Tenrikyo Brazil Students Advisory Committee held its first Students Training Course at Tenrikyo Mission Headquarters in Brazil from January 8 to 12. As a part of the efforts to enrich its activities for the years following the year of Oyasama's 120th Anniversary, the mission headquarters set out to develop programs to nurture and educate high school and college students. In January 2007, therefore, Tenrikyo Brazil Students Advisory Committee was established to plan activities for this age group. In preparation for the first program intended for high school and college students, the committee asked Tenrikyo Students Advisory Committee in Tenri to dispatch a HARP (Heart Awakening Recreational Program) instructor to train Brazilian staff members for the upcoming Students Training Course. In July 2007, Brazil Students Advisory Committee held a HARP training session where the participants learned HARP group exercises which, developed by Tenrikyo Students Advisory Committee, seek to facilitate bonding among participants, encourage proactive participation, and promote better understanding of the teachings during the Students Training Course.

The first Students Training Course in Brazil, open to high school, junior college, and university students between the ages 15 and 20, was held under the theme "Awakening to the faith" and drew 122 students from all parts of Brazil. The course was supported by 49 staff members, among whom were members of the Brazil Students Advisory Committee and participants in the HARP training session.

The students, divided into 21 groups of five or six each, participated in the intense five-day training course. A counselor was assigned to every group and provided each group's members with care and guidance throughout the course. During the daytime, the students listened to lectures, participated in HARP exercises, practiced the dance and musical instruments for the service, and dedicated themselves in acts of hinokishin. At night, they were divided into groups to discuss the teachings and reflect on what they had learned that day.

On the 9th, the students practiced and performed a short skit based on one of the anecdotes from Anecdotes of Oyasama, the Foundress of Tenrikyo. On the 11th, the participants visited the grave of Rev. Chujiro Otake, the first bishop of Tenrikyo Mission Headquarters in Brazil, as a part of the process of learning from the efforts of early followers of the path in Brazil.

Renato Rodrigues dos Santos, who became a Tenrikyo follower after being introduced to the faith by a friend, said: "I have taken so many things for granted such as my family, friends, and everything I have in my life. Through this training course, I realized that these are not something to be taken for granted. I want to invite my friends to join me in attending next year's training course as well as other church activities."

The Students Training Course in Brazil is designed as a three-part course. Next year, the course for second-time participants will be held under the theme "Deepening our faith," along with a course for first-timers. In 2010, a course for third-time participants is scheduled to open under the theme "Let's implement the teachings," which will be held concurrently with the training courses for first- and second-timers.