Love, Hope, and Grace Make Fertile Ground in the Amazon

Twenty years ago, love and hope docked at Terra Preta, Brazil. Literally, love and hope arrived in the form of a boat, the Amor e Esperanza, deployed by Amazon Outreach. Figuratively, the Christian men and women aboard the boat embodied the love and hope of Christ, taking the message of the Gospel to Terra Preta with the help of Pastor Abimael, a missionary to the villages of the Amazon.

Short-term missionaries from America were aboard the boat and ministered to the village in many ways—men’s ministry, women’s ministry, medical and dental ministry, and VBS ministry. The Americans even played the Brazilian village soccer team in a friendly game. The Americans lost by a lot. After the match, they shared the Gospel using evangelism soccer balls.

Leiko Paixao, a young boy from Terra Preta, heard the message that the Americans preached. He did not accept Christ on this visit, but he kept an important piece of paper he received during VBS. He looked back at this paper often throughout his life until one day when he heard this message about Jesus Christ again. This time, he followed Christ and dedicated his life to serving Him. Every week, he trekked the waters of the Amazon River just to hear the Word of God preached at a church in El Shaddai, a nearby village. His village rejected the message of Jesus.

Years later, Pastor Abimael invited Leiko to begin following him as his disciple. Now, Leiko is a missionary to over eighteen villages along the Amazon River. He describes his life like this: “I woke up one day and realized I was a missionary.”

A Long-awaited Visit

The people of Terra Preta—Leiko’s home village—remain hesitant about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Abimael continued to visit the village after Amazon Outreach’s first visit, but their village president adamantly rejected the message of Jesus. He asked all villagers to do the same, and for twenty years, Amazon Outreach was unwelcome in Terra Preta. That is, until July 19, 2023, when Terra Preta’s hesitant president allowed the Amor e Esperanza to return to his village. Leiko was thrilled to return home alongside a boatful of men and women who know and love Jesus.

A Church For Terra Preta

Upon arriving at the village, Leiko assembled a five-person evangelism team—four Americans and one Brazilian translator—to accompany him to Grace’s house. Grace and her family are lifelong friends of Leiko. Grace met Leiko the day he was born. She has two homes, one in Terra Preta and one in El Shaddai, near the church that Leiko attended growing up. Grace is one of the only villagers Leiko can speak with about Jesus because she recently became a Christian. After Grace met Jesus, she told her husband and fourteen children about Him. Her household now knows Jesus too, and she described her new life like this: “I will serve Jesus until I die.”

The purpose of Leiko’s visit with Grace in her beautiful home on July 19th was twofold. First, Leiko introduced Grace to fellow believers who encouraged her and reminded her she is not alone. Second, Leiko talked strategically with Grace about how they could start a Bible study and, eventually, a church, in her home. Due to the president’s continued adamant rejection of the Gospel, Grace and Leiko must be careful. Still, Leiko’s lifelong relationship with Grace’s household might just be how a church is established in Terra Preta.

Paul, Timothy, and Lydia

I can’t help but think of Lydia when I replay the details of July 19th in my mind. Acts 16:14-15 says, “One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.’ And she prevailed upon us.” Scripture also suggests a church was later established in Lydia’s home (Acts 16:40).

The details of the “church at Terra Preta” remain in the balance, but of this we can be sure: The Amazon will know Jesus because of a pastor named Abimael, a missionary named Leiko, and a hospitable woman named Grace—a Gospel-driven team the likes of Paul, Timothy, and Lydia.