DBU student athletes minister to poor in Brazil

DALLAS—The Dallas Baptist University Patriot cross-country and track and field teams spent eight days recently helping minister to people living on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

This trip marked the seventh time DBU student athletes took part in DBU’s Global Sports Mission Initiative.

Jacob Phillips, head coach of the Dallas Baptist University cross country/track and field team, and his wife, Rachel, play with a little girl at Mission Cena. (PHOTO/DBU)

“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,” said 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.”

The 14-member team—12 student-athletes from the Patriot cross country and track team and two DBU staff—assisted Mission Cena in its efforts to help people in downtown Sao Paulo break free from poverty, drugs or prostitution.

“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,” said Laura Schaffner, a junior at DBU.

The DBU group helped Mission Cena by engaging in conversations with people, assisted by Portuguese translators. Students shared their personal testimonies of faith in Christ, planting seeds in the lives of the people they encountered.

Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays Email Address Laura Schaffner, a junior at Dallas Baptist University, plays with children at Mission Cena in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (PHOTO/DBU)

The DBU student-athletes also served the Christian they were working alongside by cleaning the facilities at Mission Cena.

The group split up two days to help minister to the local people and to visit the Mission Cena Farm—a patch of land just outside the city that provides lodging for people who are trying to get their lives back on track.

“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,” DBU freshman Alex Gonzalez said.

“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.” Coach Jacob Phillips added.