Teaching Pastors in Paraná; Another New Building Project

Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

November 21, 2016

Dear Brethren,

Just after the vacation in the States I had a visit to make to some churches in southern Brazil. This had been set up for over a year. One of our guys went to seminary in the state of Paraná. While there he met and married one of the girls from down there. After graduation, he accepted the pastorate in the city of Ponta Grossa (population 400,000) near the capital city of Curitiba. The work is new and the church is small, but already growing at a nice pace. He began with 10 members and now has 48. The history of the work is unique. Another church in town started and actually organized the new church, but then it fell apart and the mother church “downgraded” it to a mission point again! That is where and when Edeilson and Priscilla came in. Anyway, I met with the five pastors and many members of their churches to encourage and teach them about missions and small groups. The building was full all four nights. Their seating capacity is 120 max, but many more showed up and stood inside and out. This is very encouraging as the southern states are well known for their hardness and rejection of the Gospel. All the pastors are eager to grow and reach out. All of them were very welcoming, even the associational missionary….

Since returning from Paraná I have plunged in to another big building project. The church has given the OK to put up a 6,700 square foot metal structure over our present facility. After this is up and under roof we will start modifying the present building to more than double our seating capacity. We have already put up the pillars along the outside and in a few more days the new steel trusses will be in place. Our major gains will be by increasing the total height by over two times and adding balconies all around three sides. We can now seat around 850 people and hope to get at least room for 1700. Yesterday proves, yet again, that we desperately need the added space.

Yesterday morning we had our last baptism service of the year followed by the Lord’s Supper. The building was completely full. The men had to fill the aisles with chairs and the walls along the sides and the vestibules were full of people standing. Our communion trays hold about 700 cups, but the men had to fill a bunch more cups and distribute them before everyone was ready to partake. I baptized 54 more new members. 15 of these were from the home church. All the others were from our 9 chapels here in town and 2 of our congregations up river. In my 50 plus years in Cruzeiro do Sul we had never had a cold front in the month of November. Well one came through on Friday and sent the temps into the mid 60’s. The water was COLD. Easy on the air conditioning though! The building was packed again at night. We have had 2 more saved and a number of other decisions, including more requests for baptism.

Our church has 4 basic courses that are taught 3 or 4 times every year: Discipleship, Membership, Personal Evangelism and One with God. Last week I taught the last round of the Membership course to about 25 new members, giving the 8 lessons over three nights.

This month I have also been making the rounds visiting some of our other works. The last visit was to Cruzeirinho. They are now in their new building although they still don’t have windows, doors or ceilings. Over 200 were present for that visit.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,
Mike Creiglow

Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com

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Progress in the Village of Gama, Praying for Permanent Missionary

Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

October 12, 2016

Dear Brethren,

Well it has been a while. Bev and I took a month off for a much needed vacation. We just arrived back from the States. This time we went through Peru to catch our flight out of Lima. Now that many of our flights in Brazil have been cancelled due to the economy it was closer and cheaper to go through Peru. Part of this trip was by car from Rio Branco to Puerto Maldonado, Peru. A nice adventure overall. I like Peru and the lovely people there. Great visit with family, friends and churches in the US. Would have been nice to see many more of you, but time was short.

Before the trip Stateside I made a last minute visit to one of our newest mission points. Gama is in the state of Amazonas. It is on a tributary of the Boa Fé River (Good Faith River). To get there by river is a long hard trip. Down the Juruá River for almost a day, then up the Boa Fé for a day to the Generoso creek. Only a couple more hours up this small stream sits the village of Gama. There are over 300 people living there. However, now there is a dirt road through the jungle that is open in the dry season. That is how I went this time. It is “only” 30 miles from Cruzeiro do Sul by road. I have never been on this so called road in the rainy season and can only imagine the mess. It is all red clay and sand, with many stream crossings.

