Luzeiro Boat in the Water!! Bradley Mills [brazilmedicallaunch@gmail.com]   Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 3:05 PM To: Brad Mills [brmills@southern.edu] Attachments:   Back to Civilization!               After 21 days of traveling in the interior on the Rio Andira, Rio Ariaú and Rio Massauari, we have returned to a decent sized city called Barreirinha, along the Parana do Ramos, a lazy little river that runs parallel to the massive Amazon.  The catamaran gracefully wound back and forth on the “big snake”, as they call the river here, as it explored areas that it had never imagined seeing.  We spent one full week in the indigenous area of the Satere-Maue people, learning a little bit more of their culture, language, and health needs.  As I sat with the chief over all the Indian chiefs for the Satere people, I began to explain to him what the Luzeiro program was all about.  Before I could get very far into my explanation, the village professor cut into the conversation, joyfully explaining that they knew the Luzeiro program very well, in fact they knew Pastor Leo Halliwell personally!  They were so excited to have the program back!   Ariaú, September 14 and 15             Nearly 6 hours of travel southwest of Barreirinha is the isolated community of Ariaú.  With over 150 families living in this small jungle village, it is actually a bustling world.  Monday morning we started out our medical/dental clinic.  As always, I called all the people together for a health talk and presentation.  After telling them who we were, and what we do, I began explaining about the medical and dental work that would be offered that day. The people broke out into applause as they heard the news that dental services would be provided, a service almost never provided for these people.  The first day we set up our medical posts and small make shift pharmacy.  The first day we provided 150 medical consults and the dentists worked until almost 8:30 pm!              Exhausted and in need of some rest, we all made our way back to the boat that evening.  As I sat at the table eating and talking with Lina, there was a flashlight seen outside the boat, a small canoe approaching our boat.  I stepped out to see that the president of the village was coming over to talk with us.  At his side was the school teacher, Aldir.  Aldir, a Seventh-day Adventist since birth, moved to this small village years ago as a teacher in the small school.  For several years he has worked there, faithfully keeping his religious beliefs as the ONLY Adventist in the whole area.  I invited the president, Raimundo, and Aldir into the boat to talk.  Raimundo quickly began telling me about how excited he was for the work accomplished today.  “Dr. Brad, as you can tell, we have a tremendous need here for medical and dental help.  We are so thrilled to have you all here.  For many years, Aldir has worked here as a teacher and has been one of my most dependable helpers in this village.  If you all will continue to return and help with the needs in this community, as the president of this community, I would like to donate a piece of land to your church for the construction of a church building”!!!!  I quickly arose and thanked him gratefully for the offer and assured him that we would be thrilled to continue working in this needy area.  I shared with him that we felt a huge burden to share with others that very soon Jesus would appear again to take us home!  What a thrilling opportunity for us.  It is so exciting to see again and again how the medical missionary work opens the doors for the gospel to be preached.  Please pray for this small village of Ariau, that God’s Holy Spirit be poured out and that these people will be open to hearing the messages to be shared of God’s soon return.    Learning to depend on God’s medicine             During the evening one night a canoe came paddling up beside our boat.  An older man arose and climbed up on the boat telling me he needed help.  He said that he had just been eating some fish and a bone became stuck in his throat.  After more history I found that he was still able to eat and swallow things, but it hurt quite a bit.  He was able to drink water as well.  He told me that he had already drunk several cups of vegetable oil, and it had not helped.  Now what was I to do?  The only meds that I knew to be of help, I did not have with me.  After pondering over the issue for a few minutes I told him that there was not much I could do.  I offered him a shot of an anti-inflammatory for pain and told him that only God could help at this point.  I said a special prayer with him, asking for the Lord’s intervention and then let him go home.  I told him to please come back and see me in the morning if he was no better and we would see about getting him to town somehow for help.  The following day he did not return.    Trip Summary             We visited 10 communities and indigenous villages during this trip so far.  We provided 1,031 medical consults 231 dental consults, and 3 simple surgeries.  We distributed several Bibles and a whole box of Steps to Christ.  We will only know the full results in Heaven.              Please continue to pray for us as we continue our travels for another month into the jungle, leaving from this city in just a few short days.  Pray for the people who we will contact, and pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured out as the message of Christ’s soon return is shared to His children along the banks of the Amazon River.     The Luzeiro Project  Brad Mills     -- God Bless,   Brad, Lina, Levi, and Lucas Mills If you are interested in helping with this project, your tax-deductible contributions can be sent to: GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTL. P.O. Box 506 Collegedale, TN 37315 *On a separate piece of paper specify that this is for Brazil Medical Launch, Brad and Lina Mills. Web page: www.brazilmedicallaunch.com www.gospelministry.org Quick Updates Inauguration and dedication of base and 2 medical missionary launches First official trip on catamaran a success-20 volunteers make trip Medical missionary work opens hearts and doors in Giro UNASP, Brazilian Adventist University visits for mission trip New DVD launched, The Luzeiro Project Updates and future events     Inauguration and Dedication of New Luzeiro Launches             On Sabbath, the 4th of July, we took the opportunity to celebrate God’s goodness and provisions in helping restart the Luzeiro Project.  Tears came to my eyes seeing the catamaran docked at its new home on the Amazon.  On July 4, 1931, Leo and Jessie Halliwell, American missionaries through the General Conference, inaugurated the very first medical missionary launch on the Amazon, the Luzeiro I, or Light bearer, as it was named.  Now, 78 years later, we are finally seeing the rebirth of this much missed program.  For several weeks before, word began spreading in Manaus that the catamaran had finally arrived.  One SDA state representative called us and wanted to interview us on his radio program that reaches the 2 million residents of Manaus and surrounding villages.  For 15 minutes each night, for one week, we spoke on the radio sharing the miracles that God has been doing to restart this program.  Each night an invitation was given for the Inauguration program.  Several hundred people showed up to join in the event of dedicating this base and two launches to the Lord’s work.  The catamaran had her new name written on the side, “Luzeiro Amazonia II, Medical Missionary Launch”.  Beside this boat was Dr. Ricardo’s boat, the Luzeiro Amazonia I, which he stepped forward in faith to purchase for God’s work.  A local pastor led out in the dedicatory prayer, crying as he mentioned the thousands along the rivers who are still living in spiritual darkness.   Catamaran, Luzeiro Amazonia II, makes first official missionary trip             On Sunday, the 19th of July, the Luzeiro II set out on her first official mission to carry God’s love to the interior.  Our first trip was to Jatuarana, a trip of only 20 kilometers distance from the base going down the Amazon River.  This community has a small Adventist church which made contact with us requesting medical help.  We took a team of 20 volunteers which included several doctors, nurses, dentists, and assistants.  We also had two medical students from Loma Linda with us on the trip.  We set up shop and attended patients all day.  Health lectures were presented and fluoride treatments were also given.  Each patient seen was prayed with and given a religious tract.  We took a box of Bibles with us to distribute, yet it wasn’t enough!  As I sat consulting one lady, her teenage son burst into the room holding up a Bible and exclaiming to his mother that he had just been given his first Bible.  To see the joy in their eyes makes it all worth it.   Once the Bibles started being distributed a crowd quickly developed.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough to give one to each person or family.  Our new goal is to see that all people have their very own Bible.  How can these people learn of God’s love and learn exciting truth’s like the Seventh-day Sabbath if they don’t have a Bible to read? We would like to have Bibles for every person, as funds are available to do so.      Medical Missionary work opens hearts in Giro             “Brad, someone is here for a medical consult”, shouted Denise from the office down below.  This day was no different from any other.  I put on my stethoscope and stepped away from my desk to go see a patient.  Dona Francisca, a 68 year old, short and very stout lady, was waiting with a large smile on her face.  She was here for a hypertension consult.  As I counseled her on diet and exercise, we sat getting to know each other.   She told me she lived in Giro, the poorest section of our neighborhood, Puraquequara.  She explained the needy conditions there as she told me there was no medical help where she lived.  I invited her to come back anytime for medical help.             The next day she was back, with her husband, son and daughter-in-law, all needing medical consults.  A few days later a canoe pulled up with 17 people on board, “Is the clinic open?” they asked.  On went the stethoscope!              As we took care of their physical needs they began to discuss the spiritual needs as well.  They invited us to come to their neighborhood and teach them stories from the Bible.   For two weeks Cleber and Denise Medeiros led out in a medical evangelistic series in Giro.  Two nurses and a physical therapist from Texas came to help with medical care, Travis, Andrea, and Maggie.  Each night started with one hour of patient care followed by a health lecture and then a Bible study.  Cleber coordinated with the local Pastor to come and speak two nights.  At the conclusion of the event 17 people asked for further Bible studies.  These people are eagerly studying at this time and have already expressed interest in starting to worship together on Sabbath morning.  They themselves are speaking with the community leaders to request a building and some land for their new church group!  Please pray for these souls in Giro.  Giro is one of Satan’s strongholds.  Most people are locked into sin and darkness.  Here there is a large incidence of childhood prostitution.  Please pray for God’s light to take hold in this area.   Group of 10 from School of Nursing at UNASP come for mission trip             Two weeks ago a group of 10 nursing students from our Adventist University in Sao Paulo came for a two week mission trip.  They were joined by a theology student from the Adventist University in Argentina.  They all went out on the Luzeiro I for a two week trip doing medical missionary work on a region called Coari, going up the Rio Solimoes towards Peru.  They had a wonderful experience and returned home on Monday, with plans to return again next year.    New DVD released on project             On Sunday of this week our new DVD documentary was released, The Luzeiro Project- Medical Missionary Work in the Amazon.  We have had our first 2000 DVDs made.  We will be at the ASI convention next week in Phoenix, Arizona, where we will be handing out DVDs.  If you will not be able to make it to this event and would like a DVD of this program, please write to us and send us your mailing address.  We will be distributing these at no cost as long as they last.  Our hope and prayer is that others can see God’s miracles and will take the next step in their relationship with Him.  Time is SHORT, now is the time for us to trust in God fully.  “Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”   Psalms 107:8     Future plans and updates We will be at ASI August 5-8 sharing about our project.  Anyone in the Phoenix area please stop by and visit us. Pastor Deovanir and Marcia Vidoto will be joining us within the next two weeks to help start the school of evangelism, training Bible workers to be placed in villages opened by the medical missionary launches. We will start construction on a new wooden house here at the base within the next two weeks.  Our team is quickly outgrowing our housing.  Last week we received a call from a husband and wife who are donating money to finance the building of this new house for one of our volunteer missionary families. We found wooden “kit houses” for sale for only about $6,500 per house!  Praise the Lord. A group of 8 will be coming from Romania during the month of September to do medical missionary work.   Brothers and Sisters, we ask for your continual prayer support of this program.  We believe more and more every day that Jesus is coming back soon.  We have a message to carry to the world, a warning of a soon coming Savior.  Satan is not happy with this work and we have seen first hand many ways he is trying to attack.  Please pray for us each day, for God’s wisdom, for God’s blessing, and for the people who we are trying to minister to.    In His service,   Bradley Mills Program Director   -- If you are interested in helping with this project, your tax-deductible contributions can be sent to: GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTL. P.O. Box 506 Collegedale, TN 37315 *On a separate piece of paper specify that this is for Brazil Medical Launch, Brad and Lina Mills. Web page: www.brazilmedicallaunch.com www.gospelministry.org

