Exploring His Grace: Unreached People's of Brazil

Carl & I Flying Out of the Tribe (Cessna 206)

Recently I had a life changing opportunity to work alongside an organization called New Tribe Missions (NTM) in the rain forests of North Western Brazil. NTM's mission focus is to share the Gospel in the worlds remaining unreached people groups!

As only the Lord could orchestrate through circumstances beyond my involvement, He partnered me up with Missionary Technologist, Carl Templeton of NTM! "Missionary Technologist".... What? Just 3 months ago I had never heard of the term and certainly didn't know Carl. You mean to tell me that the Lord needs people in technology working for Him? Yep, you better believe it, and there is a huge need and it's an amazing ministry, one that is making a measurable difference for the lives of missionaries serving in some of the most isolated areas of the world. Carl is the sole technologist working with the many NTM missionaries of Brazil to educate, advise and install technology such as solar systems, batteries, charge controllers, inverters, 12VDC refrigerators and freezers, water filtration, pump systems, etc. A topic I plan to expand in a separate blog...

Our particular task on this trip was to install (2) solar systems for missionaries serving among one of the worlds most isolated people groups. One for a family of five and another for a single missionary woman and home schooling teacher.

Aerial View of the Tribe

Our location in the jungle was about 220 miles away from the nearest town and is accessible only by small boat (several day journey) or small plane. To use the term "off the grid" would be an understatement as most of the native Indians living in that region don't even have a comprehension of what the "grid" is. And why should they, for they have lived in the jungles of the Amazon for thousands of years completely isolated from modern man.

As I reflect on my trip, I made what I believe to be three powerful observations that I'd like to share and expand upon. What can be learned about ourselves from a people group whose life in every visible way is different than our own? How large and diverse is the body of Christ? And what's it like to be a missionary completely isolated from the modern world? And finally, what can we do to get involved?

It's a Core Problem

At the core, are we the product of our environment? My only real perspective up until this point has been one of having grown up in America, a perspective of living in a world where materialism, the desire for stuff, and chasing the almighty dollar seem to be the number one focus. Certainly the 24-7 bombardment of commercials and advertisement is what has "brainwashed" us to be a selfish and greedy people right? Or has it simply fanned the flames of something that already existed within us?

The Indians that we were among had no TV, no radio, no money, no access to commercial shopping areas, simply put no real access to the outside world yet without going into specifics, they struggled with the same issues as the rest of the developed world. The desire for stuff (materialism) and a very real and all too familiar self-centeredness was just as apparent in them as it was elsewhere. I observed first-hand and heard of the many challenges that faced this isolated people group and more often than not, it sounded just like our problems at home.

So to some degree, my thinking has been broadened. Are we the product of our environment or has our environment simply become a reflection of our core? Without a doubt, the latter is true. This discovery certainly shouldn't have been a surprise as the bible has a lot to say about the fallen nature of man. It just became a lot more evident in the most unlikely of places, a continent away. As I heard one of the missionaries say, "the core is the same, only the shell is different". Humanity, irrespective of race, culture gender or environment has in common the same core problem and the same solution - the power of the Gospel to change the heart, transform and set us free!

The Diverse Body of Christ in Action

I think too often we take our ideas and thoughts about the corporate world and knowingly or unknowingly drag them into the church. So many aspire to climb the corporate ladder, be a CEO or own a business. The position at the top or the one with most visibility, yep "that's what I want". I once heard someone say that we need both eagles that sore high and alone and ducks that fly low and in formation. It takes every person and every position to accomplish great things (even the not so great things).

Like never before was I witness to the diverse body of Christ working together to reach thousands of tribal Indians. There were of course the missionaries on the ground living with the Indians, the pilots whose sole purpose is to fly materials, groceries, fuel and people in and out of the tribes, the mechanics who meticulously maintain the airplanes and the hangar, grounds keepers who maintain the mission houses in town (a respite for missionaries during breaks), the buyers and logistics people who purchase absolutely everything the missionaries need (food, clothing, appliances, etc.) for every single family serving in the tribes, the bible translators who tirelessly work to translate the Word into 5 different dialects, secretaries and book keepers who manage the affairs of the local mission boards, the teams of other people who build bible studies and special teaching materials to be used during their weekly visits into the tribes every month or so, and the list goes on and on to include supporters in multiple countries and churches around the world. The connected body of Christ moving from person to person through multiple talents and jobs - absolutely amazing! No one person or talent greater than the other - it's takes every finger, toe, nose, mouth and ear to make the body work!

Let go of the pressure from the world to serve in this capacity or that. Instead listen to that still small voice in your heart, the voice that He birthed in you. For He can and will use the desires of your heart to serve His great purpose! There is no better feeling in the world than to be working in a ministry that you are passionate about and seeing the Lord move in your life and the life of others.

More Difficult Than I Thought

Sharing the gospel among an unreached people group especially those that are completely isolated is much more difficult than I would have ever imagined. The following is a list of just some of the hurdles:

Language barrier - this particular people group has 5 different dialects and most are so different that they aren't interchangeable. In addition, their language wasn't written down and though significant progress has been made by missionaries to capture their language in written form, it completely changes every 40 years. Also, their vocabulary isn't as large as ours in that we have and use words that just don't exist for them. This can make communicating very difficult since we know that one word can significantly change the meaning of a sentence or phrase.
World view - Simple concepts like nations, people groups and an earth that is round are foreign concepts to them making it difficult to share basic accounts of history, creation and simple stories of the bible.
Extreme climates - being so close to the equator, this part of the world is very hot, humid and flush with bugs. Daily life in the jungle offers little escape from these elements. Simple things like a fan or the ability to take a shower offer precious moments of escape. Even getting a good night's sleep is difficult (at least it was for me).
Cultural differences - Morality and what appears to be right and wrong is absolutely relative to our upbringing and culture. I learned that it was best to check our judgements and personal convictions at the hanger before ever getting into the plane. I heard over and over again, simply share the truth of the Word and leave room for the Holy Spirit to move in a way that only He can, and He will, and He does! I think it's only natural to put God in a box whose boundaries are defined based on our personal experiences. I learned that in all relationships, from cross cultural to those within an immediate family, we need to need to drop our expectations for what God can and can't accomplish. Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts".
Daily Chores - Simple chores that we take for granted, become time consuming robbing the missionary from their ministry. Getting and filtering water for daily use, washing clothes, accomplishing household maintenance with limited tools and supplies, long term food storage, maintenance of the landing strip, staying healthy, etc.
Funding - I heard over and over again of missionaries who are under funded. Raising local support is difficult at best. Several people and couples I met are only 35 to 50% funded (with respect to what their local mission board suggests). One couple I met said that their supporting church in southern Brazil has a 60% unemployment rate. There are couples who are ready to go into the field but don't yet have the finances to do so.

Tremendous Work Yet to be Done

If you have interest in supporting the work that the Lord is doing in northern Brazil, please contact me at keith.hubble@gmail.com. These are just a few of the opportunities that I was witness to while there:

Additional solar systems for missionaries who either don't have a system at all or has an old system needing to be replaced (doesn't meet their power and energy needs). This particular investment is one that probably has the greatest impact on the missionaries daily life giving them peace of mind and further freeing them to focus on their ministry instead of trying to simply survive!
Monthly support to sustain those already in the field and launch those who are waiting to go. (I met 3 such families)
Building projects, wells to be dug, homes to be built, solar systems to be installed, etc.
Teams to go, do the work, love on the missionaries, and build lasting relationships.

Pray for Brazil and let's get involved in the great work He is doing there. To God be the Glory!