I recently revisted the port city of Belém, at the mouth of the mighty Amazon, which was the quixotic goal of the journey recounted in my book To Belém & Back.

Invited to teach a short course at a Calvary Chapel in the city, I arrived on a Friday afternoon and immediately felt the equatorial blast of heat. (Arriving by station wagon, as I did last time, one acclimates.)

Sadly, the city under leftist rule has deteriorated since my visit in the late aughts – when Brazil was more hopeful.

Luckily, small, Bible-believing churches such as Calvary Chapel are flourishing. [Kindly hover over images for captions.]