June 13, 2009
The sun sets over the horizon casting a beautiful
golden hue over the Amazon.  Here we sit, anchored down in still
waters about 300 feet off shore.  We are apparently over a shelf, for
the depth gauges show we are only in 30 feet of water.  We sit on the
back of the boat, enjoying the dawning of a new Sabbath.  Levi sits,
thrilled each time one of the pink dolphins leaps out of the water,
putting on our personal show.  We aren’t the only ones that think this
is a good place to spend the night, for teams of dolphins keep
bursting through the surface to greet us.  Off in the distance we can
hear a squirrel monkey chattering and calling out to us.  Tropical
birds fly overhead from time to time, parrots, macaws, toucans, and
others.  You could almost imagine we are in a small piece of heaven.
        However the reality of sin and death is everywhere as well.  The
Amazon River is in the highest flood stage right now, reaching a
height that surpasses any on record. Day after day we pass small
wooden houses completely underwater.  People by the thousands, whole
villages and towns, are under water.  With no where to go and no money
to go on, they stay in their houses as long as possible.  There is a
small wooden school house on the banks of the river with dozens of
hammocks suspended above the water, people sitting in them all.  There
is a house with water half way up to the roof.  And there is a lady
that walks to her front door to wave at us as we slowly motor by,
water coming half way up to her knee.  To our right sit two horses on
a five by five foot floating platform, any wrong step landing them
swimming in the river.  Here they will remain for months, until the
river goes down.  What to do with so much need.  Where to start?  And
don’t forget a few days ago when we slowly motored through a small
canal connecting two larger rivers- the river people poured out in
their wooden carved canoes to pull up along side of our boat asking
for food, a true scarcity in this area.
        As we started Sabbath last night tears came to our eyes as we sang
hymns of God’s provisions and watch care.  We have no idea how so many
people suffer around the globe as we sit comfortably on our
overstuffed couches worrying about which shoes to wear with our
clothes.  We are reminded tonight of God’s blessing: we have food, a
nice boat, clean water, a toilet, and…. health and family.  We are
reminded how precious is the life God has given us as we read the
email that just came through to us--- Gary and Wendy Roberts,
wonderful friends of ours and fellow missionaries in Africa just lost
their son Caleb a couple of days ago.  He died in their hands as they
tried to resuscitate him in the small Adventist Hospital in Chad,
Africa.  Dr. Appel, his wife, and Gary and Wendy doing a 45 minute
resuscitation only to loose their precious 4 year old son.  The
dreaded malaria with its toxic effects to the liver finally won the
battle. Please please keep them in your prayers right now.
        Brothers and sisters we are in a war.  We are in the middle of
Satan’s battle field.  If he can only but keep us comfortable and
asleep but a little while longer he will have won over so many souls.
Please awake.  Please let us stir from our slumber and join together
to fight this fight against evil.  With God’s help we will bring but a
few more lost sheep back into the pin before the day ends.
        Please pray for Gary and Wendy and their little daughter Cherise.
Please pray for our safety as we continue to motor upstream towards
Manaus.
  Brad Mills


