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Mission
YOUTH & ADULT
2019 • QUARTER 2 • SOUTH AMERICAN DIVISION
AdventistMission.org
Contents
O n the Cover: Grecielly Moraes Nascimento , 20, had an unusual boss in Aracaju, Brazil. He led
her to the Adventist Church and then asked her to be his wife. Story, Page 26.
PERU 18 Adopting Two Boys | May 25
4 Bible-Carrying City Folk | April 6
BRAZIL
PARAGUAY 20 New Year’s Wish | June 1
6 Scared to Plant | April 13 22 Fast Answer to Two Prayers | June 8
8 No Peace in Meditation | April 20
24 Marxist to Adventist | June 15
URUGUAY 26 Unforgettable Proposal | June 22
10 Why Was I Born? | April 27 28 Thirteenth Sabbath: Tired
12 Longing for God | May 4 Missionaries | June 29
14 On Fire for Jesus | May 11 35 Future Thirteenth Sabbath Projects
ARGENTINA 35 Leader’s Resources
16 Born to Be a Missionary | May 18 36 Map
= stories of special interest to teens
Yo u r O f f e r i n g s a t W o r k
Adventist Mission South American Division
Three years ago, part of the Thirteenth Sabbath
Offering funded a floating church (pictured with
volunteers wearing green shirts, left, and baptismal
candidates in gray robes) on the Amazon River in © 2019 General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists ® • All rights reserved
Brazil. Read a mission story about the boat church 12501 Old Columbia Pike,
Silver Spring, MD 20904-6601
on page 28. 1-800-648-5824 • AdventistMission.org
2
D e a r S a b b a t h S c h o o l L e a d e r, Andrew McChesney
Editor
This quarter we feature the South goal of this community
American Division, which oversees the center is to plant a new church in Cusco.
Seventh-day Adventist Church’s work To prepare for this quarter, I
in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, interviewed people who live in the four
Ecuador, Falkland Islands, Paraguay, Peru cities that will receive the Thirteenth
and Uruguay, with adjacent islands in the Sabbath funds, as well as people blessed
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. by the division’s previous Thirteenth
The region is home to 340 million people, Sabbath Offering three years ago. You
including 2.48 million Adventists. That’s a can find their stories on the pages of this
ratio of one Adventist for 137 people. publication and the Children’s Mission
This quarter’s four Thirteenth Sabbath magazine. After hearing their stories, I’m
projects are “centers of influence,” places sure that you will join be in declaring that
used by Seventh-day Adventist church Jesus indeed is coming soon!
members to connect with the local
community. Three of the centers of Special Features
influence in Brazil and Peru are on the If you want to make your Sabbath
premises of new Adventist churches. The School class come alive in a special
fourth center of influence is a community way, visit our Facebook page at the link:
center offering English-language classes, facebook.com/missionquarterlies. Every
music lessons, and other activities to week, we post additional materials to go
children and teens in Cusco, Peru. The with each mission story.
This quarterly contains just a sample of
the latest mission stories from the South
American Division. For more stories, visit
bit.ly/sad-archive, which will take you to
Opportunities all the division stories. At this link, you
The Thirteenth Sabbath Offering can also search by country and theme.
this quarter will help: You also can download the PDF version
Plant a church and health-focused of the Children’s Mission magazine at
community center in Aruana, Brazil bit.ly/childrenmission, and Mission
Acquire property for a church and Spotlight videos at bit.ly/missionspotlight.
community center in Salvador, Brazil A printable mission bank image can be
downloaded at bit.ly/bank-coloring-page.
Open a youth-focused community
center with English-language school in If you have found especially effective
AdventistMission.org
Cusco, Peru ways to share mission stories, please let me
Establish a church and medical center in
know at mcchesneya@gc.adventist.org.
Pucallpa, Peru Thank you for encouraging others to be
mission minded!
3
Bible-Carrying City Folk
PERU | April 6
A l e j a n d r o Q q u e r a r, 5 2
meetings, and the program organizers
opened a church for them. Alejandro and
his friends attended the Sunday worship
services whenever they could get away
from farm work.
The four church leaders saw the great
spiritual interest of the villagers and
resolved to present each with a Bible. So,
they made the 60-minute bus trip to the
nearest city, Cusco, and scoured the city
for Bibles. But no success.
ASome
lejandro entered the first grade at
the age of 18.
people might think that he
Despairing, the four leaders were
walking down one of Cusco’s cobblestoned
streets one morning when they noticed a
started school late, but all 18-year-olds stream of people, each carrying a Bible,
in his village, Ccacaccollo, began first entering a building. Thinking that the
grade at that time in the 1980s. Villagers building might be a bookstore with a
thought it was more important for their large supply of Bibles, the leaders followed
children to work on the farm than to get them in. It was a Seventh-day Adventist
an education. church, and the people were going to
A classmate brought a radio to Sabbath School.
school, and Alejandro listened The leaders stayed for Sabbath School
attentively to a religious program about and the divine worship service. They
the world’s last days. He was scared. He were invited to lunch and then studied
Adventist Mission South American Division
wanted to know more. the Bible with church members in the
His wish was fulfilled a short time later afternoon. The men were thrilled with
when the evangelical producers of the what they learned. They turned to one
radio program organized nightly meetings another and said, “We only knew half of
in the school’s gymnasium. As he listened the end-time message. These people know
to the preacher speak about Jesus’ soon the whole story.”
coming, his heart filled with joy. The men decided on the spot to become
Other villagers also enjoyed the Adventists. They asked the pastor for
4
Commandment to keep the seventh-day
P E R U
Stor y Tips Sabbath. He became an Adventist.
