Piaui Mission

The Piaui Mission (MPi) is an administrative unit of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (SDA), located in the territory of the Northeast Brazil Union Mission Conference. Its headquarters are located on Acésio do Rêgo Monteiro st., no. 1977, CEP 64049-610, in Planalto Ininga neighborhood, in the city of Teresina, in the state of Piauí, Brazil.

The state of Piaui has 251,616,823 km² and an estimated population of 3,264,531.¹ Among them there are 19,899 baptized Adventist members distributed in 94 churches,² which corresponds to an average of 164 inhabitants per Adventist. The Church in Piauí holds 127 Pathfinders Clubs³ with 3,145 members and more 56 Adventurers Clubs⁴ with 1,105 members.⁵

The MPi team has 50 workers, 15 of whom are commissioned and 9 licensed ministers.⁶

Origin of the Adventist Work in the Mission Territory

In general, the states of the northeast of Brazil are large territorial extensions, all bathed in the Atlantic Ocean. The inhabitants of this region have historical roots in the indigenous culture, the African peoples and the strong Catholicism that has penetrated these lands.⁷ This region has the highest proportion of Catholics in the country to date.⁸ Due to geopolitical difficulties, there are the highest rates of illiteracy and the lowest rates of urbanization and life expectancy in the country.⁹ These factors led many to consider the Northeast region as the “10/40 Window” in Brazil.¹⁰ There are many challenges for preaching the Gospel in this region.

In the 1920s, the territory of North Brazil Conference was formed by the states of Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Piauí, Ceará, Maranhão, Amazonas and Goiás. Administratively the state of Piauí was among these five camps of the North Brazil Union,¹¹ but at that time, as well as the states of Amazonas, Ceará, Maranhão and Pará remained without the official presence of Adventist organizations (temples, hospitals, schools).¹²

An indispensable factor for the development of Adventism in this context was the work of the canvassers.¹³ It was said about their work in that region that, “neither drought, nor arid and inhospitable people, nor prejudice, nor the lack of comfort, which many of them have to face, hold them in their desire to conquer those lands for Christ, through the printed page.”¹⁴ The people they reached were invited to attend congresses and conferences, and so the Adventist Church was growing stronger in this region.¹⁵

As far as we know, the Adventist message was first preached in the state of Piauí on October 2, 1949. Pastor Gustavo S. Storch, who chaired North Coast Mission (Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão) from 1948 to 1955,¹⁶ held a series of meetings entitled “National Crusade for Good News.” The meetings took place October 2- December 31, 1949, in a movie theater deactivated in front of Rio Branco square in the city of Teresina, the capital of the state of Piauí.¹⁷

Besides the pastor Gustavo Storch and his wife, the meetings were supported by the pastors Emery Cohen and F. C. Pritchard, along with their wives. It was pastor Pritchard who replaced pastor Leo Blair Halliwell in command of the ship "Luzeiro I" [Light Bearer I]¹⁸ (1942-1948). On December 10, 1949, the first Adventist baptism ceremony took place in Piauí. The ceremony was held on the banks of the Parnaíba River and marked the entrance of 31 members to the Adventist Church. The second baptism took place on December 31^st of the same year, and 23 people publicly witnessed their surrender to Christ. Both baptisms were officiated by pastor Storch. At the end of the conferences, pastor Pritchard assumed command of Luzeiro III [Light Bearer III], as its first captain (1950-1951). Month by month, he and his family returned to the city of Teresina to serve the needy on their boat.¹⁹

The next two months were of great persecution. A local priest, realizing the large number of those who left the masses, began a strong campaign against the held meetings. Finally, pastor Storch - who was no longer accompanied by pastors Cohen and Pritchard – had to be escorted by the police due to the persistent threats. ²⁰

In the days that followed, pastor Storch was challenged to attend a public debate in front of 5,000 people, but was prevented from leaving the house by the police. It was then that, from his residence, he sent a message to the religious leadership that opposed his work, proposing: “[...] I suggest we hire the city theater for three consecutive nights, [...] for [...] to settle our controversy amicably in the light of the Holy Bible. [...] half an hour the Catholic orator speaks and half an hour I speak, alternately... and that only the Catholic Bible should be used for this purpose[...].” Upon receiving the letter, the interlocutor read it publicly and after consulting the priests present, he replied that he could not accept the proposal since the doctrine he defended was based not only on the Bible, but also on tradition. The crowd was scattered and the pastor was able to continue his work. Over time, new converts were baptized and then a temple and school were built.²¹

The first place of worship of the new 54 Sabbath Keepers was a hall on street Desembargador Freitas, on the corner of David Caldas street. They gathered in this place within January and March 1950, while the first Seventh day Adventist Church of Teresina was being built on Areolino de Abreu st, no. 1510, in the South center of the city.