--
God Bless,
Brad, Lina, Levi, and Lucas Mills


If you are interested in helping with this project, your
tax-deductible contributions can be sent to:

GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTL.
P.O. Box 506
Collegedale, TN 37315
*On a separate piece of paper specify that this is for Brazil Medical
Launch, Brad and Lina Mills.

Web page:
www.brazilmedicallaunch.com
www.gospelministry.org


 

1. Beck, our experienced Hawaiian helper received his Brazilian visa, enabling him to make the trip with us 46 minutes prior to his flight leaving for Grenada.
2. Three days before I left for Grenada we knelt down with our Brazilian team and prayed for God to provide the $6,000 USD needed to finish the import process. We were moving forward with plans in faith, but still lacked this last payment. Five minutes after we prayed I received a skype message from some dear friends of ours in Tennessee who, having no idea of our prayer and our current financial situation, donated the $6,000 dollars needed to import the boat. 
3. Nearly midnight one evening, on Jack’s nightly watch, we were nearly hit head on by an oncoming boat, despite Jack having altered course to avoid the situation. After the close call, radio contact was made with the other vessel. Many apologies on both ends, and thankfully no one injured. However, when learning of our destination of Belem, the on coming vessel was able to share some very helpful information about strong currents ahead and where we needed to navigate to avoid them. Having fought these currents for one full day we know without that information our fuel would not have lasted us until our arrival in Belem. 

