art in the church.

“All of the seminars were great,” said participants Paula and Sandro Aráujo. “All of them were extremely important. Through the workshop “The Mission for Those Who Stay” we realised how the local church can get involved in a missionary’s calling and how it’s important for us to follow the missions process.”

Outreach

After the three-day conference, eight people stayed for a two-week outreach. They partnered with a local church in São Vicente, a city next to Santos, named Igreja Batista Vila Jóquei.

During the campaign, participants were equipped and challenged to be open to let God use them. Every day they were faced with different challenges, such as leading a church service, finding creative ways to share the gospel at a local market and visiting slums close to the church. Seeing the slums of this community impacted the participants, as they were able to see the reality of life for people there.

Paula and Sandro commented that Global Challenge was an impacting experience. “Besides being challenged by the workshops during the three days, we had the privilege of getting involved with the ministries that the church is carrying out in São Vicente,” they said.

Creative beings

Some of the participants in the outreach remembered the ideas that were shared in the workshop “Creative Evangelism”. “We learnt a few techniques to share the gospel, understanding that God is Creator and has made us creative beings,” said Paula. “We were able to use the resources we already had and transformed them into ways to share God’s love.”

The campaign provided the opportunity for each member to use their gifts and talents to share the love of Christ. The participants went home encouraged, knowing that God can use what they already have to serve in His kingdom.

In April, Gildélia and Ana Lucia joined 43 other women in Nepal to climb he icy tracks of Mount Kala Patthar and Ama Dablam for the Freedom Climb 2013.

These numbers, though, are less significant when compared with the statistics of human trafficking that motivated this team to take the challenge: 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked over borders every year and approximately 27 million people in the world are slaves.

The Freedom Climb project supports ministries that rescue and rehabilitate women and children who are victims of trafficking, slavery, exploitation and oppression.

The purpose of the climb was to be a voice for the voiceless by raising global awareness, prayer and funds. Gildélia and Ana Lucia shared the need amongst people in Brazil and raised money for the cause.

The act of climbing a mountain was symbolic and represented the difficult struggle for freedom that the victims of human trafficking and abuse face. “We want to raise a greater awareness about this matter and pressure the oppressors in order to prevent the growth of this crime,” said Gildélia. “According to the UN, it’s the third most practiced international crime.”

The women hiked along dangerous tracks, through various camps and villages, in high altitudes, battling cold weather and intense physical exertion. They not only represented their homelands in the challenge, but with every step they represented the women and children who are victims of exploitation and human trafficking.

‘Be in one’s shoes’

For Gildélia the experience was foremost to “be in one’s shoes”. “I participated in a symbolic climb, but for women and children at risk, the journey towards freedom is much more painful, cruel and most of the time insurmountable,” she said.

This experience for the participants was deep and meaningful, including for those who remained at the foot of the mountain to pray. After all, more than an adventure on the mountain, these women also faced a spiritual battle, since the purpose was to cry out to God on behalf of the countless victims of human trafficking, declaring their physical and spiritual freedom.

Gildélia and Ana Lucia, like the other participants, had prepared for months. They had been on balanced diets and taken care of their hydration which, according to the guides, was essential to their wellbeing during the hikes. However, no one expected that symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea would affect almost all the participants.

According to Gildélia, through sickness they could experience a little bit of the pain and suffering of trafficked and abused victims. “There were moments of great vulnerability when I could really feel the heavy oppression that these women and children have to deal with,” she said, “and this feeling was shared by each one of us.”

The reward

The Freedom Climb also aims to mobilise people to commit themselves to pray for the cause. When the women returned to the bottom of the mountain, the prayer team shared great news with them: “The local newspaper, in the city of Kathmandu, had printed on the front page an article about the arrest of 10 traffickers who were taking girls for prostitution from Nepal to India,” said Gildélia. “The article was published on the day we reached the highest point of the climb. The joy and praise to God for such amazing news was indescribable.”