In 1955, the Adventist Church in Teresina, the last capital of Brazil to be evangelized at the time, held 111 baptisms. The Sabbath school had 103 registered members and all the Ingathering targets suggested by the North Coast Mission were overcome.²² The year 1957 brought with it the 50th anniversary of the MV (Missionários Voluntários) [Vonlunteer Missionaries] organization.²³ In commemoration, the MCN held a large Youth Congress in the city of Caxias, Maranhão state. A delegation of 25 young people from Piauí were present, there they were able to present the advances of the work of God through the youth of their church.²⁴

At that time, Brazil doubled its population every 25 years, but in the reality of the Northeast, it was common for couples to have on average seven children.²⁵ Due to the large amount of children, pastor Donald J. Sandstrom, then leader of the MV of the North Coast Mission, organized several events of the Christian Summer School for Children²⁶. He brought together teachers and lay members of the Adventist Church in Teresina and instructed them. This project received many children and more than half of them did not come from Adventist homes.²⁷

As a result, several students went to the Sabbath School and many others enrolled in the Adventist School in the region at the time. The canvassers also reported that families benefitting from the Christian Summer School for Children received Adventist literature without religious prejudice. This project was successfully replicated simultaneously in the cities of Fortaleza and São Luiz, the capitals of the states of Ceará and Maranhão, respectively. ²⁸

In May 1962, major MV Congresses were held on the MCN territory under the leadership of pastor Francisco N. Siqueira of the South American Division (SAD) and the MV departmental of the field, pastor Melvin Northrup. There were various baptisms and lectures on social problems and Bible teaching.²⁹

The city of Teresina also relied on the transmission of the radio program “Voice of Prophecy” as a mean of evangelization. The broadcasts were held on Teresina Broadcast Radio on Sundays at 6:30 p.m.³⁰ In 1965, the Temple of Teresina was enlarged, received a baptismal tank and was rededicated to God. As part of the program, 15 lay workers were solemnly consecrated for missionary work.³¹ This was also the year of the first MV camp of Piauí, where more than 70 young people gathered during three days of Christian recreation.³²

The work of God continued to advance, and, at the same time, there were several congresses of Child Evangelism, Sabbath School and radio. One of the objectives was to prepare members for the work to be done for children and young people. In an edition held in the city of São Luís, Maranhão, 15 young people received a special award in recognition of their efforts to prepare for missionary work, on which occasion there was also the baptism of 33 people.³³ The following year (1966), five Christian Summer School for Children events ran throughout the MCN camp. In Teresina, the neighborhood chosen was the one of Santa Fé. The plan was to receive 100 children; however, the average frequency was between 115 and 125 children per day. It was the largest Child Evangelism carried out up until that year.³⁴

In 1972, the North Coast Mission had more than one hundred preaching points, 25 of which at least were in the state capital of Piauí.³⁵ Teresina is a point of strategic evangelism due to its geography. The city borders the state of Maranhão to attract people from everywhere. In 1973, another Evangelistic campaign was carried out in the city by the program's team "Voice of Prophecy.”³⁶ This series of meetings continued until 1974, when it had an audience of 1,200 spectators. The auditorium where the program was performed overcrowded with the students of the school radio postal³⁷ and listeners of the radio program. These people were visited daily by a team of local workers, and as a result of this work, more than 100 people were baptized.³⁸

Over time, it was noticed that many brothers no longer attended the services and the Sabbath School. It was then that Dr. Hosea Florencio, a health physician of Teresina and director of the local Sabbath Schools, carried out a survey and discovered that the reason for the inconstant frequency was, for the most part, the distance from the church and the lack of resources for locomotion to the site. Dr. Florêncio decided to buy a house and turned it into a church, where 65 people started to attend it.³⁹ Also in 1974, public conferences were held with the presence of the Arautos do Rei [King's Heralds] quartet. At the first meeting, a thousand certificates were delivered from the Radiopostal school and 150 people accepted the baptism.⁴⁰