• We will be having a booth at ASI this year in Phoenix, Arizona August 5-8. We will be there with pictures and stories to share.
• July 4, 2009 we are planning an inauguration event of the restart of the Luzeiro Program, where we will dedicate the land and the two boats that are already in the water. The date was picked because the Luzeiro program was originally inaugurated on July 4, 1931 when Leo and Jessie Halliwell christened the first Luzeiro boat by breaking a glass bottle of Guarana over the bow of the boat. 
• Evangelistic series in our own neighborhood starting May 25, a small group of Americans will be joining us to help with medical evangelism during this time.
• During the month of July we will be hosting some nursing students from the Adventist University in South Brazil who would like to come and serve their people during their break from school.

--
God Bless,  
Brad, Lina, Levi, and Lucas Mills


If you are interested in helping with this project, your tax-deductible contributions can be sent to:

GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTL.
P.O. Box 506
Collegedale, TN 37315
*On a separate piece of paper specify that this is for Brazil Medical Launch, Brad and Lina Mills.

Web page:
www.brazilmedicallaunch.com
www.gospelministry.org



04/13/2009
 

03/12/2009

Quick Update

•       Southern Adventist University completes successful mission trip on
the Andira river
•       New family joins us as primary base operators
•       The mission plane that disappeared has not yet been found

Full Story

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
  It has been an exciting month here in Brazil.  We are in the middle
of the rainy season, with heavy rains falling almost every day!
Likewise, we can feel the Holy Spirit being poured out to reach the
lost along the Amazon River!

Southern’s Mission Trip

The village of Ponta Alegre received us warmly and welcomed us into
their home to spend five days doing medical work, kids programs, and
evangelism. Southern brought a group of 16 people. We were also joined
by a doctor and her friend from Australia, and many local Brazilians.
Sunday morning we set up shop and immediately went to work.  Each day
was very similar.  During the morning we ran two programs
simultaneously: the medical clinic and Bible stories for the kids of
the village.  During the evening we had an evangelistic series
starting with songs, a puppet show, a health talk, and then a sermon.
To our delight, the first night we had 112 people at the program.  The
local village told us that there were only 47 SDA members in that
village, and at our meetings we had people from every church in town.
We were so thrilled to be able to present to them the living Word of
God.  We covered the following topics: creation, the fall, the state
of the dead, who is Jesus, Heaven, and the second coming.  The final
night we had over 200 people present at our meeting.
        In that village we saw first hand a HUGE need for spiritual food.
People came to us during the day and night asking us for Bibles and
spiritual reading materials.  During the evening programs only one
person had a Bible to bring!  During one evening program we invited
the people to take a stand if they wanted to accept Jesus as their
personal Savior, and almost every person stood!   We praise God for
His blessing and leading in the work that was done in this small
remote location of the world.
        The last evening the Tuchaua (the Indian chief), the city councilman
from town, and the village captain invited me to a meeting.  At this
meeting they told me that they had discussed me and our group with the
government organizations that control work in the jungle, and with the
chief over all Indian chiefs for the Andira River (the area where we
worked).  They said they would like to extend a formal invitation for
us to return and enter further into their indigenous lands and do
medical evangelism!   We praise God for the open door to continue
reaching the lost along the Andira River!

New Base Operators
       
        A new family has joined the Brazil Medical Launch program. Cleber and
Denise are Brazilians who lived for many years in the United States.
Cleber has many years of experience in working with land, and despite
being here only a short time, has already started a garden for our
personal needs and planted hundreds of fruit trees.  Denise is
extremely talented with children programs. She accompanied Southern’s
trip and was in charge of all the kids programs. They have two
children: Kathleen (10) and Kevin (8).

Mission Plane

        Search continues for the missing mission plane in Venezuela. Nothing
has yet been found. We covet your continued prayers, especially for
the families of those who were in the plane, and for the villagers who
are in daily need of this aviation program.

Please continue to pray for this program in Brazil.  Please continue
to pray for God's Holy Spirit to daily lead and open hearts for His
eternal kingdom.

--
God Bless,
Brad, Lina, Levi, and Lucas Mills


If you are interested in helping with this project, your
tax-deductible contributions can be sent to:

GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTL.
P.O. Box 506
Collegedale, TN 37315
*On a separate piece of paper specify that this is for Brazil Medical
Launch, Brad and Lina Mills.

Web page:
www.brazilmedicallaunch.com
www.gospelministry.org






02-19-2009

 

02-01-2009

•       Indigenous Indian villages pleading for the return of the Luzeiro Program
•       Mayors promising full support for the program to enter their district
•       Import license granted for the catamaran
•       Money still remaining to be paid on land
•       Southern Adventist University School of Nursing coming end of February