Alejandro, who was now 19, soon
Pronounce Alejandro as: dropped out of school to work full-time on
all-aye-KHAN-dro
the farm. He also began to tell anyone who
Pronounce the name of Alejandro’s would listen that Jesus is coming soon.
village, Ccacaccollo, as: kaka-KOLO
His love for Jesus has brought
Find photos for this story at the link: extraordinary results. Alejandro, a
bit.ly/fb-mq
simple man of short stature and limited
Know that Alejandro, like many education, has planted six churches over
villagers in Peru, only speaks Quechua
(pronounced: KETCH-wa). To interview
the past 30 years. He planted the first
him, Adventist Mission needed two church in 1985, shortly after his baptism,
interpreters: one to interpret from and has planted a new church every three
Quechua to Spanish, and another to to five years since. Sometimes he walks
interpret from Spanish to English
five hours to reach one of his church
Share that the Cusco church with the plants. More than 800 people have been
Bible-carrying members has been a big baptized through his influence.
support to Alejandro, providing food,
money, and religious materials for his
Alejandro, now 52, praises God for the
outreach efforts results but says real credit belongs to the
faithful Adventists who carried their Bibles
Watch a video of Alejandro at the link:
bit.ly/Alejandro-Qquerar
to church in Cusco one Sabbath morning.
“I think that it’s important that we always
have a Bible in our hands when we go to
church because other people can see then
that we are Christians,” he said. “If the
help explaining the full Bible truth to the Seventh-day Adventists in Cusco hadn’t
people back in the village. Two church been carrying Bibles that day, my village
members accompanied the men to the may have never found the true church.”
village and preached in their church the His village, which has 500 inhabitants,
next day, on Sunday. is largely Adventist today. Its church has
Alejandro missed the worship service 300 baptized members.
because he was working on the farm.
But his friends told him not to bother Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
going to church the next Sunday. Sabbath Offering will help open a Cusco
The church had become Seventh-day community center that will offering
Adventist and its next worship services English classes, music lessons, and other
would be on Saturday. activities to children and young people.
Alejandro went on Saturday to The goal of the community center is to
AdventistMission.org
find out what had happened. He was plant a new church in the area. Thank
convicted with the new truths that he you for your mission offering.
heard, including God’s instructions in the
Garden of Eden and through the Fourth By Andrew McChesney
5PARAGUAY | April 13
Scared
to Plant
Hugo Sanz, 64
H ugo Sanz was scared when the pastor
asked him to plant a church in an
unreached neighborhood in Paraguay’s
“But with the help of another people, we
did it. We came here, saw the need, and
started working.”
capital, Asunción. The first steps were small. Hugo rented
The silver-haired insurance director at a building, a “center of influence,” and
Asunción Adventist Hospital had worked organized seminars such as healthy cooking
for 20 years with fellow church members classes and stop-smoking courses with help
at the Central Seventh-day Adventist from fellow church members from the
Church, the city’s largest church with hospital. He and other church members
about 300 members. But he had never befriended people in the neighborhood.
worked with people outside the church. Word began to spread about the new
“I was afraid,” he said. “I didn’t feel community center. A church member
capable to run a church alone.” created a Facebook page and posted
Hugo spoke with his wife, who had some photos. Radio Nuevo Tiempo, the local
experience with people of other faiths after affiliate of the Adventist Church’s Hope
working with the Adventist Development Channel radio, provided advertising.
Adventist Mission South American Division
and Relief Agency. She agreed to help. After a year, in 2015, the center of
Hugo prayed for several weeks and felt influence began to hold regular Saturday
a growing sense of guilt as he realized that meetings called “One Day Away From
the site of the proposed church in the the World.”
Nueva Sajonia neighborhood was located “This is one day when people can forget
only two blocks from his home. He agreed their stress and focus on the Bible,” Hugo
to oversee the church-planting effort. said. “We sang and studied the Bible
“I started this out of guilt,” he said. together, and people who had attended
6prosper in all things and be in health, just
Stor y Tips as your soul prospers.” Another favorite
is Philippians 4:7, which says, “And
Pronounce Asunción as: the peace of God, which surpasses all
ah-soon-SYAWN
understanding, will guard your hearts and
PA R AG UAY
Pronounce Nueva Sajonia as: minds through Christ Jesus.”
nyo-va sa-KHON-ia A series of overnight burglaries
Watch a video of Hugo at the link: disrupted work at the community center
bit.ly/Hugo-Sanz in 2016. Four times thieves broke the glass
Find photos for this story at the link: windows and stole electronics, chairs,
bit.ly/fb-mq and tables. The seminars were moved to
Hugo’s home.
Mission Post That same year, the Adventist world
church collected a Thirteenth Sabbath
Paraguay has 61 churches, 95
companies, and 12,519 members. In a Offering to help the community center
population of 31,838,000, one in 544 grow into a church. With the money, the
people is an Adventist. local Adventist Church purchased the
The first Adventist worker to visit community center site, expanded and
Paraguay was Lionel Brooking, a updated its facilities, and improved security.
colporteur, who sold books in the The new Nueva Sajonia Seventh-day
Gran Chaco of Paraguay in 1892. In Adventist Church and community center
August 1900, E.W. Snyder and his
wife arrived from the United States.
opened in 2018 with its own pastor. Hugo
Adventist canvassers had reported remains a lay leader — and he said he
that a German at Colonia Nacional couldn’t be happier.
(National Colony), Paraguay, had “I worked for the Adventist Church for
accepted Adventist teachings through
20 years, but the few years here have been
reading a German paper sent to him by
his brother in Uruguay. the happiest in my life because I have
worked with people in the world,” said
Hugo, 64. “Before, I worked for people
already in church. But now I’m not just
talking but also doing, and showing God’s
our health seminars realized that we are love in a new way. I feel like I’m fulfilling
the mission that God has for my life.”
healthy because of the Bible. They started
praying to God.”
Thank you for your Thirteenth
While studying the Bible, community
Sabbath Offering in first quarter 2016
members expressed surprise about the
that helped plant Nueva Sajonia
practical health advice on its pages. They
Seventh-day Adventist Church in
learned that good health can be found
Asunción, Paraguay. Thank you for your
AdventistMission.org
through a proper diet and also through mission offerings that support mission
prayer, peace, and Jesus. One of their work around the world.
favorite Bible verses is 3 John 2, which
says, “Beloved, I pray that you may By Andrew McChesney
7No Peace in Meditation
PARAGUAY | April 20
Gustavo Javier Caballero, 40
back on his life. His parents, who belonged
to another Christian denomination,
enrolled him in a Seventh-day
Adventist school at the age of 12 at the
recommendation of a neighbor. He showed
little interest in the school’s Bible classes,
and neighborhood friends introduced him
to alcohol and drugs during his senior year.
