The challenges of missionary work in Pará, northern Brazil

August 14, 2025

Evangelistic Support Program

Below, I will include a map of Brazil so you can identify our new Support Base for the evangelistic work in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil. Our Support Base is located in the state of Maranhão, which belongs to the northeastern region of Brazil, but our goal is to move forward into the northern region, the Amazon area of Brazil.

On the map, I have also highlighted the state of Pará, which is in the northern region. In 2024, a census recorded approximately 8,664,306 inhabitants. This single state in Brazil has a population comparable to that of the entire countries of Austria or Switzerland. The population of Pará is almost the same as the combined population of Paraguay and Uruguay.

Pará is the second largest state in Brazil in terms of territory, with an area of 1,245,870 km². If we compare it to some European countries, we find that the state of Pará alone is twice the size of France, four times larger than Italy, and fourteen times bigger than Portugal.

The state of Pará has 144 main cities and many small settlements and mining villages. We work with a couple of Brazilian missionaries who are dedicated to bringing the Gospel both to the large cities and to the small villages. Since 2018, we have been in contact with missionary Nelson, and we have been sending printed materials to support the work they are doing.

However, the cost of transporting materials from the southeastern region of Brazil (São Paulo) to the state of Pará is very high. And the biggest challenge is distributing the materials within the state itself. A large portion of the roads are unpaved (dirt or gravel), which makes transportation difficult, especially during the rainy season. And even when there is pavement, many of the state and federal highways that cross Pará are in poor condition.

Typical riverside village in Pará. The houses are built on stilts to withstand the river's flood season. Look at the water mark on the fence, and you’ll see how high the water rises during the floods.

In addition to poor road conditions, Pará experiences heavy rain seasons that cause flooding, landslides, and erosion on roads, bridges, and rural paths. Entire communities can become isolated for weeks during the Amazonian winter, especially in riverside and rural areas.

In many regions, river transportation is the only possible access. This makes the movement of materials slow, very expensive, and dependent on river levels. In areas like Marajó or the Lower Amazon, road transportation practically doesn't exist.

Another major challenge is the low population density. Pará has 1.2 million square kilometers, and many municipalities have vast rural areas with scattered populations, which makes the distribution of evangelistic materials difficult. Local workers face major barriers in getting the written Word of God to the people. In many places where we’ve been able to reach with evangelistic support, many evangelists had never received help of any kind with materials for their ministry.

Therefore, transportation in the state of Pará is a major logistical challenge for the Evangelistic Support Program—impacted by heavy rains, river-based geography, the lack of paved roads, and the difficulty in reaching remote regions. This directly affects the development of the project, and we must always think with a long-term vision in mind.

START OF THE SUPPORT WORK IN NORTHERN BRAZIL

We have already sent around 1,350 kilograms of printed materials to our Support Base in São Luís do Maranhão, and our local coordinator has started identifying local evangelists and searching for ways to transport the materials.

We are working together with our brothers at World Missionary Press on the documentation to send our first container with 10 tons of materials. Our greatest concern is making sure each box reaches the hands of the evangelists without charging them a single dollar, avoiding storage delays, and ensuring care in transportation, as the region is very humid and experiences a lot of rain, which can damage the material.

Truly, working in the Amazon region of Brazil is a great challenge, but I believe the Lord Jesus will give us victory. I count on your prayers.

God bless you,

Peniel N. Dourado

CLICK HERE to watch the video