Millie, Mike, Gary, and Joel Dawson partner with Paul Griffis to minister to the Yananamo people deep in the jungles of Venezuela. The Dawson family has lived in the jungle in Venezuela for over 50 years, building in-roads and ministering to the indigenous Yanamamo tribe. The Yanamamo were previously unreached until Joe and Millie Dawson moved their family to Venezuela to live with the tribe. Joe and Millie learned the language and raised their family alongside the Yanamamo, living fully immersed in their culture while working to translate the Bible into the Yanamamo language.

 

The Dawsons overcame language barriers and extreme cultural barriers while they worked to establish relationships and root themselves in the community. This type of work is very slow and not immediately high-yield; the Dawsons and other missionaries ministering to unreached tribes might work for over 25 years before beginning to see fruit. Through their faithfulness and God working in the Dawsons and Yanamamo lives, many people dedicated their lives to Jesus in the 50 years of ministry and the Gospel is known in the tribe.

 

The Venezuelan jungle, while extremely remote and only accessible by plane for medical emergencies, is home to the Dawsons. Four generations of Dawsons and many other workers currently live with the Yanamamo, teaching them to live a Gospel-centered lifestyle in their cultural context. The Dawson Family and their team are known, loved, and respected by the Yanamamo, and are working to expand the discipleship movement to other tribes in the area.

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Thank you for your decades of faithful support and prayers for the Dawsons and their team in Venezuela. Please consider continuing to give to support their ongoing ministry as we see disciple-making movements begin to grow in the remote tribes in the Amazon jungle.