Projeto Bálsamo

On November 2, All Souls' Day (Dia de Finados), Brazil's cemeteries fill with flowers and longing. That is where Seventh-day Adventist volunteers set up tents, hand out water and give away books with messages of hope. The outreach is called Projeto Bálsamo, Portuguese for Project Balm, and Pathfinder Clubs appear in official church reports about it.

This guide covers what the official manual asks for, how to prepare your Unit and how to care both for those who grieve and for those who go to comfort them. An 11-year-old Pathfinder also feels the weight of a cemetery, and a leader has to plan for that.

🕊️What is Projeto Bálsamo in the Adventist Church?

Projeto Bálsamo is the Seventh-day Adventist Church's cemetery outreach on All Souls' Day in Brazil. Volunteers spend the morning of November 2 offering water, missionary books, leaflets and prayer to anyone who accepts. Reports from Notícias Adventistas, the church's news portal, describe the project as part of the church's annual calendar, carried out in several regions of the country.

For the club, the reference document is the Manual Administrativo do Clube de Desbravadores (Pathfinder Club Administrative Manual) from the South American Division (SAD), 2020 edition. It defines Bálsamo as a missionary project for All Souls' Day to comfort those who have lost loved ones, and as an opportunity for evangelism, because the date leaves people emotionally open. In the manual's sample calendar, November 2 is set aside for the project at the municipal cemetery, with the Chaplain in charge.

No official founding date has been published. A 2024 report speaks of 15 years of the project across Brazil; another, from 2025, says the outreach at Vila Formosa Cemetery in São Paulo has been running for about two decades, inspired by an initiative in Goiânia, and started with CDs and DVDs before moving on to books.

We found no record of who chose the name, but in the Bible balm is linked to healing, as in the prophet Jeremiah's question: "Is there no balm in Gilead?" (Jeremiah 8:22, NIV).

📅When is Projeto Bálsamo in 2026?

Projeto Bálsamo follows All Souls' Day, always on November 2. In 2026, the date falls on a Monday. It is a national holiday in Brazil under Law 662 of 1949, as amended by Law 10,607 of 2002, so Pathfinders have no school that day.

On timing, the manual is direct: distribution should start in the early hours of the morning. In 2025, in Rio de Janeiro, one team stayed at Inhaúma Cemetery from 7:40 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and in Paraíba do Sul, also in Rio de Janeiro state, a Pathfinder Club served from 9 to 11 a.m. For a group of 10- to 15-year-olds, we suggest a two- to three-hour shift.

As far as we could find, there is no national kit with a launch date and standard materials. Organization is local: the church, the district and, in some places, the Conference or Mission decide on the cemetery, the time and the materials. Reach out to your pastor and your regional Pathfinder coordinators in the first half of October.

🧺What do volunteers do at the cemetery?

Official reports show a similar routine from city to city: water for visitors, missionary books and leaflets with messages of hope, music, and prayer for those who ask. At Inhaúma Cemetery in Rio, the team also offered blood pressure checks.

You don't need a crowd. In Paraíba do Sul, a club with 12 participants carried out its outreach in two morning hours.

A division of tasks that works well: Pathfinders hand out water and books, always in pairs and close to an adult; adults talk with those who want to talk, pray with those who ask and leave blood pressure checks to people with health training. Read all the material about death that will be handed out beforehand.

Projeto Bálsamo outreach reported by Notícias Adventistas in 2024 and 2025.

🗂️How can a Pathfinder Club take part in Projeto Bálsamo?

Start with the church. The club joins a bigger plan, alongside the pastor, the elders and other ministries. The manual assigns the club Chaplain to lead missionary activities, with support from the Executive Committee, so the Chaplain is the one who starts that conversation.

For witnessing activities, the manual says to set the date well in advance with the Pathfinders, with the parents (through an authorization) and with the place being visited. Here, that includes the cemetery administration. We recommend written permission, even within your own city; the guide to exit and travel authorization includes a template.

Take the activity to the church board. According to the 2020 manual, the club's annual insurance covers regular meetings and church-authorized events, and a project done on your own may not be covered. Check the current terms with your Conference or Mission.

