Free · Certificate included

Preparing for a Mission Trip to Brazil

Arrive as a guest of a church that sends more missionaries than most countries receive.

Reviewed monthly · last reviewed October 2026

52 min Beginner 7 modules Pass 80%

EspañolFor: Short-term mission team members, youth group leaders, trip coordinators and first-time travelers

What you’ll learn

Explain who you are visiting — Brazil’s five regions, and why a trip to Rio tells you little about Recife
Greet, thank and apologize in Brazilian Portuguese, and avoid the Spanish habits that give you away
Describe Brazil as a missionary-sending church, not a mission field, and adjust your posture accordingly
Speak about Catholic, evangelical and Afro-Brazilian faith without insult or caricature
Follow local norms for warmth, physical closeness, hospitality and flexible time
Recognize the practices that do real harm — favela tourism, orphanage visits, uninvited travel to Indigenous land
Prepare for yellow fever, dengue, heat, water and big-city security before you go

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Course outline

1
Why preparation is the work
What goes wrong when teams arrive unprepared — and the one fact about Brazil that resets your posture.
5 min Quiz
2
Five Brazils: who you are actually visiting
The regions, the scale, and why a report from Rio tells you almost nothing about Recife or the Amazon.
8 min Quiz
3
Portuguese, not Spanish
The most common visitor mistake, the twenty-four phrases worth memorizing, and the nasal sounds behind them.
9 min Quiz Written + interactive
4
The church that sends
Catholic Brazil, evangelical Brazil, Afro-Brazilian religion — and your posture inside a sending church.
8 min Quiz Interactive
5
Warmth, closeness and jeitinho
Hugs, cheek kisses and standing close; flexible time; and how to tell which deadlines are real.
7 min Quiz Interactive
6
Do no harm
Favelas as neighbourhoods not destinations, orphanage voluntourism, photography, and the money that displaces local work.
8 min Quiz Written + interactive
7
Health, security and the pre-flight checklist
Yellow fever, dengue, heat and water; phones and jewellery in big cities; and what to do before you fly.
7 min Quiz Written + interactive

Sources & further reading

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