Our God is a God of mission

Think God is asleep just because you can’t see anything happening? Think again says Dave Newton, now home after a visit to Elim’s work in Amazonia in Brazil

Dave Newton

It was 4:30am as I stumbled from my sleep and made my way in the darkness across the metal floor. Careful not to wake the hundreds of others fast asleep, I crept up the metal stairs onto the top floor of the boat, now feeling the breeze on my face.

Slightly disorientated, I searched for the horizon and waited for the sun to rise, that moment when it feels like God is waking up.

It is a trap we can all fall into – believing that God is only at work in the places we can see. We know, however, that the reality is so different. As I stood on the top deck of the crowded 20-hour ferry to Maues, the Amazon region in Brazil, not accessible by road, I pondered as to what God might be doing in that region.

We escaped the metal boat around midday in 40°C of heat and the itinerary began. The team was led by Marty Davidson, a former long-term missionary in Maues who knows the ropes, the people and the language, making life much easier than it might have been. There were so many highlights; here are a few...

Donga Outreach Base

Back in 2019, when a UK team last visited, the Donga Outreach Base was a simple carport structure securing the land for a future vision. The outreach project is on the edge of Maues in a deprived area. Research revealed that every home visited in the area had at least one person with drug addiction, adding to the poverty.

In 2023, this vision is now being realised as more than 100 young people gathered on the first night for a youth event. The local congregation was planted from the main church just six months ago and now has a school of 60 children, an adult education programme and more than 50 people attending each week.

It was a joy to share with the leaders and play a tiny part. Francisco and his wife, who pastor the church, are investing heavily in young people who have given their lives to Jesus. Their heart to parent young leaders in the things of God was a real example.

Cell Structure/Jungle Base

The Elim Church in Maues is made up of more than 30 house groups, all with a mandate for multiplication. Meeting together in two locations on Sunday, they boast around 300 people. The entry point, however, is not the gathered service but rather small groups led by ordinary people, often young people, in remote but accessible places.

Friday night, we headed out to the jungle. It was a 40-minute journey in a pick-up truck in the pitch black to what seemed like the middle of nowhere. As we climbed out of the vehicle, I wondered who would be joining this apparently remote group in the middle of the Amazon jungle.

To our amazement, people began to appear from the trees in the darkness, singing as they came. They had arrived on boats from surrounding islands, some taking as many as three boats to attend the house group.

The leader shared his story of transformation – he had been delivered from years of addiction and now had a job. He thanked God and invited others to share testimonies and bring their requests to God.

I humbly sat and listened as best as I could, as it was all in Portuguese. I was reminded that our God never sleeps and is alive and at work in every corner of the globe.

Visiting homes

Perhaps the most challenging and greatest privilege of our time in Maues was visiting homes, taking food and praying for people. Over 50 per cent of people in Maues live below the poverty line. Many households have no running water or sanitation, although they live in extreme heat with an average of 12 to 15 people in the home. Well-used hammocks and tired mattresses on the floor are their only beds.

We had the opportunity to take hampers of food, pray for people and offer encouragement. One household we visited fell to their knees, and thanked God as we left – there was no other food in the house. Another mother told how our visit was a total surprise, and it reminded her that when Jesus returns, it will also be a surprise, and she wants to be ready.

We heard stories of extreme violence, addiction and illness and were welcomed as we prayed and ministered to people. Many homes sought to give some kind of gift from the very little they had. It was a humbling experience, but yet again, we were reminded that God goes before us and is at work in places we would not imagine.

As we boarded the ferry for the return journey and saw the sun setting on the Amazon, I remembered God is a God of mission; he sent his Son and his Spirit to reveal himself in the world. God is not sleeping waiting for us to ‘go’; he is at work in every corner of the world, inviting us to participate in what he is already doing.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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