The challenges in the mountains, such as cold weather, and physical and emotional exhaustion cannot be compared with the challenges faced by victims of abuse, slavery and oppression as they climb for freedom, say the two Brazilian ladies.

“Step by step, on a path flattened by volunteers, intercessors and sponsors from around the world, the mountain of despair, hopelessness and poverty has been conquered,” said Gildélia. “Daily, these women and children are encouraged by God's saving love, so they have gradually reached the top of this mountain, and have received freedom and new life!”

For more information, contact freedom.climb.br@om.org or visit the Freedom Climb website www.thefreedomclimb.net.

“Christmas is not about receiving, but giving,” said OMer Gildelia Moromisato from Brazil. “Christ was born, lived and died, giving us the greatest gift. His example shows us that Christmas is not about receiving gifts but giving the greatest.”

On 11 December, a group of 80 people gathered in São José dos Campos, Brazil, to celebrate Christmas differently. The attendees came to give, during a fundraising dinner, for those who are captive and have no voice.

Gildelia recently started a Freedom Climb initiative in Brazil. Freedom Climb, a ministry of OM, supports OM projects focused on at-risk women and children, specifically with those who are exploited, enslaved, oppressed and trafficked. The first Freedom Climb took place in January 2012 when 47 women climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. A second Freedom Climb will be held 9-25 April 2013 in Nepal, to Mt. Everest Base Camp.

Gildelia is one of the women planning to climb in Nepal and would like to raise 10,000 US dollars for the projects. “The fundraising dinner was one of the initiatives to reach this goal,” she said.

At one of the tables, a non-Christian man cried while listening to statistics and stories of this sad situation of human trafficking around the world. At the end of the programme he said he was deeply impacted and would like to share about the project with other friends.

“Our desire is to keep in touch with him,” said Gildelia. “Not just for the cause of the Freedom Climb, but for him to find the Saviour of the oppressed as well. It’s like John 8:32 says: ‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (NIV).”

The next Sunday in church, a member came up to her and said, "I always had a dream in my heart to raise funds to help those in need, but I didn’t know how. From the first time I heard about the Freedom Climb I understood it was what I should do. I needed to start the project that God gave me.”

Gildelia feels encouraged. “We closed the Christmas giving event with joy in knowing that God will continue to raise people to share resources, prayers and the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. Christmas is a story of salvation and the Saviour is Jesus. To God be all the glory!”

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” - Luke 19:10 (NIV)

For more information about the Freedom Climb and how you can get involved, visit: www.thefreedomclimb.net.

"It was a very special time," said Gildelia Moromisato, communication facilitator for OM Brazil. The participants were able to share things and hear from friends about what God has done in Latin America and through them.

"It is amazing to see how much God has done in this region," said Gildelia. "New ministries, challenges and opportunities have arisen each year. Latin America today is an area  for mobilisation of a growing church that has great potential to send and support missionaries, whilst also receiving missionaries to work especially in poor areas and developing communities."

Besides mobilisation, recruitment and sending missionaries, Latin America has expanded and developed ministries in the areas of sports, health, social justice and development.

"We thank God for the support of OM International especially regarding empowerment of Latinos to do their ministry and for all those who directly or indirectly have contributed to this expansion," said Gildelia. OM International Coordinator Peter Maiden was present in the meeting, motivating and encouraging the group through devotional times.

On the last day the leaders and communicators celebrated and took the opportunity to thank Richard Phillips, who spent several years managing the finances for OM in Latin America.

"I believe that we all finished this meeting with more encouragement, challenges and hope for the future than we came with," said Gildelia. "May the Lord continue to use Latin America to bless the nations."

“It is impossible to know the Word of God and what it says about social justice but still remain inert without moving to something practical,” said Gildelia.