We have taken our doctors and dentists there twice now. Our evangelists make regular visits. Zico (our missions director) managed to locate and purchase a nice big lot to put up our first building there. While I was there we laid out the plot. While I was in the States some of our bricklayers went up with Zico to dig the foundations and start laying brick. Zico has been great with all the work, but it is outstanding to see how he gets and keeps things rolling even when I am away. I don’t even know how he raised the money to start the building! Since we are on the subject, if you would like to chip in with a little extra offering, make your self right at home. We still don’t have the permanent missionary for this new field, but are praying that the Lord will raise up one soon.

Also, while we were away the church here continued to grow. 25 new members were added by baptism in September. I preached this last Sunday to a packed house. There were two young women who had been saved for a while, but not yet baptized that presented themselves. We also took up the first of a couple special offerings for our next big building project. More about that later.

Our youth have had to spit up into different age groups. We have a big group 12 through 14. The middle bunch is the biggest. They are 15 through 24. (This works in our town, for now, but must sound like a strange grouping to you in the States). The newest group is singles from 25 years old and up. They just had their first retreat with 25 at Camp Salem.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,
Mike Creiglow

Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com

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The Power of the Gospel Prevails in Porto Walter!

Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

August 12, 2016

Dear Brethren,

Two years ago I made one of my visits to our work at Porto Walter. I took plans for a new church building. The congregation was growing, but was still mostly children and teens. They were already needing to move out of the old wood frame building that we put up in 1993. Our missionary, Brother Alexandre, was dismayed when I showed him what we were going to build. He said, “We have nary a chance of building a 2 story building for 500 people.” That night we gathered the congregation to present the concept drawings and the plans. I had to get tough with Alexandre in front of his folks. I let them know, in no uncertain terms, that God is the One who would provide and make it happen. Then I just told them that this is what we are going to build and with little help from First Baptist Church of Cruzeiro do Sul. At that point I am pretty sure that I was the only one who thought that it would be possible.

Last week I spent 4 days with them for the dedication of the lower floor of the new building. We had over four hundred present for all the services and many not able to get into the building. We couldn’t get to the 500 prediction because they are on the lower floor with all the columns down the middle that take up quite a bit of seats. During the meeting, the congregation commissioned a couple to take over the mission point at Vitória. We had 3 professions of faith, too. Then on Sunday morning we hauled 4 truckloads of people down to the beach for a baptism service. I baptized 41 new members.

09 September 2016 MBC Baptism1 09 September 2016 MBC Baptism2 09 September 2016 MBC PortoWalter Building 09 September 2016 PortoWalterThere was a new experience for me, too. At the dedication of the new building the members were so excited that they went out and spent a bunch of money on fireworks! Then to top it off they set off another bunch during the baptism service on Sunday morning down by the river. It was actually a very pleasant surprise to see how they really were wanting to celebrate these events in the loudest and flashiest way possible! It had never occurred to me to commemorate a dedication of a building or a baptism with so many big bangs, but it was actually pretty cool. The world ended up seeing how serious God’s people are about their Christian service and what He can do.

That is the news. Now a little background. Porto Walter is 100 miles upriver. Not long after missionary Joseph Brandon arrived in Cruzeiro do Sul (1926), he had a launch built to make mission trips. He named it the “Pilgrim”. On one of his first trips he took some of the young converts from First Baptist Church to share the gospel with the folks along the river upstream. When they arrived at Porto Walter one of the members grabbed the rope to tie up the “Pilgrim”. By this time the local priest knew of their arrival and sent a mob armed with machetes and shotguns with orders to not let the “believers”, as we are called, even get off their boat. One of the mob stepped forward and said, “The first believer that tries to step ashore with that rope will see the rope cut and the person, will be chopped up, too.” To avoid bloodshed Brother Brandon decided to not stay there, but go further up river to a place called Campo de Santana. Eventually a church was organized there. That priest later became the bishop of the whole region of the catholic parish in Cruzeiro do Sul. For years the Catholic church controlled the town with an iron fist.

