Brazil is a country of great ethnic diversity. It is home to nearly 200 million people, and though the predominant language is Portuguese, there are many other languages represented. Some of the these languages include German, Spanish, French, Arabic, Italian, Japanese, Hebrew and English.

These language groups can be and often are quite large. To put it in perspective, the largest of these minority languages, German, claims more residents in Brazil than people living in Tennessee! A missionary from Germany could feel right at home in Brazil.

Clearly the idea of ministry to Brazilians solely in the Portuguese tongue is unfit for such a diverse land. In fact, it is much better to see the country as an opportunity to reach those who can then carry the same gospel message in their mother tongue to their homeland. Brazil is already ethnically and linguistically ready to reach the world--a sleeping giant that needs to be awakened.

The task of the missionary in Brazil remains itinerate church planting. It is his responsibility to take the light of Christ into the vast darkness of this country. Brazil has seen missionary activity since 1850 but the land is still filled with animism, spiritism, Catholicism and Charismatic emotionalism.

There are also thousands of indian tribes each having their unique way of living and speaking that are yet without the gospel. Many of these groups have never had any contact with the outside world. In fact, Brazil has the largest number of uncontacted tribes. And, there is evidence that hidden within the Amazon rain forest are tribes that have not even been discovered.

Recently, photos were taken of what was believed to be a newly discovered tribe. These controversial images are thought provoking. Exactly what does God want His people to do about such remote people groups? Is exploration still a necessity even in the modern world?

As far as Brazil is concerned, the reason for these people groups not being reached is quite different from the numerous unreached groups in Asia. The Asians remain unreached because militant Islamists forbid any missionary activity. Many of Brazil's unreached peoples, however, have chosen to avoid contact with others on their own by retreating deeper into the forest. These indians do this because they have already had their share of trouble from outsiders. Illegal loggers have murdered indians whose presence threatens their advance. Also early on, when missionaries contacted these tribes, white man's diseases spread through the tribes. This reduced the tribal population in a greater ratio than the black plague reduced citizens in Europe.

God knows what He is doing and His people must trust Him to get the job done. Prayers must continue to go up. The Brazilian government has announced it will use heat seeking technology to locate all the tribes in the rain forest in order to protect them. This process will greatly help missionaries determine who yet needs to be reached.

It is time to think big, dream big, believe big and attempt big things because the task remains big and God is even bigger! The task without God is undoubtably impossible. The task with God, however, awaits those who are willing to trust in Him. It will be an adventure and one worth taking.