The work was done. Michael Dawson had reached every Yąnomamö village in the Amazon rainforest with the gospel. Or so he thought.
Dawson's missionary parents had worked with this small indigenous group. But accessing them was challenging, as their villages are scattered along rivers throughout the dense jungle on the border between Brazil and Venezuela.
Photograph by Audra Melton
Continuing their ministry, Dawson and his wife Keila dedicated their lives to mapping and reaching each settlement. In 2023 he visited the final village, overjoyed that more than 50 years after his family began the work, he got to see it to completion.
Weeks later, though, Dawson heard rumors of another village. It made no sense—especially after all the rigorous jungle charting he'd done on foot, by boat, and even by plane. So he embarked on a journey to see for himself. After two days' travel on the Orinoco River, Dawson was astounded. There was another village.
If this one had escaped notice, how many more had he missed? Using satellite mapping, he studied images of green landscape and finally spotted a tiny brown circle—a village! Then another. And another. Dawson eventually identified over 100 more.
Though overwhelmed by the growing number and the dilemma of rainforest accessibility, Dawson and his team are energized to forge connections and strengthen relationships while adapting to this new reality. The goal is bigger than he realized, but his mission remains the same: to follow Jesus’ instructions in Acts 1:8 to take the gospel message “as far as the remotest part of the earth.”
For more on the work in the Amazon rainforest, visit intouch.org/dawson.
