2022 Year in Review

-by Michael Allen
 

Dear AVM Family and Friends,
 
I pray that all of you experienced a Merry Christmas and are praying for a Happy New Year! With so much uncertainty coming out of 2020 and 2021, God was again at work in and through our ministry in 2022. The author of Hebrews writes, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (10:24,25) That “Day approaching” is the Day of the Lord. We do not know when that day is, but we can be certain that we are another year closer to it coming to pass. The writer says to encourage each other more as we “see” that day coming. With the state of the world today, we can clearly “see” that Jesus is coming soon. And should He tarry, that gives us more time and opportunity to share the Good News of salvation with those who are perishing. I encourage and invite you to pray for, give to, and go on the River. We do not know what obstacles and challenges 2023 will bring, but we do know that our God is bigger than anything that comes our way.
 
Here are some of the highlights of what God has accomplished in and through our ministry over the last 12 months:

Pastor Eli & Silvana

• Pastor Eli was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in early May of this year. We thank God for a successful surgery and His healing hand on Eli. At the same time Silvana was experiencing severe eye issues that were painful and required treatments. We also thank you for your prayers and financial support for Eli and Silvana during this time. Pastor Eli has returned to the River and led 3 trips since his surgery! Praise the Lord!

 
Supply the River

• In response to food scarcity caused by lockdowns, AVM’s in-country staff and partners completed three Supply the River trips this year funded by our generous donors.

• Each trip provided a week’s worth of food for 300 families and, most importantly, the gospel message was presented to all.

• The 1st trip was at Easter time and included over 600 bags of candy.

• The 3rd trip was a special Christmas edition and we distributed 1200 toy bags for children! Click here to watch a brand-new video of the Christmas trip.

• In total, AVM brought the love of Christ through Supply the River in 2022 to nearly 6000 people! Praise the Lord!

Teams on the River

• One Chapel. They were the first U.S. based team to return to the River in 2021 and they were the first team to return again in 2022! Led by Richard and Christi Jennings, this team also had a Brazilian dentist join and over 100 patients were treated through their dental clinic! The team also participated in 5 church services, discipleship training, and conducted VBS every day with an average attendance of 40 children. We pray that God will continue to open new doors to reach indigenous tribes with the gospel and that this team’s efforts in 2023 are blessed.

• Westside Baptist Church. Trip leader, James Nichols, and long-time AVM supporter, Allison Crepeau, joined AVM’s in-country staff and traveled to the West Amazon Basin to support the Christmas Supply the River Trip. The team was able to visit 9 villages and it was a special time, indeed. See a short clip of them here​​​​​.​​​

Conferences

• AVM was invited to the 2nd annual missions conference at Cultivate Church in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a blessing to see this event grow since last year and we look forward to seeing what God will accomplish during Cultivate’s first trip with AVM in Spring 2023.

• Our ministry was also represented at the Baptist College of Florida’s 3-day mission conference.

New Partnerships

• We rejoice that Flemington Baptist Church has become a new ministry partner. The congregation’s heart for missions is evident and AVM is grateful for their on-going financial commitment for 2023!  

 As we look toward the future of our ministry, AVM trusts that God will supply our every need.

• Financial: Our fundraising goal for 2023 is $100,000. These funds will support (1) seven Supply the River Trips, (2) expansion of our staff in Brazil, (3) improvements to infrastructure and communications, (4) new programming for ministry opportunities and (5) on-going operational expenses. Please consider a one-time gift to support this campaign or becoming a monthly giving partner in the New Year. No amount is too small or insignificant to Kingdom work. Please click here ​​​​​​​​​​to give now or visit our website: ​​​​​https://www.amazonvisionministries.org​​​​​​.

• Prayer: As we continue to build teams for 2023, please pray that God would call strong leaders to serve on the River and that teams are formed, solidified, and sent! We look forward to seeing how God blesses our efforts as more teams return to the River. Please also pray for the Board as we seek God’s continued direction for the future.There is much work to do!

Thank you for your continued prayers, support, and a willingness to “go and make disciples”. In 2020 and 2021, lockdowns and closures were replaced with mandates and restrictions, however, in 2022, mandates and travel restrictions were lifted! Praise the Lord! In all seasons, God’s call to “go” and make disciples still stands. It is in this Commission that we experience the power of the Holy Spirit. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
 
If you would like more information on how to get involved, please contact me, or visit our website at https://www.amazonvisionministries.org.