     I just returned from a very exciting trip down the Amazon River
to a small town called Barreirinha, located between a small dirty
river called the Rio Ramos and a very large river that penetrates into
the heart of the country called the Rio Andira.  The local district
pastor invited us to come and meet with him, requesting that we bring
a boat and start work in that region of the Amazon.  I was able to
attend my first campmeeting, sleeping in a tent on the banks of the
Amazon.  It was the first campmeeting for the AAMAR conference in
2009.  People came from all over in boats.  Most people slept in
hammocks tied up under a big tent or slept in hammocks on their boats.
 Over 1,500 people attended the campmeeting and 60 people were
baptized.  Sharing the news of the Luzeiro program's rebirth brought
so much joy to these people.   One by one family after family came and
spoke with me sharing the stories of their memories of the Luzeiro
program.  The Luzeiro 9, one of the boats that made up the fleet, was
actually at the campmeeting, having been sold off after the program
closed.  The boat is in very poor condition, but still traveling the
vast waterways of the Amazon.  This region is one of the areas where
Leo and Jessie Halliwell, the original founders of the Luzeiro program
in 1931, entered and started the Adventist work.  The program is a
cherished and well known program by all in this area.  Village leaders
and pastors all came and spoke with me, asking if we would bring the
boats back to their region.
     The day after the campmeeting ended, the district pastor and I
loaded up in his small, voadeira, a small 10 foot aluminum boat with a
15 HP outboard engine, and traveled over 3 hours into the interior of
the Rio Andira.  As we passed the village Guaranatuba, the pastor
informed me that from here on out it is all indigenous villages called
the Satere people.  We passed a small village called Ponta Alegre
where I saw a broken down church that Leo Halliwell had helped build.
The pastor told me that at one point the church had 170 members,
though currently it is down to the teens.  We finally stopped in a
small village called Araticum.  This completely Indian village is 100%
Adventist as a direct result of the medical missionary work of the
Luzeiro program.  Here I met with a 97 year old lady who told me that
she was baptized by Pr. Leo decades ago.  They told us of the great
need for medical care, and explained that the farther we go down the
river the less access the Indians have with the outside world and the
greater the need.
      The following day we scheduled an appointment with the mayor of
Barreirinha, who just started his term in January.  Mesias, the first
ever Satere mayor of this area, was born in the small village of
Araticum to a very faithful Adventist family, though currently he is
not involved in the church.  He enthusiastically listened as we shared
with him the plans to restart the Luzeiro program.  He discussed more
in detail the lack of access to medical care that his people face, and
promised support with both diesel and medicines if we would bring the
program back to his area.  He also informed us that he would
personally provide the materials to rebuild the fallen down church in
Ponta Alegre.  Praise God, He is surely opening up the right doors at
the right time!

Boat import license granted
        About two weeks ago we finally got the call.  The import attorney
that is helping us with the catamaran said the Receita Federal had
issued the okay to import the boat.  We are so thrilled we can hardly
believe it.  We are now doing the last step in the process,
registering the boat with the Brazilian marines.  The boat should be
cleared to enter the country very shortly.  At this point we are still
waiting to see what the final amount to pay will be.

Money owed on land
        As we left the United States to return to Brazil the first week of
January we were so encouraged to see God's continual providence and
paying for the land.  The final payment due-date of $200,000 reais had
come and gone with no sign of money.  On our knees we prayed and asked
the Lord why this was happening and what we should do about it.  We
read many wonderful promises and encouragements from the Holy Spirit
through Sister White.
"But we must show a firm, undeviating trust in God. Often He delays to
answer us in order to try our faith or test the genuineness of our
desire. Having asked according to His word, we should believe His
promise and press our petitions with a determination that will not be
denied."  Christ's Object lessons pg 145
"But many have not a living faith. This is why they do not see more of
the power of God. Their weakness is the result of their unbelief. They
have more faith in their own working than in the working of God for
them. They take themselves into their own keeping. They plan and
devise, but pray little, and have little real trust in God. They think
they have faith, but it is only the impulse of the moment. Failing to
realize their own need, or God's willingness to give, they do not
persevere in keeping their requests before the Lord."  COL pg.145
         "Our prayers are to be as earnest and persistent as was the petition
of the needy friend who asked for the loaves at midnight. The more
earnestly and steadfastly we ask, the closer will be our spiritual
union with Christ. We shall receive increased blessings because we
have increased faith."  COL pg. 146
"There is no danger that the Lord will neglect the prayers of His
people. The danger is that in temptation and trial they will become
discouraged, and fail to persevere in prayer." COL pg. 175
       I called the seller the last week of December to tell him we
would be back in the country the 8th of January and could meet then.
He explained his immediate need for $50,000 reais to pay for the rest
of his construction contract.  I didn't have the money.  We got down
on our knees and prayed, asking the Lord for wisdom.  Certainly the
Lord's delaying would not cause this man to loose his contract.  I
called a friend in Brazil to see if they had the money to loan us to
make an immediate payment to the man, they did.  The next day the
seller received a check for $50,000 reais, leaving only $150,000 left
to pay.  But now I had to pay him and my friend.  Once again, Lina and
I continued in prayer, bringing the need before the Lord and asking
for His solution.
        The end of December donation report brought tears to our eyes.  The
total donations we received in December was just short of the $23,000
dollars needed to pay our friend back for the money she loaned.  Never
do we receive that much money in a month!  We praised God, who is
obviously still at the helm of this project, He who does not forget
His children or their needs to move forward in His work.  Thank you
all so much who made that possible in the month of December.
        With nearly $73,000 dollars (150,000 reais) left to pay off the land
completely, we invite you all to persist in prayer with us.  Daily we
are praying and asking the Lord that His will be done, and in His
time.  We who can't see the end from the beginning must move forward
by faith, believing in His promises and remembering what Sister White
says, "We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall
forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past
history."  Clearly the Lord has been leading us all along, and now we
WILL NOT give in to doubt and mistrust.  Please pray with us.