Gustavo used marijuana, alcohol,
and cocaine on weekends to ease his
worries. But then he started to suffer
constant headaches and nausea. He
T he spiritual guide led Gustavo into
a room to communicate with dead
people in Paraguay’s capital, Asunción.
went to a psychologist for help, and she
recommended Eastern meditation.
Gustavo found the spiritual guide at an
“They will give some answers that you Eastern temple and learned meditation
need,” the spiritual guide said. and yoga. To meditate, he repeated a
Gustavo desperately wanted answers. phrase from a dead Indian language again
He struggled to sleep at night and was and again. This was supposed to relax
meditating twice a day — an hour in the him and connect him to a peaceful place
morning and an hour in the evening — to where his mind went blank.
cope with stress. The meditation offered Life seemed to improve for a while.
peace for a while, but then the stress But then he began to hear voices and see
returned a hundredfold. apparitions during the meditation-induced
With the spiritual guide, he heard trances. “I was going crazy,” Gustavo said.
Adventist Mission South American Division
distorted voices, yelling, in the room. “I needed someone to help me.”
He saw people walking around and He sought help from the spiritual guide,
disappearing. They resembled demons. who frightened him by taking him to meet
Seeing his fright, the spiritual guide supposedly dead people.
said, “Don’t worry. They won’t hurt you. It was then that Gustavo remembered
They will only examine your mind and studying the Bible at the Adventist
your feelings.” school. He contacted an Adventist pastor
After the experience, Gustavo looked and an Adventist mental health worker
8and decided to try it. He found that the
Stor y Tips technique mirrored Eastern meditation
but, instead of repeating the phrase in the
Pronounce Asunción as: ah-soon-SYAWN dead Indian language, he repeated words
Pronounce Nueva Sajonia as: nyo-va from the Bible. The results shocked him.
PA R AG UAY
sa-KHON-ia “I lost control of my mind, and it went
Watch a video of Gustavo at the link: blank like before,” he said. “I felt an
bit.ly/Gustavo-Caballero energy surging through my body, and I
heard voices telling me what to do.”
Find photos for this story at the link:
bit.ly/fb-mq
Gustavo was frozen, unable to move,
until he came out of the trance.
Afterward, several old friends told
Fa s t Fa c t s Gustavo that voices had instructed them
Paraguay’s literacy rate is higher than during their own meditations that day to
that of the United States. Paraguay’s invite him to meditate like before.
citizens age 15 and older read and write Gustavo resolved never to meditate that
at a 94 percent literacy rate, compared to
86 percent for the U.S.
way again. Instead, he said, he chooses to
“read the Bible and meditate on His word,
not doing Eastern-style meditation. That
is a dangerous place. God is not guiding
for help. They prayed with him and that kind of meditation.”
He also is convinced that yoga is a tool
advised him to give up meditating, yoga,
of the devil.
and drugs. Gustavo started attending
“With yoga, you feel good, and you don’t
church every Sabbath.
need to read the Bible or have Jesus in your
Meditation and yoga proved easy to stop,
life,” he said. “You think that spirits are
but the drug use was more difficult. As
working within you and that is enough.”
Gustavo struggled, he prayed and found
Today, Gustavo is 40 and works as
help in the Bible. On sleepless nights, he
a literature evangelist and massage
claimed Isaiah 26:3, which says, “You will
therapist. He also is an active participant
keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
of a community center attached to Nueva
stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Sajonia Seventh-day Adventist Church, a
He also claimed Philippians 4:13, which
2016 Thirteenth Sabbath project.
promises, “I can do all things through
He tells people in the neighborhood that
Christ who strengthens me.”
drugs and meditation aren’t the answer.
Gustavo gave his heart to Jesus and was “Getting high and meditating feels good
baptized at the age of 34. “I was looking for a while, but then you feel worse,” he
for a cure, for someone to help me feel said. “The only solution is Christ. Only
AdventistMission.org
better,” he said. “In church, I found out when you pray do you feel better — and
that I’m God’s son. I was freed by His life.” have real peace.”
After baptism, he found a video
presentation about “Christian meditation” By Andrew McChesney
9URUGUAY | April 27
Why Was
I Born?
Graciela Musetti, 52
cemetery and, as she mourned at her older
daughter’s grave, Graciela darted between
the tombstones. The little girl took
flowers from graves with large bouquets
and placed them on empty graves.
At home, Mother introduced Graciela
to visitors by saying, “God took one
AShewoman stood at the bus stop in
Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo.
had money in her purse for a
daughter away from me and gave me this
one instead.” Then she told the story
special purpose, and she was waiting for about the bus stop, treating it lightly, like
the bus. a joke. “Graciela wasn’t supposed to be
Suddenly, she began to tremble. She felt born,” she said, smiling.
something move inside her. Graciela felt guilty and insecure. She
The bus arrived and stopped, but she felt like she had replaced a sister who
turned away. Instead, she crossed the was the light of the house. Several years
street to a bakery and used some of the passed, and her parents divorced. Graciela
money to buy cookies. had a son at the age of 15. Then her eldest
At home, her husband met her at the door. brother died of a heart attack. The death
“Back so soon?” he asked. devastated Mother, and for several months
“Yes, I decided not to do it,” she said. Graciela accompanied her to the cemetery
Several months later, Graciela Musetti to visit his grave.
was born. A few more years passed, and Graciela’s
Graciela’s mother, Maria, never allowed only remaining sibling, another older
brother, was struck dead by a car as he
Adventist Mission South American Division
her daughter to forget that day.
rode his bicycle. Graciela didn’t have the
Unusual Childhood heart to tell her mother. She felt like the
Graciela grew up playing among sole survivor of a major tragedy.
tombstones. Mother grew old, and Graciela cared for
When she was 18 months old, her her until she died. In her last years, Mother
18-year-old sister died in a tragic factory was bedridden after suffering a stroke.
fire that killed about 20 people. Every One day, Graciela stumbled across
day, Mother took Graciela to the Nuevo Tiempo radio, the local affiliate
10of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s
Hope radio. Listening to a program, she Stor y Tips
was drawn to the pastor’s voice, which she
found peaceful and calming. Pronounce Graciela as: gras-EE-yela
At the same time, she listened to a Pronounce Montevideo as:
pastor on another radio station who Mon-teh-vi-DAY-oh
attacked Adventist Church cofounder Watch a video of Graciela at the link:
Ellen White much of the time. His anger bit.ly/Graciela-Musetti
caught Graciela’s attention, and she Find photos for this story at the link:
decided that she wanted to read an Ellen bit.ly/fb-mq
White book. But where to find one?
