Car coming down from the elevator started to burn from the inside out. It was not possible to contain the flames.
Seventh-day Adventist young adults in the Brazilian state of São Paulo put mission into action when an auto repair shop a few yards from their church suffered fire damage and losses.
José Lima dos Santos has for 14 years owned the garage, located in the city of Salto, in the Parque Residencial Rondon neighborhood. On June 1, after completing the service of a car on a lift, a fire broke out; the blaze could not be contained. The vehicle was a total loss, as was some of Santos’ tools. A nearby vehicle owned by another customer was also damaged by the flames.
Desolate, Santos did not believe what was happening. Sitting on the sidewalk, he didn't know how to deal with the losses—especially in the face of the pandemic, which has decreased his firm’s revenues. Across the avenue was Everton Gil Leite, leader of the Caleb Mission of the Parque Residencial Rondon Seventh-day Adventist Church, who witnessed the situation. The Caleb Mission is an outreach and service project throughout the church’s South American Division which has seen teams of young adult volunteers cross the continent to help others and share the gospel.
After two days, Leite went to the workshop and offered help to the mechanic. Thus, an online campaign to raise financial resources was started to cover the damages of approximately U.S. $2,250, or 12 thousand Brazilian Reals. The Caleb teams from the churches in Rondon and Jardim Santa Cruz mobilized for the campaign.
On the first day the initiative raised a thousand Reals, approximately $200 U.S., and continued from there.
Leite said, “It is a great satisfaction to be able to help our neighbor. Our goal is to assist people in need with actions and words of hope. In this way, the Christian life makes more sense [to them].”
Santos, the garage owner, was very surprised by the attitude of the volunteers and said that it was God who touched their hearts to help.
“They arrived [at the right] time. I've been struggling with accounts payable for three months and with little business. I thought it was the end,” he said. A local television station picked up the story, which helped raise awareness and funds.
The action to help Santos kicked off June’s Caleb Mission activities.
“There are 111 teams registered this year. They are young volunteers committed to social and missionary actions in a bold and relevant way in society,” said Péricles Barbosa, Caleb Mission coordinator for the southwestern region of São Paulo state.
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site