Another missionary initiative held in Teresina was the Congress entitled “Open Bibles”. The event took place on March 26 and 27, 1976. On the occasion, the young people were distributed in teams to perform various activities, among them, the delivery of roses to the local hospital with messages of comfort to the patients. The actions of the youth groups were reported by the main newspapers of the state of Piauí and Brazil.⁴¹

After this period of blessings, the Northeast region underwent a long dry season, with one of the largest droughts of the 20th century, lasting seven years (1979-1986). The prolonged drought left a trail of misery and hunger, reaching all social classes: the rich with unproductive lands and the poor with chronic unemployment.⁴² In 1981, about 1,200 municipalities declared a state of emergency. In response, the state government prepared an emergency program to employ 1 million northeast people for the construction of dams with salaries of CR$ 15,300,00 (c. US$ 25) per month. But nothing seemed to mitigate the suffering of the 20 million scourges suffering from thirst and malnutrition.⁴³

In the midst of this calamity, the president of the North Coast Mission, Pr. Dorvalino R. Souza made an appeal in Adventist Review on behalf of the states hit by the drought. According to him, the dams “began to dry overnight” and the reservoirs, either were “completely dry” or had “a remnant of polluted water condemned due to unhealthy conditions.” He also reported that there were “families with children with nothing to eat. Some have died, others are on their way to death, sick, malnourished, and in need of drinking water.”⁴⁴

Those who still had resources sold what they had and went to the states of Maranhão, Pará, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Adventist Social Assistance served those affected by the drought to the extent of the resources available to them. But, as reported, “the desperation of the lack of water and food, and of unemployment increases more and more the invasions of commerce, the government's supply houses, while the most desperate seek suicide.” The church ran an intensive campaign to help the victims. The North Union and the South American Division were helping the MCN with part of the emergency resources.⁴⁵

The situation began to improve at the end of 1984. That year, the Adventist Church promoted a course of oratory for voluntary preachers in the Central Church of Teresina.⁴⁶ The following year, within May 30^th and June 2^nd, 1985, a sabbatical school congress was held in the state capital, Teresina. As early as 1988, the South American Division held a census of the number of Adventists in the largest cities in Brazil. The city of Teresina was ranked 23rd for having an average of one Adventist per 402 inhabitants. As for the number of baptized members, the city was ranked 20th with 1,473 members.⁴⁷ Also in 1988, the state of Maranhão was dismembered from the MCN to form the Maranhao Mission.⁴⁸

In 1994, the “Prism 2000” was put into practice, a project of the Adventist Church aimed at the testimony of young people (aged 16 and 30) in several Brazilian states. The headquarters of the district churches was responsible for hosting and feeding volunteers who received training and materials for evangelism. The state of Piauí had three spots to host the teams in Teresina, three in Parnaíba and one more spot in the city of Picos.⁴⁹

During 1996, in Teresina, 20 churches took part in an evangelization project, and the television program “Está Escrito”⁵⁰ [It is Written] played an important role in achieving greater acceptance of the target audience. Five thousand invitations were distributed to attend the program and a “Peace in the Storm” review with the logo of the program and the address of the Central Adventist Church of Teresina.⁵¹ The program took place at the Teresina Convention Center and received 600 people during the two nights. In addition to the musical performances, there were also preaching. The theme of the meeting was: "Give it a Chance.” At the end of the program, the organizers counted 160 requests for Bible studies.⁵²

In gratitude for the great deeds of God in these years, the church organized the Jubilee of Faith in the city of Teresina. The Jubilee was held on May 19, 1999, with the title “Towards Eternity.” The event took place on the Yacht Club of Teresina,⁵³ and featured pastor Alejandro Bullón, who was accompanied by pastor Williams Costa Junior and singer Sonete Costa. From September 24- 26, a major congress was held at the Dirceu Arcoverde Gymnasium (known as Verdão)⁵⁴ with the presence of pastor Erton Boechat. And at the end of the year, closing the activities of the Jubilee of Faith, there was a celebration in the Central SDA of Teresina, between December 8-11, with many special presentations.⁵⁵

In 2011, the North Coast Mission changed its status to the North Coast Conference.⁵⁶ Soon after, the state of Piauí was separated from this conference to form the Piaui Mission in 2015.⁵⁷ And the former name North Coast Conference was changed to Ceara Conference (ACe).⁵⁸