Graciela visited libraries and Mission Post
bookstores, but nobody had any books.
U R U G UAY
One day, her adult son visited a shoe Uruguay has 59 churches and 50
companies. There are 7,890 members in
store and noticed a book lying on the
Uruguay’s population of 3,457,000, or
chair. He glanced through it and brought one Adventist for every 438 Uruguayans.
it to his mother. “Look, Mother, this is
something that you will like,” he said. The first Adventist in Uruguay was Mrs.
Juan Rivoir, who came to Uruguay with
A Book From God her husband in 1890 and who, four years
before her arrival, had listened to sermons
Graciela took the book into her hands by Ellen White in Piedmont, Italy.
and read the title, “The Great Hope.”
Underneath, she saw the author’s name,
Ellen White. She began to tremble. “Since the moment that I was in my
“This is the Lord acting in my life!” she mother’s womb, the Lord was working
exclaimed. “He has sent me this book!” with me,” said Graciela, 52. “If my mother
From that moment, Graciela had no had had the abortion, who would have
doubts about Ellen White — even before taken care of her? Who would take care of
she read the book. “God used the book to my father, who is now 94 and bedridden?
call me to His way,” Graciela said. “God is always in control of
She telephoned Nuevo Tiempo for everything,” she said. “I don’t know what
more information, and the radio station He saw in me, but He saved me. I hope to
sent an Adventist church member, Miguel make more disciples for Him.”
Amaro Speranza, to give Bible studies.
Soon Graciela was baptized into La Teja Thank you for your 2016 Thirteenth
Seventh-day Adventist Church, a church Sabbath Offering that helped La Teja
funded by a 2016 Thirteenth Sabbath Seventh-day Adventist Church move
Offering. Today, she is an active church from a small, rented house into its own
member, giving Bible studies and helping church building and community center.
AdventistMission.org
people in her neighborhood. Through her Thank you for your mission offerings that
influence, four people have been baptized. help lead people like Graciela to Christ.
Graciela wondered much of her life why
she was born. Now she has the answer. By Andrew McChesney
11Longing for God
URUGUAY | May 4
M a r i a Ce c i l i a F r e i r e , 6 0
But she stopped going to church. With
three children to raise, she needed to
work. Unable to find a cooking job
with Saturdays off, she stopped keeping
the Sabbath.
Years passed, and her children grew up
and got married. But Cecilia remained
bitter about the divorce. Her bitterness
grew when her mother died.
Moving Home
Then Cecilia moved to Uruguay’s
capital, Montevideo, to live with her
Cecilia was devastated when her
husband left.
eldest daughter, son-in-law, and three
grandchildren. She began to think about
She was 30, fighting uterine cancer, God and wished that an Adventist church
and suffering dreadful pain. She wondered was located in her neighborhood.
whether her husband had gotten a divorce Somehow, she started listening to
because she, doubled over in pain, hadn’t Nuevo Tiempo radio, the local affiliate of
allowed him to touch her for months. the Adventist Church’s Hope radio.
But her mother had other ideas. She “I can’t explain how I started listening
blamed the divorce on her daughter’s to the radio,” she said. “It was just
decision to join the Seventh-day something from God that I found the
Adventist Church. Cecilia had been radio station.”
baptized several years earlier during a One day while listening, she heard that
Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic an Adventist church would open just 13
Adventist Mission South American Division
campaign in her hometown, Mercedes, blocks from her home. She walked into
in Uruguay. After being baptized, Cecilia the Goes Seventh-day Adventist Church
stopped going to parties and drinking on Jan. 1, 2017, shortly after it officially
alcohol with her husband. opened. She wanted to start the new year
“You lost your husband because of the with God. She also wanted to be baptized
church,” her mother said. immediately, but the pastor advised her to
Fortunately, Cecilia had a successful refresh her knowledge of the Bible. She
operation and her cancer was removed. was baptized five months later, on May 18.
12“From that day on, I am very happy,”
Cecilia said. “God has changed my life. Stor y Tips
He has taken me away from a life of pain
and bitterness.” Pronounce Montevideo as:
Mon-teh-vi-DAY-oh
She knew that God was removing her
bitterness when she started to smile. Even Pronounce Goes, a two-syllable word, as:
GO-es
the church members have noticed and say,
“You are very smiley!” Watch a video of Cecila speaking
She replies, “I’m very happy!” beside the baptismal pool where she was
baptized at Goes Seventh-day Adventist
Praying for Family Church. The link: bit.ly/Cecilia-Freire
After returning to church, Cecilia Find photos for this story at the link:
started praying for her daughter and son- bit.ly/fb-mq
U R U G UAY
in-law to accept Jesus. As she prayed,
she noticed that a church member, a Fa s t Fa c t s
Brazilian missionary, spoke fluent English.
Her son-in-law, an architect who spoke The Guaraní word “Uruguay” means
“river of the painted birds.”
no English, was looking for a language
teacher because he wanted to move The national dish of Uruguay is a
abroad to work. With the permission of sandwich called Chivito. It is made
the Brazilian missionary, Cecilia told her with thinly sliced steak (churrasco),
mozzarella, tomatoes, mayonnaise, olives,
son-in-law that she had found an English- and hard-boiled eggs, and is served in a
language teacher at church. bun. It is often eaten with french fries.
“This way I brought him into contact Uruguay has a literacy rate of 98.1
with the church,” Cecilia said. “He became percent for adults, thanks to the
friends with the pastor and others in provision of free, compulsory education.
church and got involved in the church.” In 2009, it became the first nation in the
Her daughter proved more difficult to world to provide every school child with
free wireless Internet and a laptop.
reach. Every time Cecilia mentioned God,
the daughter complained, “You’re trying Uruguay is the only country in South
to get me into that church again!” America where tap water is safe to drink.
Finally, Cecilia told her daughter, “It is Around 95 percent of the electricity
not that. It’s just that after I die, I want us is generated from renewable resources,
to meet again when I open my eyes.” mainly from wind farms.
