Amazon R.A.C.E. (Radical Approach to Church planting and Evangelism) is a church planting project tasked to go to the far reaches of the Brazilian Amazon Basin. It equips single missionaries to live and minister in remote river (ribeirinho) communities for extended periods of time. HAMMOCK BOAT MISSIONS was conceived to incorporate volunteer teams into the overall strategy of the Amazon R.A.C.E. project. There are still over 6,000 river communities that have no evangelical work just in the state of Amazonas, and one of the main problem we have is that it takes anywhere from 2-15 days to get to these communities that are spread out in an area about twice the size of Texas. This is where you come in. Bringing a group would help us expand out into more of these communities.
What will we do – Your team(s) will travel on a hammock boat to a certain destination in the interior along with other river people (usually about 200 people). Everyone strings their hammock up and hangs out as they travel up the Amazon. Since these boats travel slow and do not make many stops, you have a captive audience for a few days. Therefore, you will be sharing the gospel with some, discipling others, praying, building relationships, and walking through doors that the LORD opens up. We use and encourage “storying.” We also ask that you be researchers or “point” people for the Amazon R.A.C.E. As you talk with these people, you can find out where communities are that do not have any evangelical work, where we can send Amazon Racers or even your church or group could take on the responsibility of reaching that community. Once the boat arrives at its destination, you can take a day off in that town, explore around, and take another boat back to Manaus with a different 200 people and do it all over again.
Who – Teams can be families, churches, associations, BSM, etc. It is not recommended for people with medical problems and who do not know how to swim. So, it is not for everyone.
How many – Teams can be from 2 – 50 people. Larger teams than 6 will be broken into teams of 4-5 people and put on different boats.
When – Anytime. The hammock boats are like the greyhounds of the Amazon. There are boats coming and going every day all year around.
How much – Cost is around US$1,250. Round trip airfare to Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil is around US$1,000, round trip fare on a hammock boat is around US$250. Any expenses like sightseeing, fishing etc. would be extra.
How long – There are boats that take 3 days going and 2 days coming back. Others take 5 days going and 4 days coming back. Just depends on where the boat is going. So, trips can take anywhere from 5 days to two weeks. Just depends on what your schedule allows.
If you are interested in partnering with us, please contact: Aaron Epps info@amazonrace.org or call 901-313-4546. You can find out more about this project at www.amazonrace.org. If you have any single young adults interested in participating in the Amazon R.A.C.E., there is a contact pae on the website.