Organizational History of the Mission

In view to advancing the Gospel on Piaui soil, the Organization of the Piaui Mission (MPi) was proposed and voted in an extraordinary assembly on May 24, 2015.⁵⁹ On November 17 of the same year, the Installation Assembly of the Piaui Mission took place. The administrators⁶⁰ and departments were appointed.⁶¹ Its headquarters was rented on Acésio do Rêgo Monteiro st, no. 1977, in the neighborhood of Planalto Ininga, in the city of Teresina, where it is to the present day. From its organization to the present day, the Piaui Mission is declared to “make disciples through communion, relationship and mission.”⁶²

Known as a strong refuge of religious traditions, the city of Teresina is a long-term challenge for the Adventist Church, which has gradually achieved good results.⁶³ Many baptisms are the result of three major evangelistic movements of the SDA Church that are also carried out at the local level: Holy Week Evangelism, the Spring Evangelism and the Hope Impact.⁶⁴ The Holy Week Evangelism⁶⁵ is held from November of the previous year until the Holy Week of the following year (April). The Spring Evangelism⁶⁶ takes place from the end of the Holy Week to September. In the spring, the biblical classes of the Youth Ministry, Pathfinders and Adventurers Clubs, who prepare young people and adolescents for baptism, are added. The outcome of all this effort takes place in programs called “Harvest Weeks,” which seeks to lead the Bible students to make a decision.

The seeds planted in this evangelistic path include projects such as the Hope Impact⁶⁷, through which about 200,000 missionary books are distributed per year. Each Adventist is encouraged to deliver the books during a special day in May.⁶⁸ The Land of Hope is another MPi project that seeks volunteers willing to leave their home town to live in municipalities where the Adventist presence needs to be established. The project aims to accomplish, in a few years, what previous generations of Adventists have not been able to achieve over decades. Thanks to this work more than 50 cities have been reached in five years.⁶⁹

The missionary efforts are in progress. In 2018, an Adventist Church Influence Center was inaugurated in Teresina. Volunteers offer several free services to the community to promote their well-being such as music workshops, languages, healthy cuisine, sports practice and consulting. The center is strategically located in a noble area of the city, and it serves the characteristic population of large centers.⁷⁰ At the same location, a group of 12 young people gathered from different parts of the state, who are enrolled in the project One Year in Mission.⁷¹ The annual program usually recruits college students to experience a voluntary service experience testifying to the love of Christ and bringing hope to those in need. First a community search is made in order to get to know their needs better, then the project seeks to meet them in the best possible way.⁷²

Even in the context of its missionary success, the Church in Piauí has faced challenges because of the insufficient number of workers to meet the vastness of its missionary field. This insufficiency has been an obstacle to the progress of the work, and therefore the field has developed strategies that are increasingly encouraging volunteering. Another challenge is that the field has not yet achieved its financial autonomy. Still, there is a constant need to acquire land, build churches and invest in evangelistic projects, and this shows that even in the face of these challenges the Church is developing in Piauí. For the next few years, MPi's goal is to raise 50 percent more resources for its projects to work properly.⁷³

Another challenge is that the metropolitan area of the city in Teresina still has 63 neighborhoods without the presence of the Adventist Church, which is also a reality in 136 municipalities in the state. Faced with this reality, the leadership of the MPi is giving priority to the neighborhoods of Teresina, for two main reasons: its large population and the nearness of churches that will serve as support in the establishment of the new congregations. In spite of the difficulties, between 2016 and 2018, 6,896 people were baptized throughout the state.⁷⁴ However, there is still the challenge of avoiding apostasy. The numbers show that there is something to be done to reverse that picture. With the support and encouragement of the Brazilian Northeast Union, the MPi is establishing new evangelistic plans to try to respond to this demand.⁷⁵

Concerning the issues of the expansion of missionary fronts, for the future, the leadership of the MPi intends to acquire land for the construction of the first Adventist school of Piauí, in the city of Teresina. The state of Piauí is the only one in the Northeast that does not have an institution of the Adventist educational network. The establishment of this school will be a gain for the education of the children of Christian families and for the community in general, giving projection to the Adventist Church in the city, as well as preparing future leaders for the Seventh-day Adventists.⁷⁶