The first Freedom Climb, an OM ministry, took place in January 2012 when 47 women climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The recent conference held in Colorado Springs featured guests and speakers working with OM projects that empower women and children. Those who attended the conference listened, learnt and shared about the challenges around the world, specifically for those who are exploited, enslaved and trafficked.

“It’s not because we are sufficient in ourselves to overcome this enormous global and spiritual problem,” said Gildelia, “but trust that God can use us and make us a voice to those who cannot defend themselves, just as we read in Isaiah 31:8-9.”

After the conference, Gildelia joined the group of women in a symbolic hike for freedom. “It was a privilege to be a part of this group of women,” she said.

“We can help those who do not know this truth yet. The Bible says that when we make justice in the earth, God is known.”

Inspired by what she heard at the conference, Gildelia started a Freedom Climb initiative in Brazil. “In the conference, I was particularly impressed to see what God has done and can do through ordinary people like me and my sisters,” she said. “My desire is to see more women and men knowing His truth and the tremendous opportunity to bless lives and glorify God through this ministry.”

The goal for the ministry in Brazil is to mobilise people to pray and to give for the projects around the world that the Freedom Climb supports. “I believe God will do more than we ask and hope for, to His glory and for the blessing of those who cannot be free without help.”

Because of the success of the Mt. Kilimanjaro experience, a second Freedom Climb will be held 9-25 April 2013 in Nepal. This climb is to Mt. Everest Base Camp with a summit of Kalaphatar Peak, a nearby Himalayan mountain. As with the Mt. Kilimanjaro climb, this one is open to women from all over the world.

For more details, information on how to register or answers to any questions, visit to www.thefreedomclimb.net.

“After hearing Airton’s testimony, I decided to live.” The words of an HIV-infected teacher in Zambia made a deep impact on the team members of AIDSLink* Brazil who recently went on an outreach to the African country.

Airton, a Brazilian OM team member infected with HIV, is grateful for the opportunities he had to share his testimony about how God is working in his life. “It was wonderful to hear this and know that God uses all things for his glory,” he said.

The team visited Kabwe, Zambia, to conduct workshops on HIV and AIDS in many poor communities where multiple people are infected with the virus. “In a specific church we presented a seminar on sexuality and HIV,” said team member Simone. “It was great because we could see that the participants were very interested in the subject. They had lots of questions, and we were able to help them with their major concerns.”

Some of the team members who work well with children ran several evangelistic activities. They presented the gospel to approximately 500 children in various communities. With official footballs they brought from Brazil, the team also blessed SportsLink Africa.

“Praise God for the privilege we had to be a part of something so special that God has already accomplished amongst the African people,” said Airton. “We are happy, excited and challenged to continue supporting the work there. Our plan is to go to Zambia again next year.”

For more information, please contact: airton.silva@om.org or simone.aragao@om.org.

*AIDSLink International works in partnership with OM to impact the worldwide HIV and AIDS pandemic. 

Passion for the unreached people—that’s what key note speaker Dale Rothon shared about during OM Brazil’s Global Challenge conference in July. Rothon, co-founder of OM over 50 years ago, came to Manaus where the team organised OM Brazil’s annual short-term conference.

“We had over 100 participants attending,” said Gildelia Moromisato, one of the team members. “They represented more than six Brazilian states, and we also received a woman from South Africa. Through messages, workshops and training they could be motivated and mobilised to get involved with missions.”

With warm weather and joyful, hospitable people, Manaus was the city that God used this July to warm the hearts of many participants at the Global Challenge Brazil Event 2012.

After the conference, six teams went out for a week of outreach amongst different communities of Manaus. Through messages, dramas and activities for children, they demonstrated God's love and plan for the salvation of humankind.

Manaus is the capital of Amazonas State. It is a historical city and port region, located in the centre of the world's largest rainforest, the Amazon. It lies at the confluence of the rivers Negro and Solimões and is one of the best-known Brazilian cities worldwide, mainly because of ecotourism.

