I HAVE A DREAM!

I remember being at Ballyholme primary in Bangor N.Ireland. I was in P3 which means I was 6-7years old at the time and the name Martin Luther King caught my attention on the book in the schools mobile library! Obviously being called Martin made me want to read about another Martin. Even at this early age I can remember reading and being stirred by the passion and energy contained in his speech ‘I HAVE A DREAM’.
I have a dream, a dream too. A dream that sees the GOOD NEWS being brought into the tributaries of the Amazon, a dream that sees not just good news in word being shared but GOOD NEWS in word and deed being manifest.
I have held onto this dream shared it occasionally but also guarded it close to my heart. Something precious, something fragile in the wrong hands but strengthened in others.
In 2004 we moved to Maues, having lived in the Amazon State Capitol for nearly one year. Maues is an 18 hour boat ride from Manaus, having no connecting roads but waterways and boats. For seven years we have lived and worked in Maues and I can count the number of times we have gone further up river into the ‘interior’ on my hands. But none of this time has been in vain as other people have been equipped and mobilized towards the same objective.
Now as the outboard began to take us through the channels and tributaries, taking us ever closer to our destination a sense of expectation began to well within us. The sun was baking down on us and it was a beautiful afternoon as we skimmed over glass like water. At moments you were overcome by the beauty of the surroundings, orchids growing on trees, birds flying alongside the boat, magnificent white cranes and even a few fish to be seen skimming across the top of the water as if to get a better look.
In the boat, Tinho (Pastor Gualter) who has be praying for the last three years to bring the word into the interior through the relationships that God has already given, Martin (that is me) with a vision to reach the riverbank people and Robson a cell group leader and also nephew to the family we were going to visit.