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A Mission Trip to the Rio Purus

Posted on May 1, 2014 by admin Leave a comment

I just arrived back from a trip into the jungle. It is always an adventure, but at the same time there is much to learn and to glean from on a trip like this. I have been praying about taking a trip to this region since 2010, so it was exciting to finally be able to take the trip.

Though much could be said, I will keep this entry simple and to the point. I learned much that would be impossible to share in a blog. The Lord is teaching and I am doing my best to learn. The pictures tell more of the story, so to get a more detailed glimpse at the area and the trip, please look at the pictures for MAY 2014 on our PICTURES PAGE.

THE JOURNEY

– I headed out from my house just before midnight on Sunday night. John Kokenzie gave me a ride to the bus stop where my trip began. I traveled all night arriving in Porto Velho at 5am.
– From the bus station in Porto Velho I took a taxi to the airport where I would catch my plane around noon to Rio Branco in a neighboring state.
– I arrived in Rio Branco about an hour later where Bro. Stephen Doolittle picked me up and took me to his house. Once there, we ate lunch, freshened up and got in the car for another 135 miles or so. When we reached our destination, Pr. André was there waiting for us. It was already dark. We went to get a quick bite to eat, then hit the hay.
– By 5am we were all up and gathering our belongings to take to the boat. By 7:00 we were in the boat and heading up the river. Unfortunately one member of our crew received a phone call and had to return because his father suffered a heart attack. He was able to get back just a few hours before his father passed away.
– Our boat ride lasted for about 9 hours and took us around 120 miles up river where we arrived at Pr. André and Marlete’s house.

THE TEAM

– Pr. André is the Brazilian missionary we visited. He has been working in this region for nearly four years now. He has given up many conveniences of modern day life to build a house out in the jungle in order to reach the local Indian tribe.
– Marlete is Pr. André’s wife and was awaiting us at their home up the river. She cooked and washed clothes for us.
– Ester is their daughter and a very talkative girl. She is seven years old and enjoys when someone from the city comes to visit. We had a good time playing a few games and putting together a puzzle with her.
– João is a layman who had some vacation time saved up for this trip. Unfortunately he was not able to make the trip after receiving the call about his father.
– Bro. Stephen Doolittle had already been up to visit Pr. André once before, but wanted to help on a few projects, so he had decided to go back.
– Several other men had planned to go on the trip but due to court hearings, finances, or other issues, they were not able to go.

THE GOALS

Learn more about working with the Indians – We spent more than a week with Pr. André and his family! What a blessing to get to know this precious family and glean from their experience in working with the Indians. They have been ministering to this ethnic group for about four years. They have a few other missionaries helping them.
Though they have not established a church in the tribe yet, they are building friendships with the Indians, learning the language and culture, and praying that the Lord would help them witness and win this tribe.
Help Pr. André build a house in the Indian village – In three days we were able to help Pr. André put up the main structure for his house in the Indian village. The house is roughly 18 feet x 18 feet. It was hard work and very tiring, but praise the Lord, we were able to accomplish the task even though we had a much smaller crew than anticipated.

Thank you again for your prayers!

— Jeremy

Posted in Ministry, Old Blog, Work With Indians

Learning more about tribes in Brazil

Posted on March 23, 2014 by admin Leave a comment

Recently Bro. Sam Rogers called me. He is an American missionary who is working less than an hour from us. He asked if I would like to meet a native Indian pastor that was coming his way. This pastor is supported by a few churches in our area and we had heard much of his work. A few days later, he drove up and we picked up Pastor Daniel, the native pastor, at the bus station.

Me, Pr. Daniel, and Sam Rogers

Though our time together was brief, we talked about the work among the Indians. We spoke of his ministry, the needs, the people, and many other topics. The meeting, though brief, was very informative. I was able to speak of specific groups by name knowing where they were located, who was working with them, and learn more about other groups in the area.

Every opportunity I have to spend with these native Indians increases the intensity and desire in my heart to reach them with the Gospel.

It is amazing how God has worked out the details of the past few months. I remember, about a year ago, the desire I had to take several trips. Yet, the doors were not opening quickly. I did not know what God would do, but I began praying about several different possibilities. I wanted to learn more about this work with the Indians.

The past six months have been filled with experiences that I will never forget. What once was just a dream is becoming a reality. What once were just tribal names, now are faces and friends!!!

On deputation, I acquired pictures from the internet to make our video presentation. We used pictures of many different ethnic groups that were taken in Brazil. I never really expected to run into those people. Yet, looking back through our video with a friend, he said, “That is the guy I was telling you about yesterday. He is the one that I talked to about…” WOW! My first thought was, “You mean that man is a real person?”

In all reality, it is one thing to talk about reaching the unreached and a totally different thing to actually have personal contact with them. God is teaching me that every person alive is a part of His eternal plan. They were each created in His image and likeness. He loves every single one of them. Therefore, we must reach them!

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Please keep praying for this work!

— Jeremy

Posted in Ministry, Old Blog, Work With Indians

A Cry For Laborers

Posted on February 27, 2014 by admin Leave a comment

“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:38

Matthew 9:38 is a verse that we often talk about, yet soon forget. We take it seriously when it involves us personally and when we need help. Many times however, we forget that there are people in this world crying out for the Gospel. Spiritually sick and destined to eternal suffering, they have little hope if someone does not get to them with the message of salvation.

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

Posted in Ministry, Old Blog, Work With Indians

A Summary of My Recent Trip

Posted on February 25, 2014 by admin Leave a comment

I will try to break this up over the next few weeks, but mainly, I wanted to let everyone know how much we appreciate your prayers. The Lord gave us much needed safety as we traveled on dangerous roads.

A young boy in the first village we visited.

It is difficult to even summarize what we have experienced over the past few days, but I will try.

Though there were a few delays, we arrived in Vilhena as planned on the 20th.
God gave us a contact in Vilhena that proved to be very helpful. After telling us everything he knew about the situation with the Indians in the area, he then took us to a missionary’s house. This New Tribes missionary was even more knowledgeable and gave us much more needed information.
We were asked to stay for three days in order to visit all the villages. Having only one day, they made some phone calls and found a way for us to get into a tribe that afternoon.
We visited a village about 20 miles off the main highway. It was a bit difficult to get to, but without our 4×4 vehicle it would have been impossible. We did get stuck, but God placed a big tractor about 25ft. away from where we were stuck. Five minutes later, the tractor would have been long gone.
From Vilhena we drove at night to Pimenta Bueno. It was raining very heavily and the interstate highway had more pot holes than could be counted. Yet, after all the trouble, we arrived safely at the Indian school at about 10:30pm.
We spent most of Saturday morning (22nd) interacting with the students and faculty, then began our trip back home. We stopped in a few cities just to learn more about them.
Sunday morning we spent in our church service. We drove around our city in the afternoon, then went to church in Ji-Paraná for the evening arriving home well after midnight.
By 8am on Monday the 24th we were already back in Ji-Paraná where we picked up a missionary from the New Tribes’ base. He was able to take us to four different villages belonging to two different tribes. Spending time with a missionary who has worked in this field for over 15 years was a great help.
We traveled around 1,000 miles on very dangerous roads, yet God protected us and blessed in many ways on this trip. Though the cost of fuel was a bit more than normal, we were not hindered by a lack of supply.

Thank you again for praying,

— Jeremy

Posted in Ministry, Old Blog, Work With Indians