The Dallas Baptist University Patriot Cross Country/Track and Field Team traveled to Brazil on May 30 for an eight day mission trip in the city of Sao Paulo as they participated in the seventh trip in DBU's Global Sports Mission Initiative.

Fourteen individuals including 12 members of the Patriot Cross Country/Track Team and two university staff members were given the opportunity to serve the local population by assisting Mission Cena in efforts to help care for the many homeless and drug addicted individuals in the downtown streets of Sao Paulo.

“The Patriot Athletic Global Sports Mission Initiative was created to allow our student-athletes the opportunity to experience other cultures by living and serving as 'Champions for Christ' abroad, which is exactly what the team was able to do,” stated Ryan Erwin, DBU director of athletics, who helped organize the trip.

“We have a really special group of student-athletes here at DBU, who gave up a portion of their summer break in order to travel to Brazil to share their faith in Christ as they used their God-given talents to minister and spread the Word among the people of Sao Paulo,” Erwin added.

Time was largely spent in the heart of downtown Sao Paulo serving at a local ministry called Mission Cena. This ministry is a faith based ministry that focuses on the restoration of the local population in order to share the word of God to lost people, while also helping to clean the city streets from drug use and prostitution. Mission Cena has created a three phase restoration process for individuals that truly desire to see change in their lives for the better.

"Brazil really opened my eyes to the true hurt and sin of the world, and it seemed only Mission Cena is working to do anything about it. They truly loved the people and we were able to see true hearts of God at work in Sao Paulo,” Junior Laura Schaffner said.

The group was able to assist Mission Cena in their efforts by engaging in conversations with numerous poverty-stricken individuals, assisted by Portuguese translators. The student-athletes were able to use their personal relationships with Christ to plant seeds in these individuals' lives in order to further God's Kingdom.

DBU student-athletes were also able to lessen Mission Cena's facility burden by providing daily cleanings throughout the building, while also serving food and providing warm clothes to people in need for the upcoming Brazilian winter (May-August). On two separate days the group split up in order to help minister to the local people and to visit the Mission Cena Farm. The Farm is a patch of land just outside the city of Sao Paulo where Mission Cena provides living arrangements for individuals who are trying to get their lives back on track. Most of the participants at the Farm have come from broken homes and suffer from struggles such as drug abuse, homosexuality, and transgendered lifestyles. A portion of the DBU group was able to visit the Farm and help minister to these people alongside Portuguese missionaries from Mission Cena by sharing the love of Christ.

“It was great to see what God has been doing in Brazil and it was great to be able to work alongside Mission Cena and their ministries,” said Freshman Alex Gonzalez about his experiences.

Two DBU student-athletes, Senior Kurt Lindsey and Sophomore Caleb Collins, were given the opportunity to share their faith by giving devotional messages to guests and staff of Mission Cena.

“Preaching in Brazil to the missionaries at Mission Cena was a different experience for me because I had to speak using a translator, but having the platform to encourage fellow Christians who are striving to honor Christ just like our team does was such an amazing opportunity,” Sophomore Caleb Collins said.

On Sunday evening, the group was able to attend Good News Baptist Church in downtown Sao Paulo, which is pastored by Vagner Vaelatti whose daughter attends DBU. The student-athletes were able to meet with Pastor Vagner along with other individuals involved within the church. During this meeting time Christy Gandy, trip-leader and Director of Global Missions for Dallas Baptist, was able to share the mission of DBU in Sao Paulo and provided the church with encouragement and support as they continue to grow their congregation.

“The trip to Brazil was an eye-opening experience for our group. We were not sure of what to expect, other than we were going to do the Lord's work. It is such a blessing and awesome opportunity to be a part of a University that is mission and service oriented.” said Head Coach Jacob Phillips, who also was a member on the trip.