South American Division

Church Workers in São Paulo Refurbish Needy Family's House, Collect Donations for Mutirão de Natal

Created in Brazil 30 years ago, the solidarity project takes place at the Central Brazil Union headquarters for the fifth time

January 3, 2024

Brazil

Vanessa Moraes

Roseli and her five daughters benefited from the Christmas Mutirão (Photo: Personal Archive).

Forty days were all it took for the home of Roseli Ribeiro and her five daughters to be transformed into a cozier environment. This story began at the 2022 Mutirão de Natal (“Christmas effort”), when Ribeiro was given a basic food basket and an invitation to study the Bible.

At the Christmas 2022 Mutirão, Roseli accepted the invitation to study the Bible (Photo: UCB Collection).

Given the positive response to the invitation, in 2023, Pastor Mauricio Lima, president of the Central Brazil Union (UCB) of Seventh-day Adventists, and his wife, Sara, director of the Ministerial Spouses Association for the union, visited Ribeiro's home weekly to lead Bible studies.

Pastor Mauricio Lima and his wife Sara Lima taught weekly Bible studies to Roseli's family (Photo: UCB Collection).

A year later, Ribeiro agreed to be baptized, and on November 12, she publicly sealed her commitment to God. "This was the only church that welcomed my family. I decided wholeheartedly to be baptized, and it was the best decision of my life," she says.

According to Pastor Lima, it is a joy to see the results of the work of Mutirão de Natal, especially as people decide to get baptized. "We are here to bring physical bread and spiritual bread to people. This is where we go from theory to actually practicing what we preach," he says.

A Fresh Start

Mutirão de Natal has done more than meet people's physical and spiritual needs. Ribeiro suffers from systemic sclerosis, a rare autoimmune disease that mainly affects the skin, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, musculoskeletal system, lungs, kidneys, and heart. As a result, she is unable to work and has difficulty looking after her home.

Roseli was baptized on November 12, 2023, at the VIII Quinquennial Assembly of the UCB (Photo: UCB Collection).

The church has started to offer support for Ribeiro's health care, and she is receiving medical care and medication to improve her quality of life. "The Adventist Church's help is very important because without it, I don't know how I would be living with the girls," she says.

Donations

In December 2023, Ribeiro's family received more than just a basic food basket, as she was awarded the renovation of the house where she lives with her daughters: Débora, 13; twins Ane and Sofia, 8; Júlia, 7; and Alice, 5. Everything was possible thanks to donations and funds raised in the fifth edition of the Christmas Task Force promoted by the UCB.

Roseli's house was renovated in 40 days by UCB employees (Photo: UCB Collection).

Some shopkeepers in Artur Nogueira, São Paulo, where the UCB headquarters is located, also contributed to the project, either by donating materials used to renovate the house or discounting the price of furniture, such as kitchen cabinets, closets, beds, and other items, purchased at cost price. The civil servants also made personal donations of furniture, household items, and financial resources.

For Gustavo Mota, a businessman who donated to Ribeiro's house, being supportive was good for his own family. "Even my daughter, who is small, wanted to separate some of her toys to give to the girls. Helping does good, so this act shouldn't just be done at Christmas, but at all times of the year," he says.

Teams of Employees

UCB employees organized themselves into four teams and spent two months working hard to get donations. The group also pitched in to help renovate the house and assemble the food baskets bought with the donated funds.

Servers participate in the handover ceremony for the renovated house in Roseli (Photo: UCB Communication).

According to Thiago Oliveira, leader of the purple team, the task was challenging but positive, as he saw how involved his colleagues were. "This is motivating for us. God has left us a mission, which is to do good to our neighbors. Nothing is more rewarding than that," he says.

Pastor Edimilson Lima, organizer of the Christmas Task Force at UCB and director of Adventist Solidarity Action (ASA) for the state of São Paulo, points out that the project benefits the church and the people it helps. "It's a movement that involves the church in an act of solidarity with a community in need. Above all, the church unites and integrates itself in this solidarity involvement to bless people, and in this way, we are fulfilling Christ's mission," he explains.

Closing Program

The closing of Mutirão de Natal 2023 took place at the Parque dos Trabalhadores Adventist Church in Artur Nogueira, where dozens of Christmas hampers were distributed to needy families, like that of Fabíola da Silva, who stopped working to look after her sister, who is ill. "I received a basket, and my sister did, too. We're very happy; after all, this will help a lot at home," she says.

Around one hundred Christmas baskets were distributed by Mutirão UCB (Photo: UCB Collection).

As well as delivering the hampers, the program included the baptism of Débora, Ribeiro's eldest daughter, who is now celebrating not just a new home but also a new life alongside Christ. "I feel so much happiness in my heart. When I was baptized, I felt renewed. It was certainly like being born again," she shares.

"I'm very grateful to the Adventist Church for having embraced me and my family. Just gratitude, just gratitude," says Ribeiro.

See the before and after photos of the Ribeiros house (or click here):

Photo: Disclosure