Go Beyond

Among the Mundurucu People

There is power in a human touch. Jesus understood that. His hands figure prominently in almost every episode of healing in the Gospels. Although He could have healed with nothing more than a glance or a spoken word, He chose instead to stretch out His hand and touch those in need of a miracle. This simple act set Him apart from the religious leaders of His day.

In “Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity,” author Mark Batterson noted: “The power of touch, even on a human plane, is an amazing thing. But when you add the power of God to the equation, it sets the stage for something supernatural.” And indeed it does.

During our time among the Mundurucu people in the Amazon, our team of volunteers from Florida and Texas demonstrated what it means to be the hands of Jesus. Every tender touch put people at ease and became an avenue for God’s love to travel from one heart to another.

Our friend Leah volunteered to give haircuts while people waited to be seen at our clinic. I lost track of how many people she served. Every one of them felt her touch and heard the sound of her voice. This simple act of kindness made folks receptive to the good news about Jesus.

The sweet ladies and translators who worked with children in the villages were amazing. We all enjoyed the joyful sounds of the children as they sang songs about Jesus, played games, and learned Bible stories.

The folks on the medical team did not hesitate to touch those with even the most visually disgusting wounds. Nothing frightened them or kept them from touching, caring, and praying for those in need. Their touch and prayers were a soothing balm to the patients.

Mother Teresa taught the world the value of touching the least of these. She often reminded her Missionaries of Charity about the importance of a human touch. She insisted, “Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do this humble work.”

Mother Teresa was right. There is something humbling about touching those who are hurting, frightened, or in desperate need. In his book “Dirty God: Jesus in the Trenches,” author Johnnie Moore points out that touching others is a sign of intimacy. “It is a bridge not just from a hand to a shoulder,” he writes, “but also from a heart to a heart.” May we always look for opportunities to build bridges by allowing Jesus to use our hands to do His humble work.

Like most folks, I first learned about the Amazon as a school kid. I remember how the maps and pictures in my geography book inspired wonder. If mystery and adventure lurked anywhere on the planet, this had to be the place. The thick rainforest, the incredible variety of bugs and animals, the mighty Amazon River and all of the dangers that lurk beneath its muddy flow, and the indigenous dwellers of this vast greenhouse — these were the characters in my childhood Amazon daydreams.

I never imagined that the day after celebrating my 60th birthday I would finally have the opportunity to venture to the Amazon. The fact that my trek was all about kingdom business made it all the more exciting. Whenever I read the passage in the book of Revelation that talks about those “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9) gathered around the throne of God, I can’t help but think about the tribes in places like the Amazon.

While visiting a village along the Rio Cunumã, my buddies and I had the opportunity to do a trek into the rainforest. After prayer-walking the area around the village, we noticed a trail that led off into the dense growth. So, after lunch we decided to go back and to follow that trail as far as possible. And so began our walk into the rainforest.

There is a mesmerizing beauty about the Amazon. Few have the opportunity to ever walk in a place that is essentially unspoiled by human contact. The only people to have walked here before us are the indigenous Munduruku people. The rainforest is their grocery store. They respect it and take no more than they need and then allow the forest to replenish its resources.

I was amazed at the size of everything here. Trees grow so tall that they seem to disappear into the clouds. Thick vines twist their way from tree to tree. Everything in the palm family grows bigger than anything similar I have ever seen in other tropical regions of the world. There are more shades of green in the Amazon than you’ll find in any paint store. And the vibrant colors of the flowers are beyond beautiful. If God ever intended to show off when He created the world, then this is the gallery where He hung many of His masterpieces.

The butterflies were out in numbers as we walked down our jungle trail. Trying to photograph them is another story. No luck! As for ants and other bugs and snakes and lizards, there is no shortage. We saw several. One thing is certain, the rainforest is alive in every sense of the word. It is a place that breathes with life. I felt its pulse as I walked.

Far down the trail we came across a type of fruit that we had seen some locals eating, so we decided to sample it for ourselves. We broke open the large brown pod to reveal the yellow mushy inside. We scooped it out with our fingers and ate it like hungry kids. It tasted something like banana pudding. It was absolutely delicious.

After several miles, we reluctantly decided to head back although the siren call of the narrow trail beckoned us to do otherwise. We wanted to make sure we made it back before the trees started to filter out any of the ambient light of the setting sun. We returned soaked from head to toe from the high humidity and a brief rain shower. But we returned with a deep sense of satisfaction. This walk in the Amazon rainforest was indeed a childhood dream come true.

Among the Mundurucu People

Three days after leaving Manaus, we set a course down the Rio Cunumã toward the farthest reaches of the region inhabited by the Mundurucu people. I was thrilled that we were moving in the direction of the farthest village. There is something in me that prefers going to places that are farther, hotter, colder, or wetter for the sake of the kingdom.

When we briefly stopped along the way, a man in a fishing boat pulled up alongside our floating base camp. He was wet and shivering from the rain, so our crew invited him on board and gave him some dry clothes. We learned that this man lived in the farthest Mundurucu village. He agreed to guide us there — a journey of several more hours.

We arrived sometime in the night and awoke to see the man’s small village perched along a bluff overlooking the river. My new friends Chad and Eli and I went ashore to meet the village leader and to assess the opportunity. We immediately met a man who had injured his leg with a machete the day before and others who were thrilled to see us. We found an open door.

Those who live this far away from civilization have no immediate access to medical care, so I was glad for Tesha and Sherri, our team nurses. We selected a place to hold a medical clinic, picked out a spot to do Bible stories with the kids, set up a place to offer hair cuts, and determined to prayer walk the entire area and visit each home.

