A Cry For Laborers
This week was a great reminder of who God is and what He can do in the lives of people who believe in Him. I have seen both extremes. From extremely poor and remote people groups who have no idea what the Gospel message is, to the wealthy civilized people who have the Gospel and do not care to give it to those who need it, God is interested in every single person alive. He cares about the lost, but God also cares about how much we care about the lost.
Though I can rejoice about what God is doing in several tribes, it breaks my heart to see what is happening in the other tribes where there is no Gospel presentation. We are putting a plan in motion to help reach some of these tribes, but what about the others. Just this week we spoke with missionaries about at least 20 different tribes. About half of them have a missionary working with them. The others are “up for grabs”. Who will go? A “mission trip” will not solve this problem. We need missionaries, Bible translators, smiling faces, or anyone who is willing to give a portion of their life to reach the unreached. The main reason they are not reached is because no one is extending their arm.
I believe that reaching these Indians who are more civilized is the key to reaching the isolated Indians. We already know of accounts where one of these tribes sent missionaries to another tribe. The second tribe now has a church and many Christians in it. It is possible, but laborers are needed.
THE FIRST VILLAGE
- 68 people live in the village.
- They are related to a few other tribes in the area.
- Most of the adults speak Portuguese.
- The tribe is very poor and unhealthy for various reasons.
- At the moment, government projects to help them, are their only hope for improvement.
- The tribe is around 40 miles from Vilhena a city of around 80,000 people.
- They live only 20 miles off the main highway on a dirt road.
- Our state is considered by many to be the most evangelized state in Brazil, yet these so close to the city do not have the Gospel.
- Some missionaries have had contact with them in the past.
- There is no missionary presence there at the present.
- They want a missionary to work with them!
People eager to receive anything you give them.
THE SECOND VILLAGE
- Is about 15 miles from the city of Ji-Paraná
- There is presently a missionary working with this village.
- There is a church in the village.
- There is an Indian pastor in the village.
Four missionaries and the native Indian pastor.
THE THIRD VILLAGE
- Is about 20 miles from Ji-Paraná.
- There are several missionaries working with these people.
- The Bible is being translated into their language.
- There is a missionary living in the village.
- There are three national pastors and several deacons also.
- They are very modern and have electricity and running water in the village, though it may not be in every home.
- Some of the people from this tribe have already taken the Gospel to other tribes.
Indian Pastor and his wife with Isaías and myself.
THE FOURTH VILLAGE
- This village was from the same tribe as the third village.
- About 1 mile from village three.
- The men were all out fishing, so we did not stay.
- Several families attend the church at the third village on Sunday mornings.
Young girl in the fourth village.
THE FIFTH VILLAGE
- We were looking for a specific man in this village, but did not find him.
- The people were very kind and gathered from every corner to come see us.
- They attend church on Sunday mornings in village three.
- We stayed for about 30 minutes in this village talking to the people.
- This village was from the same tribe as village three and four.
- It is about 1 mile from village four.
- These Indians make jewelry out of small coconuts.
- Some of the Indians in these tribes have inter-married. Because of this, we met a few from other tribes also.
People gathering to find out why we were there.
— Jeremy