In 1992 the towns at Marechal Thaumaturgo and Porto Walter were incorporated and became 2 of the 22 cities (county seats?) of the state of Acre. At the same time, I decided that enough is enough and we were going to start churches in these towns no matter what the Catholic church, her bishops, priests and nuns think about it. That same summer I took my cousin Paul Creiglow and one of our local missionaries to check out the field and procure property. The river was low and it was a long hard trip in a dugout canoe.

That same year God raised up the 2 missionaries. The church approved and sent them out in 1993. It has been long hard work, but now we have the biggest congregations of any denomination in both towns. In fact, while I was in Porto Walter I checked out the attendance of the Catholic church, Adventist and 2 Pentecostal churches. The Pentecostals have about 30 or 40 each. The Adventist have 15 at most. Here is the real shocker though: only 10 to 15 people attend mass these days! The Baptist church averages over 250. Thank you Lord. The power of the Gospel has prevailed.

The river is VERY low this year. You can wade across the Juruá just about anywhere and we could see the sand bars and bottom all along the way. Pastor Rondisson went with me. My trusty 25HP jet drive outboard took us right through all the shallows. Many hours navigating through all the stumps and shallows. Bright blue skies, beautiful, brilliant white sand beaches and exuberant green jungle all around. People being saved and baptized, the work growing by leaps and bounds and cruising through God’s creation: This is pretty much a big slice of heaven on earth. Am I having fun, or what?

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,
Mike Creiglow

Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com

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New Full-Time Missionary in Tipisca; Two More Ready to Go

Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

July 9, 2016

Dear Brethren,

Our missionary to Peru, Brother José Maia, just made another visit to the Kaxinauá tribe on the Breu River. This river is the border between Peru and Brazil. The tribe lives 35 miles upstream. This is a very hard trip this time of year. The river is tiny, shallow and full of log jams. He took a young and new arrival from another reservation on the Purús River. This missionary was recommended by a former worker, Eduardo Puricho, who is now working in Pucalpa, Peru. The new guy is Brother Fred. As you may recall, José always has to preach through an interpreter. This time Fred did the preaching in the native language. Seven made professions of faith. Two of these were the twins, Cosma and Damiana’s, parents. Fred has now gone back to bring his wife and children back to Tipisca. He will be our newest full time missionary. Now we are trying to get his support together. With the economic crisis that Brazil is going through, it will be a big challenge. The Lord will provide. We have two other missionaries ready to go to two other fields. They are also waiting for us to get their support together. Pray for us.

Last month I made a visit to our congregation at Serra do Moa on the upper reaches of the Moa River near the mountains. Two of my grandsons went with me. These are 2 of Crissy and Dauro’s boys. Caleb, their oldest, is 11 years old and Adriel is 8. The river is already at its lowest, so we went in and open boat with a jet drive outboard. The going was slow, but easy to get over the logs and shallows. They were really good travelling buddies. On Sunday morning we had a really big crowd. The building was as full as it could get, the porch was full and many standing in the field outside. We had folks from four of our congregations from three other tributaries of the Moa River. After the regular service we went down to the river for a baptism. The river is plenty wide, but very shallow. There is a beach on the church side of the river. The crowd was standing on the beach. I was almost on the other side of the river to find enough depth. Five were baptized. Some of these were Nukini Indians. For the first time ever I took a water proof camera out into the river with me and was able to take a picture of the congregation back on the beach. Pretty neat and I will send you one of those shots along with a picture of the candidates.

We held a baptism and Lord’s supper service at First Baptist Church on Sunday, June 26. There were 21 new members added. The crowds were as big as they could be for our “little” building, both in the morning and at night. It has been a while since both of these services have been this big.