Build the schedule by Unit, each Counselor with their own group at fixed spots. The manual asks for Pathfinders in uniform, without saying which uniform. And train ahead of time: when it discusses Calvary Week (Semana do Calvário), the same chapter reminds the Chaplain, the Counselor and the Director that preparing the Pathfinders is their job, because an event with many visitors is no time to try out a new role. The timeline is our own suggestion for 2026.

💬What should you say to someone grieving at the cemetery?

In Rio de Janeiro, one of the organizers summed up the approach in the highlighted quote. In São Paulo, the coordinator of the Vila Formosa outreach calls the work "corpo a corpo", which means one-on-one: little talking, the book is handed over, and prayer happens only if the person wants it.

For a Pathfinder, that becomes a simple script. Greet people calmly, offer the water or the book and accept a "no, thank you" with a smile. If someone wants to talk, listen without interrupting. Don't approach anyone praying at a grave or attending a burial. And never criticize the flowers, candles or prayers of other traditions: the Rio report noted that people of other faiths also received the messages with gratitude.

Short phrases help: "I'm so sorry for your loss," "may I pray with you?" Avoid "I know how you feel," "it was for the best" and any doctrinal debate at the graveside. If questions about faith come up, an invitation to the evening program is the kindest answer.

The Bible sets the tone. Paul writes: "weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15, NKJV). At the cemetery, that means staying beside people without rushing to explain anyone's pain.

We don't go to the cemetery to debate death, but to show love and affectionFred Alexandre Silva dos Anjos, one of the organizers of the outreach at Inhaúma Cemetery (Rio de Janeiro), to Notícias Adventistas, 2025 (translated from Portuguese)

🛡️What safety precautions does the club need?

Cemeteries have uneven ground, loose steps and lots of people moving around. The first rule is never to leave a Pathfinder alone: work in pairs or threes from the same Unit, always within sight of an adult, with a fixed meeting point and an agreed departure time. Count the group on arrival, at every change of post and on the way out.

A November morning can bring strong sun: bring water for the team, caps and sunscreen, and wear closed-toe shoes. No one climbs on graves, sits on headstones or runs between the rows. One adult keeps the first aid kit; in a real emergency, call 192, the number for SAMU, Brazil's emergency medical service.

Don't photograph mourners, graves with readable names or people receiving prayer, because that is a private moment. If the club wants to document the outreach, photograph only the team, away from the graves, and only Pathfinders whose parents have signed the image consent form.

💛Who looks after the Pathfinder's heart?

A cemetery affects anyone, and a teenager even more. Someone in your Unit may have lost a grandfather last year, may be afraid of the place or may never have seen an adult cry out loud. That is why taking part in Bálsamo has to be a free choice.

Talk beforehand. Tell them what they will see: people crying, lots of flowers, maybe a burial nearby. Offer alternatives to anyone who doesn't want to go to the cemetery, such as putting the water kits together the day before or welcoming guests in the evening. Agree on a signal for anyone who wants to step away during the outreach, and make sure an adult goes with that Pathfinder, with no questions and no scolding.

Talk afterward too. A short circle with prayer helps the group put into words what they felt. If someone is badly shaken, the guide to psychological first aid shows how to offer unhurried support; let the family know the same day. For anyone going through a recent loss, the article on dealing with grief can be read at home, with their parents.

⛪What happens after the cemetery?

For the manual, the morning at the cemetery is only the doorway. Along with messages of comfort, the distribution should carry an invitation to a special evening program at church, with the best speaker available to talk about death, comforting music and a healthy snack. Pathfinders invite each person warmly and arrive at church on time to welcome the visitors. In 2026, that would be a Monday evening; set the date with your church.

After the service, according to the manual, a team writes down the guests' details and offers a Bible study course, and the club shares the names with the church. Leave this task to adults, ask permission before writing down any contact and explain what it will be used for.

So what is the message? The report on the Rio outreach points to Daniel 12:2 as the basis of the project: "many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake" (NKJV). In Fundamental Belief 26, the Adventist Church teaches that death is an unconscious state until Christ's return, when the righteous are resurrected. To study the doctrine at your own pace, read what happens after death.