BY BUDDY JOHNSON BMAA Missionary to Hispanic Peoples
R
uben greeted us with a hug and said, “We have
waited a long time for you to come.” We were in Coimbra, a small community on the Mamoré
River, deep in the Bolivian Amazon. After hearing that, Thomas Monroe, a member of our mission team said, “As far as I was concerned, everything else that was said or done on our trip was secondary.” The Rivers of Blessing ministry and
its riverboat, the M. S. Arrington, is a floating missionary platform giving us access to thousands of people up and down the Mamoré River and its tributaries. It was my privilege to travel with the following group of men to build the very first church building: Thomas Monroe, Joe Owens, David Yule, Doug Brewer, Rodney Glenn, Scott Pelham, and Eddie Booth. Missionary David Flores has led in
Before After
the evangelization of dozens of villages on the river, and there are hundreds of believers who have been led to Christ. In the village of Coimbra, a commu- nity of about 40 families, the people had been working hard to frame their soon-to-be church building. Alberto, the leader of the group of believers, had cut all the 2x4s with a chain saw, and the framing was complete upon our arrival. After a 12-hour trip on the river, we docked and began to unload the building materials. We spent four days working on the building, and, after two days, had our first service in the building that was already “taking shape.” That night, Doug Brewer preached and Ruben’s wife received Christ.
The next night, Eddie Booth preached, and his son and his wife were both saved. Joe Owens preached the third night, and we noticed that the building was full. Several dug-out canoes arrived from up the river as word spread that wewere having services. Doug came up with a great idea for the new building: write our favorite Scriptures inside the walls. We all wrote verses then covered them with the siding, leaving the Word of God to surround the people as they assemble to worship. Doug and his church, Southgate, Moore, Oklahoma, also sponsored the floor where his favorite verse was written on the floor, behind the pulpit. The preacher will always be standing on “the Word” as he preaches. Rodney Glenn led in the building of the
“lighthouse” tower on top of the building. The building is at the end of a long, straightaway on the river, 17 miles, and at the beginning of a large bend in the river. So, the light will be seen for miles by people traveling up and down the river. We also installed a solar panel
to light the church and tower. At night, on the boat, five men were trained to teach
DCPI (Dynamic Church Planting International) materials to the church planters working in Bolivia. The Arrington is also being used as a floating classroom. They were the first five instructors to be certified to teach DCPI materials in the country of Bolivia.We trust God to help these men as they lead and inspire others. n
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