Bev and I are in Rio Branco right now. She underwent some minor surgery and is recovering well. I am here to take care of her. We hope that the doctor will let us go home next Thursday.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,
Mike Creiglow

Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com

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Full Missions Conference; Other Twin Saved; Special Family Time

Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

June 8, 2016

Dear Brethren,

We moved up our annual missions conference this year to coincide with the church’s birthday. The church was founded by Joseph Brandon on May 12, 1929 with 13 members. We are now 87, still young and growing. We started the activities off with a banquet for all of our missionaries, chapel pastors, pastors and the wives. Then we had four days of classes and services. The first night was about the church, her history and where we are planning to go. We closed out with a special night dedicated to our missionaries and their service. The building was full every night, but on Sunday night many people were turned away as there just wasn’t any way to get even up to the doors. The church had the children take up a special offering for our missionaries. They carried several fish nets around as the members used “fish” envelopes to put in their gifts. We were able to give each of our 10 missionaries a couple hundred dollars extra before they returned to their fields. This was pretty good, given the economic downturn (huge understatement) that we are in right now. On the final night we had one of our men surrender as a missionary. Now we have three to send, but are short of funding, so please pray that things will turn around soon.

A group of children singing about missions during the conference.

A group of children singing about missions during the conference.

A couple of months ago I told you about the twins from the Kaxinauá tribe. Damiana was saved and I baptized her. Her sister Cosma was reading her Bible day and night. Well I just got word that she has been saved! In fact, there is another little side story to go along with this good news. A few weeks ago I was in a little hardware store downtown. It is a long narrow thing, old style where the owner sits at his desk near the door. There is a narrow passage between his desk and a jumble of motors, pumps and chainsaws. There was a family of Indians standing right there talking. I was on the inside waiting to get out. There was what appeared to be mom, dad and kids of different ages jabbering away in their native language. I just stood there smiling and waiting for an opening. The store owner’s wife informed me that they were planning on buying a motor. Then one of the children looked at me, grinned real big and said to mom and dad, “Pastor Miguel”. I shook everybody’s hands, but still didn’t know whom I was talking to. Then dad said in Portuguese, with a very heavy accent, “We are Cosma and Damiana’s family. You baptized our daughter. She is very happy.” We then proceeded to get caught up on all the news from their tribe way up river in Peru. It was a really fun experience to finally meet the rest of the girl’s family. Pray that the rest of them will be saved.

Our daughter Monica and her daughter Isabella came down to visit us. Monica had not been here since 2008 and Isabella, who is just 5, came for her first visit. We had 9 of our 11 grands together for a short 6 days. Talk about a party! All of us had a good time, playing ball, boating, swimming and camping. Melany (one of Andrew’s girls) and Adriel (one of Crissy’s boys) got really attached to Isabella and she to them. When it was time to say goodbye, things got really tense and sad. We miss them a bunch and will have to wait no telling how many years to get together again. Many times folks talk about the sacrifices that missionaries make to be on the field for life. Most of the time people are thinking about material comforts that must be given up. We never give that a second thought. The distance between family members though, is hard to cope with.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,
Mike Creiglow

Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com

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Missionary Update: The Creiglows in Brazil [May 2016]

Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

May 9, 2016

Dear Brethren,

One of our chapel pastors, Rondisson, went with me to visit one our newest works on the upper Juruá River. The congregation at Triunfo started this new work. It is further upstream. It is over 250Km (156 miles) up river from Cruzeiro do Sul. My motor was pretty cranky and kept us on pins and needles the whole trip, but we made it. It was really hot, but we didn’t get into any rain and the river cooperated with us. The water level was stable, which is very rare. We spent 3 days with them. They also dedicated their building while we were with them. We spent three days there and held 4 services. Two young women were saved and there were some requests for baptism. They already have 8 Christians in the village of over 150 people. There are 28 households. This new work is a great-granddaughter of First Baptist Church. The name of the village is Boa Vista.

