Reality meets vision

This is a family with five kids, all under seven years old.  There are many children that live in the interior of the Brazilian Amazon with no current access to a local church. 

Recently I had the opportunity to travel out to several of the communities along the Iriri River where we currently are working to plant churches.

Our vision is to plant churches and training leaders. 

But reality is that many of these people are functionally illiterate.  They do not own any books and many do not have the desire to learn to read.  The daily work of making a real and long term impact is much harder than simply making a verbal statement. 

In one village, we held a service as we often do. The people were animated, worshiping freely, and enjoying the time together.  Some in the village have already made a decision to follow Christ and every person in the village was in attendance.  They listened attentively to the Word and two men gave their lives to the Lord. 

They are totally willing to make a commitment, but the difficulty is that there are many hurdles in the path to making a full decision to a vibrant life in Christ.  Our goal is to take those hurdles out of the way for them and smooth the pathway for them to having a relationship with our Lord. 

We were able to help them bind together a team effort so that they can share in the joy of church life on a regular basis within their current reality.  The local patriarch took responsibility for organizing the meeting and making sure that people attend.  One of the young ladies in the village knows how to read and is willing to read the Scriptures in the public meeting.  I love this act, the "Public reading of the Scriptures" (1 Tim 4:13), something which does not exist in Western societies. 

And so, I ask for your prayers.  Prayers for people who are trying to fan into a flame the small flicker of faith that they possess.  Prayers for  us that we can empower them to succeed.  And prayers that they will have victory in the Spiritual battle that lays in front of them. 

More than 80 years of life along the river

One of the many smiling faces to greet us as we visited the villages

Life along the river includes using the river water for bathing, washing clothes, and drinking

Comments

[jim davis-hicks]

bud, your story telling with a camera continues to inspire me! keep up the good work, i so wish i could be there on the river with you guys right now!

thanks for the great partnership with thirst relief!

warmly, jim davis-hicks