Global Mission, Local Impact

“How beautiful are the feet of the messenger who brings good news!” – Romans 10:15 

“I always prayed about serving in missions, and God just showed up,” said one Redeemer student after feeling called to serve in Brazil. From May 22 to June 3, 2025, 10 Redeemer students traveled with ShareWorld Global to Word of Life in São Paulo, Brazil, to share the gospel of Jesus Christ through day camps. ShareWord Global’s mission goal offers students deep spiritual transformation by stepping out of their comfort zones and engaging in street evangelism through personal testimony. Students felt influenced by peers in the Redeemer community and expressed that it was “very much God” that called them to embark on the mission to Brazil. 

Arriving in Brazil 

After two flights, the team landed in São Paulo. “As soon as we landed at Sao Paulo airport, we instantly clicked with the translators and became best friends,” said Redeemer student, Selah Huygen. “There was Shrek on the outside of the bus; everyone made it comforting. The nerves didn’t kick in until later.” Accompanying the students were two American teen missionaries, sharing the same passion for spreading the gospel as students from Redeemer. 

Highlights of the Trip

Despite the blistering heat and homesickness, nerves fled and excitement grew as they arrived in the small town of Santa Isabel. Students, American missionaries, and local church partners began their work with door-to-door evangelism, praying and meeting with generations of families in the local community. 

“We visited a house of three generations – a grandmother, a daughter, and a granddaughter – who were all Christian, (except the grandmother)…I not only connected with the grandmother by praying over her household, but really connected with my faith,” said Bella Jehan, another Redeemer student. “You can see how rich their life is. Though they may not have much, faith and family mean everything. They consider us rich, but we miss the point of it all.”

Students continued to be impacted as they shared their testimonies at local schools, learning the power of connecting through personal stories. During this time of sharing, God moved through the students. “I could not repeat the words I said when sharing my testimony; it was the Holy Spirit through me,” Selah shared. 

Challenges and Growth

When asked about the biggest challenges, Selah laughed. “Not flushing the toilet paper,” she said. Over 5,000 miles away from Canada, the challenges were miniscule, and praise the Lord for it. “I expected language barriers, but it wasn’t a challenge at all; it was beautiful,” Bella added. Many students had practiced Portuguese beforehand and found joy in connecting with children eager to hear them speak English. “Maybe my biggest challenge was street evangelism,” Selah said, “it felt hard saying, ‘Here’s my religion, follow it,’ making it difficult even though I had great conversations.” This challenge did not stop the Holy Spirit from working in Selah. “The trip revealed to me that I need to practice being better at evangelism. I am now planning to work on talking about Jesus. Being at Redeemer helps with that,” Selah added. 

Returning Home

With renewed confidence in the Lord’s hand and a deeper passion for sharing their faith, students said their perspective was changed in finding Jesus in another continent. “It changed my confidence in God,” said one participant, “I found passion. I can tell my secular friends about my trip to Brazil while also talking about Jesus to them.” 

Returning to campus, students found comfort in community.“There were new people in my life to see at school,” Bella said, “my friend and I talked about it for days after the trip, making for an easier transition back home.” 

For many students, the experience made it easier to share personal faith with others, and also made them more grateful for Christian education. Remember’s mission statement, “preparing students to reflect the love of Jesus Christ in every career and calling,” was prominently shown through the students’ experiences in Brazil. It’s inspired and prepared them to continue to spread the gospel all over the world and integrate it back into their academics. 

Coming back to school, students feel excited to share their faith, grow in faith, and impact others through it all. “Talking about my faith doesn’t have to be weird; I feel it is impacting people now,” said Selah. 

Through these opportunities to grow and share the gospel, students feel a heightened sense of gratitude for Redeemer and the provided opportunities to grow and serve outside the student community. Redeemer also offers local service opportunities like DEEDZ, a student-led outreach started in 2007 that shares iced tea, hot chocolate, and the gospel with people on the streets of Hamilton. DEEDZ provides an opportunity for students to live on mission, beginning right in their very own community.