Though we serve dozens of surrounding villages, our mission base is stationed in the village of Coshilowäteli, in the heart of the Amazon jungle in the southern tip of the state of Amazonas. Our mission base sits on the Padamo River, part of the Orinoco River Basin, nearly three hundred miles from the nearest town. This part of the rainforest is filled with much natural beauty, although the bugs and heat keep it from being much of a “tourist destination”.
Mountains and hundreds of miles of dense jungle
make working with Yanomamӧ and surrounding cultures difficult and often dangerous.
Geographic isolation continues to be a key obstacle in getting the Gospel to the Yanomamö. An airplane cuts travel time between villages from days to sometimes just minutes!
With air support now cut off, Mission Padamo missionaries are having to spend days on the river to visit key villages and to gather necessary supplies. Due to the growing needs of the work and the lack of existing air support, we have begun laying the ground work for our own flight program.
Mission Padamo Aviation and Support (MPAS) was founded for the purpose of supporting and assisting missionaries and indigenous people of Amazonas. Our goal is to have flight service stationed up in the jungle where it is most needed. There has been a missionary presence in Amazonas state since 1946, and aviation support since 1965. Since February 8, 2006, however, missionaries and all indigenous communities in Amazonas have been left with no air support.