The words touched the daughter’s heart.
She and her husband are taking Bible
studies in preparation for baptism. Offering to acquire a church building in
“God has done wonderful things in my Montevideo, Uruguay. Thank you for your
life,” Cecilia said. faithfulness with mission offerings, which
AdventistMission.org
help prepare people like Cecilia and her
Cecilia, 60, belongs to Goes Seventh- family for Christ’s soon return.
day Adventist Church, which received
part of a 2016 Thirteenth Sabbath By Andrew McChesney
13URUGUAY | May 11
On Fire
for Jesus
Mi g u e l A m a r o S p e r a n z a , 6 9
The problem was solved when
Adventists around the world helped La
Teja Seventh-day Adventist Church
purchase its own building and lifestyle
center through a Thirteenth Sabbath
Offering in 2016.
Miguel is thrilled about the new
opportunities now available to the church.
MiguelNotislong
69 and bursting with energy.
ago, Miguel accepted an
“Our plan is to serve the people in the
neighborhood, including the homeless,”
invitation from a friend, Yraldino “Dino”
he said in an interview in the church’s
Fernandez, to lead Bible studies in Dino’s
kitchen, where healthy cooking classes
home in the impoverished La Teja district
are held. “Many impoverished people live
of Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo.
around here.”
Miguel and Dino also gave Bible studies
at people’s homes in the district, a place Story Two
where the Seventh-day Adventist Church This wasn’t Miguel’s first time to win
had no church building. souls for Christ. He and a group of church
After a year, the Bible-study members from El Prado Seventh-day
participants were invited to a Daniel and Adventist Church used to travel regularly
Revelation evangelistic series. Sixteen to a squatter settlement comprised largely
people were baptized. of crude cardboard-box shelters in a
“Following the meetings, we decided to dangerous part of Montevideo.
plant a church,” Miguel said. “Five of us gave 25 Bible studies every
Miguel, several other church members, Sabbath,” Miguel said. “We also brought
Adventist Mission South American Division
and the 16 new members rented a house food. We tried to reach the people and
and worshipped there every Sabbath. provide for their needs.”
Church attendance grew as church Church members provided ongoing
members reached out to the neighborhood assistance to 47 adults and 90 children.
with food and clothing. The rented space They also constructed a house where
grew cramped, and church members looked people could find shelter from rising
for ways to expand the church building floodwater during the rainy season.
and their impact on the community. People from the settlement started going
14to the Adventist church. Some arrived by
horse and cart. Stor y Tips
“As a result of the work, we had 21
baptisms,” Miguel said. Pronounce Montevideo as:
Mon-teh-vi-DAY-oh
Story Three Watch a video of Miguel speaking in
Miguel worked 27 years with the the sanctuary of La Teja Seventh-day
Adventist Development and Relief Adventist Church at the link:
Agency in Uruguay, and one of his fondest bit.ly/Miguel-Speranza
memories is of Walter, a homeless man Find photos for this story at the link:
with diabetes and no legs who showed up bit.ly/fb-mq
at an ADRA center in Montevideo.
Walter had no food and no place to go, Mission Post
U R U G UAY
and Miguel became acquainted with him
and, at his request, gave Bible studies. The first Seventh-day Adventist school
in Uruguay was organized in 1908, in
One day as Miguel was preparing a Nueva Helvecia colony in the home
Sabbath sermon while cooking, Walter of Julio Ernst, with Otto Heydeker
asked, “What will you preach about?” as teacher. Uruguay Academy, now
Miguel explained that the inspiration Uruguay Adventist Academy (Instituto
for the sermon came from a picture posted Adventista del Uruguay) situated at
Progreso, was founded in 1944.
on his refrigerator door. The picture
showed a child fishing food out of the
garbage and posed the question, “What “I used to have friends who drank and
are you complaining about?” danced with me. But now they complain
Opening his Bible, Miguel read Luke about their problems, and I say, ‘What
9:13, where Jesus told His disciples, “You are you complaining about? Look at me. I
give them something to eat.” Jesus gave have diabetes and no legs.’”
the command shortly before the miracle of Months later, Walter gave his heart to
the loaves and fish. Jesus. Coming out of the baptismal waters,
Miguel returned to his cooking, and he shouted, “Thank you, Jesus!”
Walter busily wrote on a piece of paper. Miguel still hears Walter’s triumphant
After a while, Walter handed the paper to shout today. A month and a half after the
Miguel. “If this is useful, I give this to you baptism, Walter passed away. “I hope to
for the sermon,” he said. see him again when our heavenly Father
Miguel read the message during the comes to take us home,” Miguel said.
sermon. The church members wept. “I hope to reunite with him and with
Walter had written as if Jesus were all those whom God has given us the
writing to people. The message said, “You opportunity to share the gospel.”
are complaining, but look: Around you
AdventistMission.org
live people who are homeless, without Thank you for your 2016 Thirteenth
food, and without clothing. You have a Sabbath Offering for La Teja church.
place to rest, food, and clothing.”
Walter then wrote about himself, By Andrew McChesney
15Born to Be a Missionary
ARGENTINA | May 18
Marcelo Fernandez
photo: Pixabay
Then my wife, Elisa, learned that she
was pregnant.
Elisa, who has a sense of humor, set up
a hidden camera to record my reaction as
she broke the news over breakfast.
She gave me a small box, which at first
I thought was empty. But then I saw a
pregnancy test inside. I took it out and
saw that it was positive.
A confusing mixture of shock and
happiness overwhelmed me. The video
recording shows that I froze. I didn’t
even hug my wife. I only stared at the
pregnancy test in my hand.
M y wife and I prayed for a child for
14 years.
“If it is Your will, let us have our own
My mind was racing. “Why now, God?”
I thought. “This is the weirdest timing
children or help us to adopt,” we prayed. ever. Now the government authorities will
After a series of tests, our physician say ‘no.’ The church leaders in the closed
declared that our chances of having country will say ‘no.’ The South American
children were slim. It also became clear Division will say ‘no.’ A child will be too
that it would be difficult to adopt children expensive and disrupt our work.”
in our home country, Argentina. God’s Perfect Timing
Then an opportunity arose to work for But God’s timing is perfect.
