Campus Ministries (CM) Global is aimed at encouraging students to act out of an overflow of God’s heart and purposes for peoples of all nations. The service abroad trips give students the opportunity to share God’s love, strengthen their faith and broaden their perspectives. Ian da Silva, a rising sophomore studying nursing at PBA, experienced this firsthand during his mission trip to Brazil.
“I chose to go on the CMGlobal missions trip to Brazil to connect with my heritage, while also pursuing the calling that I have had on my life for a long time now to pursue missions,” he explained.
The trip was a week long, and the students who attended lived on a medical boat, traveling through the Amazon to visit different villages each day. Some days involved door-to-door evangelism or helping out with local church services, while other days focused on service projects, like painting the homes of locals. The team was also involved with helping in the clinic, physical therapy and dental rooms that were aboard the ship.
da Silva said that his faith was strengthened by seeing the different ways that God worked in the villages. “The places we visited were so hard to reach,” he said. “We were literally in different villages in the middle of the jungle, and yet God was still doing incredible things and bringing people to Him.”
The trip reaffirmed da Silva’s calling to the medical field, and he came back to America refreshed and excited to continue his pursuit of a nursing degree. “I was able to gain a lot of experience, and I worked under great teachers and leaders,” he said. “I felt like I was in the place I was supposed to be. I want to help people for the rest of my life, especially those who are in vulnerable places.”
If given the opportunity, da Silva would encourage anyone to go on a mission trip with PBA. “It is easy to think about all the things that could go wrong, but when you trust in God and are obedient to His calling, He takes care of those things,” he said.