Another future plan is the acquisition of land for the construction of its own headquarters for the Piauiense Mission. At the moment, the administrative unit is located in a rented building and there are space limitations for the performance of all its assignments. It is also necessary to reform and extend the Central Church of Teresina – the church headquarters of the field. It is already 68 years old and is in a privileged location in the capital, Teresina. Lastly, it is planned to inaugurate five new districts in the next quadrennium, four of which are in the capital city and its metropolitan area, where 33 percent of the population of the state is located, and a district, in the countryside to easily serve the congregation.⁷⁷

In their trajectory, the members and leaders of the Piaui Mission have acquired important experiences that can serve as a learning for the future endeavors of the church in this region, as well as lessons to be transmitted to the next generations of leaders. One of them is that the accelerated planting of churches highlighted the lack of leadership, which made it difficult to consolidate the work in many places. The great lesson learned from this process is that the commitment to construct buildings must be followed by the commitment to form new leaders, since both are necessary resources for the consolidation of congregations.⁷⁸

Chronology of Administrative Directors⁷⁹

Presidents: Onildo Lopes de Oliveira (2016-present).

Secretaries: Nilton Lima de Souza (2016-present).

Treasurers: Marconiel Correia Mattos (2016-present).⁸⁰

Sources

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Barreto, Orlando S. “Grande Congresso Bodas de Ouro na Missão Costa Norte” [Great Glolden Wedding Congress on North Coast Mission]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 52, no. 11 (November 1957).

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Ferreira, Marise Maria, Censo Demográfico 2010: Características Gerais da População, Religião e Pessoas com Deficiência [2010 Population Census: General Characteristics of Population, Religion and People with Disabilities]. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: IBGE, 2010.

Fonseca, Alexandre Brasil. “Muito Além do Sábado: O Pionerismo Adventista na Mídia Eletrônica Religiosa” [Much Beyond the Sabbath: The Adventist Pioneering in the Eletronic Religious Media]. Revista de Estudos da Religião – REVER [Religion Studies Review - REVER], year 08 (September 2008).

Freitas, F. V. “Grande Reavivamento em Teresina” [Great revival in Teresina]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 63, no. 3 (March 1965).

Freitas, F. V. “Primeiro Acampamento MV do Piauí” [First MV Camp of Piauí]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 60, no. 7 (July 1965).

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José, Francisco. “Seca no Nordeste (1983)” [Droughts in the Northeast] (video). The daily video of a hinterland family in a devastated by droughts in the countryside of Pernambuco, Nacional Journal, August 8, 1983. Accessed on January 15, 2020, https://bit.ly/2NtYzJP.

Lemos, Felipe. “De Olho em 2016” [Keep an eye in 2016]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 110, no. 1298 (June 2015).

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Melo, Diógenes S. “As Crianças – Uma Bênção” [Children - A Blessing]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 61, no. 7 (June 1966).

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Villa, Marco Antonio. Vida e Morte no Sertão: história das secas no Nordeste nos séculos XIX e XX [Life and Death in the hinterland: history of droughts in the Northeast in the XIX and XX centuries]. São Paulo, SP: Ática, 2000.

Notes

1. Brazil Census 2018, Piauí, geographical level Piauí (PI) - 26, estimated population, IBGE, accessed on July 29, 2019, https://bit.ly/2sLz9Qo.↩

2. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, Piaui Mission, accessed on July 29, 2019, https://bit.ly/2QtxbNQ.↩

3. The Pathfinders Club is made up of “boys and girls aged 10 to 15 years old, from different social classes, color, religion. They meet, in general, once a week to learn to develop talents, skills, perceptions and a taste for nature.” These boys and girls “are thrilled with outdoor activities. They like camping, hiking, climbing, exploring the woods and caves. They know how to cook outdoors, making a fire without matches.” Besides, they demonstrate “skill with discipline through drill commands and have their creativity awakened by manual arts. They also fight the use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.” Seventh-day Adventist Church (Brazil) website, “Quem somos” [Who we are], accessed on October 9, 2019, http://bit.ly/2HRpvRi.↩

4. The Adventurers Club is a specific program for children from 6 to 9 years old, created by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in 1972. At the meetings, children carry out activities with a focus on physical, mental and spiritual development. Seventh Day Adventist Church (Brazil) website, “Aventureiros” [Adventurers], accessed on February 4, 2020, https://www.adventistas.org/pt/aventureiros/sobre-nos/.↩