Southern Adventist University School of Nursing
        The School of Nursing will be joining us for their spring break trip
from Feb 28 till March 9.  Along with them we have a couple flying in
from Australia to help with that trip.  We will be renting a boat and
traveling to the indigenous areas that I just finished visiting.  We
will be doing five days of medical work and evangelism.  Please pray
for this trip, for safety and God's spirit to work before hand to
prepare the people.  The local district pastor will then use the
opportunity to continue there, doing a full evangelistic series after
the medical work is completed.


--
God Bless,
Brad, Lina, Levi, and Lucas Mills


If you are interested in helping with this project, your
tax-deductible contributions can be sent to:

GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTL.
P.O. Box 506
Collegedale, TN 37315
*On a separate piece of paper specify that this is for Brazil Medical
Launch, Brad and Lina Mills.

Web page:
www.brazilmedicallaunch.com
www.gospelministry.org

10-31-2008

Urgent Praise and Prayer Request Bradley Mills [brazilmedicallaunch@gmail.com] You forwarded this message on 10/31/2008 9:59 PM. Sent: Friday, October 31, 2008 4:33 PM To: Brad Mills [brmills@southern.edu] Attachments:   Dear friends and family,              We are writing this letter out of the routine schedule of emails to let you know the AMAZING PROVISIONS of our God.  We serve a wonderful God who has given us promises in His word and wants us to faithfully move forward claiming His promises.  Please read the following and may all Praise and Glory go to our God who is faithful.             Since our arrival in Brazil we have been on the outlook for land on the river to serve as a base for our medical launch program.  We have spent some time looking, driving all over the land that was on the river to find a suitable piece of property.  Having launches and futures seaplanes, we needed a piece of land that could be easily accessed by road and was water front property to allow the boats and planes to be docked there.  Our search never came up to anything worth while.  We finally gave up the active search and decided we didn't have time currently to continue looking.  But we continued praying daily for God to open the door and make the right piece of land available.             Two weeks ago I was driving out to a small town about 45 minutes outside of Manaus to have a meeting with a mission aviation program affiliated with the Assembly of God church.  They have a beautiful program of mission pilots and mechanics and have a small fleet of aircraft that they use.  We discussed our plans to start a boat based ministry with seaplanes to provide support for the boats that were far away from civilization.  Upon leaving the meeting I commented to the pastor who was with me how the land was so beautiful and how we needed a piece just like this to start our base.  He quickly led my attention to the for sale sign on the large piece of property immediately adjacent to this one.  With no time left in the schedule to look, we wrote down the number and decided to call and see it later.             Two days later I found myself back out at the property with a very dear friend of ours who went to help me evaluate the property.  The property is located on a lake called Lake Puraquequara which has two large openings directly connecting to the Amazon River.  Being on a lake is very advantageous, providing shelter from the river's currents and floating trees and debris.  The land is almost 7 acres in size and is nicely dotted with fruit trees and even a Brazil nut tree.  The land is already completely cleared of jungle and has a simple house built on it.              We were immediately excited about the land, feeling quite certain that this land was exactly what we needed for a base.  The Lord graciously showed us several more clear signs that we asked of Him, giving us certainty that this was it. (There is not sufficient space in this email to share them all, though we would love to share them in person).  The price: $450,000 reais, or about $208,000 dollars.  Of course, we didn't have any of this.  We begin praying about the land and immediately called GMI's board to discuss this new possibility with them.  Lina and I felt total assurance that this was the right piece of property to serve as a base for God's work, it was just a matter of Him providing the money.  GMI's board, led by Pastor David Gates, agreed with us that this was a divine opportunity that we could not miss.  We all prayed about it and decided to move forward.              The seller and I had several long discussions and I explained to him exactly how we operate.  I shared with him the miraculous provisions of God in giving our program a boat and paying off our school loans to immediately come down to Brazil.  I then explained to him that we had no money at this time to pay but we felt that this was God's land and that He could provide!  After praying together he stated he wanted us to have the land and would move forward by faith that God would provide.             The date was set: Friday, October 31 to pay the first down payment of approximately $23,000 dollars.  As I discussed the need for the first down payment with David we continued to pray and seek God's clear guidance.  We begged the Lord to close the doors if this was not clearly His will.  We then read a parable that Jesus shared in Luke 11.  Jesus was telling the story of a man who wanted to borrow three loaves from a friend, but the friend didn't want to get up out of bed and give it to him.  Then Jesus states "yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" Luke 11:8, 9.  So we begin to persistently ask the Lord to make His will clear, to shut the doors, if it was not His will, or to provide the money if it was His will.  We prayed every hour on the hour, asking for God's leading.              Last week we received an email from David Gates.  A man in Australia had heard of the immediate need for the land down payment.  After praying with his wife, they decided to donate the down payment.  Elated, we were more convinced then ever that God was leading us down the right path.             This morning I woke up early to go to the closing on the property.  Feelings tore threw me: This was my last chance to stop, would God provide the $185,000 dollars more.  My wife and I again read some promises from the Lord and decided to move forward.  This morning we signed the closing papers on GOD'S new piece of property on Lake Puraquequara.  We gave the man the downpayment required and signed a contract that we would pay $92,500 in two weeks and then the remaining $92,500 dollars on December 17.  Joy filled my heart to know that God's program was quickly moving forward.  The thoughts of how many people were going to be able to know the Lord as a result of this program filled me with assurance that God was indeed leading.              Driving home today after signing the papers I just continued to praise the Lord for His guiding.  I begin to think wow, God has only 2 weeks to pay!  I hope he remembers that and pays His bills on time!              Arriving home I shared the final details with my wife and together we continued to thank the Lord for His provisions.  Upon opening my email I quickly saw an email with the subject: Donation.  It was sent from a husband and wife in Massachusetts who are Brazilian Americans.  They had made contact with us a few days ago stating that they had read our website, listened to David Gates' sermons, and wanted to put their all in God's work.  In their last email to us they asked us how much money we currently needed for our program in Brazil.  Yesterday I sent them a response email, sharing the story of the land that we would be soon acquiring.  The email today stated that they would be immediately transferring the first installment of $92,500 dollars (equivalent in reais) into our account to make the next payment due in two weeks.             Praise the Lord oh my soul, and all that is within me praise His holy name!  We want this story to do nothing more than bring total glory to God's name.  Jesus is SOON returning and He wants nothing more than a people that are ready to meet Him.  He wants us to live by faith NOW.  He wants us to put our full trust in Him NOW.  He wants our ALL.              The donation email was sent last night, but I didn't see it until after I had signed in faith today.  God wants us to step forward in faith to serve Him and He will provide.  Please join us in praising God's name for what He has done today.  Please join us in persistent prayer to ask God to faithfully provide the rest of the money due.  Please join us in praying to God to take full control of our lives and helping us increase our faith!  May God be glorified. Please visit our website to see some pictures of the land.  -- God Bless,   Brad, Lina, Levi, and Lucas Mills If you are interested in helping with this project, your tax-deductible contributions can be sent to: GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTL. P.O. Box 506 Collegedale, TN 37315 *On a separate piece of paper specify that this is for Brazil Medical Launch, Brad and Lina Mills. Web page: www.brazilmedicallaunch.com www.gospelministry.org

