As the Health Director for Project AmaZon (PAZ) Mission, it has been challenging to provide basic health care in the Mission's Health Boats, out in rural villages on many of the Amazon River's tributaries, in a totally different social and cultural context than the USA. PAZ has a their main focus evangelization, church planting and is a Christian, evangelical organization, with emphases on weekly Family Groups (Cell Groups) and 1:1 Discipleship. With 9 regional bases in 5 of the huge states in the Amazon Basin, with a 6 month rainy season, there are always special yet rewarding challenges. There is an incredible amount of poverty here, which brings a whole new realm to the phrase health care problems. We are actively training some of our workers as basic health care workers also, as it is common for children and others to die simply due to dehydration and onset of vomiting and diarrhea, as the Amazon River & all its' tributaries are contaminated. We recently began a partnership with Samaritan's Purse-Canada and are in process of making, distributing and installing cement, sand/gravel charged water filters. These filters, called FBA (Filtro BioAtivo de Areia) are incredibly effective at not only cleaning the river water (& of other sources as well), as well as getting rid of the disease causing pathogens that cause sickness so easily here. We are right in the middle of our 3rd project in remote communities in river villages, river villages in the várzea (goes underwater for 6 months out of the year during Rainy Season). There has already been a great deal of positive feedback, and along with providing clean water, is helping our ministry areas too. And when you provide clean, drinkable water, it is not hard to talk about the Living Water (Jesus Christ). Samaritan's Purse has been a tremendous, loving blessing to all of us. I currently supervise 4 Health Boats throughout the Amazon Basin of Brazil, from Belém to Santarém (our headquarters). One is under reforms and will be a regular floating clinic to be able to handle health professional teams that come to see and attend the poor who are ill. We have visiting medical, nursing, dental, and denture making professionals visit us in teams throughout the year. Most coming for 1-2 weeks. The Brazilians are just amazed that someone would come from so far away to do this for them. They're used to getting health services in their villages, only during election years with all the resulting promises, many of which are never kept. Our flagship Health Boat, the Portador da Luz (Light Bearer) is used as a mobile clinic and a training center for basic health & dental care, for students from remote villages. Who are to go back and teach their communities and help the sick. Our other large Health Boat, the Bom Pastor (Good Shephard) is currently under reforms but will be able to send out health professionals interested in teaching local workers and seeing patients. Our other two smaller Health Boats: Intimidade Com Deus (Intimacy With God) and Visitação de Deus (Visitation From God) are respectively at our Belém and Monte Alegre Bases, in two of our 9 regional Bases in various states in the Basin. We also have a Health Truck that goes into in-land plateau villages away from the larger river systems. We also have 4 new medium sized Health Boats being built at our boatshop in the Mission headquarters in Santarém. These will then be assigned to other areas due to the desperate lack of just basic health care, by professionals who do care. This ministry in the Mission is called the Department of Health & Peace, and has been established for 15 years. We need volunteer missionary health professionals (medical, dental, nursing, and secretarial staff) to help with this work, each of whom raises their own support. And for long-term ministry are willing to go through the Visa application process with the Brazilian Embassy. As well as learn Portuguese while with us. Individuals and teams come for 1 week up to 3 months, or longer once accepted as a long-term missionary. We have an ongoing partnership with Mission Aviation Fellowship here in Brazil, with Brazilian Health Professionals, but are only able to send us 3 teams a year for 10 trips. But what a blessing they are in that time! Our River Supervisor Pastors have been so grateful and appreciative of this ministry area, that is out there on the front lines, as are the villagers. Our challenge is to present the Gospel in a coherent, Biblical manner that includes social action as Jesus himself modeled in healing the sick and caring for the poor, as well as Barnabas who comes along side to help others. In 1999 we helped treat sick villagers with over 24,000 cases identified in our statistics. Matthew 28:18 is our key verse and challenge until Jesus returns. We are trying to make a difference and increase the Lord's Kingdom in these ways, and it is working. On just one of the Amazon's tributaries, the Tapajós River, we have helped establish over 80 church plant works, from just one of our more than 20 churches in just Santarém. God bless each one of you who reads this. Janette Ryan,RN,BSN,MS Health Director Office e-mail: paz@ax.apc.org Fax: (Country & State code: 55-91)- 522-3325 Project AmaZon Mission (PAZ)/Missão Projeto AmaZonas (PAZ) C.P. 232, CEP: 68.100-970, Santarém, Pará, BRASIL