Welcome to
MMI Amazon!
Through the year, teams arrive in Leticia with surgeons, dentists, optometrists, nurses, pastors, students, builders and board the Mau Pata. For one or two weeks the boat is their home and their hospital as it travels into the Triple Frontier, to communities reached only by river.
When the boat ties up, word spreads, and families come from villages near and far. They register, and the clinics open: medical consultations, women’s health, dentistry, nutrition, vision care, and a pharmacy that sends them home with their prescribed medicine.
While one team treats the body, another is on the riverbank with the men, women and children, in sports, in conversation, in prayer. That is our holistic approach: we do not treat a person’s eyes and ignore the rest of their life. Jesus sent his disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Luke 9:2); for us, the two have never been separate
¿Why a hospital boat?
Mau Pata means “House of Life” in Tikuna.
Before the Mau Pata, every project meant carrying a clinic ashore and building it by hand, tables, lights, instruments, a pharmacy in boxes and then taking it all down again. Hours that belonged to patients were spent on logistics, and the most specialized care could not be brought at all.
So we built the clinic into the boat. The Mau Pata sails with their consultation rooms, dental chairs, laboratory, pharmacy and surgical suites already standing. When the Mau Pata ties up at a community, the hospital is open. Teams begin seeing patients the same day, and they stay long enough to do real medicine, including ophthalmology and ENT surgery, performed at no cost to the patient.
In the Triple Frontier there are no roads. The river is the only way in, and the Mau Pata is how we take a hospital up it.
Two hands, one commision
“And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:2
Jesus gave his disciples one commission with two hands in it, and we have never separated them. On every project one team heals while another proclaims, the same day, the same village, the same families. We call these two hands Health Care and Real Love.
"To proclaim the kingdom of God"
While the clinics run, a second team is with the people:
- In the waiting area, someone sits with families before their name is called
- Home and school visits
- Counseling and sharing Scripture
- Living Water: bringing clean water to the village
Afternoon Community Activities
When the medical day ends, the afternoon belongs to the whole community:
- Joseph’s Cup: a children’s football tournament. We provide the uniforms, balls, medals and trophies, and teach from the life of Joseph
- The Family Festival: an afternoon of games built around what holds a family together
- Films and discipleship: on the third deck of the Mau Pata, for anyone who wants to stay
"To heal the sick"
The Mau Pata arrives and the clinic opens. Families are seen by physicians, surgeons, dentists, optometrists and nurses:
- Medical consultations
- Women’s health
- Dentistry
- Nutrition
- Vision care
- Laboratory work
- Pharmacy: families go home with their prescription filled
- Surgery: ophthalmology and ENT procedures, at no cost to the patient
When we sail
- One- and two-week projects throughout the year
- 45 days every April and May: our longest voyage, reaching the most isolated communities on the river
The Faith That Navigates the Amazon
The journey of MMI Amazon is a testament to God’s faithfulness in the Amazonian Triple Frontier. Every milestone from a small brigade in Leticia to the MAU PATA sailing into unreached communities was made possible by a God who provides, by donors who gave sacrificially, by participants who left home to serve with their own hands, and by a local team that keeps the mission afloat long after the teams go home. We did not build this alone, we have simply been faithful to what God entrusted to us.
Opening Eyes, Catching the Vision
MMI International carried out its first Eye Project in Colombia, led by Willie Hunter and Barbara Skinner. This eye project has constantly been happening every January to date
Hope in a Single Suitcase
With a dedicated team of seven international participants and ten locals, MMI launched its very first medical project on the Amazon River, serving remote communities equipped with just a single suitcase
Clearer Vision for Leticia
The ministry kept growing in the Amazon region by organizing a special eye care project in Leticia. The volunteers worked hard to help local people see better and improve their quality of life.
Rooted in the Amazon
In January, MMI Amazon took a big step forward by becoming an official registered NGO in Leticia. This legal foundation helped the organization plan bigger projects and serve many more communities in the Amazon region
The Survivor Joins the Mission
The boat Survivor joined the ministry to help teams travel safely on the river. This vessel made it possible to transport volunteers and important supplies directly to families living in distant villages.
The Rick Skinner Sets Sail
As more teams started coming to help in the Amazon, Rick Skinner joined the work in the region. Together, they welcomed new volunteers and reached even more people along the riverbank.
Present When the Rivers Closed
During the COVID-19 pandemic, MMI Amazon remains active, partnering with the World Food Programme to distribute over 18 months, more than 20 villages and gave out over 200 tons of food
The Dream Comes Alive on Paper
Even through hard times, the dream of helping the Amazon stayed strong and active. The team worked on new plans and designed a special medical boat called Mau Pata.
From Drawings to Steel
The team moved from plans to real action and officially started building the Mau Pata boat. Every step of the construction brought them closer to helping more people along the river.
The Dream Came True
The new Mau Pata boat was finally ready and completed its very first mission project in the village of Macedonia. This trip marked the start of an exciting new chapter for the MMI Amazom whole ministry.
Reaching the Unreached
Currently, Mau Pata and the MMI team carry out 15 projects per year, reaching unreached Indigenous communities, demonstrating the tangible love of Jesus, and healing the sick.
We continue to work diligently, reaching hard-to-access locations, because: "With God, nothing is impossible."
The local team that carries the mission all year long
Statement
of Faith
This Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of all our religious beliefs. In summary, we believe…