Young people from north-central Espírito Santo in Brazil went to their local cemeteries to offer comfort to people reliving their grief on the national Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). At least two initiatives took place in parallel and reached about 800 people on Monday morning, November 2.

In Grande Vitória, 25 volunteers from four Pathfinder clubs in the District of Barcelona mobilized to deliver copies of the book A Maior Esperança (A Greater Hope) to those who came to the Jardim Da Paz cemetery in Serra. In addition, they also distributed water. In all, 400 kits were delivered by the team.

Giuseppe Alves, the pastor responsible for the project, explains that the purpose of the combination of gifts was to represent the bread and water of life through a metaphor.

“This year, some were not even able to say goodbye through funerals,” Alves says. “So, on this date we shared the water and the bread of life, that was the idea. The reception was very positive. Everyone received it with great joy.”

Hope through pain

In the North of the State, another group assembled for the same purpose. In the city of Ecoporanga, young people allied with Adventist motorcyclists delivered handkerchiefs and books to a local cemetery. They set up a tent with black balloons. And on these balloons, the volunteers wrote the word 'hope.'

“We did this to show people that life does not end there in the cemetery, that we have the hope of salvation,” reinforces Dayane Almeida, one of the participants.

Stickers were glued to each handkerchief with a consoling phrase: 'And He will wipe away your tears.' The passage alludes to Revelation 21:4. At least 400 people were reached with this effort, as well.

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