May God bless you as we enter the New Year!

In His service,

Michael Allen 

Director of Operations

Michael@amazonvisionministries.org

352.219.5348

Giving Tuesday 2022

-by Michael Allen

Click here for an important message from the director. Director’s_message

Dear AVM Family,

On Giving Tuesday 2021 your generous gifts were able to supply 300 families with food for a week, 900 toy bags to children, and the gospel message! This year our goal is to double those efforts (or more) and we need your continued support to do so. The cost to supply these is less than $35 per family. Also included in these bags is the most important message of all, the gospel. The gospel message will be given out to each family that receives a gift. Our goal is to raise $26,000 to fill the boat!

Help us fill the boat! Donate now by visiting www.amazonvisionministries.org and using the designated fund "Supply the River-Christmas" or by texting the word “give” to (352)677-2286.

Christmas_trip_2021_video

Supply the River Christmas 2022

-by Michael Allen

Dear AVM Family,

We are currently in the planning stages of our 2nd annual Supply the River Christmas trip. Last year, because of your generous gifts, we were able to supply 300 families with food for a week, 900 toy bags to children, and the gospel message! This year our goal is to double those efforts (or more) and we need your continued support to do so. The cost to supply these is less than $35 per family. Also included in these bags is the most important message of all, the gospel. The gospel message will be given out to each family that receives a gift. Our goal is to raise $26,000 to fill the boat!

Help us fill the boat and donate now by visiting www.amazonvisionministries.org and using the designated fund "Supply the River-Christmas" or by texting the word “give” to (352)677-2286.

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

Christmas_trip_2021_video

Return to the River!

-by Michael Allen

Greetings AVM Family,

In October of 2021 Team One Chapel (Texas) returned to the River as the first AVM team in nearly 18 months! It was this same core group, the Jennings and the Stones, that led the last AVM team to travel to the West Amazon Basin in December of 2019.

The team ministered in Nova Porta Lima with the members of a Tikuna tribe. During their visit they conducted 6 church services, a marriage Bible study, vacation Bible school (with over 85 children!), break-out sessions with the youth, and evangelized through bracelets, evangecubes, and a soccer ball! Many relationships were built and Team One Chapel has been invited back for Indigenous Day in August of this year. Several days after the team left the village there were 9 marriage ceremonies performed as a testimony to their belief in Christ and willingness to walk in accordance with God’s Law. This included the pastor of the church, his father, and all of the deacons! Wow! Praise the Lord!

Richard, Christi, Harold, and Jan are already planning their return to the River again in 2022 with trips slated for June and August.

Supply The River Christmas 2021

-by Michael Allen

Greetings AVM Family,

In mid-December of last year we completed our fourth Supply the River trip. With it happening at the height of the Christmas season we decided to add 900 toy bags for children to the already supply of food kits for 300 families. We praise God for the generosity of our AVM Family for making this trip possible! Not only were food and toys delivered to the villages along the West Amazon Basin, but the gospel message was shared with all. Click on the image below to see a short video from this trip. Thank you and God bless you all!

Chairman's message

20th Anniversary message from our Chairman

-by Michael Allen

Greetings AVM Family,

For those of you who were not able to attend our 20th Celebration last month you can hear the message from our Chairman by clicking the picture below. Due to time constraints the message was shortened at the banquet, however it is now preserved below in its entirety. Please take the time to listen and enjoy this important message from our leader and “good and faithful servant.” God bless you all!

Is Good Friday Good?

-By Gary Crawford (with closing commentary by Michael Allen)

Is Good Friday Good? 

“Why do we as believers call this day ‘good Friday’ when it was such a dark and painful event recognizing the suffering and death of Jesus? 

It's good because it's critical. It celebrates the most important reality in the history of mankind- the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A matter of "first importance" from God's point of view. (1 Cor 15:3)

On this day Jesus willingly suffered in ways we cannot comprehend as the ultimate sacrifice for our own darkness of sin (1 Jn 1:10) and heralded the victorious resurrection that we will share. (Ro 6:5) 

Yet, the question is why ‘good Friday’ instead of ‘bad Friday’ Well, in fact, in Germany it's ‘Karfreitag’ - sorrowful Friday. And according to Justin Holcomb the English word ‘good’ may have developed from the older name ‘God's Friday’ Certainly it is God's Friday where He implemented His plan for our good through the death of His Son. 

