Short Term Missions for Americans
Help the People of the Brazilian Sertão
Americans are not expected to have foreign language skills.
Bargain Mission Options
JUVEP’s twice yearly short term Missions Project takes a large mission team to a small town deep in the Sertão for an intensive evangelistic blast lasting over two weeks. A major church denomination commits to planting a church in the town, providing a place for new Christians to worship and grow their faith. The Brazilian team will use Portuguese, but there is room for a small U.S. team to help.
These projects happen during the period schools are on break. They are call Holiday Mission Trips. This means the school facilities can be rented to provide rudimentary housing for the missionaries. People sleep the floor (using thin mattresses or mats) and eat as a group in the school. There is no air conditioning and it can get hot (up to 100 degrees mid-day.)
American team member can help with logistics (e.g., cooking, shopping). They can participate in group training and worship times. On a limited basis, Americans can join the door-to-door evangelism and participate in street worship and outreach.
Normally some of the Brazilian team members are quite skilled in English. The Brazilians often look forward to speaking English with native speakers. Brazilians are also touched when Americans commit their time and effort to help here. So, you would be warmly welcomed.
Much Nicer Mission Options
The rigors of sleeping in a group on the floor is not for everyone. Especially, when it is HOT. Not everyone needs to go super cheap. Yes, we can find air conditioned rooms with real beds. Short term missions don’t have to be rough.
If you are serving at JUVEP Base camp, the weather never gets too hot. Most of the year is really nice. The home base is in Cabadelo, PB, adjacent to Joao Pessoa, PB a delightful vacation town. So, if you want to stay at the beach, eat at world-class restaurants and enjoy the tropical beach scene, you can add that on too.
Or, better yet, do both. Spend some time in Joao Pessoa planning your missionary work in the Sertão. Then take the five hour drive into the Sertão to do your project where the needs are greatest. Serious holiday and serious missions work! A real win-win.
JUVEP has a number of workers based on Cabadelo and many collaborators in the Sertão. If, for example, you were working with children in the Sertão, you would collaborate with Neia. Neia is English-capable and is always looking for ways to do more to serve the children of the Sertão.
Come help!
Short Term Missions - Logistics and Costs
- A visa is required for Americans to visit Brazil on short term missions trips.
- Careful planning can readily arrange round-trip air fare for under $1,000. This requires use of Brazilian carriers Azul, Gol or Latam flying from Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Orlando. You must fly separately to those cities first (e.g. Southwest), as combined tickets are much more expensive. Check these flight options (MCO-REC, FLL-REC, MIA-REC or MCO-JPA, FLL-JPA or MIA-JPA). There are normally a few non-stop options to Recife (REC). (As of this update, Azul flies non-stop Fort Lauderdale to Recife, close enought to be a local airport. Tickets run $700-$1,000 round trip.) JPA is easier for us (no non-stop options), but REC is a viable option.
- Flying American flag carriers (American, Delta or United) might cost a lot more, but sometimes are competitive.
- Americans with drivers licences can rent cars. Let us know if you like this option and we can provide more information.
- Depending on your program, daily costs can range from $15-$200 per day. $15 is sleeping on a mat on the floor and in Joao Pessoa there are first-class hotels and gourmet meals for about $200 per day. In the Sertão, the best is a basic air conditioned room and basic restaurant meals.
- Transportation costs are additional. Taking a car into the Sertão can easily run $100 for gasoline. Going with a group on a bus is less. Mission work that does not include a Sertão visit avoids most such costs. Uber works well for local transportation and is very inexpensive.
- Especially in the Sertão, you might encounter some cool nights. A light jacket is wise. Rain can come, usually in the form of showers. In the Sertão it is normally hot and dry. Along the coast, February-March can be hot and June-August can be rainy.
- JUVEP operates with a meager budget. Plan on using some money to help pay for the mission program
Possible Mission Trip Outline
Every trip will be different and will be adjusted to meet the needs of the team. This is one concept for a ten-day mission trip. Be sure to contact your bank before you leave to enable your credit cards and ATM cards to function in Brazil. This trip, including airfare from Miami, costs about $1500 per person (plus personal expenses).
Monday: Your team assembles in Miami, Florida and takes an overnight flight on Latam airlines to São Paulo, Brazil.
