Ellen, from Scotland, visited Fr. Jim Clarke, a Xaverian Missionary working in the Amazon, Brazil. Here she shares some insights about being in a “Mission Country” for the very first time (from Mission: The Xaverian Way).

ave you ever been asked to describe your feelings about something and find that you’re so overwhelmed by them that you can’t quite find the right words? Let me explain. Last year, I had the privilege of sharing three weeks with Fr. Jim Clarke in his mission Abaetetuba in the Amazon, Brazil. Fr. Jim is in charge of a Parish, which is made up of 59 islands!!! And I had great fun in accompanying him to 8 of those islands. And so I will try and describe to you a little of what it felt like to be Up the Amazon without a … ? “clue”, I think is the right word. 

My first real taste of mission life came on the Thursday when we visited the island of Anaqura for baptisms. After a night in the hammock (!), the boat journey to the island gave me a real sense of how vast the Amazon river is: the only word to describe it is “awesome!”

When we left the main river the head down one of the smaller ones the beauty of my surroundings finally hit home. I hadn’t expected it to be so beautiful. It was like a scene from a movie except the director didn’t shout “cut”...! Small wooden huts or shacks welcomed us along the riverbank and people came out to wave with smiles as wide as the river. Emotion, well I didn’t know were to put mine as I could feel tears begin at the back of my eyes. I was totally “gob-smacked.” I could not believe that I was sailing down the Amazon River and still can’t take it all in yet.

The rest of the day went in like a flash and it was time for sleep. Terror, because I realized it was hammock time again. I would be suspended in midair overnight and if you try to imagine an elephant on a flying trapeze you’ll get the picture. The walls of the house be standing in the morning?… The en-suite facilities as promised turned our to be a park outside the house. This I found out when I answered the call of nature and found I was sharing it with an enormous herd of pigs at 2 in the morning. Needless to say, I ran one way and the pigs the other. I’m still not sure who got the biggest fright!

I was most impressed with the enthusiasm of the Youth!

Mission is not just a matter of giving. 
It is much more about empowering people!

And so to the island of Baixo Jaruma: my next real challenge. This time we had to get to the village by canoe, and I thought the hammock was difficult at this point! I have to say we had visited several of the other islands and I was beginning to feel like a regular sailor arriving and leaving with little difficulty, ha ha ! It was all about to go pear-shaped. This was the day for Fr. Jim to visit the village and with me in tow and the first problem was getting into the canoe… Fortunately, Fernando, our boat person, was very patient, not to mention well entertained. We laughed the whole time. He was also the community organizer and as such had set the visits.

Again, I was made very welcome in every home we visited. In this particular community we visited one of its older members. One lady was 118 years old (no one is sure of her exact age because she was born before births were registered in this part of the world). She was being cared for by her family with attention and devotion.

I felt very privileged to accompany Fr. Jim because it was being with the people on a very personal level.
Soon it was time for lunch at Fernando’s house “just down the road”, which was like the Irish mile. Off came the sandals as we trekked through the rainy forest for several miles with neither sight nor sound of house or people. I was getting on really well at this trekking malarkey, having gone over several large crevices which were about 8 feet deep and traversed only by a log. However, as they say, pride comes before the fall and YES my pride landed in the Amazon mud. As I was hauled back onto the log, all I could do was laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. That whole day was something else: how can I forget the kindness of Fernando as he washed my feet on finally arriving at his house and I checked that I hadn’t been bitten or stung by anything nasty!

There were many highlights during my adventure in the Amazon, too many to recount here. One was meeting the young people from the islands at the parish center in Abaetetuba. There, they study and work during the week and return to their islands on weekends as coordinators or catechists of the youth of their community. I was most impressed with their enthusiasm for helping other youngsters… Fr. Jim also took me to a memorial Mass for a young man of 18 years who had died from meningitis. The mass was a contrast to the normal celebrations that I attended on my visits to the various islands. Gone was the sense of festivity and it was replaced with a somber atmosphere.

Although I am left with many fond memories and stories, I realized that a lot of hard work goes into one day in the Amazon.  There were, and still are, serious socio-economic issues that could not be ignored during my stay. However, it was clear to me that the Xaverian Missionaries are involved in helping the people to better themselves and realize their potential. Their work is not just a matter of giving, it is much more about empowering the people! So, eight islands visited and fifty-one to go… Yes (!) : “Se Deus quiser” = “God Willing”, I’ll be back!

— ELLEN McINTOSH —