Our presence prompted the villagers to spend the entire day with our team. After all, it’s extremely rare for anyone who does not live here to venture this far down the river. One lady shared that she could not stop smiling. “I wish more people would come to visit us,” she said. Those around her smiled and nodded in agreement.

Our team worked with ant-like efficiency to offload supplies and set up our medical clinic. The first patient was the man who had sliced open the side of his leg. Our arrival was providential for him and for the many others who came to the clinic. Every compassionate touch was an expression of the gospel — and made the people receptive to the good news.

Outside the clinic, the laughter of the children filled the humid jungle air. The kids enjoyed hearing Bible stories and playing games. Our guys had meaningful conversations with villagers under the shade of lush trees. The entire village was engaged. By the end of the day, several people had committed their lives to Christ. We baptized these new believers as the last rays of light disappeared beyond the tree-lined horizon.

Our presence in each of the villages we visited validated the gospel for the Mundurucu. Every compassionate touch, every wound we tended, every song and story shared with a child, and every conversation played a part in demonstrating the love of God. I thought about Jesus who was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The kindness He demonstrated opened hearts and made people receptive to the truth.

This week we showed kindness to the people of several villages in the Amazon. And like Jesus, these acts of kindness opened hearts and made people receptive to the truth of the gospel. As a result of our presence in the Amazon, Mundurucu people from the farthest village will join others “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9) around the throne of God.

In the Amazon

The Amazon rainforest is beyond amazing. Traveling by boat out of Manaus along the Rio Negro is like venturing into the land that time forgot. The endless varieties of plants and trees crowding the wide banks have been super-sized by the nutrient-rich soil, constant rain, and intense heat of this mesmerizing place. The vistas in every direction are reminiscent of Jurassic Park minus the dinosaurs.

The indigenous tribes that live along the rivers and tributaries have great respect for their environment. Dangers that lurk beneath murky waterways and in thick jungle canopies are not unfamiliar to them. These riparian village dwellers have learned to coexist with difficulties and to utilize the resources around them. They could easily teach Bear Grylls a few things about survival.

The Amazon rainforest is also a place of deep mystery and intimidating fear. Animistic beliefs are woven into the culture of the indigenous tribes of the Amazon. As a result, the people here resort to practices they hope will placate, appease, and manipulate unseen and capricious powers to act in their favor. They must, after all, look for ways to live in peace with the unseen forces that surround them.

A leader in a Munduruku village explained to me that parents will use amulets to protect vulnerable babies from harmful spirits. Some people, he continued, surround their homes with plants they believe have the power to keep evil spirits at bay. These and other magical rituals are intended to ward off evil influences.

Unless Christ-followers are willing to deal with the fears that keep them from going to the ends of the earth, those who live in fear-saturated cultures will continue to be enslaved to what frightens them. That same Munduruku leader explained that those who are Christians do not share the same fears as their animistic neighbors. They do not use amulets or charms or fetishes of incantations or plants to protect themselves. Jesus has dispelled their fears.

Jesus changes everything for those who live in fear. He stormed the domain of darkness to effect the greatest rescue of all time. His death on the cross dealt the death blow to death itself. He disarmed and humiliated dark powers and authorities. He alone is capable of transferring those He rescues into His own kingdom — the kingdom of light. As we walk with Him, He gives us daily victory over fear and renders dark practices spiritually futile.

Over our days in the Amazon we found great openness to the good news about Jesus. The message of His victory over darkness resonated with those who have spent a lifetime living in fear and trying to placate unseen forces. Many embraced Him as Savior and committed to follow Him as Lord. In Him they found their champion over the darkness and the fears that formerly held them captive. They now know that Jesus alone dispels fear.

As I prepared to leave for the Amazon, I fielded several questions about this latest adventure to take the gospel to a hard place. The majority of the questions were fueled by some kind of fear. People asked me about snakes, piranha, spiders, mosquitos, and, of course, the Zika virus. It’s amazing how just the mention of the word Amazon itself can trigger trepidation.

When you think about it, fear creates distance. That’s what fear does best. Most folks generally try to keep a safe distance away from the things that frighten them. Distancing ourselves from things that frighten or can harm us is not all bad. Parents teach their kids to not play with fire and to stay away from strangers. That’s good advice!

If we are not careful, however, we can allow fear to distance us from fulfilling the purposes of God. Fear can keep us anchored in the relative safety of familiar harbors while those in need of rescue face their own fearful reality of drowning in threatening waters. Unless we are willing to weigh anchor and set a course that will take us beyond our fears, then those in danger will continue to suffer great loss.

Every advance that has been made for the kingdom of God has been made by those who had the courage to press on in spite of their fears. Rather than allowing their fears to paralyze them, these intrepid souls closed the distance that separated them from people in need. And that changed everything for the people in need. When making decisions, we must consider the welfare of those who live on the other side of our fears.

Years ago while on a rail journey in Ukraine with the late Dr. Rudy Hernandez, one of my mentors, I learned a valuable lesson about fear. I asked Dr. Rudy if he had ever been afraid on any of his travels. Of course he had. But, he added that he never allowed fear to keep him from fulfilling God’s purposes. “I am immortal,” he explained, “until God is through with me.” Because Dr. Rudy understood that his fate was in God’s hands, he was unwilling to allow fear to win the day.

One thing is certain, the most amazing adventures await those who move in the direction of their fears. Peter understood that when he left the safety of a perfectly good boat to take a walk on a stormy sea. Paul experienced that when he left the shores of Troas at the urging of a Macedonian man who had appeared to him in a dream. We too can embrace kingdom adventures to hard places if we will walk with God in the direction of our fears. Only then will we close the distance that separates us from those who live on the other side of our fears.