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 When Renato was called
to be an Adventist volunteer,

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 he imagined serving
in remote, exotic

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 locations, such as those he heard
about in mission stories as a kid.

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 He was surprised when God
sent him to a city instead.

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 Thailand is far from his home
country of Brazil,

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 and Renato quickly learned
about the

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 mission needs in big cities
such as Bangkok.

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 In the very beginning I got
a little bit disappointed because.

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 That was not the idea I had
of working the 1040 window.

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 I thought I would be teaching
in a bamboo school,

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 in the forest, in the jungles,

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 but

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 I realized that challenges
are everywhere

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 and they are so intense it
is hard to serve

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 as a missionary anywhere.

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 Working in cities such as Bangkok
can be difficult.

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 People are often busy, isolated
and seemingly in need of nothing.

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 Their lives are good
the way it is.

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 They're healthy,
they have beautiful families.

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 There are many wealthy people
here in Thailand.

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 Why do they need Jesus?

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 That's the question.

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 Why do I need something else

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 if I have everything
a successful human being can have?

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 And we know that a life
without Jesus is a meaningless life.

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 Despite the challenges,

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 Renato has made it his mission

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 to foster positive connections

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 with the people around him.

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 The volunteer is not just about suffering

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 and dealing with challenges
and difficulties.

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 Somehow, even if we don't deserve.

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 God promotes hundreds of opportunities
for us to enjoy life and be happy.

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 Renato's primary role as a volunteer
is teaching grade for English

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 at Ekamai International

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 School.

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 Teaching has allowed him to bond
with his students

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 and learn about their lives.

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 95% of the kids in my school

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 are non Christian so worshipping
in the morning for us

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 is

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 really important.

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 From 7:00 to 7:20 AM
we have the worship session

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 and that's my favorite moment
of the

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 day.

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 After class, Renato is involved
with other ministries.

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 Such as visiting people in prison
and gathering resources

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 to support refugees.

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 Renato's experiences
as an Adventist volunteer service,

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 or AVS worker have impacted him

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 in a way that will remain with him
for the rest of his.

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 Life.

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 I'm pretty sure that nobody
that goes to any country

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 to serve as an AVS will come back

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 home the same way
they got into this.

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 It's a life changing opportunity
and by the grace of God.

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 The work here in the missionary field
has changed my life

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 in a very good way.

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 As we refocus our attention
to mission in the cities,

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 please pray for workers such as

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 Renato who share the light of Jesus
with those around them.

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 If you would like to learn more
about service opportunities,

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 visit vividfaith.com.

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 Thank you for supporting the mission
of the 7th Day Adventist Church.