By Dione Santos Lima*

The Lord has done great things for us, for which we are happy. Psalm 126:3

I live in Redenção, where two groups of Indigenous people live, the Kayapo and Xikrin.  I visit indigenous people, fulfilling my calling as a Brazilian missionary. Please come with me to one of my favorite activities, and I’ll tell you about four wonderful people. Recently, I attended a conference. The trip was long and tiring; I spent 28 hours on a bus and five more by car. I took lots of Christian literature to distribute. Arriving at the village, our friends greeted each carload or busload.  Our Christian brothers and sisters came from 49 villages. Each day’s program started early! Shortly after 4:00 a.m., Indigenous singers began singing, turning the loudspeaker high so everyone would get moving. By 6:00 a.m., people were ready for the morning’s first devotional.

Pastor João Quadra, who works in that region, is our leader. He coordinates conferences and events, building up believers in a vast area of northern Brazil. Missionary Bepngrành speaks Kôkôkumen and was born into another language group. In the 1990s, at the beginning of my ministry with the Kayapo people, Bepngrành was my student. Now, he is a recently ordained pastor. How happy I am to see many Indigenous brothers like him also serving God!

On Sunday, the last day of the conference, seven Indigenous people and one non-indigenous person were baptized. Afterward, we celebrated Holy Communion. Many Indigenous friends gave their testimonies, and others shared messages from the Word of God. 

Something else thrilled me! Brother Bàydjà and his wife Odineia dedicate themselves to children’s work. Before meeting Jesus as his Savior, Bàydjà drank a lot. I used to go to his house to share the Word of God. I often found him drunk. What joy and gratitude to God to greet Bàydjà! He’s now serving the Lord. God has transformed his life.

Please pray for my daughter, Sabrina. I want to see her attended to by an endocrinologist. Sabrina’s hormonal problems affected her spine with scoliosis and kyphosis. A spine specialist said that if she doesn't have the surgery, she may need to spend her life in a wheelchair. The surgery is complex and expensive, and the surgeons live in Belem, the state capital, which is far away. Additionally, I’ve had difficulty getting the surgery covered through state health insurance. 

Thank you very much for all your support.

May God bless all of you who work at the LAM headquarters.

*Dione Santos Lima is a LAM missionary serving in Para, one of Brazil’s northern states. She has been serving there for many years. Dione became interested in taking the Gospel to Indigenous people groups through the ministry of Ruth Thompson.