God in a closed country far away, and we Nobody objected to my wife’s
thought, “Maybe God wants us to adopt a pregnancy. Even the government
child in another country.” authorities, in reply to a worried query,
Adventist Mission South American Division
All the pieces fell into place. The said, “No problem. We love children.”
Seventh-day Adventist Church’s South Our son, Ezekiel, was born three months
American Division, whose territory after we arrived in the closed country. He
includes Argentina, said “yes” to our has opened at least 80 percent of the doors
desire to move abroad for five years. The to help us be good witnesses for God.
church leaders in the closed country We quickly learned that the local
said “yes,” and the relevant government people love children. And if you are a
authorities also said “yes.” foreigner, it’s even better. People will
16stop you everywhere to take a photo.
Grandparents, carrying around their Stor y Tips
grandchildren, will reach out to you to
Names have been changed in the
know more and to share parenting tips. story to protect the family’s work in a
We have more opportunities to sensitive region. For that reason, no
sow seeds than we ever could have video is available this week
imagined. Wherever we go, people Find a photo for this story at the link:
gather around Ezekiel. bit.ly/fb-mq
Through our son, we have befriended
people in our apartment building, at Mission Post
supermarkets, and in parks. We invite our
Argentina has 606 churches and 438
new friends to birthday parties and other companies. There are 116,391 church
celebrations in our home. Many parents members — one for every 381 people in
want their children to interact more with the country.
our son, so they ask whether they can The first Adventists in Argentina were
come to our son’s Sabbath School class. four families who came to Diamante,
One married couple in our building has Entre Rios Province, from Tampa in
a same-aged daughter, and they visit us the U.S. state of Kansas in early 1890.
These were German farmers who
often. We have presented their girl with had been colonists in Russia and had
A R G E N T I N A
an English-language children’s Bible. become Adventists while living in the
The way that we treat our child is having United States.
a bigger impact than we ever dreamed. God In July 1896, the first Adventist camp
gave us a well-behaved son. People see that meeting in Argentina was held in
we hug him and how happy he is. They see Crespo, Entre Rios; 150 people attended.
God’s love even better.
Surprise No. 2
An amazing thing happened just as Our witness speaks louder than our
we were rejoicing over Ezekiel’s powerful words. I think God wants us to be living
ability to witness. My wife got pregnant witnesses, and He is giving us a chance to
again, and then she gave birth to a girl. experience this in a deeper way.
For the local people, having a son and God is using my son to fulfill Matthew
a daughter is wonderful. Random people 24:14 and pave the way for the Second
stop us on the street to explain again and Coming. I think Ezekiel already has more
again that the combination of having a stars in his crown than my wife or me.
boy and a girl is perfection. We smile, I feel so blessed that God shows us
thank them, and point to God as the sinners that His plans are always better.
perfect picture of perfection. The Lord says in Isaiah 55:8, “For My
What a witness! thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are
AdventistMission.org
Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, “And this your ways My ways.”
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in God’s plans are perfect.
all the world as a witness to all the nations,
and then the end will come.” By Marcelo Fernandez, as told to Andrew McChesney
17Adopting Two Boys
ARGENTINA | May 25
Juan and Juanita
daily would be too much to expect.
Remembering that they had an extra room
at home, they took the small boys back to
the hospital compound. They invited the
brothers to stay for the 10 days needed to
complete the treatment.
As the boys’ health improved, Juan and
Juanita learned that they had no father.
Their mother was working far away and
could not send for them. Juan and Juanita
C hildren kept knocking on the door
of Juan and Juanita’s house on the
compound of the Seventh-day Adventist
decided to keep caring for the two boys.
The couple helped the boys with
their basic needs, enrolled them in the
hospital in Africa. Adventist school, and took them to
Juan and Juanita, married medical Sabbath School.
volunteers from Argentina doing a one- During family worship, the boys heard
year mission term, were living on a small stories from the Bible, and they especially
stipend, but they gladly shared rice and identified with miracles such as how God’s
other simple foods from their kitchen. people were led out of slavery in Exodus.
Then it struck Juan and Juanita. Some Despite their young age, the boys even
of the children weren’t hungry at all and took the initiative to help with chores. One
seemed to have other challenges, perhaps morning Juanita woke up to find the 5-year-
emotional needs. old in the kitchen, standing on the tips of
“We asked ourselves if we were really his toes at the sink, washing dishes.
helping them,” Juan said. “He smiled at my wife and said he knew
Determined to understand the children we were tired and just wanted to help out
better, Juan and Juanita visited the village to let us rest a bit longer,” Juan said.
Adventist Mission South American Division
of a teenager who did odd jobs for them. Time passed, and Juan and Juanita
The teen’s own home astonished them. He longed to meet the boys’ mother. They
had two little brothers, ages 3 and 5, who thought that she must be very loving and
lived alone. Moreover, it was winter, and honorable to have such noble sons.
the boys were ill. When the couple’s one-year term with
The teen wasn’t home for much of the Adventist Volunteer Services ended, they
day, and the couple decided that asking made arrangements for the boys to live
him to give medicine to his little brothers with local friends.
18“It was a beautiful moment because we
Stor y Tips felt that a chapter in our lives had closed,”
Juan said. “We pray that the Lord will
Adventist Mission is not disclosing the
real identities of Juan and Juanita, or water the seeds that have been sown.”
the country where this story took place, The African experience changed the
because the couple are career medical hearts of Juan and Juanita. They noticed
missionaries who work in sensitive that Ellen White wasn’t only a prolific
parts of the world. They asked that
their names not be published to avoid
author with prophetic insights. She also
hindering future work. For that reason, had a living faith, practicing what she
no video is available this week preached by caring for needy children in
Find a picture that Juan drew for this
her own home.
story on the opposite page and at the “For me this was revolutionary,” Juan said.
link: bit.ly/fb-mq “Many times you see missionaries working in
the community, but how often do they bring
the mission work to their homes?”