“Visiting Manaus, we could see a little more of the beauties of Brazil,” said Gildelia. “It was a special time, getting to know a little bit more of our history and sharing the love of Christ in a city that today is home for many Europeans, Japanese, Arabs, Jews and others.”

Through this Global Challenge event, the OM Brazil team has already seen some results with people wanting to engage in short- and long-term missions. “It is not possible to measure the long-time results, but we believe that God has planted the seeds that will germinate and may produce much fruit for the Kingdom of Christ in Manaus and from Brazil to the world,” says Gildelia.

“To God be all honour and glory! Because of Him, through Him and to Him are all things! Our mission is to reap the fruits of what has passed and to be prepared for what's coming. So join us for the Global Challenge Brazil Conference and outreach in 2013!”

On 23 March, the students of OM Brazil’s missions training protested against corruption on the Afonso Pena Square in the city of São José dos Campos, where OM is based. They made posters with messages against corruption, dressed up as clowns and went up and down the streets. “The clowns’ clothes implied that the politicians have seen voters as clowns, because they steal what they want and nobody does anything to stop it,” says Rafael, one of the students.

People on the streets were very interested in the subject, he says, and many stopped to say something against corruption. “When people said that politicians were corrupt, we asked if they were not corrupt like them,” Rafael explains. “I talked with a man who claimed he was not corrupt, but then I asked him if he had ever bought a pirate DVD. He said yes, and agreed with me that he also deserves condemnation.”

That was where the gospel came in. “So I said that Jesus came into the world, to die for us and pay the price for our sins, and now we aren’t condemned anymore.” The students are thankful for the opportunity to talk about God's love. “It was an interesting subject for people”, says Rafael. “I hope to do this more often.”

Praise God for the opportunities these students had to share about God. Pray for lasting impact in the lives of these people and for positive change in society.

It was very timely, as the previous day the health workers had tested everyone at the centre for HIV. Amazingly, everyone tested negative. Through sharing the information and stories, the OM team hoped it would stay that way.

One resident told the team how much she appreciated getting correct information and being able to ask questions. She had thought that because she had had surgery to prevent having anymore children, she was no longer at risk of contracting HIV. Others asked questions about whether it’s safe to drink from the same cup as someone with HIV and about the treatment and lifespan of someone living with HIV.

One team member shared his story about living with HIV, how he got his HIV-positive diagnosis, how it affected his life, and how his faith has helped him turn the situation around.

The latest statistics show that in spite of Brazilian government's pro-active response to AIDS, every day in São Paulo nine people die and another six give up on treatment. There remains much for the team to do. Please pray that the team will reach more with the message of hope Jesus offers to those living with HIV and AIDS.

*AIDSLink International and OM Brazil work in partnership to make a positive change in the HIV and AIDS pandemic.
 

Over 400 young people listened to messages about missions, opportunities and challenges during a four-day conference in Santos, Brazil. OM Brazil participated in this event called Transmission, an initiative of a group of youth in the region. The purpose of the event was to transmit the missionary challenges for this generation and motivate young people to have a real and personal involvement with God. With a daily increasing number of young Christians, Brazil has a great potential for people sharing the gospel in different parts of the world.

Several missionary agencies were present at the event. OM was invited especially to minister to teenagers, to present opportunities for missions to young people, to give training on creative ways of sharing the gospel and to preach during the services.

The OM team in Brazil is now awaiting the results. “Some of these we will see directly,” says team leader Julio Moromisato. “We have faith that several people will get involved in missions through OM. But we cannot measure all that God will do in the lives of those who were challenged to serve Him with their lives and talents.”

Please pray that more and more young people in Brazil will be motivated to work for God in missions, that their generation will be taking the glory of God to all nations. Pray that OM Brazil will continue to have opportunities to serve this generation, showing the creative ways that exist to proclaim the gospel.

Three days of lectures, talks, seminars and sermons stirred the hearts of participants at this year’s short-term mission conference hosted by OM Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. From 8-16 July, participants were challenged to obey God, so that He can do His work through their lives. 

