IT IS IMPORTANT TO MAKE CHRIST KNOWN
January/20 Informative
“Many people ‘care’ about the Amazon. The gringo ‘cares’, the government says it ‘cares’, but do they know that we exist? That here isn’t just forest and sweet water”?
The person who asks these questions is a Brazilian lady, born and brought up in the Marajó cluster. She is a social assistant, and her words sound like the voice of those who have no recognition, registered in a material produced by BBC News Brasil ‘Why the Amazon is the worst place in Brazil to be a child’. Days beforeshe was intrviewed, the Marajoaran, of fragile appearance, had sailed for hours with her team in order to save a girl that suffered abuse from who should protect her. “Cases like this are re-occurrent here...”, she revealed.
In this scenario of exuberant riches, but of sombre projections, EMAF missionaries are serving. You can understand the concern of friends and parents: ‘it takes a lot of courage to take your family to live in these places’. The truth is that those who love and care for our workers know that there is no better place to be than where JESUS wants you to be, and to bring up your children, teaching them to identify, from childhood, with the little ones, that few adults seem to care about.
It has been like this for more than thirty years in the service to the fishermen along the oceanic coast and Riverside folk of the Amazon. Being conscious of the importance of preservation of the environment is important to us, but even greater is to love these people in a concrete way attending to their acute and immediate needs, visualizing and implementing the social projects and education, the organization of daycare centres and the construction of multifunctional areas, the digging of wells and the presence of medical and dental teams. There is something, however, that we have always considered of most importance than anything else: live, announce and make friends of JESUS CHRIST among the simple folk, through sharing, discipling, and forming communities of worshipers of the Lamb.
In this way, we thank the ETERNAL for blessing us with partners and friends who have sailed with us, and for others who have joined us, with the assurance that many other communities along the waters of goodness and justice that sprout from the Throne, signs that the Kingdom of GOD has arrived!
In 2020 we will continue going forth obeying the command of the Lord, seeking to do His will, announcing Christ, being firm in the purpose that it is IMPORTANT TO MAKE CHRIST KNOWN. We count on you, side by side with us, building a happy new year, sharing the Love of the Father in action, taking part in the blessings of being His children. ⠀⠀
Oh, Praise the LORD with me, and call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples.
Psalm 105.1