Stranger on a Boat
By Adventist Mission
“Hello!” Jamilly jumped. It was unusual for strangers to come to her house. It was unusual for strangers to come to any house in the remote village on the Amazon River in Brazil. Who could be at her door when Mother and Father were out?
Twenty-year-old Jamilly was at home with her four-year-old brother when Pastor Cassi from the Seventh-day Adventist Church called at her family’s door. He introduced himself and asked her about her life. “How is your relationship with your parents?” he asked.
“It isn’t good,” Jamilly admitted. As their conversation continued, Jamilly relaxed, and she began weeping. “I wish I had a better relationship with my parents,” she cried.
“Would you like to be part of the floating church?” Pastor Cassi asked. “Would you like to come to our meetings?” Jamilly had seen the large white boat arrive at her village. She had thought that it was carrying doctors and nurses offering free medical treatment from another Christian denomination. But now she realized that it was the home of Pastor Cassi and his team and that it contained a Seventh-day Adventist church. Pastor Cassi was going house to house to befriend people and to invite them to meetings on the boat.
Jamilly agreed to go to the floating church before breaking down in tears again. “My parents divorced two years ago,” she shared her story.
Pastor Cassi listened empathetically, offering words of comfort, encouragement, and hope. “Let’s pray together for you and for your parents,” Pastor Cassi suggested.
From that day, Jamilly began praying for her parents. She also went to the floating church every evening. She enjoyed hearing presentations about family relationships, health, and the Bible. At her invitation, her mother joined her in attending the meetings.
A month later, Jamilly gave her heart to Jesus in baptism. It was the best day of her life! She and her sins were buried in the waters of the Amazon River, and she emerged as a reborn child of Christ. Several other villagers were also baptized that day.
After the baptisms, the church’s meetings moved from the floating church to a newly built Adventist church building in the village. Construction workers had been building the church while Jamilly and other villagers had been attending meetings on the boat.
Jamilly went to the new church for Sabbath worship services. She went for prayer meetings on Sunday and Wednesday nights. She participated in a discipleship training program that taught all new church members to share what Jesus had done for them with others.
But Jamilly’s relationship with her parents didn’t improve. Her mother stopped going to church after the boat left. Her father didn’t go at all. Tensions in the family grew, but Jamilly kept praying.
One day Jamilly was traveling away from home when a friend called her cellphone. “Your father visited the Adventist church today!” Jamilly jumped up and down with excitement! God was hearing her prayers. God would bring her family to Him.
A year has passed since Jamilly’s baptism, and she is preparing to become a mission volunteer with One Year in Mission, a church program in which young people spend a year of their lives in mission work. Just as Pastor Cassi came to her village to share the gospel, she wants to take the gospel to other people in Brazil and beyond.
“Don’t give up on your dreams to serve the Lord,” she said.
The floating church, Hope on the Amazon, is bringing hope to people like Jamilly on the Amazon River after being acquired with the help of 2016 mission offerings. Together, we can share the hope of Jesus’ soon return. This story is used with permission of Adventist Mission.
World Church Prayer Requests
August 15 — 21, 2025
• World Church: Pray for students all around the world as they begin their fall semester of classes. Pray especially for the children of our pastors and administrators, that God will protect and grow these youth and young adults to have a deep experience with Jesus in this coming school year. Pray that a hedge of protection will be around their home and family and that Satan’s attempts to distract their family from God’s mission will not be successful.
• United States: Pray for the Ephrata SDA Church as they seek to be a light for Jesus in their community. Pray that Jesus will fill the members with His Spirit and His Gospel so that they may uplift and love others.
• South Africa: Pray for the believers in Florida Lake as they host an evangelistic series August 3-16, 2025. Pray that the Lord will open the hearts of those in attendance and bring earnest seekers to hear and accept the Gospel message.
• Trinidad: Pray for the Homework Centre, a church supported ministry in Trinidad. Pray that the local churches will be ready and willing to be used by God in discipling the new members to Jesus.
• Uganda: Pray for Messenger FM Radio, a Seventh-day Adventist radio station currently reaching part of the Bahima people group in southwestern Uganda. This people group has been difficult to reach. Pray that the radio tower can be moved to a higher hill to better cover the whole of Bahima Territory.
• Jamaica: Pray for the upcoming “Homeward Bound” evangelistic series to be held August 16 to September 13. Pray that the members will be united and passionate about sharing the Gospel, and for the Holy Spirit to work on the hearts of all who will be visited and all who will attend each night.
• Liberia: Pray that God will provide a place of worship for Salvation SDA Company, a young congregation located in a community with a lot of young people. They have grown too large for the space they have been meeting in and are in dire need of new housing. Pray that God will work in such a way for the young people to grow their trust in the Lord.