MAP Stories: Canoes and salvations in the Amazon

This is a collection of stories submitted by Missionary Adoption Program missionaries.

In Brazil, Missionary Adoption Program (MAP) missionaries are hard at work, sharing Christ and showing love. Below are the stories of two missionary couples who have moved to the Amazon to share the gospel with the people living there.

Gospel in a canoe

In missionary Luciara Alves’ area there has been flooding, causing damage to many of the houses.The houses there are built on “strong stilts” and sit up about 6-8 feet from the ground, and when the river is up or flooding occurs the water comes right up to and sometimes into the houses. When she and her husband made visits during the flood they had to go by canoe because the water was so high. Many missionaries in the area have canoes that they use to get from one village to another during times like these.

The Alveses are starting a Small Multiplying Group, which is the starting seed of a house church. They are also checking on people’s needs, and through a program called "New Smile of the Amazon," were able to give fluoride treatments to children, provide preventative treatments and deliver a kit with a new toothbrush and toothpaste. At the end of the month, they were able to help another missionary do this in another community as well. They are happy to be able to be in their communities and show what the church is doing during the pandemic.

A salvation story

Missionaries Carlos and Samara moved to a town named Campinas in the Amazon region and started praying for their neighbors to discover the transforming love of Jesus. Carlos writes that “some have been saved and returned to the Lord. One Sunday, after the worship service, one of our neighbors asked me to go to his house. When I arrived he came running in my direction and said that he needed Jesus and asked me to pray with him that very moment because he wanted to give his life to Christ right then. That just gives me greater certainty that it is worth investing time praying for those that no one believes would ever come to Christ."

For more information about the Missionary Adoption Program, our missionaries or ways you can be involved, please contact us at missionaryadoptionprogram[at]txb.org.