This week, travel with us to the South American country of Brazil, where you’ll meet Jose Lima Pinto. Jose loves his church family so much, he ended up selling his car and buying a van, so he could bring people to church who live far away or can’t walk well. But the problem is that the location Jose is delivering his church family to on Sabbath is not a great place for worship. There is a small patio for a few people, but everyone else is outside. The sun is hot, and if it rains, they get soaked.

Your kids will consider how they can go the extra mile like Jose. They’ll also see how Maranatha was able to help Jose’s congregation.

Pre-video Discussion Questions
- Has someone ever gone “the extra mile” to do something nice for you when they really didn’t need to? What was it?

Watch the video
In today’s video, a man’s church taxi service delivers members to a location in desperate need of help.

Post-video Discussion Questions
- Have you ever done something nice for someone, even if you didn’t have to? What was it?
- In the Bible, during the time of Jesus, the Romans ruled much of the world. They were in charge of the area Jesus lived in, too. There was a law that said if a Roman soldier ordered you to carry his heavy bags for a mile, you had to do it. The Jewish people hated this rule, and they hated the Romans because of how the Romans treated them. But Jesus tried to teach people to love others, even those they didn’t like. So during one of His sermons, Jesus said in Matthew 5:41, “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” He wanted people to be willing to freely show love to someone, even though it wasn’t required. (Parents’ sidenote: Going an extra mile would also have been a display of passive resistance to Rome, showing that the individual had control over how far they would walk, not the Roman law.) Who could you go the extra mile for this week, even if they don’t deserve it, and even if they’re not always nice to you?

Prayer Points
- To go the extra mile for someone this week.
- Ask kids what they would add to the prayer list.

Did You Know?
- The state in Brazil where this story takes place is named Bahia, and although it has many beautiful beaches and is right next to the ocean, much of the state is a desert and there isn’t enough water for the people. Maranatha has been drilling wells here to provide clean, pure water!