A leader from OM International, who worked for over 30 years in the Middle East and North Africa, talked about the art of submitting in obedience to God. “We were challenged to be aware of the danger of loving our own lives more than God and our neighbours,” shared an OM team member.

After the conference, Brazilian missionary Airton Silva trained a group of 80 to do ministry in a favela, or slum, known as Terreirão. “We supported the work of a church, which is setting up a congregation in this community,” says Givanildo José, short-term outreach coordinator for Latin America. “It’s amazing to see that when we make ourselves available to God to use us to preach the gospel, great things happen.”

The team had good conversations with people in the slum, and many of the participants committed to continue their support of the church.  

One of OM Brazil’s goals in hosting the conference is to find people who are suitable to work in ministry, either in Brazil or abroad. “We’re very grateful for what God has done through this conference,” says Givanildo. “As a result of it, already several people have started the process to go out and work in full-time in ministry.”

The pastor of her church in Vitória, Brazil invited her to come along. Less than a year ago, this pastor was transferred to her church, under the condition that he would be able to take a mission trip to Mocuba, Mozambique. The church agreed, and the pastor invited others to go with him on a ten-day outreach with OM Brazil to the Portuguese-speaking country.

“It was incredible to see what a group of nine people from that church did to raise the funds to go on the trip,” says Julio Moromisato, OM Brazil leader. “They sold t-shirts, candy, used clothes, meals and soaps. They challenged people to give, and the church members responded according to what they had. In the end they raised not only the money for the trip, but also for hundreds of Bibles and theological books to be distributed in Mozambique.”

Privileged to serve

In total, the team of 14 Brazilians took 750 kilograms of Bibles and books and distributed them in Mocuba and two other cities in the heart of Mozambique. During first days, the team mainly worked with men, women and children. They taught from the Bible, organised sports activities for kids and offered family seminars and health care workshops.

They handed out books and Bibles to pastors and leaders, New Testaments to women and toys and candy to children. “Many people told us they were very glad that we could spend that time with them sharing so much from the Bible,” says Julio. “It was amazing to see how much the people wanted to learn about God!”

The second half of their time in Mozambique, the team split in two groups. The teams travelled to the rural area to offer a similar programme to what they had organised in Mocuba. “It really encouraged us to see lots of people gathered in the same area, coming from different places to listen to God´s Word,” says Julio.

The team left the country feeling privileged to have had this opportunity to serve its precious people. Alice especially felt at home in Mozambique. “She was happy amongst her dearest brothers and sisters,” says Julio. “She just kept on sharing gladly the Word of God and the beauties of His character.”

Share what is most precious

Alice came back to Brazil, ready to go again. But then she was diagnosed with malaria. She hadn’t taken any medicine against malaria; no one in the group had. They had decided to just use mosquito nets and lots of repellent. In the end, Alice’s body was not strong enough to overcome the disease. Not long after returning from her beloved Mozambique, she died of malaria.

“I went there to share what is most precious to me: God´s love. People in Mozambique also need to know more about God. If I can, I will go back there again.”

As she was fighting for her life in the hospital, one of the nurses challenged Alice, saying: “What were you looking for in Mozambique? Did you go to get malaria?” Alice however remained calm and told the nurse that she had gone with a special purpose. “I went there to share what is most precious to me: God´s love. People in Mozambique also need to know more about God. If I can, I will go back there again.”

The Brazilian team is planning another trip to Mozambique next year to help establish a library in Mocuba. Unfortunately, Alice will not be able to come with them. Her Father took her home, just like he had done before with her husband. At the funeral, Alice’s two daughters praised God for allowing their mother to fulfil her dream: to be a missionary in Mozambique. They dressed her in an African cloth that she had bought during her trip.

Whether by life or by death

Despite this tragic story, the whole team is committed to going back to the country. “Death didn’t discourage us,” says Julio. “Actually, we are even more committed because a high price was paid to make this project possible.”

