August 15 - Flooding the Amazon with Hope

The Amazon River is a source of food
and income for many.

As you travel along the river,

you can see many communities
along the banks.

Here you will find one quarter
of our planet’s freshwater supply.

That’s why boats
are necessary for transportation.

There are entire communities

with either no knowledge
of the Bible or no churches.

Adventists here found a fitting way
to reach more than 10,000 communities.

Thanks to your past contributions
to the 13th Sabbath Offering,

the Floating Church was built.

This custom boat is a church
that carries the pastor’s family.

It often works alongside
the ADRA Luzeiro boats

to provide health care and hope to people.

The main goal
behind the Floating Church project

is to reach places
we typically find hard to visit.

The floating church
offers an infrastructure

for a pastor or Bible worker,
a captain, and others to live aboard.

There is also an auditorium

where the people from the community
can come to listen to the Word of God.

The Floating Church has an auditorium
that seats 120 people.

It’s a comfortable space for people
to come and learn about God.

I know what difficulties they face

and how hard it is for the gospel message

to reach the distant communities
along the Amazon River.

This touched me in a special way.

I was moved
by the prospect of this project.

It was encouraging to imagine
how far this boat could go

to reach the riverside families.

This boat also has onboard
apartments for the crew.

Reno Guerra is both the pastor
and the captain of the boat.

He and his wife, Natalia,

accepted God's call to bring hope
and healing to the region.

As soon as the boat docks,
it’s received with a lot of joy.

People are happy to see
the Floating Church

because it is a beautiful and unique boat.

Pastor Reno sounds the horn
to catch the attention of the people

who come curiously to look.

So the pastor invites the people
to a church program.

He enters a community
where work already has begun

and calls the people
to come inside the Floating Church.

The boat is usually docked for 60 days

as they talk about family,
health, and community wellbeing.

In the first year of service,

two new churches were established
through the Floating Church.

This past June,

the Gutierrez church opened
as a result of the missionary project.

This is the first daughter church plant
of the Floating Church project.

The church that floats

is the mother of all
of the traditional church structures

that are built along the banks
of the Amazon river.

Indeed, miracles are happening
along the Amazon.

We noticed that this project changes
what people think about God

and about the Adventist Church.

There is change in their society.

People become calmer, happier,

more content, and united.

The church helps the community
to realize how they can work together

as one body to develop
social projects for themselves.

I believe many souls
will be reached through this boat.

This boat can reach places
where even the radio signals

do not travel to reach hearts.

We pray that it will be managed
and used well for the gospel to reach

the farthest places in the Amazon.

We have the opportunity
to navigate rivers and oceans

as part of our mission to reach
unreached people groups.

Please pray for the Floating Church
and the many missionaries

involved in flooding
the Amazon with hope.

And thank you
for supporting projects like these

through the 13th Sabbath Offering!