Iemberém

The country and its people

Here a people is still held down by fear. That fear is imposed by their cultures (each ethnic group has its own rituals), by incomprehensible corruption, by a hostile climate, and by the lack of everything: work, health care, education, hygiene, love.

But in the middle of all this, a few heroes, usually unnamed, some of them locals and some foreigners, love that homeland, whether by birth or by adoption. They give themselves to it and proclaim the good news of the Lord.

Those who want to change their lives face enormous persecution: beatings with rods and clubs, crushed fingers, expulsion from home and family, loss of children, humiliation, death threats. Even so, many say: “they can kill me, but I will never abandon Jesus.” It makes us ask ourselves: would I hold firm?

School

The miracle of a dream come true

Truly a miracle! Were it not for the mercies of God, who sent brothers and sisters ready to help with their gifts and prayers, it would have been no more than a dream. God loves Guinea-Bissau.

The work of building the school demanded everyone’s full strength, to the point of exhaustion. The doors, windows and desks were made under Jorge’s direction, and so were the bricks and the walls, with Brazilian saws that traveled in the suitcases and a great deal of handwork.

Enrollment brought a rush of activity and many pleas for credit until the rice harvest, or for other kinds of payment, such as work. But the teachers need to be paid in cash. The boarders, about 25 people on average, need a sack of rice (50 kg) per week, along with the rest of their food and lodging. Some walk many kilometers from distant villages to get to school, but they do not want to miss the chance. The parents’ joy at the first meeting was enormous: “my child can come home and study, and help us in the fields too.”

The first class was lively and noisy, as it had to be. It felt like a dream, and now it is real in Iemberém: learning a trade, “opening your mind to the world,” literacy and knowledge for all.

Health

Good Samaritan Hospital and the Vila Evangélica clinic

After many years of caring for patients at the Good Samaritan Health Center/Hospital, the team began serving at the small clinic of the Vila Evangélica, the base of the A Fim de Proclamar Mission in Iemberém. With no doctors in the region, nursing technicians are authorized by the government to provide basic health care.

Many pregnant women or sick people, adults or children, walk up to 32 km, or come from the islands, seeking help. Many have spent weeks in “traditional” treatments with witch doctors: they spend what they do not have, suffer terribly and arrive too late. But God works tremendous miracles among this people, and has mercy on those who try to help, like Vera, who for years was known there as “Dr. Verinha,” a trusted name in the fight against malaria.

Getting to the capital is hard, especially in the rainy season, when cases of malaria, snakebite and respiratory illness rise sharply. All of this raises a great cry from the people for help. The mission still dreams of finding health workers willing to serve there.

Newsletter · April 2014

The church in Iemberém

Over the years, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached in the villages, and the church grows and grows stronger. The first weddings at the Vila Evangélica were something new: Sumaila and Súncari; Ocante and Hoina. Mama Saliu also married Caren Radtke, in Canoas (RS), in August 2012, drawing the two nations closer still.

The presbytery of the church in Iemberém was established by three pastors from different ethnic groups: Ocante (Pepel), Albino (Balanta) and Mama Saliu (Fula). They were consecrated with the blessing of the presbytery of the Comunidade de Porto Alegre, through Pastor Ismael, together with Jorge Feistler. At the clinic, Vera, Amarildo and Edda cared for the people. Amarildo, at the invitation of the church in Gravataí (RS), trained as a nursing technician in Brazil and returned to serve his people, now also as a deacon of the church.

When Mama Saliu and Caren came back, the couple took charge of the Vila Evangélica. The school continues its work, under the teacher Ocante and with volunteer teachers. The A Fim de Proclamar Mission, through its “fantastic support team,” goes on telling their story, giving, and praying for the church in Iemberém.