Bruno Siqueira could picture it in his mind: He and his friend Airton would someday serve the Lord together in a mission ministry, most likely in Brazil where they live.
That goal propelled Bruno into a years-long process of Bible school, aviation training, and missions institute. Then, despite repeated visa denials, Bruno and his wife, Suellen, and their two boys got clearance to travel to Ethnos360 Aviation in the USA, where Bruno added helicopter certification to his credentials. Despite the pandemic, he finished within the allotted 18-month visa. Amazed at God’s goodness, the Siqueiras headed back to Brazil.
Then the unthinkable happened! On the very day that Bruno arrived in the city where the helicopter was based, calamity hit. The long-awaited R66 — which had barely flown due to the pandemic — was crushed when a rented hangar collapsed on top of it in a freak windstorm.
Bruno had to offer back to God his dream of serving church planters with the helicopter.
God was at work, though, and insurance provided for a replacement R66. Within a year, it arrived in Brazil. After many delays, Bruno and Brazil-experienced pilot Jeremiah Diedrich flew the R66 to its place of service – a 1,800-mile journey, packed with lots of bad weather that provided great training scenarios for Bruno!
Finally, the first day of ministry arrived. Bruno loaded supplies into the R66, flying them high above rough roads and treacherous rivers. The church planters in a remote location were going to be so happy! But they couldn’t have been happier than Bruno. “I had dreamed for many years of this,” he wrote. His mind went back in time: “During my Bible course about 15 years ago … I was in the same class as Airton (in the white shirt, pictured here with his wife, Thalita, and their children). We dreamed of one day serving the Lord together in some mission field.” As their training progressed, so did their vision. “For about five years, we have been talking about one day meeting each other in the village where Airton currently works – a dream that many times seemed impossible in our eyes.”
This was the day! “By God’s grace and by His appointment, to the first village that I entered as a missionary helicopter pilot, I carried groceries for Airton and his family! We both had to contain our emotions, as the reality of what we had dreamed of for years was happening right before our eyes.”
“For this moment to happen,” he wrote, “both Airton and I knew that we had to remain faithful in our ministries; we had to be faithful in what God had called us and enabled us to do.”
What a boost the helicopter will be to Airton and Thalita’s progress! “They are no longer a long day’s trip to the city … but only 37 minutes away,” said Bruno. And Bruno can bring groceries at regular intervals, saving them days of time in travel and supply buying. “This will certainly have a positive impact on their ministry,” added Bruno.
Now he and Airton have a new dream: “To see a strong church among those people where the name of God can be glorified in their language. Great is the Lord!”
Do you have that dream too? If so, you can ensure that Brazilian church planters can use the R66 to reach their own people.
