​23-Year-Old Brazilian Woman Gives Up Parties for Jesus

Beatriz de Jesus Santana had an emptiness that was “just the right size for Jesus.”

By Andrew McChesney, adventistmission.org

Young people raised glasses of wine as they made wishes to God at a New Year’s Eve party on a sandy beach on Brazil’s Itaparica Island.

“God, I want a year filled with blessings,” said one.

“I want to get rich,” said another.

“I want to find love,” chimed in a third.

Beatriz de Jesus Santana listened as her friends spoke on the Aratuba Beach, a popular hangout located an hour by ferry from her home in Salvador, a city of 3 million people. She wondered how drinking and partying was improving her life. Then she spoke.

“I don’t want to ask God for anything,” she said. “I just want to thank God for everything that has happened this year. I got a university scholarship and a good internship at an engineering company. So many good things happened.”

The next Monday at work, Beatriz didn’t feel well. She was exhausted after the holiday weekend.

Her boss, Ana Christina, sympathetically sat down beside her and pulled out her cell phone. On it, she played a three-minute video.

Beatriz watched with interest as a pastor spoke about Jesus. He didn’t speak like her friends.

Uplifting WhatsApp Videos

The next morning, Beatriz found that Ana Christina had sent her another three-minute video via WhatsApp on her cell phone. Another short video arrived the following day. Beatriz watched each video and was amazed about the pastor’s peaceful demeanor. She lived with her divorced father, who drank heavily, and the two often quarreled. The arguments at home were a main reason that Beatriz had begun partying and drinking.

After several days, Beatriz googled the pastor’s name to find out more. She learned that pastor, Ivan Saraiva, hosted the Portuguese-language “It Is Written” television program on Novo Tempo television, the Brazilian affiliate of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Hope Channel.

Beatriz began watching the “It Is Written” broadcasts, and she followed along in her Bible to verify that what the pastor said was true. She was astonished when she heard about the Ten Commandments and the seventh-day Sabbath. She had never heard about the Sabbath before.

After three weeks of studying the Bible with the television program, Beatriz asked God to forgive her for her past life. She opened her heart to God and, for the first time, believed that He was listening when she prayed.

Beatriz searched for a church to attend. A friend invited her to a Sunday church, but she remembered the fourth commandment about the seventh-day Sabbath and wondered why the church didn’t obey the Bible.

Visiting a House-Church

Ana Christina saw Beatriz’s new relationship with God and invited her to the Sharing Jesus house-church, where dozens of people gather in small groups in various rooms to study the Bible on Sabbaths and other days of the week.

Beatriz immediately fell in love with the house-church.

“I was hugged, and I felt welcomed,” she said in an interview. “I felt peace.”

She also was surprised about how she was treated, and she wondered, “Why do those people care so much about me? They don’t know me, but they tell me, ‘Have a great day!’ They want to know about my knowledge of the Bible and how I am studying it. They care about me before they know who I really am.”

Two young people at the church — Amanda and Vitor — gave Bible studies to Beatriz every Sabbath. Finally, Beatriz gave her heart to Jesus and was baptized in a swimming pool outside the house-church. Ana Christina wept with joy at the sight.

Today, Beatriz, 23, is praying for her father, mother, and older brother to accept Jesus. Her brother is already studying the Bible with “It Is Written.”

“I didn’t used to believe in miracles,” Beatriz said. “I thought miracles were impossible. But God has performed a true miracle in my life. I had an emptiness that partying and drinking could not fill. It was an emptiness that was just the right size for Jesus.”

Beatriz celebrated last New Year’s Eve at the home of her fiancé. They drank unfermented grape juice and praised God for His blessings.

“I want to grow closer to God,” Beatriz said. “I want the love for God in my heart to never end.”

Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in second quarter 2019 will help the house-church move from rented premises to a larger building, where it also will offer healthy cooking classes and health seminars. Thank you for your mission offering.