Missionaries who do this can entertain
After a while, Juan and Juanita returned unseen angels, Juan said, pointing to a
for a new mission term and learned that favorite passage in Ellen White’s “Desire
the teenage brother had died. His mother of Ages,” page 639: “As you open your
A R G E N T I N A
had taken away her young sons. door to Christ’s needy and suffering ones,
Juan tracked down the mother and you are welcoming unseen angels. You
visited her and her sons. invite the companionship of heavenly
“It was a blessing to find them,” Juan beings. They bring a sacred atmosphere
said. “She is a lovely person. We spent of joy and peace. They come with praises
time with her. The boys were shy because upon their lips, and an answering strain
we hadn’t seen them for some time.” is heard in heaven. Every deed of mercy
When their second mission term ended, makes music there. The Father from His
the couple decided to visit the reunited throne numbers the unselfish workers
family one last time. Juan spent about a among His most precious treasures.”
week with them, building a friendship Juan — who was 30 when he and
with the mother as he helped her with Juanita helped the boys and is now 34 —
legal paperwork and other practical issues. appealed to Adventists to be vulnerable
Juanita had to work during the week but and to practice the gospel by bringing the
mission work to their homes and, by God’s
joined them on the weekend.
grace, reaching people’s hearts.
Together, the couple presented the family
“This was a heart-changing
with a box of children’s Bible books with
experience for me,” said Juan, who
beautiful illustrations, a Bible for each
grew up as a missionary kid. “I felt like I
family member in their native language, and
turned into a missionary in the mission
AdventistMission.org
Ellen White’s “The Great Controversy.” field. I was no longer a missionary kid,
Under a tree, they led a special Sabbath but a missionary myself.”
School class and church service for the
community, and then said goodbye. By Andrew McChesney
19New Year’s Wish
BRAZIL | June 1
Beatriz de Jesus Santana, 23
feel so well. She was exhausted after the
holiday weekend.
Her boss, Ana Christina,
sympathetically sat down beside her and
pulled out her cell phone. On it, she played
a three-minute video.
Beatriz watched with interest as she
saw a pastor speak about Jesus. The pastor
didn’t speak like her friends.
The next morning, Beatriz received
another three-minute video from Ana
Christina via WhatsApp on her cell
phone. Another short video arrived the
Y oung people raised glasses of wine as following day. Beatriz watched each video
they made wishes to God at a New and was amazed by the pastor’s peaceful
Year’s Eve party on a sandy beach on demeanor. She lived with her divorced
Brazil’s Itaparica Island. father, who drank heavily, and the two
“God, I want a year filled with blessings,” often quarreled. The arguments were a
said one. main reason that Beatriz had begun to
“I want to get rich,” said another. party and drink.
“I want to find love,” chimed in a third. After several days, Beatriz googled the
Beatriz de Jesus Santana listened as pastor’s name. She learned that the pastor,
her friends spoke on the Aratuba Beach, Ivan Saraiva, hosted the Portuguese-
a popular hangout located an hour by language “It Is Written” television program
ferry from her home in Salvador, a city on Novo Tempo television, the Brazilian
of 3 million people. She wondered how affiliate of the Seventh-day Adventist
drinking and partying was improving her Church’s Hope Channel.
Adventist Mission South American Division
life. Then she spoke. Beatriz began watching the “It Is
“I don’t want to ask God for anything,” Written” broadcasts, and she followed
she said. “I just want to thank God for along in her Bible to verify that the pastor
everything that has happened this year. spoke the truth. She was astonished when
I got a university scholarship and a good she heard about the Ten Commandments
internship at an engineering company. So and the seventh-day Sabbath.
many good things have happened.” After three weeks of studying the Bible
The next Monday at work, Beatriz didn’t with the television program, Beatriz asked
20She also was surprised about how she
Stor y Tips was treated, and she wondered, “Why
do those people care so much about me?
Watch a video of Beatriz at the link:
bit.ly/Beatriz-Santana
They don’t know me, but they tell me,
‘Have a great day!’ They want to know
Find photos for this story at the link: about my knowledge of the Bible and
bit.ly/fb-mq
how I am studying it. They care about me
Mission Post before they know who I really am.”
Two young people at the church
Brazil has 9,006 churches and 8,813 — Amanda and Vitor — gave Bible
companies. With 1,666,125 members, studies to Beatriz every Sabbath. Finally,
that’s one member for every 125 people
in Brazil. Beatriz gave her heart to Jesus and was
baptized in a swimming pool in the yard
In 1939, Adventist medical work was
established in Brazil, with the foundation
of the house church. Ana Christina wept
of Boa Vista Clinic (Good View Clinic) with joy at the sight.
under the direction of Dr. Antonio Today, Beatriz is praying for her father,
Alves de Miranda. In 1942 the clinic mother, and older brother to accept Jesus.
was replaced by Casa de Saude Liberdade
(Sao Paulo Adventist Hospital), under
Her brother is already studying the Bible
the direction of Dr. Galdino Nunes with “It Is Written.”
Vieira, a university teacher who left “I didn’t used to believe in miracles,”
his job to dedicate himself to medical Beatriz said. “I thought miracles were
missionary work. impossible. But God has performed a true
miracle in my life. I had an emptiness that
God to forgive her for her past life. She partying and drinking could not fill. It was
opened her heart to God and, for the first an emptiness that was just the right size
time, believed that He was listening when for Jesus to fill.”
she prayed. Beatriz celebrated last New Year’s Eve at
B R A Z I L
Beatriz searched for a church to the home of her fiancé, an Adventist man,
attend. A friend invited her to a Sunday and his family. They drank unfermented
church, but she remembered the fourth grape juice and praised God for His
commandment about the seventh-day blessings. “I want to grow closer to God,”
Sabbath and wondered why her friend’s Beatriz said. “I want the love for God in
church didn’t obey the Bible. my heart to never end.”
Ana Christina saw Beatriz’s new
Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
relationship with God and invited her to
Sabbath Offering will help the Sharing
the Sharing Jesus house church, where
Jesus house church move from rented
dozens of people gather in small groups
premises to a larger building, where it
to study the Bible on Sabbaths and other
also will offer healthy cooking classes
AdventistMission.org
days of the week.
and health seminars. Thank you for your
Beatriz immediately fell in love with the mission offering.
house church. “I was hugged, and I felt
welcomed,” she said. “I felt peace.” By Andrew McChesney
21Fast Answer to Two Prayers
BRAZIL | June 8
Gilberto Ferreira da Silva, 68
pleaded with God to teach him the Bible
and to reveal His true church.