For this to be good news we must understand the bad news- that as sinners we are trapped in darkness and live in a prison of hopelessness, enslaved to our sinful nature. The law of God teaches us that this grace of God brings the light, opens the cell door and sets us free. 

Author Anne Lamott has stated, ‘I do not understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us.’ God's grace is not designed to appease us in our sin, but to transform us into brand new creatures that have passed from death to life (2 Corinthians 5:17). GuidePosts, November 2006, p.22

Wow! ‘He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness, by His wounds you have been healed’ 2 Pet 2:24 

This morning I awakened to a day when ‘His mercies are new every morning’. (Lamentations 3:22) Because this is true I don't have to live with the regret of yesterday or the worry of tomorrow!!

Good Friday is ‘good’ because as tragic as it was, it was the death blow to the human bondage of sin. The cross is where God ordained that ‘righteousness and peace will kiss’ Ps 85:10. ‘For the joy set before him Jesus endured the cross’ (Heb 12:2). There wrath and mercy met in the body of the One who gave His life that mercy may prevail in our lives. (Isaiah 53:3)

Today we stand in the shadow of the cross to see the nature of the heart of God. Stand here and marvel at this dangerous, powerful love of God and the sheer beauty of His Son that reveals the shameful ugliness of the ugly of sin. Stand here in the shadow and worship the good God on this Good Friday. Don't move. Stand and be still. Here His heart beat. Hear it stop. Hear it beat again. Now hear His heart beat in yours. This is Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday in the same beat! The miracle of grace ‘it meets us where we are, but it doesn't leave us where it found us.’ It does not appease our sin. It destroys it and makes ‘all things new’. Now that you have stood in the face of the wrath and mercy of God, kneel and give thanks and fall in love afresh with the Beautiful One. It's Good Friday!” -Gary Crawford, Pastor Emeritus Westside Baptist Church and co-founder of Amazon Vision Ministries. 

The Bible says that “no one does good, not even one (Rom 3:12b).” Yet on Good Friday, nearly 2,000 years ago, One did good for all. The only good One, Jesus Christ, offered His goodness to all who will receive Him, who will believe in His name, that they may become children of God (John 1:12). The Bible also says the “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom 10:13).” If you have not received the goodness of God, the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life, there is no better time than now, on Good Friday! Do not delay the most important decision of your life. Pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I want to turn from my sins and turn to you. Jesus, I accept Your free gift of salvation. I ask that you forgive me of my sins and be the Lord of my life. I do not deserve and cannot earn forgiveness. I believe that You died and rose from the grave to offer me abundant life now and for all eternity in heaven. Thank you for saving me. Amen.”

Happy Good Friday and a blessed Resurrection Sunday to you all!

In His Name,

Michael Allen

Director of Operations, AVM

"Though I was blind, now I see."

-by Michael Allen

It was the summer of 2019, my first trip to the Amazon Basin. This was the second village that we had the opportunity to minister in that week. We set out that morning in small teams to visit homes and invite people to the medical clinic and vacation Bible school that had been set up at the home of the village chief. As our small boat pulled up to this particular home, the man in the window invited us in for a visit. When we began to converse with him it was discovered that he was blind. Jane McEwen, a veteran of many missions to Brazil, explained that we were there to share about God. The man was very receptive and asked to hear about God. At that point Jane turned to me and said, “Ok Mike, you're up”, meaning go ahead and share with him. For a split second I froze, not knowing how to begin. This was not my first mission trip. In fact, I had been on many trips to remote places in the world doing just what we were doing in Brazil. From the outside view, there was no hesitation from Jane’s command and my speaking, but internally there was a struggle going on in my mind. As I started to speak I went back to where it all began, “In the beginning…” I did not use the exact phrasing of Genesis 1:1, it was more of a Star Wars intro: “Long, long, ago,…” I began to share with him the story of the Bible from Creation to Christ. As Jesus said in Acts 1:8, the power of the Holy Spirit will come and then you will be my witness. That surely was the case here, the Bible was coming alive right here in this man’s home! Not only did he respond to the Holy Spirit and accept Christ as savior, his granddaughter, who was listening the whole time in the adjacent room, walked out and accepted Christ as well! The man said that his parents were Christians but that he had never heard the story of God and always wanted to. God knew the man’s heart and desire, and after many decades, sent us deep in the Amazon River to bring the hope of Christ to this house. What an awesome God we serve! “Though I was blind, now I see.”