In Peru’s Amazon Jungle, Supporting Ministry Spreads Hope

By: Peru Projects, South American Division, and Adventist Review

In fulfilling its mission of supporting the outreach work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Peru Projects ministry continues to serve through its various programs with the goal of reaching the most remote communities in the Peruvian Amazonia, Peru’s jungle region. The supporting ministry of the Adventist Church continues to offer air support, health and nutrition instruction, and contextualized mission training in dozens of isolated communities.

A vital component of the ministry has been offering air support by responding to emergency calls from communities located in difficult-to-access areas. Recently, two pregnant women from the villages of Atalaya and Bolognesi in Ucayali were transferred to the city of Pucallpa for urgent medical attention. Peru Projects accomplishes these missions thanks to its mission aircraft, a Cessna 182, and an Amphibious Lake Renegade 250. The latter of these aircraft is getting a new engine installed and inspected, ministry leaders noted.

Peru Project leaders shared that the ministry evangelism program also supports the work of the Adventist Church in Peru’s east region, with missionaries who serve isolated communities in the jungle. “Currently, 27 missionaries are serving in 67 communities where there is already Adventist presence,” Eben Ezer Espinosa, a pilot and president of Peru Projects, said. “Of course, there are still many other communities that we have to reach,” he added.

Hope for More People

Other recent projects spearheaded by the ministry include “Productos Perú Projects,” an initiative that promotes healthy eating through wholewheat bread and looks for ways to support the nutrition of many people, including the missionaries who serve in the jungle.

The ministry is also supporting the construction of a future Healthy Living Center. The new facilities will seek to promote healthy habits, offer natural treatments to improve people’s health, and promote disease prevention through healthy principles. Thanks to these developments, leaders said, Peru Projects continues to carry a message of hope and provide help to the most remote communities of the Peruvian jungle.

About Peru Projects

Peru Projects, Inc. is a supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church launched in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States in 1997 to support mission in the Amazon Basin of Peru. The area of influence includes more than 200,000 square miles (520,000 square kilometers) of dense, inhospitable rainforest. In that region, roads are few and residents often face challenges just to survive. Strong-flowing, winding rivers usually mean considerable delays and increasing costs for transportation. Piranhas and crocodiles infest the region’s lakes and rivers. A typical boat trip can take days. A plane, on the other hand, can make most trips in less than an hour.

According to the ministry website, the mission of Peru Projects is to promote spiritual and physical well-being among the Peruvian populations through air support, evangelism, education, health outreach, and other charitable, educational, and religious activities. The ministry supports more than 50 Adventist congregations that are part of the Air Program Mission District network, making sure churches are nurtured, trained, and ready to share the love of God. The ministry also operates a mission training center where missionaries are equipped with tools on health principles, Bible studies, and contextualization of the Adventist message to the jungle residents.

The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Spanish-language news site.