Fields of EMAF
06/07/2011 . How it all began
How it all began
When Cléo and I were challenged to come to Bahia in 1990, our hearts were greatly motivated, but without any idea of what God would do.
We were married in March of 1991, and the following month we left Santos/SP for Bahia. We went by car, towing the launch "Mensageiro III" while our things followed us in the truck of a brother of ours.
After three days we arrived at the Island of Itaparica. We had the promise of a house on Barra do Pote, but we soon realized that the island was a more strategic location to live because the crossing to Salvador was very complicated and there were no public telephones available.
We crossed over on the Ferry Boat and began the work of sharing the vision with churches and pastors. Our time was divided between a week in Salvador and three visiting the islands in the region of Cairu and Camamu. We discovered more than 60 fishing villages and began to challenge the pastors and the Bahian Baptist Convention to send workers to those localities.
Support from the Baptist Convention, churches and brothers
The Convention gave us the opportunity to divulge the ministry in churches and sent the first missionary couple to help us.
Interest was roused and God opened the doors. Evangelism teams from various churches began to visit the fields and many brothers, health professionals, began to meet the needs of the people in dire need.
First reached communities
We began in the bay of Cairu reaching Tapuias, Canavieiras and Boipeba. For five years we helped the Batist church at Gamboa, a community near the Morro de São Paulo. In 92, with the arrival of a couple sent by the Bible Alliance of Santos, the work extended to the bay of Camamu, reaching Ilha Grande, Barcelos do Sul and Taipus.
The advance of the ministry
Year after year, new workers arrived in strategic regions for the ministry among the fishermen. In 96 EMAF reached the extreme south of Bahia - the Complexo da Cassumba, a group of islands and sea channels inhabited by hundreds of needy families.
IInitiating the Day Care Centres
During that same year, EMAF initiated the first Day Care Centre project on Ilha de Boipeba. Caring for not a few children seemed an impossible challenge, but God supplied all the necessities and we saw how much He loved that people and was ready to bless them through our obedience. The number of children attended to grew each year. The second Day Care Centre opened a few years later at Vila de Barcelos do Sul. Today the two Centres attend to the needs of nearly 300 children, adolescents and adults in projects that range from pre-school to literacy classes for adults and specialized courses.
The Boat Clínic
After 14 years of work, EMAF settled an agreement with ‘Barn Samariten’ for the construction of a Boat-Hospital. In 2006 the boat was inaugurated and since then, every 15 days, teams of doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and biochemists leave on mission trips to meet the needs of families who have no access to health service of any kind.
EMAF BAHIA – 20 years later
We have 21 missionaries on the field, a team of workers in the Day Care Centres and in the Salvador office. They were years of battles and the courageous investment of brothers who believed in the vision; years of God's care and the miracle of His supply and Grace. For all this we Praise Him. And for you who have accompanied us with faithfulness and prayer, we Thank Him.
Pr. Abraão da Silva - Diretor EMAF BAHIA - June/11