The verse from Philippians 1:20 has become crucial for the team members: “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (NIV).

“My children have always been dreaming of eating a hamburger at McDonald's in the mall,” said 29-year-old Jo from São Paulo, Brazil. “But I’m afraid that dream can never be fulfilled. I don’t have the time or the money to take them.”

Angry with everything

After getting to know her in the hospital, the volunteers of OM Brazil’s Love & Life team started sending toys, clothes and even food to help support her family in this difficult situation. “She accepted our help,” said Andressa, one of the volunteers. “But she never paid much attention to what we were doing. She was very angry—angry with her situation and angry with everything and everyone. She never wanted to listen to anything about the love of God.”

One day, things seemed to change. “When we were in the hospital visiting the patients, Jo started to talk about her dreams,” remembered Andressa. “She shared about her desire to take her eight-year-old daughter and five year-old son to the shopping mall to eat a hamburger.”

Andressa didn’t hesitate and started planning the fulfilment of this dream right away. She took Jo and her children to the shopping mall, where they spent a full day and enjoyed supper at McDonald's. “It was a very special day for the family,” said Andressa. “But what happened after this day was even more special.”

Dream come true

After this day, Jo opened her heart to hear the message of the Gospel. She and both her children accepted Christ. “I was always mad at God for allowing my mom to be so ill,” said Jo’s daughter. “But now I’ve experienced that God really loves us. He made our biggest dream come true.”

Not long after their perfect day at the mall, Jo passed away. Her children are now living with their grandmother who, through the testimony of the kids, also received Christ as her Lord and Saviour.

“There is a new generation of teenagers in the Brazilian church,” says Weslley Kendrick Silva, coordinator of TeenStreet Brazil. “This generation is growing rapidly. Churches are just starting to work with these teens. That’s why TeenStreet Brazil helps the church to be a blessing for these young Christians.”

It’s been only eight years since Weslley and his wife, Eloa, initiated this ministry to teenagers in their own country. During this time, they’ve seen the work grow rapidly. “Almost every year the event has grown by more than 50 per cent. We started with 160 participants in 2004, and this year 1,200 teenagers attended the congress in Maringá.”

A lot going on

TeenStreet originated in 1992 in Germany and is OM’s ministry to youth around the world. After serving for two years on OM´s ship Logos II, Weslley and Eloa returned to Brazil with a vision for teenagers. They shared their ideas with a group of people, who decided to invest their lives and time in this ministry.

In 2003, the team attended the event in Uruguay to get an idea of what it is all about. The next year, TeenStreet Brazil was born. In January 2004, they held the first congress in Maringá, with the theme “re:Discovering Jesus”.

“This generation is growing rapidly. Churches are just starting to work with these teens. That’s why TeenStreet Brazil helps the church to be a blessing for these young Christians.”

Since then, on the third week of January every year, hundreds of teenagers travel to Cesumar University in the city of Maringá, southern Brazil. For six days they sing, listen to sermons and take part in different activities challenging them to have a true friendship with Jesus and reflect His love in their world.

“But TeenStreet Brazil is much more than that,” says Weslley. TeenStreet doesn’t end when the annual event has finished. “We have an office with seven full-time and two part-time workers. Our leadership team consists of pastors and business men who meet every week for prayer and meetings. We have a partnership with 15 churches in the area, to which we go weekly for training. In many other churches, we preach and help with their teens. We hope to expand this work, called projeto redes, in the next years.”

Since 2007, the TeenStreet Brazil team has been sending out daily on-line devotionals and producing material for teenagers to study the Bible every day. They also organise a leadership training twice a year, and about 10 to 15 weekend events or camps.

Expansion to the northeast

The purpose of TeenStreet Brazil is to serve the church so that it can impact the lives of teenagers, and now the team is looking to expand the ministry to the northeast region of the country. “Brazil is a huge country,” says Weslley. “For a lot of teenagers from this area, the activities in the south are just too far away.”

