Gospel Revives Amazonian Culture

“At first we loved talking with outsiders. We taught them our language, shared our knowledge of the land, plants and animals, and debated important issues. But soon we came to realize that they only wanted to rob us of something: knowledge, language, territory, traditional medicine or dignity.  We become suspicious and with good reason.”

These could be the words of numerous Amazonians. We have heard many stories of how outside influences have destroyed language and culture in the Amazon. We, however, are experiencing a different trend. When tribes follow Jesus they begin to place a higher value on their own language and culture. They find good ways to interact with the non-indigenous world without losing their identity and they focus on issues that are really important for their society.

A few months ago we had a wonderful meeting with 1251 people from 47 different tribes coming together to praise the Lord. For two weeks we heard amazing testimonies. Some tribes rescued their own language after receiving the Gospel. Others left alcoholism. They discovered the value of human beings in God’s sight and ended evil practices like infanticide. The Lord’s Supper was a wonderful time. One member from each tribe came to present the elements: beiju – a typical food from cassava – and acai – a red juice from a fruit of the Amazon. We all sang together in several languages, the same message, Jesus is our Lord.

The WEC Amazon team, have 39 missionaries, 10 of whom are Indigenous, working in 12 tribes. By God’s grace we have seen four churches established and many opportunities for sharing the Gospel. The challenge in the Amazon is huge, to convey the gospel to thousands of villages in many different languages, some of which have no Bible translation. We constantly feel we are not ready for the work but the power of the Holy Spirit is with us. This is no time to turn back or rethink our strength. It is time to overcome barriers, following in Jesus’ footsteps until the end.

Ronaldo Lidorio leads the WEC team in the Amazon region of Brazil