Brazil: Let Down Your Nets

Depart for the beginning of your Amazonian journey, with layovers along the way. Arrive in Manaus late in the evening. Overnight in Manaus.

Embark aboard a riverboat — your home for the next week! Settle into your cabin and gather at the bow for a training session preparing your team for the days of service ahead. Learn about the Amazon region’s remote river communities. Opening devotional: what does it mean to serve as the hands and feet of Christ in a place this far from home?

Our week of service begins! Steam to a village along the river to engage with the community — activities vary by each village’s greatest need. After service, witness the famous Meeting of the Waters, where the Rio Negro and Amazon River run side by side without blending. Evening devotional on cultivating a servant’s heart.

Continue serving in a new village along the river. In the evening, enjoy a sunset from the riverboat and an outdoor shower on deck. Devotional on faithfulness in unfamiliar water.

Service continues in a new village. After the day’s work, board a raft to spot alligators along the riverbank — no alligators harmed, just admired from a respectful distance.

Service continues. This evening, visit Lake Janauri Ecological Park to see giant lily pads, sometimes called the “queen of the lakes,” growing nearly two meters across.

Service continues. In the evening, learn about traditional Brazilian and Amazonian cuisine and prepare a meal together as a team.

Wake early to catch the sunrise and, if you’re lucky, a glimpse of the region’s famous pink river dolphins. Service continues in a village along the river, with a free evening aboard the boat.

Service continues. In the evening, fish off the side of the boat — a fitting close to a week spent letting down nets in unfamiliar water, in more ways than one.

Our final day of service wraps with a team debrief on the week’s work. Enjoy one last sunset from the riverboat before returning to land tomorrow.

Get your land legs back with a day exploring Manaus. Learn about the city’s architecture, visit the municipal market at the floating port, and explore the Rio Negro Palace. Overnight in the heart of Manaus.

Explore Manaus’s central square and the famous Teatro Amazonas opera house. Browse local art galleries and coffee shops before heading to the airport for your departure.

Final group devotional and debrief: what did God teach us this week? Travel home with layovers along the way.