Partners International comes along ministries around the world and partners with them to see their mission come to life and thrive. We have been working with Evangelical Mission for Assistance to Fishermen (EMAF) for 30 years.  During that time we have seen this ministry grow exponentially. 

For each ministry, we work with the ministry leaders and work to develop the funding to build the ministry.  The ultimate goal is for ministries to become self-sustaining (with ongoing funding supplied by the people in the areas in which a ministry serves).  The story of EMAF is an amazing God story. A five-year plan was put into action in 2016 and Praise God that plan was realized in just 2 years!

Please see a portion of EMAF’s Ministry Report from earlier this year and continue to pray for this emerging ministry.

Joint Ministry Results

Amazon Window – Purus River: The EMAF Amazon missionary team is reaching communities along the Purus River. Only 3% of the people living on it’s 3,000 kilometres have exposure to the Gospel. There are more than 1,220 unreached communities just in our target section of the river, between Pauini and Tapauá. It is sad to see these people living in darkness, facing physical, material and spiritual misery, overcome by fear and superstition – but all this will soon be changed! The Light of the Gospel is now shining upon that area, carried by the joint effort of Brazilians and North Americans.

EMAF’s initial strategy and the five-year plan for this area is bearing fruit. The strategy includes:

  • Surveying the area
  • Establishing four Missionary Bases along the river
  • Planting Churches + implementing Community Development on several tributaries
  • Training river people native to the area in order to spread the Gospel among the 10,000 still unreached communities of the Amazon Window.

By the grace and mercy of God, we have accomplished our five-year plan for the Purus River in 24 months!! I have had the privilege of helping to establish eleven main missionary bases during the past 36 years. I have seen many miracles along this journey but I have never seen a missionary structure reach over 1,000 communities just two years after its creation, especially while Brazil is going through its hardest political and financial crises ever! Crises don’t affect the Creator of the world and TOGETHER we can accomplish a lot or His kingdom – why not?

Timeline

2015

  • The area was surveyed and partnerships established by sharing the vision and recruiting missionaries

2016

  • Missionary training (two couples), spreading the vision, fundraising, recruiting new missionaries (seven others have joined the team) and the establishment of the main Missionary Base in Lábrea, the biggest town along the Purus. Oscar & Mariles are the Area Leaders
  • Establishment of the Administrative Council (AC) in Lábrea, with eight members. Each one of the ten main missionary bases of EMAF has an AC – a group of mature local believers to whom our Area Leaders are spiritually accountable and a place to find wisdom and support in order to expand the ministry in the target areas. The ACs are also one of the ways EMAF is accountable to the Brazilian Church, with regard to the vision, development of projects and finances.
  • At the end of the year, we received our first three boats. A used Catamaran, as a gift from a partner Brazilian missionary organization (refurbished with Canadian funds), and two other boats, both bought with funds raised in Canada, US and Brazil.

2017

  • Establishment of the second Missionary Base, in Pauiní, led by Eduardo & Donária, to spread the Gospel in that area. One of the area projects won a national prize and a grant from a large organization. We purchased a small used aluminium boat with a 15HP outboard engine for that team.
  • Another well-trained missionary couple (George & Gizelle) arrived from Manaus to join our team in Lábrea. They started the ministry along the Ituchi River, working to plant four churches.
  • Establishment of the Tapauá Base, through a partnership arranged by the area Adm. Council. We sent one of the single missionaries to Tapauá, who got a good support of a local mature Christian couple.
  • Five workers native to the area joined our team to help George & Gizelle
  • Arrival of another missionary couple in May along with their new baby
  • In June, we bought a used aluminium boat with a 40HP outboard engine for the team working along the Ituchi River, a ministry that is growing on a daily basis
  • João & Anne were sent to establish a new base in Canutama in July
  • In August, three new missionary couples and a single woman joined our team in Lábrea – they will get three months of training before joining our teams at the other bases. We bought a small used aluminium boat with a 15HP outboard for the base in Canutama. The first believers along the Ituchi River are praising the Lord with all of their hearts!

This report was provided to Partners International by Marcio & Damaris Gracia from Evangelical Mission for Assistance to Fishermen (EMAF) in Brazil.

 

Read on for a story from EMAF

Amazon mission bearing fruit

Many years ago a brave missionary woman broke through the darkness of the Ituxi River. She learned the Paumari language, led the translation of the New Testament, and took the Light of the Gospel to some Paumari communities. This missionary made some disciples, but the church was not established. Our missionaries working out of the Labrea’s base visited the Paumari community called Crispin. While sharing the Gospel they met Loyde & Maristela, a young couple with four children.

Loyde & Maristela were two of disciples of that missionary woman. They had remained faithful to the Lord throughout the years, but had no church in which worship. Loyde told us of their love for Jesus and that he had attended a two-year Bible Institute in the past, in Porto Velho. Oscar, our Area Leader, encouraged this couple and started a discipleship program with them. Loyde introduced us to a friend, Joseberto. Oscar baptised Joseberto’s wife and this couple also started to be discipled.

Loyde & Maristela have now moved from Crispin, to Ilha da Onça, a Paumari community with no believers. They are there to spread the Gospel in the community as missionaries. There is no school in Ilha da Onçam, so this is difficult for Loyde’s children, especially the oldest child. The area is also full of Malaria, creating health concerns for the family. Joseberto & his wife Raimunda are also going to go to a community with no believers. These are some of the first fruit of our ministry. We just held the first ever worker retreat of EMAF’s Purus team. There were nine Paumaris – all of them being trained to reach places where the currently in no availability to the Gospel. We hope to be able to honour the effort of the past Christians who died on that river, taking the Gospel to the Paumaris.

If you would like to give to  Evangelical Mission for Assistance to Fishermen in Brazil please see our donations page.

Thank you for being on mission with us!