Since June 29, 2024, 220 volunteers from six states in the Northeastern region of Brazil have been in the interior of Piauí, carrying out 10 days of a service project. The Mission Trip, called Missão Piauí (Mission Piauí), aims to serve the city of São Raimundo Nonato, through health initiatives, home, square, and establishment renovations, as well as several service initiatives for the community. The team of volunteers includes professionals from various areas, such as doctors, psychologists, lawyers, physiotherapists, nurses, teachers, nutritionists, university students, children, and even retirees. 

Participants will be divided into teams over the course of the 10-day project. The strategy is to serve as many people as possible in different neighborhoods of the city, which currently has around 33,000 inhabitants. The volunteers come from the states of Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, and Piauí itself. They dedicated 10 days of their vacation to the project, which is organized by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

Social Welfare Fairs

The city hosted social welfare fairs on the 29th and 30th, including blood sugar tests, vaccinations, and lectures on healthy habits to improve health. The event also included legal services, haircuts, and psychological counseling. The services were held simultaneously at four points in the city over the two days. Volunteers were divided into teams on the streets to attract participants to the fair, handing out invitations. The moment of first contact with the community was also used to pray for the population.

Cleaning and Revitalization

Since the 30th, teams of volunteers spread across the city to carry out cleaning and revitalization services in homes and commercial establishments, as well as in public places. The work ranged from cleaning streets to painting walls, curbs and park benches, culminating in the planting of seedlings.

The volunteers brought more than five tons of food in their caravans, which were organized into more than 350 basic food baskets. In the coming days, they will be distributed to families in situations of social vulnerability. According to Erinaldo Silva, ADRA director in the Northeast, this is the result of a joint effort: "Even those who could not come to the mission helped, contributed, sending this food and clothes to be donated here!"

Tourism and mission

During the week-long project, volunteers will also hold workshops on Games for Children, discussion groups and specialized services for parents of atypical children, healthy cooking courses, and distribution of basic food baskets and clothing to the communities of São Raimundo Nonato. The workshops will take place from July 1st to 5th at CEEP (State Center for Professional Education). The group of volunteers will also have alternating moments to visit Serra da Capivara, getting to know the local tourist attractions.

According to Otávio Barreto, the Mission Trip coordinator and director of Adventist Volunteer Service for the Northeast region, the goal of bringing the missionaries to the south of Piauí is to give a special purpose to the vacation. "We have young people, students, and several professionals in the group. All with their gifts and talents, willing to serve others during their time off. There are several activities taking place simultaneously to benefit the city and help us grow as people too. This is practicing solidarity! This is being a Christian. That is why, throughout the week, every night, we have 20 meeting points in the city, where we invite residents to meet with us and open up the word of God, to understand more about the mission He has assigned to us," he comments. 

The project ends on July 6th with two major mobilizations: in the morning, a tree-planting event involving all project participants, and in the afternoon, a public celebration with presentations, special messages, and praise.

The original article was published on the South American Division Portuguese website.