Tuesday: You arrive in São Paulo on Tuesday morning. After a layover, your team catches a Latam flight to Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, in Brazil’s Northeast. You arrive around 12:30 PM where we welcome you to Joao Pessoa. We either use a medium-size bus or the team rents some minivans. We take the team to Mangai restaurant, a buffet style place famed for authentic Brazilian Northeast food. The Brazilian custom is to eat hearty for lunch and have a light dinner. So, eat accordingly! Then we go checkin to a Pousada (basic hotel) near the beach. Anyone interested can then join us on a quick trip to the grocery store and pick up some food for the team’s dinner, probably sandwiches. Anyone not too tired can walk to the beach and check out the Tuesday night activities. There are plenty of restaurants on the beach, if anyone is in the mood.
Wednesday: The pousada will provide a breakfast. It is not American style, but there will be ample food. Then the team will leave for our first stop at Mission JUVEP. You will tour JUVEP base camp and spend the morning with a brief worship session and several briefings about the Sertão and the great challenges in evangelizing the people there. We will have lunch at Mission JUVEP. After lunch, we will travel the short distance to the Vila Feliz church that serves a neighborhood very similar to what will be encountered in the Sertão. You will be greeted by church leaders and briefed on your service project for Vila Feliz. One element will be to plan and practice a dramatic performance (narrated by a local) that can be used for evangelism. Wednesday evening the team will go to Jacaré Beach (Alligator Beach) where you will watch the sunset with a traditional saxophone performance of Ravel’s Bolero played from a boat. Then back to the Pousada for the night. We should return by 7:00 PM, so there is time for another walk to the beach, if desired.
Thursday: After breakfast, the team will go back to Vila Feliz and perform the chosen service project(s). The team will eat lunch at Vila Feliz (might be delivered pizza). This project might continue into the early evening. Then, back to the Pousada. Normal evening food will be sandwiches. Friday we head to the Sertão.
Friday: After breakfast, the team checks out of the Pousada and prepares for our journey into the Sertão. It takes about five hours to get to our destination. We might go to the small city known as Piancó and find a pousada for a few nights. Church leaders will have planned a weekend of evangelistic and service projects. In these poor towns, simple things, like giving the town ladies free application of nail polish can bring out many people who have not yet heard to message of Jesus. Or, you may do games with kids. Or, the guys might help church members with a construction project. That evening, the team may perform a skit in a public square. Everyone will be curious about the Americans.
Saturday: The team will continue their ministry and service activites likely in nearby towns. Lunch may be at local restaurants or provided by the sponsoring church. Plan a late evening, as nearly everyone comes outside after the hot day in the Sertão.
Sunday: The team will worship with our sponsoring church and spend much of the day helping the people of the church. We will ask the Pastor to identify what the team can do for the greatest impact. Generally, any service project will be jointly done by church members and the mission team. Take lots of photos and say your Goodbyes, for tomorrow we go back to the coast.
Monday: After breakfast, we load up and to to another region in the Sertão, known as Cariri. Cariri is a region closer to Joao Pessoa that has been targeted by city churches for evangelism and church planting. These new and small churches need strengthening. We will serve in towns such as Serra Branca and Sumé.
Tuesday: This will be our last day of ministry. We will continued to serve the people of Sumé and Serra Branca, strengthening these small and struggling churches. You will build relationships with these people, the pastors and the towns. They will count on you to remain in prayer for their work. We return to Joao Pessoa after dark.
Wednesday: This will be the first totally free day. Missionaries can take the popular boat trips to Piscinas Naturais (natural pools) where everyone will swim in the shallow water. Or, if some people want to spend some money, hire a dune buggy for a trip to beaches about an hour South of town. There are English speaking guides, if you want. Or, we can take a group to the lighthouse and landmark for the Easternmost place in the continental Western hemisphere. Lunch on the beach in a “quiosque” is essential. There are lots of shops with creative things to buy from the Sertão for your memories (and gifts!)
Thursday: Everyone can sleep in a bit. We will assemble about 10:00 AM to load the bus for the airport and hold a short worship service and concluding ceremony. During your layover in Sao Paulo, everyone will be encouraged to do lots of social media posts and share your experiences with your churches and friends. Then we take a short bus ride back to the airport. You will leave Joao Pessoa mid-day if you are connecting through Sao Paulo.
Friday: Early morning you arrive back in Miami after an overnight flight. Everyone has plenty of time to get back to your home destination on Friday.
Planning your Trip
Please contact us early to discuss short term missions possibilities. We will coordinate your desires with other planned activities and can offer you insights into other activities that may be relevant to your planning. Longer term mission needs are also here.
See this website – Joao Pessoa Tourism – for an idea of the destination city. Remember, the mission field in the Sertão is very different. Come, enjoy, and serve the Lord.
E-mail to info@harvest100fold.com or call 301-661-4098 and leave a message.