“God answered that prayer more quickly
than any other prayer in my life,” Gilberto
said later.
Without knowing it, Gilberto had
prayed on the seventh-day Sabbath. Dec.
31 fell on a Saturday that year. The next
day, Jan. 1, was a Sunday.
On Monday, the first workday of the
year, Gilberto received a phone call from
the bank where he used to work. The
bank director wanted him to come in to
sign a new contract on some investments
G ilberto never had any interest in
joining a church, and he couldn’t
understand why he suddenly was
that he owned.
At the bank, Gilberto saw a former
overcome with a desire to read the Bible. co-worker sitting near the bank director’s
Unable to resist the urge, the retired desk and abruptly remembered that the
Brazilian bank manager began to study the man was a Christian. He went over to the
Bible on his own. man, Alvaro, after signing the contract.
Gilberto was amazed by what he read. “Alvaro, do you know where I can study
But parts of the Bible confused him, and the Bible?” Gilberto asked. He quickly
he anxiously pondered their meaning. He added, “But don’t introduce me to a pastor.
wished that someone would explain the Don’t try to convert me. I just want to
Bible to him. study the Bible.”
On New Year’s Eve, he decided to skip Alvaro was a Seventh-day Adventist,
Adventist Mission South American Division
the family tradition of watching fireworks but Gilberto didn’t know that.
from the street in Salvador, a coastal city “You can study the Bible in Cabula,”
of 3 million people in Brazil. Alvaro said, referring to the city district
“Watch the fireworks without me,” he where he attended an Adventist church.
told his wife and three teenage children. “I “That’s so far away,” Gilberto said. “The
won’t go with you this time.” traffic is terrible.”
Gilberto had a plan. He wanted to pray. Alvaro thought for a moment. “I know
After his family left the house, he just the place,” he said. “People just study
22“Mom, I’m going to be baptized into my
Stor y Tips sister’s church,” he said.
Ten minutes after the telephone
Pronounce Gilberto as: zhu-BER-tu
conversation ended, Gilberto’s mother
Watch a video of Gilberto at the link: called back.
bit.ly/Gilberto-Silva “Why can’t we be baptized together?”
Find photos for this story at the link: she said.
bit.ly/fb-mq “Are you prepared for baptism?”
Gilberto asked.
Fa s t Fa c t “Every day, my daughter gives me
Bible lessons,” she said. “I can’t lose this
Brazil is the only country in South opportunity to go into the water with you.”
America that speaks Portuguese.
She was baptized at the age of 84.
Gilberto was 56.
Today, Gilberto is 68 and a co-leader of
the Bible there. It’s not a church.”
the Sharing Jesus house church. Part of
The next day, on Tuesday, Alvaro
this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering
took Gilberto to the Sharing Jesus house
will help the house church move from
church, where people meet in small groups
to sing and study the Bible. Gilberto, rented premises into a larger building,
however, felt uncomfortable going where it will also offer healthy cooking
somewhere he knew no one, so he asked a classes and health seminars.
family friend, Regina, to come along. His Gilberto said he marvels at how
wife refused to go. God answered his New Year’s prayer to
Gilberto was fascinated by the Bible understand the Bible and know God’s true
study and asked Regina to join him at the church by leading him to the Adventist
next meeting. house church in just three days.
“Fine, I’ll go with you,” she replied. “How did I come to this church?”
B R A Z I L
“But I won’t join the church.” he said in an interview at the house
Regina accompanied Gilberto to every church. “It was the love of God. But what
meeting, and she often wore a swimsuit prompted me to stay was the welcoming
under her clothing so she could swim at and loving environment that I found.”
the beach afterward. He added: “I think this church has
Gilberto was baptized at the end of broken the prejudices of many people.
the year, on Dec. 31, 2006. Regina was I came from the world, and we have
baptized the next year. baptized people just like me — physicians,
“Guess who was baptized with me,” dentists, and lawyers — who normally
Gilberto said with a twinkle in his eye. wouldn’t go to church. We welcome
“My mother.” people who don’t want to go to church
AdventistMission.org
Shortly before his baptism, he and, once they are baptized, they almost
announced the news to his mother, who never leave the church.”
lived in the Brazilian countryside with his
sister, Odete, an Adventist. By Andrew McChesney
23BRAZIL | June 15
Marxist to
Adventist
Ma r i a P a l m e i r a , 7 0
Santana, and his wife, Leoni. Pastor Luis
had attended a wedding in the United
States and stopped in Montreal for eight
days to see Maria before flying home. He
and Maria had attended the same church
as young adults.
Pastor Luis and his wife visited Maria
Marita was baptized at the age of 12
in Brazil.
every day. They spoke about the Bible and
Jesus’ love for her. They invited her to
But she left the church as a young adult, return to Christ. Maria listened politely but
and 38 years passed before she could cast was unmoved.
aside her faith in Marxism to become a Two years later, she returned to Brazil to
powerhouse for God in her community. teach as a university professor. Pastor Luis’
“The ideals of Marxism replaced the wife called her every week for three years to
ideals of Christ in my life,” said Maria, invite her to attend a Bible study group.
known to friends as Marita. Maria always found an excuse not to go.
Raised by a Seventh-day Adventist One day, Maria noticed while preparing
mother, Maria taught a Sabbath School for a class that Marx wrote his first
class and served as her church’s youth manuscript in 1844. She remembered
director while in her teens. But she stopped that her mother had said the Adventist
going to church at the age of 22 after a movement began in 1844, and she
prominent church member said something wondered whether the devil might have
that offended her. Maria immersed herself introduced Marxism to counteract the
into sociology studies and embraced Adventist message. She compared Marxism
Adventist Mission South American Division
German philosopher and sociologist Karl with Adventism. She saw that Marx taught
Marx’s teachings on human rights. that people could change the world through
Twenty-five years passed. Maria married, their own power, while Adventists believed
had a son, and was widowed. She moved to that people needed Christ to change.
Montreal, Canada, to pursue post-doctoral A short time later, Maria announced to
studies at Université du Québec à Montréal. her graduate sociology class, “I now believe
While there, she received a surprise visit that Jesus was a great revolutionary leader,
from an old friend, Brazilian pastor Luis but He wasn’t the Son of God.”
24You can also read
