The volunteers who will be helping in Santa Juana, Chile, during the second half of the year arrived directly from Brazil on Monday, June 5, 2023. The idea is to contribute to the community after the fires that occurred earlier this year.
In total, there are nine young people from the East Brazil Union Mission (the region’s administrative unit of the Seventh-day Adventist Church) who will build houses and greenhouses, provide emotional support, and seek to contribute to the work of the people of Santa Juana to recover from the damage caused by the fires. Within the group, there are people of various ages and occupations: teachers, psychology students, and real estate brokers, among others.
“I felt God's call for the mission," says Vinicius Almeida, who is 23 years old and comes from Aracaju, Brazil, to dedicate six months to serve in Santa Juana. "The country is wonderful, very beautiful," added the volunteer when asked about his first impression of Chile.
This is part of the One Year in Mission (OYIM) project, which is a volunteer project of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that sends missionaries to all parts of the world. These missionaries are trained beforehand to put their knowledge and skills at the disposal of the community, as well as share the message of hope. Elsita Gondin, another volunteer, indicates that the work they will do will be "to help people, taking the message of God."
During the months of January and February, young people from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Biobío region were developing social aid projects and regularly attended Santa Juana to remove debris, rebuild fences and houses, and deliver basic supplies, among other service work. Therefore, this is a work of continuity, where the main thing is to bring God's love to those in need.
The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Spanish-language news site.