5. Pathfinders and Adventurers Ministries MPI, “Statistics - Piauí Mission,” accessed on 21 January 2020, https://clubes.adventistas.org/br/uneb/mpi/.↩

6. Carolina Vaz (Assistant of Piauí Mission Secretary), e-mail message to the author, June 28, 2019.↩

7. Paulo Henrique Couto Machado, As trilhas da morte: extermínio e espoliação das nações indígenas na região da bacia hidrográfica parnaibana piauiense [Death trails: extermination and spoliation of Indigenous Nations in the region of the river basin of Paraíba in Piaui], Teresina, PI: Corisco, 2002, 57.↩

8. Marise Maria Ferreira, Censo Demográfico 2010: Características Gerais da População, Religião e Pessoas com Deficiência [2010 Census: general characteristics of the population, religion and people with disabilities], Rio de Janeiro, RJ: IBGE, 2010, 91, 94.↩

9. Nelson of Valle Silva and Maria Ligia de O. Barbosa, “População e Estatísticas Vitais,” in Estatísticas do Século XX [Population and Vital Statistics, in 20th Century statistics], n/ed. (Rio de Janeiro, RJ: IBGE, 2006), 49.↩

10. “The concept ‘10/40 Window’ is generally used to refer to countries between 10 and 40 degrees in North of the Equator Line. This region is distinguished by three elements: (1) great poverty; (2) poor quality of life and (3) religious intolerance. In Brazil it took a hundred years for the Adventist message to reach 900 of the 1794 municipalities in the Northeast Region”. Heron Santana, “A “Janela 10/40” brasileira” [The 10/40 Window in Brazil], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], 105, no. 1220 (January 2010): 25.↩

11. “East Brazil Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1921), 120.↩

12. Floyd Greenleaf, Terra da esperança: o crescimento da Igreja Adventista na América do Sul [Land of hope: growth of the Adventist Church in South America] (Tatuí, SP: Brazil Publishing House, 2011), 170.↩

13. Evangelist canvasser of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the missionary who “develops his ministry by acquiring and selling to the public the publications edited and approved by the Church, to transmit to his fellow-men the eternal Gospel that brings salvation and physical and spiritual well-being.” Seventh-day Adventist Church (Brazil) website, “Colportagem” [Canvassing], accessed on August 30, 2018, http://bit.ly/2J6tY1I.↩

14. Wilson Sarli, “Colportores da União Norte Brasileira em Marcha” [North Brazil Union Canvassers March], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 75, no. 3 (February 1980): 31.↩

15. Gustavo S. Storch, “Resultado das Conferências em Terezina” [Results of Terezina Meetings], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 44, no. 2 (February 1950): 11.↩

16. “North Coast Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1948), 165; “North Coast Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1956), 149.↩

17. Carolina Vaz (Assistant of Piauí Mission Secretary), e-mail message to the author, June 28, 2019.↩

18. “The first Light Bearer Missionary Launch was inaugurated in July 1931 by the couple Leo and Jessie Halliwell, aiming to bring health education and free medical and dental assistance to the riverside population in the Amazon. [...] During these 80 years, thousands of people were directly benefited by the support provided by the launches. In many cases, this was the only way of these people to get some medical and dental assistance.” Luzeiro [Light-bearer], “História” [History], accessed on January 22, 2020, https://www.luzeiro.org/.↩

19. Carolina Vaz (Assistant of Piauí Mission Secretary), e-mail message to the author, June 28, 2019; “Luzeiro” [Light Bearer], Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1943), 155; “Luzeiro I,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000), 549. For a more detailed check on the mission boats, see the article “Rolling Clinic” of this encyclopedia.↩

20. Gustavo S. Storch, “Vitórias e Derrotas no Evangelismo Público” [Victories and Defeats in Public Evangelism], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 66, no. 7 (July 1971): 12.↩

21. Ibid., 13.↩

22. Orlando S. Barreto, “Notícias de Teresina” [Teresina News], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 50, no. 10 (October 1955): 12.↩

