When Renato was called to be an Adventist volunteer,
he imagined serving in remote, exotic
locations, such as those he heard about in mission stories as a kid.
He was surprised when God sent him to a city instead.
Thailand is far from his home country of Brazil,
and Renato quickly learned about the
mission needs in big cities such as Bangkok.
In the very beginning I got a little bit disappointed because.
That was not the idea I had of working the 1040 window.
I thought I would be teaching in a bamboo school,
in the forest, in the jungles,
but
I realized that challenges are everywhere
and they are so intense it is hard to serve
as a missionary anywhere.
Working in cities such as Bangkok can be difficult.
People are often busy, isolated and seemingly in need of nothing.
Their lives are good the way it is.
They're healthy, they have beautiful families.
There are many wealthy people here in Thailand.
Why do they need Jesus?
That's the question.
Why do I need something else
if I have everything a successful human being can have?
And we know that a life without Jesus is a meaningless life.
Despite the challenges,
Renato has made it his mission
to foster positive connections
with the people around him.
The volunteer is not just about suffering
and dealing with challenges and difficulties.
Somehow, even if we don't deserve.
God promotes hundreds of opportunities for us to enjoy life and be happy.
Renato's primary role as a volunteer is teaching grade for English
at Ekamai International
School.
Teaching has allowed him to bond with his students
and learn about their lives.
95% of the kids in my school
are non Christian so worshipping in the morning for us
is
really important.
From 7:00 to 7:20 AM we have the worship session
and that's my favorite moment of the
day.
After class, Renato is involved with other ministries.
Such as visiting people in prison and gathering resources
to support refugees.
Renato's experiences as an Adventist volunteer service,
or AVS worker have impacted him
in a way that will remain with him for the rest of his.
Life.
I'm pretty sure that nobody that goes to any country
to serve as an AVS will come back
home the same way they got into this.
It's a life changing opportunity and by the grace of God.
The work here in the missionary field has changed my life
in a very good way.
As we refocus our attention to mission in the cities,
please pray for workers such as
Renato who share the light of Jesus with those around them.
If you would like to learn more about service opportunities,
visit vividfaith.com.
Thank you for supporting the mission of the 7th Day Adventist Church.