2007 was a wonderful year for Ray of Hope. In March we had the privilege of working with Kingsway Music and Margaret Becker to produce a recording, the sales of which would raise awareness of the difficulties the villagers face and the extremely poor educational opportunities their children are given. We gathered together children from different villages to form 'The Amazon River Kids'.

Literally plucked from the jungle and confronted by the bright lights of the city, it was an unforgettable time. For these children all drawn from small villages scattered along the banks of the River Amazon this became a life changing experience, as they mingled and mixed, most unaware of the existence of each other or their village. Life for the Indians is extremely hard, and children do not have the luxury of an extended childhood. Often by the age of 11 many children become surrogate mothers to their siblings as the need to 'bring in money' forces parents to leave home often for days at a time.

However for a few brief days these children had the opportunity just to be kids, to play games, eat pizza, ride the funfair and sing sing sing, something they love to do. The Amazon River Kids album is now available from www.missionworship.com. Join with these children as they lift their voices in worship (and they really did!) to a God of Love, who's mercy, grace, and faithfulness is found even in the remotest of locations, deep within the rain forest.

Bismarque from the village of Acajatuba was one of the boys who sang on the recording. During the session one of our team, Nailza, noticed that he had 6 fingers on one hand. The extra finger protruded out to the side in a very awkward position. Bismarque shared that people did not accept him and often made fun of him, not in his school but in the other places calling him a monster. People said he was cursed and he felt isolated from everyone else. Our hearts broke for this boy.

A couple of months later we received financial support from friends in the USA which enabled us to pay for a surgery for Bismarque. Making arrangements for the surgery to take place in the city proved to be difficult as his parents abandoned him when he was younger and he moved from house to house. He currently lived with his Uncle and Aunt, where he spent many hours working in the jungle preparing palm tree foliage for roofing material. They did not care for him and they did not want him to go to the city of Manaus for the surgery as it would take him away from his work duties. Our team met with the family and explained the importance of surgery after which they finally provided addresses of family members in Manaus. After several weeks we located his Grandmother and she agreed to care for him after surgery and sign the necessary papers so he could be admitted to the hospital.

During his time in the hospital a nurse questioned a member of our team Rose, about the boy. The nurse learned that he was from the jungle and he didn't have his mother present with him. She said he must be one of those abandoned children that no one cares for. Rose told her she was wrong and that the boy had many people caring for him. The nurse challenged Rose asking for the name of the mother. Rose responded that his mothers included herself, Gloria, Margaret, Nailza, Juliet, Karin, Lucy and many others from around the world. Rose said that he was not alone and that many people loved and cared for him.

After the surgery Bismarque came to the Ray of Hope office with a big smile on his face. He was so happy and thankful. "I am okay and I am a normal boy now" he said. We are so thankful for those who supported Bismarque. We thank those who prayed for him and everyone involved in the album project. This is just the beginning of our work with these special children and it's our responsibility and desire to let them know we love them and they are not alone.

In April we received terrible news. 34 year-old Paulo from São Tomé, took two of his sons, Marco Paulo (12) and Adriano (5), fishing on the river near the village in a small canoe. By midday Paulo had decided to drop Marco Paulo back home so his wife could prepare a meal for the family from the morning's catch. Young Adriano did not want to return home with his brother and insisted upon staying out on the water with his father for more fishing. By midnight Paulo and his son had not returned, so Chief Manuel radioed for help from authorities both in Manaus and across the other side of the river. All his requests for rescue support were refused, so the chief then sent the men and young boys from the village (including Marco Paulo) to scour the river.

Adriano's lifeless body was eventually discovered near the empty boat. After more dredging of the river with large handmade hooks, and near the point of giving up, the search party finally found the body of Paulo. The cause of death is still unknown. Upon our arrival at the village, we were met by the tearful Chief Manuel. "I knew you would not leave or abandon us," he said, "I've cried knowing you were coming...I knew Ray of Hope was coming." We are now supporting the Mum (who was pregnant at the time) and her remaining six children including her two year old with a serious lung problem.

We had such joy at being able to open two new schools this year. In May we opened the school in Ilha do Baxiu on the River Amazon and in September the school at Vale da Benção was inaugurated.

Balbina was our most ambitious project to date. Villagers where placing their children as young as 6 into small canoes for a 3 hour journey at 3am to the nearest school. Having opened a new school in the remote location not only do the children benefit, we discovered that it gave the whole community hope and brought families together to form a co-operative. Together they have planted manioc trees and other crops which they harvest and sell in the nearest town.

In May we purchased a beautiful piece of land along the Rio Negro with a vision to build a health, education, and community centre, conference facility with up to 60 bedrooms. A place to hold health clinics. A place of further education. A place to teach on special needs and Christian education. A centre where leaders can meet together and villagers can experience and understand the wider community around them.

In 2009 we will be offering the opportunity for people to join our team on short term mission trips. If this is something you are interested in please contact us at info@rayofhopeamazon.com where we will send you further information.

Thank you for your prayers and support. The Ray of Hope team.