23. The organization of the Youth Department took place at the council of the General Conference in 1907. In the summer of the same year, about 200 workers gathered at youth convention in order to choose a name for the Department. Thus was adopted the Name “Department of the Volunteer Missionaries of the Seventh-Day Adventist Youth” or simply M. V. Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Brazil) Website, “Jovens - História” [Youth - History] accessed on January 15, 2020, https://bit.ly/2K1fnW5.↩

24. Orlando S. Barreto, “Grande Congresso Bodas de Ouro na Missão Costa Norte” [Great Golden Wedding Congress on North Coast Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 52, no. 11 (November 1957): 9.↩

25. Nelson of Valle Silva and Maria Ligia de O. Barbosa, “População e Estatísticas Vitais,” in Estatísticas do Século XX [Population and Vital Statistics, in 20th Century statistics], n/ed. (Rio de Janeiro, RJ: IBGE, 2006), 43.↩

26. “The Christian Summer School for Children is a very effective means of evangelism with children. They are attracted by the joyful and differentiated program, full of activities and participation.” Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Brazil) Website, Escola Cristã de Férias [Christian Summer School for Children], accessed on January 22, 2020, https://bit.ly/2ty0XIS.↩

27. Donald J. Sandstrom, “Escolas de Férias” [Christian Summer School for Children], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 54, no. 7 (July 1959): 25↩

28. Ibid.↩

29. Clélia S. Stancher, “Congressos M. V. na Missão Costa Norte” [The MV Congress in North Coast Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 27, no. 11 (November 1962): 18.↩

30. “A Voz da Profecia” [The Voice of Prophecy], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], April 1964, 34.↩

31. F. V. Freitas, “Grande Reavivamento em Teresina” [Great revival in Teresina], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 63, no. 3 (March 1965): 16.↩

32. F. V. Freitas, “Primeiro Acampamento MV do Piauí” [First MV Camp of Piauí], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 60, no. 7 (July 1965): 26.↩

33. Diógenes S. Melo, “Congressos – Relâmpago” [Congresses - Lightning], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 60, no. 9 (September 1965): 21.↩

34. Diógenes S. Melo, “As Crianças – Uma Bênção” [Children - A Blessing], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 61, no. 7 (July 1966): 24.↩

35. “Uniões e Instituições” [Unions and Institutions], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1972, 28.↩

36. “Uniões e Instituições” [Unions and Institutions], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 1973, 26.↩

37. “The Radiopostal school was used to enable the sending of lessons from the students of Bible courses and to respond to the correspondence of the listeners.” Alexandre Brasil Fonseca, “Muito Além do Sábado: O Pionerismo Adventista na Mídia Eletrônica Religiosa” [Much Beyond the Sabbath: The Adventist Pioneering in the Eletronic Religious Media], Revista de Estudos da Religião – REVER [Religion Studies Review - REVER], year 08 (September 2008): 96.↩

38. “Uniões e Instituições” [Unions and Institutions], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], May 1974, 24.↩

39. “Uniões e Instituições” [Unions and Institutions], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1974, 32.↩

40. “Uniões e Instituições” [Unions and Institutions], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 1974, 25.↩

41. Rubervam do Nascimento, “O MV É Notícia” [The MV is in the News], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 71, no. 5 (May 1976): 20.↩

42. Marco Antonio Villa, Vida e Morte no Sertão: história das secas no Nordeste nos séculos XIX e XX [Life and Death in the hinterland: history of droughts in the Northeast in the XIX and XX centuries], São Paulo, SP: Ática, 2000, 13.↩

43. Francisco José, “Seca no Nordeste (1983)” [Droughts in the Northeast], the daily video of a hinterland family in a devastated by droughts in the countryside of Pernambuco, Nacional Journal, August 8, 1983, accessed on January 15, 2020, https://bit.ly/2NtYzJP.↩

44. Dorvalino R. Souza, “Estendam-nos a Outra Mão!” [Reach us out the other hand!], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 78, no. 10 (October 1983): 20.↩

45. Ibid..↩

46. “Metropolitana Ateniense” [Metropolitan Athenian], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1984, 27.↩

47. “Comunicação DSA” [SAD Communication], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1991, 35.↩

48. “Maranhao Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1989), 267.↩

49. “Prisma 2000” [Prism 2000], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], May 1994, 29.↩

