Dec 7, 2022 The Hand of God in Piracemo

Deep in the Amazon jungle lives a small indigenous village called Piracemo.

Not many people can say that they’ve visited Piracemo because you must be invited and allowed by the Captain of the village.

To get there you have to fly into Mitú, Colombia, because there are no roads. Then once you’re in Mitú, it is a 30-50 minute speed boat ride on the Vaupes River.

Some of the people that live in Piracemo have never even met outsiders, let alone heard of the Seventh-day Adventist Church before the planning of this trip began.

What a blessing it was to be able to minister and help these people, but it was no easy feat to be able to do so.

In order for the approximately 30 missionaries to visit the people of Piracemo, it took three separate trips more than 12 months to gain the trust of the captain (the leader of Piracemo) and to organize the details of what the trip would entail. 

Piracemo sits about 30 feet above the river on a hill, as we arrived you could see the adults using machetes to mow the grass in preparation for our arrival and the kids were running along the side, waving as we pulled up. They had been waiting an entire year for this moment.

Once we climbed the stairs up to the village, the people of Piracemo formed a line and shook every single one of the missionary’s hands with smiles and excitement.

To say our arrival was highly anticipated and desperately needed is an understatement.

In Piracemo, there is only one nurse with very basic medical knowledge, said Missionary Nurse Yesmer. They have no equipment, no supplies, no curable medicines. The nurse [here in Piracemo] cares for 200 people. There is no way to get a patient out of the rural community to a hospital. In Central America the level of morbidity and mortality is very high, because the access to these communities is so difficult. 

Everything this village relies on must be transported via the Vaupes River, which includes, building materials, medical equipment, medical supplies, food, technology, etc. But because of this trip, we were able to provide 50 families, which is about 200-215 people, with clothing, food, toiletry kits, and medical care and supplies.

Our mission team shared a meal with the Piracemo villagers. Then, our evangelism director Karl Lindsay gave a message about Jesus to the entire group. In addition to providing medical clinic services, the Quiet Hour team members led a children’s program with Bible stories and crafts, and distributed the packages of food, clothing, and supplies.

What we have done today is definitely something historic, powerful, and I believe unrepeatable. Here I see the hand of God, says President Hernán Mera, Northwestern Bogotá and Boyacá Mission. We have been planning this trip since 2021. One year later we see that God has endorsed the decision for Quiet Hour Ministries and the Seventh-day Adventist Church to coordinate this trip. And God has been wonderful, this is unique, this is special. I don’t know if we will have the chance to have this experience again. It would be great if we could do it again, but nevertheless, God has been here, He has been touching the health professionals, the authorities, Colombia’s military forces, the church leaders, and the church community.

How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, Your God reigns! Isaiah 52:7

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