Many churches in the northeast region are interested in working with teenagers, says Weslley. “We visited them and talked with several pastors for about two years. Now we decided to start a ministry in this part of Brazil as well.”

The ministry will begin with an event called NordesTEEN from 22-26 June in the city of Salvador. “We hope that about 400 teenagers and 200 adults will attend the event,” says Weslley. Apart from this, they are also growing a daily ministry, with full-time workers who reach out to teens, provide resources and visit churches every week to help train young leaders and pastors.

Weslley and his team are very excited about this new opportunity: “With some creativity, we can reach the hearts, minds and attention of this new generation of teenagers.”

For more information about TeenStreet, visit www.teenstreet.om.org.
 

The 28-year old Brazilian has been travelling to Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. Vanilda’s aim is to tell as many Latinos as possible about her work in South Asia.

Armed with lots of pictures, some videos and a great story to tell, Vanilda visited a large number of churches, youth groups and prayer teams throughout Latin America. When talking about South Asia, her eyes start to twinkle. “I miss the country”, she says. “It’s nice to be in Latin America for a while, but I can’t wait to go back.”

It is almost three years ago that the young Brazilian first arrived in South Asia. Before that, she had been part of a five month training in São Paulo. After spending two holidays with an OM Global Challenge programme, she had already decided that she wanted to spend more time in ministry. “I wanted to go to a foreign country right away”, she explains. “But I had no financial support.”

A donation from the United States made it possible for Vanilda to join the training in her home country, Brazil. “When I finished this training, something changed in my church. The leaders realized that they had to take the responsibility of sponsoring me. That made it possible for me to go to South Asia.”

Lucky

She is a lucky girl. For most Latin churches, it is highly unusual to provide for the full financial support of overseas workers, Vanilda says. “That is a problem. Many churches in Latin America are not overseas ministry-minded, but prefer to construct nice buildings.”

With her tour through the continent, she hopes to contribute something on the ministry focus of churches. “I think that OM can play an important role in this. Not only to encourage Latinos to go into overseas ministry, but also to make churches aware of the necessity to support them with prayer and money.”

The need for Christian workers throughout the world is huge, she states. “There are yet so many lives to be saved and there is so much relief and development work to do.” In South Asia, Vanilda says she got to meet real poverty for the first time. “I think going into overseas ministry made me face reality. It was a good experience, though. You can hear a lot in your own environment, but once you go out to a place like South Asia, it’s completely different.”

South Asia is certainly is a country in need. Many poor people in the villages have to send their kids to children’s homes in the country’s capital. At the age of six, children have to leave, because their parents cannot afford to pay for their education and school uniforms.

When Vanilda first heard about the need in these homes, she immediately knew that working there was what God called her to do. For two and a half years now, she has been working in two different children’s homes.

“These homes are set up by organizations”, Vanilda explains. “My job is to teach the children mathematics, English and lessons from the Bible. The most important thing, however, is that I organize nice things for them to do. Fun things, like going to the zoo or simply playing a game.”

These activities help them to enjoy their childhood again, she states. “What these kids mostly lack, is love. When they come into the children’s home, most of them are sad and afraid of everything new. But after a while, you can tell they are cheerful again.”

Love

Her work practically is all about giving love, Vanilda says. “I am sharing with the kids the most precious value I’ve been learning: that God can change people’s lives. There is no bigger love than the love of God, who sent his only Son to die for us.” Many children in the homes give their lives to Jesus. “When they grow older, a lot of kids go back to their families and tell them about the Bible too.”

Vanilda is thrilled to see God at work in South Asia in many ways. “I can’t do anything, but I can share the message of our God that can change people’s lives.” She definitely feels that she is in the right place in South Asia. “I’m excited to go back. And I encourage other Latinos to go into overseas ministry as well. Even if that means facing reality.”