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The Amazon River is a source of food
and income for many.
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As you travel along the river,
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you can see many communities
along the banks.
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Here you will find one quarter
of our planet's fresh water supply.
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That's why boats
are necessary for transportation.
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There are entire communities
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with either no knowledge
of the Bible or no churches.
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Adventists here found a fitting way
to reach more than 10,000 communities.
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Thanks to your past contributions
to the 13th Sabbath Offering,
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the Floating Church was built.
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This custom boat is a church
that carries the pastor's family.
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It often works alongside
the ADRA Luzeiro boats
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to provide health care and hope to people.
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The main goal
behind the Floating Church project
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is to reach places
we typically find hard to visit.
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The floating church
offers an infrastructure
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for a pastor or Bible worker,
a captain, and others to live aboard.
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There is also an auditorium
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where the people from the community
can come to listen to the Word of God.
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The Floating Church has an auditorium
that seats 120 people.
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It's a comfortable space for people
to come and learn about God.
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I know what difficulties they face
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and how hard it is for the gospel message
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to reach the distant communities
along the Amazon River.
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This touched me in a special way.
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I was moved
by the prospect of this project.
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It was encouraging to imagine
how far this boat could go
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to reach the riverside families.
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This boat also has onboard
apartments for the crew.
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Reno Guerra is both the pastor
and the captain of the boat.
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He and his wife, Natalia,
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accepted God's call to bring hope
and healing to the region.
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As soon as the boat docks,
it's received with a lot of joy.
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People are happy to see
the Floating Church
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because it is a beautiful and unique boat.
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Pastor Reno sounds the horn
to catch the attention of the people
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who come curiously to look.
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So the pastor invites the people
to a church program.
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He enters a community
where work already has begun
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and calls the people
to come inside the Floating Church.
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The boat is usually docked for 60 days
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as they talk about family,
health, and community wellbeing.
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In the first year of service,
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two new churches were established
through the Floating Church.
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This past June,
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the Gutierrez church opened
as a result of the missionary project.
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This is the first daughter church plant
of the Floating Church project.
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The church that floats
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is the mother of all
of the traditional church structures
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that are built along the banks
of the Amazon river.
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Indeed, miracles are happening
along the Amazon.
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We noticed that this project changes
what people think about God
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and about the Adventist Church.
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There is change in their society.
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People become calmer, happier,
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more content, and united.
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The church helps the community
to realize how they can work together
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as one body to develop
social projects for themselves.
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I believe many souls
will be reached through this boat.
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This boat can reach places
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where even radio signals
don't travel to reach hearts.
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We pray that this will be managed
and used well for the gospel to reach
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the farthest places in the Amazon.
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We have the opportunity
to navigate rivers and oceans
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as part of our mission to reach
unreached people groups.
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Please pray for the Floating Church
and the many missionaries
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involved in flooding
the Amazon with hope.
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And thank you
for supporting projects like these
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through the 13th Sabbath Offering!