Bev and I visited the chapel at Cruzeirinho. They are doing very well. They have a really big new building close to being ready to move in. They are still in their little wooden building up on the hillside. They have used the new building, which is already under roof, for a couple of events. They can’t move in just yet because they don’t have it under lock and key. The neighborhood has a history of drugs, robbery and vandalism, so I don’t blame them for waiting the right time. Anyway we had a good visit with the house packed out and a few decisions.

The new work at Boa Vista, a great-granddaughter of First Baptist Cruzeiro do Sul.

The new work at Boa Vista, a great-granddaughter of First Baptist Cruzeiro do Sul.

I have spent quite a few hours working on my boats and motors. All of them are 7 years old and starting to give me a little trouble. I did manage to solve the problem with the engine that we ran to Triunfo.

All is going well at First Baptist Church. We started an evening service for the children from 3 through 11 (multiple classes), which has helped free up space in the auditorium. It is usually packed and this has helped a little. Needless to say the kids are really excited that they have their own service on Sunday night.

There have been a number of retreats at our camp – Acampamento Salém. Most of these were training retreats. One, however, was for the older folks in our church. Pastor Pedro leads the ministry that takes care of the folks with gray hair. He took over 60 up to Salém. They had a great time. Bev and I were only able to go up for lunch on Saturday, but we still had a great time with them.

We really need you to pray for Brazil. The economy has been in a recession for over 2 years. We need to send out 2 new missionaries, but giving has dropped off as our people struggle to get by. The political turmoil right now is as bad or worse than ’63 when the military regime took over power. I realize that the US is in a big political mess, also. Brazil has reverted back to a banana republic in just a few short months. We are praying for you. Please pray for Brazil.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,
Mike Creiglow

Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com

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Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [April 2016]

Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

April 11, 2016

Dear Brethren,

Let me begin with the biggest news and work through as much as possible. I probably will not be able to get to everything, but here goes my best shot.

First Baptist Church authorized the organization of our new church at Vila São Pedro. This work was started a few years back and has now reached a level that we felt comfortable enough to make the move toward independence. They have a nice big brick building. They have 2 local pastors that we trained and are already supported by the new church. Then there is one of the most important items that qualify them to be a local independent church. They have already started a couple of preaching points on their own. The new church was organized with 40 charter members.

The new church at São Pedro the night of the organization.

The new church at São Pedro the night of the organization.

A couple of weeks back I spent 3 days with First Baptist Church at Mâncio Lima. This is the second oldest church in the state. They are just a year younger than First Baptist Church of Cruzeiro do Sul. We will be 87 years old in May. They just turned 86. We spent the 3 days teaching about the Function, Mission and Vision of the church. Over the years they have become inactive in missions. Now they have become interested again and I am going to do all I can to help them get involved once more. Their pastor is brother Eliel, a local guy who went to seminary, pastored a couple of other churches before returning home to Mâncio Lima. He is a soft spoken, low key kind of guy, but is excited about getting back to basics. The largest crowds were on Saturday and Sunday with over 200 present.

The baptism at Serra do Moa (mountains along the Moa River).

The baptism at Serra do Moa (mountains along the Moa River).

Zico and I have been back to visit the works on the Moa River. Our main man there is Aldenísio. He is from the Nukini tribe. A couple of years back he was still single and that became a problem. He got married some time back to a girl from the Poyanaua tribe at Barão. He has spent a lot of time at Barão while dating and was away too much from his field of service. We have had to take up some of the slack. He still has to build a house at his home reservation. The name of that place is República and we have a small congregation there. Zico made a visit in February. He and I went up the Moa in March. I took my smallest boat with 20HP motor to save gasoline. That, however, left us exposed to hot sun and rain for many hours. The Lord blessed though and we had a good trip with little discomfort from the elements. The visit with the congregation at the Moa Mountains was great. Although they have not had a preacher for several months they have been very faithful. We had over 60 people on Sunday morning. One of the older couples of the village just got officially and legally married. They were thrilled to finally be baptized after all these years.

