The Brazil 2010 mission team sponsored by the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention served on the Purus and Amazon Rivers, February 28 through March 7, 2010. The team consisted of team leader, Larry Creamer, Dianna Grindstaff-Abbott, John Schaidler, Karen Grinder, Danny Hemm, Hannah Yarbrough and Lisa Yarbrough from Wisconsin churches, Dr. Pepper Ashford from Tennessee, Derek George from Kentucky, Diana Hackler, Jack Janssen, Debbie Janssen, Dexter Sutterfield and Janice Sutterfield from Oklahoma, Lacie McConnell from Kansas and Tesha Howard and Sherri Lee from Florida.
We served in the communities of Paricatuba on the Purus River, Aldeia Boa Sorte and Castanherão in lago de Galiléia, Comunidade Senhora do Perpéto Socorro on the Purus at the mouth of lago de Galiléia and Jaratubinha on the Amazon.
We had the privilege of seeing at least 39 people accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The medical team saw over 455 people and gave out over $1500 of medication free of charge. Piles of clothes were given to needy families. Followers of Jesus Christ were encouraged and trained to go deeper in their faith. Children were led in activities and taught about our Lord Jesus Christ. Worship services were held in churches where the work has been sporadic at best.
At Aldeia Boa Sorte we got back from visiting one afternoon and learned that a local young man had been bitten by an extremely dangerous venomous snake. Fortunately, the snake had only pierced the man’s leg with a glancing blow from one fang. The only transportation the community had to get him to any kind of a medical facility was a 3hp motor that would take about 3 to 4 hours. Since we were there, Pastor Eli who manages the boat for Amazon Vision Ministries loaned them a 25hp motor for their community boat and cut that time to about 40 minutes.
At the end of the worship service that night, one of the community leaders spoke with Pastor Eli and me about how this incident represented an ongoing need. They have an aluminum boat that belongs to the community but no fast motor for the boat. That means that any kind of emergency medical help is always a minimum of 3 to 4 hours away. He shared the need with us of a motor for that boat which was far beyond the financial reach of the community. I shared the need with our team the next morning. People from our churches had given us money for needs God would reveal to us. We collected $2300 which will be enough to purchase a good reliable motor for this community. Pastor Eli will make the purchase and present the motor to the community on our behalf when he is back in the area in a few weeks. The end of that story is that the next day, the young man who had been bitten was back and our evangelism team was able to lead him to faith in Christ.
To me this was a great snapshot of how God uses the whole body to do ministry. Through our wonderful prayer partners God had us at the right place at the right time. Our medical professionals were able to give immediate aid and advise next steps. The faithfulness of the people who run, manage and support Amazon Vision Ministries made it possible to be at this place and provide the transportation to the place where this young man could get the medical help he needed. The commitment of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist churches to support partnership missions facilitates the planning and preparation of the trip so we could be in this community at this strategic moment. The people of our team’s churches gave for a need they would trust God to reveal. Individuals on our team gave sacrificially for this need. Our evangelism team used the opportunity of seeing Robson the next day to share with this young man who had been a fraction of an inch from death the day before how he could prepare for eternity. Pastor Nathan from a nearby town regularly goes to these communities and will lead follow up efforts. In the coming years every time a life is saved or suffering is diminished, this community will know that God knows their needs and cares for them because they have been touched by the body of Christ.
This is just a snapshot of what God did in the few days we were privileged to once again join Him in Amazonas.
Submitted by
Larry Creamer