9-14-2008
 

Dear Friends and Family,

Just a quick note to say we have a new edition to the Mills Family.  Lucas David Mills was born on Tuesday, September 9 at 1:10 am at the Adventist Hospital of Manaus, weighing in at 7 ½ pounds and about 20 inches long.  Thanks be to God, all went very well, with Lina only being in labor for a little less than 3 hours.   Monday night a little after 10 pm she started to have some back pains.  She tried to rest a while.  Sometime around 11:20 she got in the shower.  By the time she got out of the shower her contractions were coming at every 2-3 minutes.  We rushed to the hospital and were not even there for more than 1 hour and 15 minutes before he was born!  We came home on Tuesday and all has been going very well since.  Thankfully, Lina's mom Becky is here with us and is such a huge help cooking, cleaning, and helping with both Levi and Lucas.

            God definitely takes care of all his children's needs.  Some good friends of ours that work at the Adventist Hospital talked to the accounts payable department to see what they could work out for the "church's missionaries".   At the time of discharge we went down to face our bill and see how much the damage would be.  The total bill turned out to be $70 USD!!!  We were so thrilled.  Truly, God does provide for all our needs!  Praise the Lord!

--
God Bless,
Brad, Lina, and Levi Mills


If you are interested in helping with this project, your tax-deductible contributions can be sent to:

GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTL.
P.O. Box 506
Collegedale, TN 37315
*On a separate piece of paper specify that this is for Brazil Medical Launch, Brad and Lina Mills.

Web page:
www.brazilmedicallaunch.com
www.gospelministry.org



8-15-2008

 

NEW KOMBI!!

            This week the Brazil Medical Launch program received its first new vehicle, a 2008 Volkswagan Kombi!  Through some gracious donors, sufficient money was provided to buy a brand new 9 passenger vehicle to help us get around.  The vehicle will serve for transport of people and supplies to help us start this new program.  Praise the Lord for His wonderful provisions.

             Please visit our website at www.brazilmedicallaunch.com (letters) to see pictures of the new kombi.

--
God Bless,
Brad, Lina, and Levi Mills


If you are interested in helping with this project, your tax-deductible contributions can be sent to:

GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTL.
P.O. Box 506
Collegedale, TN 37315
*On a separate piece of paper specify that this is for Brazil Medical Launch, Brad and Lina Mills.

Web page:
www.brazilmedicallaunch.com
www.gospelministry.org

8-11-2008
 

Quick Updates

• New website www.brazilmedicallaunch.com 
• Malaria course finished, new course on tropical medicine
• More visitors from the USA
• Updates on boat import progress
• Trip to Lago de Coari

New Website

            We have just finished putting a new website together to give updates on the Brazil Medical Launch program.  The website has all the emails we have sent out archived under letters, various pictures, our story, and much more.  We will keep the website updated as often as possible.  You can use it as a tool to share our stories and contact info with others.  Please visit us at www.brazilmedicallaunch.com

Finished malaria course!!

            Two emails ago I told you about the malaria course that I was taking.  I took the test several weeks ago now and with God's help, I passed!  It was one of the hardest tests I have ever taken.  It was 8 hours of looking at slides under the microscope giving the diagnosis of negative, positive: and if positive, which species of plasmodium, including parasite load.  Also I had to diagnose microfilariasis on the test.  If you make one mistake you fail and have to do the test over!  Praise the Lord He helped me to pass.  I am now a certified malaria technician in Brasil! 

