WHAT interesting days these have been! To visit our workers and members who live and labor along this great waterway is a thrilling experience. Here one sees life without embellishments. "Life is what we make it," they say, and these folks make it simple. As we meet our believers we are impressed by the fact that their church buildings are neat edifices, in most cases far better than the homes of those who worship in them. One quickly observes the identification marks of Adventism as he enters these places of worship. Even in the attractive little church in the leprosarium there on the wall hangs the Sabbath school record chart, recording thirty-two members with a weekly goal of $40. But more impressive than the chart is the light in the countenances of our people, young and old. That was most noticeable in the leper colony. To be a leper is surely an affliction, but to be one of the nine hundred or more inmates of this hospital and yet not have "the blessed hope" would be of all tragedies the worst. It was heartening to find that the manager of this particular leper colony, a fine type of man, is also the local elder of our Adventist church on the compound. And how good it was to meet and pray with these dear folks to whom the love of Jesus means so much.
Last Sabbath we spent at Bogota in Colombia. There we had the privilege of bringing God's message to two different congregations in two fine church buildings. Meeting with our happy and devoted people, it was difficult to imagine that many of them had endured severe trial and persecution for their faith. It is always heartening to see young men carrying the burden of leadership. We left next day with a sense of satisfaction after having been inspired by a rehearsal of far-reaching plans to take the Advent message into areas of this land as yet completely unentered.
Arriving at Manaus, headquarters of the Central Amazon Mission, we were delighted to meet with our leaders. What an interesting history this place has! And what thrills those early Spaniards must have had as they paddled their way mile after mile up this great waterway in canoes, not knowing just where the journey would end! The Amazon is certainly unique among rivers, for many of its tributaries are as big as the greatest rivers of other lands. But all along its banks and the banks of the great rivers that flow into it are people who for the most part live in poverty, people who until comparatively recent times lived with little or no medical help. Splendid work has been done for these river-dwellers by such self-sacrificing missionaries as the Halliwells and those who have followed them.
We have been traveling in the Luzeiro IV, which is now the home of Brother and Sister Willy Buchhammer and their little girl Liliana. These good workers are both graduate nurses and have given their lives to serve these needy people. Our translator has been B. R. Cavalheiro, treasurer of the mission. Wholesome hospitality was never better expressed than during these days. The first night out from Manaus we ran into a violent storm. If this had been an ordinary river, even a big river, it would have been just heavy rain accompanied by vivid lightning and thunder. But on the Amazon we were assailed by high waves, almost like an open sea, which came crashing against our little forty-five-foot craft. Our captain and his mate, however, were equal to the situation, and finally got us close enough to the bank where we were moored until morning.
Two fine church buildings are located in Manaus, and a church school with forty pupils is housed in the same building as the mission headquarters. Other schools are dotted along the river banks. Looking into the faces of these happy Adventist boys and girls, one can easily envision the churches of the future. Our work is growing encouragingly in these parts. This past year the Central Amazon Mission set itself a goal of 200 baptisms. But under the blessing of God, and as a result of the sacrificial service of a handful of consecrated workers, more than 300 have joined the Advent Movement, each to take his place in the ranks of lay workers led so ably by the ministers. In these parts one sees a wholesome relationship between the ministry and the membership that demonstrates the ideal of an evangelistic church.
R. A. A.
