AdventHealth, an Adventist health system based in Florida, United States, partnered with Adventist Health Brazil (AHB), the Adventist Church's health network in Brazil, to lead a mission trip that brought Brazilian and American professionals to Lake Acajatuba in Rio Negro Reserve, Amazonas, Brazil.
Held September 6–10, the mission trip featured five days of health services and served more than 500 people. The Adventist Hospital Manaus, a hospital unit of AHB, and the Northwest Missions Institute also participated in the mission trip.
Around 50 professionals, including medical specialists, dentists, psychologists, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and biochemistry technicians, conducted hundreds of consultations, examinations, therapies, and dental treatments. There were also health education sessions, first aid training, and activities geared towards children.
“The dedication of the professionals and the integration of the two health networks made it possible to provide specialized care and leave a legacy through the delivery of new health structures to the residents of the communities,” said Altiery Kümpel, AHB director of Strategies and Institutional Relations and one of the mission trip organizers.
Through their partnership, AdventHealth and AHB planned and built a new health unit for the Nossa Senhora de Fátima community and fully renovated the health unit and community center in Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro.
Wally De Aquino, AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway president and CEO, said, “This work helps expand access to healthcare for the future and supports local professionals. With the construction and renovation of the units, these teams will have adequate spaces to continue providing care, even after our volunteers return home."
The team brought four tons of medicine, hospital supplies, and other materials, and residents also received food baskets. "Acajatuba represented, in practice, the essence of our mission: to serve and care for people where they are, especially those who face the greatest difficulties in accessing healthcare," said Gilnei de Abreu, AHB president.
Olesea Azevedo, AdventHealth senior executive vice president, recalled situations in which teams needed to go beyond providing care in the units. For her, this willingness to be close to people expresses the purpose of both networks. “Our mission is shared. It lives in every gesture of care, in every word of hope, in every moment when we choose to be truly present.”
Felipe Calderon Scarin, medical director of the Adventist Medical Center in Curitiba, met a resident who divided her time between caring for her three children and her elderly mother. Her dedication to her family moved Scarin. "During the mission, we had several moments where we could feel God's love, His goodness," he reported.
Yohanna Mills, a physical therapist from AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway, said she will apply the learning experience to her daily life. “I want to look beyond the condition I’m treating and remember that each patient has a mind, a heart, a story, and a life beyond the diagnosis.”
For Makeba Garrison, director of Mission and Ministry in the Flagler and St. John regions for AdventHealth, the experience gave the team the opportunity to extend Christ's healing ministry beyond the hospital walls.
After the health outreach ended, volunteers held a thanksgiving service at the local Adventist church to close the community activities. About 100 people attended, including dozens of local residents.
The original article was published on the South American Division Portuguese news site.