On the same Sunday morning that I was baptizing at Serra do Moa three of our other pastors were doing the same. Pastor Benjamim went to visit our mission at Ramal dos Caracas and baptized several there. In the mean time, Pastors Ezi and Dauro baptized 35 more into First Baptist Church at home. Pretty good weekend, wouldn’t you say?

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,
Mike Creiglow

Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com

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Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [March 2016]

Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

March 9, 2016

Dear Brethren,

Have you ever heard of saints Cosmas and Damian? Probably not, but here in Brazil they are very important. The twins were, according to tradition, born in Arabia in the 3rd century, but later lived and worked in Syria. They were doctors. Their most famous miracle was to transplant a leg. Again this is all from Roman Catholic tradition. They were martyred during the Diocletian persecution. Today they are the patron saints of doctors and nurses.

In Brazil, however, the veneration goes well beyond the usual. They have also been absorbed by the main spiritist groups, such as Candomblé, and are the protectors of children–mainly twins. The oldest standing church building in Brazil is dedicated to them, built in 1535.

One more story about them was that they never took money for their services. One day though a lady that had been healed by one of the brothers made 3 cakes for him. The other brother found out about it and was furious. He said he would never be buried with his brother. When they were finally killed, on the same day, cooler heads prevailed and they were buried side by side. The idea was that they were twins, had worked and died together and should not be separated even in the grave.

A few days ago I was visiting some of our works on the upper Juruá River. I spent a week 300 miles upriver, across the border in Peru. Our missionary in Tipisca, Peru is José Maia and family. There are 4 Indian tribes in the region. We are trying to preach the gospel to all 4. So far we have made some good progress among 2 of the tribes – the Ashaninka and the Kaxinauá. One of the first converts among the Kaxinauá is a 20 year-old girl named Damiana.

Here is Damiana’s story. She trusted Christ during one of José Maia’s visits to her village on the Breu River. The Breu is a tributary of the Juruá River and is also the border between Brazil and Peru. She later came to live with our missionaries. Here are a couple of impressive traits of this young woman. Although she is 20 years old, she is still single. Most Indian girls her age are already married and have 10 kids. Then, even more impressive: she speaks Spanish, Portuguese and, of course, Kaxinauá. Damiana is a twin. Her sister’s name is Cosma.

The twins: Damiana and Cosma

The twins: Damiana and Cosma

That is no mere coincidence, but has its own backdrop. Why would Kaxinauá twins be named Cosma and Damiana? Their dad was a little white boy who had been taken in by the Indians. He grew up in the tribe, but stayed there and married one of the women. Besides Cosma and Damiana, the couple has a bunch of other kids. Some of the boys even have beards! Beyond the racial mix there is also a cultural and religious mix in the tribe.

One such crossover is a popular myth that sprang from the Saint Cosmas and Damian story. Many people along the rivers here believe that if twins are born they must be named either Cosme e Damião (if they are boys) or Cosma and Damiana (in case of girls). Why? If you don’t name them with the saint names one of the twins will drown and thus the twins will be separated. So now 2 Indian girls are named Cosma and Damiana. The latter is now saved and the other is reading her Bible day and night. We are praying that she will trust Christ soon along with all of her tribe.

Damiana's baptism in Tipisca, Peru

Damiana’s baptism in Tipisca, Peru

Recently José Maia took her back to the tribe for a visit. He asked her if she would have the courage to translate a very aggressive message to the tribe. She said that she could talk directly to the children and women, but wasn’t sure about the men. José Maia wanted to go ahead and tell them that the only God is Jesus Christ and that the jiboia (boa constrictor) is not god. He started preaching and she stepped up and started translating no matter what the cost. Everyone listened carefully and are still listening. Many of them came out to Tipisca while I was there and were present at Damiana’s baptism service. Pray that all will trust Christ. The door is now wide open to this tribe. Hopefully Cosma will receive Jesus next and the twins will be truly inseparable.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,
Mike Creiglow

Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com

Click here to donate to BFM.


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