            I am currently taking a two week intensive course on Tropical Diseases endemic to the Amazon region.  It is a very good class, with lectures from specialists in their fields.  Each day we also spend clinical time with hands on patient care, seeing the very diseases that we are discussing in class.  I have been able to see patients with leishmaniasis, typhoid fever, leprosy, neurotoxoplasmosis, mengicoccal meningitis, AIDS patients with several opportunitistic infections, and much more.  It has been a real learning opportunity for me!  I praise the Lord for giving me this opportunity to learn more of these diseases so that I can provide better care for the needy people out on the rivers and in the jungle.

More American visitors

            We were happy to welcome Mark and Pat Gilbert on July 11.  Mark is an emergency room physician at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, TN and his wife Pat is a registered nurse and dietician.  They came to spend 5 weeks with us here to get to know the program and help provide medical work on the rivers.  It has been fun having a full house again for several weeks.  Mark is also taking the tropical medicine course with me.

            We have successfully finished one step more towards getting the boat imported.  We are currently working with an attorney who specializes in imports and he thinks that we should be able to bring the boat in the country by the end of the year!  Please keep this in your prayers.  We are asking the Lord's timing to be worked out and we are getting very excited that the boat will be here soon!

Trip to Lago de Coari

            Last week we took a 5 day trip up the Rio Solimoes to a lake called Lago de Coari to provide medical care to a very needy population.  We joined up with several Brazilian locals and spent several days doing medical clinics, vaccinations, and malaria testing.  On Sabbath we went to a small village called Ariri which has a SDA church.  We joined the local villagers and had a wonderful church service there in the middle of the jungle.  For Sabbath School the leader got up front and told how a place far away called North America needs to put up more radio towers to be able to transmit a message of truth to others who don't know Jesus yet.  The leader asked the members of the church to sacrificially give so that they could help others learn more of Jesus in that place.  The fact that these poor natives in the middle of the jungle are giving their offerings to help transmit the message of Jesus to our rich country struck me so hard.  Do we truly know what sacrificial giving is?  Do we truly consecrate ourselves, our time, and our possessions to God every day and tell Him to do as He pleases with us.  Do we sacrificially do without so that others can know of Jesus, or do we give out of excess?  I pray that each of us can daily learn to grow closer to Christ and be lead by Him.

"Elisandro and Adanival, please find Dr. Ricardo at the hospital in Coari as soon as possible" was the message carried by the radio waves to the small village of Jacare.  At least one person among the 100 something inhabitants of Jacare, meaning crocodile in Portuguese, heard the message that day, because two days later Adanival and his son Elisandro showed up at the small hospital in Coari.  This was to be a big day for seven year old Elisandro, who came limping into town on his one leg and one crutch.  Today he was going to head to the city!

About 3 weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet Elisandro in Crocodile Village.  On our week trip up the Amazon River his village was one of the several where we stopped to hold medical clinics.  Elisandro came that day to the clinic to be seen for a stomachache.  After chatting about his stomachache a bit and assessing his stomach, the conversation moved to his leg.  Elisandro told me that one year prior he had been bit on the leg by a poisonous snake.  It took 3 days for his family to be able to reach the closest town for help, by that time his leg was necrotic and beyond help.  The small hospital then sent Elisandro to a hospital in Manaus where he had his leg amputated.  After the wound healed, he was sent back to his village.

Dr. Ricardo, president of ASVAM Projeto Luzeiro, and I discussed the boy and what we could do for him.  Several days later, after we returned to civilization Dr. Ricardo began calling to see what could be arranged.  He found an accepting organization in Sao Paolo that would receive Elisandro and his dad at the hospital, put them up in a hotel, and get him seen by a physician to get fitted for a prosthetic leg!  Our job was to get them from Crocodile Village to Sao Paolo!

First Elisandro and his father made the one and a half day trip from their village to Manaus, where we picked them up at the port.  They then came and spent one day at our house where they were prepped for life in a big city.  Lina gave them both haircuts.  Elisandro had a fun time playing with Levi, seeing his colorful cars and trains.  Levi was very happy to share one of his matchbox cars with Elisandro to take with him.  The next day we took them to the airport where they were thoroughly prepped on what to do in the airport, how to get luggage, how to act in a plane, etc.  This was their first time to be on a commercial flight.   Imagine going from a jungle village to Sao Paolo, one of the largest cities in the world.

            About one week later we picked them back up at the airport.  They survived the trip and were full of smiles to tell us all about the sights of the city.  Upon asking them if they would like to live in a big city, they both quickly shook their heads no and said they couldn't wait to get back to the jungle!

            Elisandro was seen by a group of specialists and measurements were taken to fit him for an adjustable prosthetic leg.  His leg will be made in the USA and shipped to Brasil, where it will make its way all the way to his little village where he awaits it.

            This experience was only one of the many that we hope to partake in as this program grows.  Contacts were made and relationships developed that will lead to Bible studies and hopefully sharing Christ with others.  Jesus bids us to put love into action by taking care of the sick, poor, orphans, and widows.  Many of you had a part in this story by your donations that made it possible to help Elisandro and his dad travel from place to place.  Please keep them in your prayers as we continue to keep contact with them and their village, to bring the message of Christ's love to their hearts.