Brazilian Vila Minha Pátria Refugee Ministry serves 1,200 refugees, sees over 100 give their lives to Christ with MAP support

Editor’s Note: Names have been changed to protect the identity of individuals in this story.

Amina and her family, refugees displaced from Egypt, arrived at the Vila Minha Pátria looking for a fresh start, as the Vila was known as a place of vital refuge.

Located in Morungaba, Brazil. The Brazilian Vila Minha Pátria Refugee Ministry partners with the Brazilian Baptist Convention, National Missions (National Mission Board) and World Missions to welcome refugees from Egypt, Afghanistan, Palestine and Pakistan, and immediately provide them with housing, food and schooling. During their stay, refugees are assisted in looking for a permanent new home. Through caring for the refugees, missionaries and volunteers are given opportunities to share the gospel. 

“By meeting these fundamental needs during a critical transition, the ministry demonstrates practical love and care. The hospitality and refuge provided by the missionaries is a direct pathway to showing the love of Christ,” said Clinton Lowin, director of MAP & TXB Missionaries. 

The Vila team welcomed Amina and her family, providing them with housing, food and schooling for the kids. Lowin met Amina on a trip he and his team took to the Vila in Summer 2025. He shared that as Amina’s family stayed at the Vila, the missionaries discovered her lifelong passion and skill for Egyptian culinary arts and hospitality and offered her a position in the kitchen. 

“Vila Minha Patria offered Amina refuge and stability, but by allowing her to serve others, the ministry offered her something more profound: a renewal of purpose,” said Lowin.

The heart behind Vila Minha Pátria Refugee Ministry, supported by MAP

Milton Monte, executive manager of Communications and Mobilization for the National Mission Board of the Brazilian Baptist Convention, said the inspiration for the Vila Minha Pátria Refugee Ministry came from watching scenes of Afghan citizens attempting to flee the country on the news. During this time, the ministry team was asked by a small mission organization to receive 80 Afghan refugees, which sprung them into action to begin developing the ministry by finding a location, selecting missionaries, defining strategies for integration and language learning and determining how to present Jesus to the refugees. 

National Missions has been supported by the Missionary Adoption Program (MAP) since its founding in 2016. MAP is a program that connects Texas Baptists churches with churches, associations and conventions worldwide to jointly adopt local missionaries native to those countries. These missionaries focus on evangelism, discipleship and church planting in their own context.

According to Monte, 50% of the offering for missions through National Missions is given by MAP. He said MAP also supports JMN Radical Missionaries working at the Vila. 

“We have [also] received visits from Clinton Lowin and his team, as well as from [Texas Baptists Executive Director] Julio Guarneri, who came to serve for a day [last summer],” said Monte. 

JMN Radical Missionaries are trained through the JMN Radical Missionary Program, a strategy for sending temporary missionaries to National Missions fields for church planting and revitalization or social relevance and transformation by serving children, refugees, drug addicts or social outcasts with different ministries. 

Radical Missionaries who serve with Vila Minha Pátria Refugee Ministry participate in the program’s 12-month intensive of spiritual growth and ministry training, then they begin serving at the Vila in areas such as cleaning, early childhood education and translation.

Sharing Christ’s love in every action  

The Vila Minha Pátria Refugee Ministry has served around 1,200 refugees in the past three years since its launch in 2022, and has seen over 100 give their lives to Christ and 47 baptized.

“The gospel is shared daily, in every action we take,” said Monte. “Simply receiving these families already makes a strong impact, leading them to question their religion and beliefs. In general, they come from Muslim backgrounds, and Islam is not a religion characterized by love and tolerance.”

Lowin shared that Amina, despite not yet being a believer, has been able to contribute to the mission of sharing Christ’s love with her fellow refugees. 

“She [became] no longer just a person seeking refuge; she was a contributor, a source of sustenance and hospitality, sharing the tangible love of Christ in the form of a warm, comforting meal to others on their critical transition toward a stable new life,” said Lowin. 

Lowin said one missionary shared that Amina, who was once hesitant, became “a beacon of warmth as she offered second servings and a kind word to the weary families passing through.” 

Monte said today, the Vila As the Vila Minha Pátria Refugee Ministry serves people from 10 different nationalities. As the Vila team continues to serve and love refugees, he asked for prayer for more to come to Christ as they seek to rebuild their lives. 

“[Please pray] for the [faith] conversion of [the refugees] being served, and that they may find employment in Brazil so they can rebuild their lives,” said Monte.