50. “The program is written in 1956, having as founder and speaker the Pr. George Vandeman. It is a world programme that spreads the good news about the life, death, resurrection and soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ to Earth. It presents The Living Christ that meets the deepest needs of every human being. Today, the program is broadcast in approximately 100 countries and in seven languages.” Está Escrito Brasil [Brazil It is Written], accessed on January 16, 2020, https://bit.ly/2QXxBMS.↩

51. “Em busca de uma chance” [In search of a chance], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], February 1997, 22.↩

52. Ibid.↩

53. The Yacht Club de Teresina is located on Alameda Parnaíba, nº 444-Matinha, Teresina-PI.↩

54. The Dirceu Arcoverde Gymnasium (Verdão) is located on Rui Barbosa st. - Center (South), Teresina – PI.↩

55. Carolina Vaz (Assistant of Piaui Mission Secretary), e-mail message to the author, June 28, 2019.↩

56. “North Coast Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2012), 295.↩

57. “Piaui Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID.: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2017), 321.↩

58. “Ceara Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID.: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2017), 320.↩

59. Minutes of the North Coast Conference, May 24, 2015.↩

60. Minutes of the Piaui Mission Installation Assembly, 17 November 2015, vote no. 2015 - 002.↩

61. Minutes of the Installation Assembly of the Piaui Mission, November 17, 2015, vote no. 2015-003.↩

62. Carolina Vaz (Assistant of Piaui Mission Secretary), e-mail message to the author, June 28, 2019.↩

63. Felipe Lemos, “De Olho em 2016” [Keep an eye in 2016], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 110, no. 1298 (June 2015): 28.↩

64. Carolina Vaz (Assistant of Piaui Mission Secretary), e-mail message to the author, June 28, 2019.↩

65. Harvest evangelism in Holy Week is a very special time to present Jesus and the life we find in him through the word of God. The program takes place in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, since 1970, and aims to “remember the sacrifice, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ in favor of humanity.” Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Brazil) Website, Evangelismo de Semana Santa [The Holy Week Evangelism], accessed on January 7, 2020, https://bit.ly/2Y752hQ.↩

66. “Spring Baptism was created by Pastor Ademar Quint in Rio de Janeiro, and it takes place annually in churches. The goal is to encourage teenagers and youth to give themselves to Jesus. In 2013 this event celebrated 50 years, and more than a million people are already baptized by this special date.” Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Brazil) Website, Batismo da Primavera [Spring Baptism], accessed on January 7, 2020, https://bit.ly/2s3e0RL.↩

67. The Hope Impact Project is a program that encourages reading and provides the annual mass distribution of books by Seventh-Day Adventists in the territory of South America. Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Brazil) Website, Hope Impact [Hope Impact], accessed on April 18, 2019, https://bit.ly/34dZROO.↩

68. Carolina Vaz (Assistant of Piaui Mission Secretary), e-mail message to the author, June 28, 2019.↩

69. Heron Santana, “Um Líder que Tem Pressa” [A leader who is in a hurry], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 113, no. 1339 (November 2018): 49.↩

70. Bruna Coimbra, “Centro de Influência é inaugurado em Teresina” [Influence Center is inaugurated in Teresina], Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News], April 10, 2018, accessed on January 22, 2020, http://bit.ly/2GcnSfx.↩

71. “The One Year in Mission (OYiM) project promotes the participation of young Adventists in the mission of evangelizing urban centers in eight South American countries, uniting their talents, resources and professional knowledge with the needs of the community.” Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Brazil) Website, Um Ano em Missão [One Year in Mission], accessed on April 23, 2019, http://bit.ly/3aynhT4.↩

72. Bruna Coimbra, “Centro de Influência é inaugurado em Teresina” [Influence Center is inaugurated in Teresina], Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News], April 10, 2018, accessed on January 22, 2020, http://bit.ly/2GcnSfx.↩

73. Heron Santana, “Um Líder que Tem Pressa” [A leader who is in a hurry], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 113, no. 1339 (November 2018): 49.↩

74. Carolina Vaz (Assistant of Piauí Mission Secretary), e-mail message to the author, June 28, 2019.↩

75. Ibid.↩

76. Ibid.↩

77. Ibid.↩

78. Ibid.↩

79. “Piaui Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2017), 321; “Piaui Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2018), 248.↩

80. More information about Piaui Mission can be found at: http://mpi.adventistas.org/ Facebook: Instagram: @adventistaspiaui, Twitter: @adventistaspiaui, @ adventistaspi and YouTube: Piaui Adventists.↩