Young man encounters Caleb Mission through neighbor; accepts baptism

The Caleb Mission Project is already part of the vacation routine of many Adventist youth in Brazil. Every year, young people get together and carry out actions relevant to society, such as blood donation, cleaning public squares, collecting food for needy families, and others.

Each Caleb invites a friend to participate and thus the group multiplies. Bruna Silva lives on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul in the city of Tramandaí and was able to experience this in 2019. 

“My mother has a small market in the neighborhood where I live and one day the Calebs stopped by and we started talking,” she says. “They invited me to participate in the project and soon afterward they offered me a Bible study.”

Silva accepted Christ as her Savior and was baptized on April 20, 2019, during Holy Week. Today she is a young leader of the Imbé church and comments on how this project changed her life. 

“The Caleb Mission for me is the most wonderful project of the church; it represents everything for me--my passion,” she says. “Through the Mission I had an encounter with the Lord Jesus,” he shared.

Discipleship

But Silva did not stop there. Months later, she developed a friendship with Pedro Godoy, her new neighbor, and extended the invitation for him to learn about the project as well. He accepted the invitation and also started studying the bible with Silva.

On Jan. 30, 2021, Godoy gave himself to Christ. The baptism took place on Tramandaí beach, and Caleb friends attended the ceremony held by Pastor Tiago Fraga, leader of Adventist youth for the south of Rio Grande do Sul.

“When I saw him being baptized, I felt a great emotion,” Silva says. “It was inexplicable! I feel happy because it is one more soul for Jesus, a person who gave himself to Christ.”

Godoy thanked Silva for her effort in teaching him about the Word and intends not to break this chain of discipleship. 

"It is very incredible how the mission works,” he comments; “there will always be people who feel lost and we can pick them up.”

For pastor Alberto Braga, active in the district of Tramandaí, the Caleb Mission has been a great opportunity for him to develop his talents, his gifts, and his spiritual abilities. 

"It has been an opportunity for young people to act not only within the church,” he says, “but directly serving the local community.”

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site