In this region it is not unusual to travel several days by boat to get from one city to another. Two special pioneers assigned to Eirunepé, Amazonas, a town of 20,000 inhabitants, wrote: “The trip to our assignment took 13 days by boat. We considered the boat to be part of our territory. While on the boat, we placed several publications and began eight Bible studies, which we conducted twice a day.” In Amazonia, there are 213 special pioneers busy helping people to benefit from God’s Word.

Aboard the Society’s Boats

Since 1991 some of our special pioneers have been using boats as part of their regular equipment in the ministry. In that year the Society provided two boats for such use. There is Boas Novas (Good News), which travels on the rivers Negro, Purus, Madeira, and Solimões. Proclamador das Boas Novas (Proclaimer of the Good News) circles the island of Marajó—the size of the Netherlands—at the mouth of the Amazon River.

Five special pioneers are assigned to each boat. While two pairs of pioneers are in the service, one pioneer stays on board to prepare the meals and to do the cleaning as well as to guard against possible piracy. The main objective is to reach the inhabitants of the small villages on the riverbanks and others who live in huts built on piles or in floating homes.

[Picture on page 170]

Boat used at the mouth of the Amazon River for preaching the good news