Don and Vera have committed their lives to training leaders for the indigenous churches of Brazil. They have two children, Filipe, who resides in Florida, and Amanda, who lives in northeast Brazil. Their children cherish the memories of growing up among Indigenous friends and enjoying the Brazilian waterfalls.
The Bergsons serve with the Ami Training Center in Chapada. Established in 1995, Ami’s vision is to see a dynamic church in every tribe in Brazil. They seek to make disciples in every tribe of Brazil, teaching them to faithfully follow His commandments to the end of time. Ami provides Bible training to the many tribes scattered throughout Brazil. More than 70% of their graduates have either started ministries in their own villages or serve as Bible translators or missionaries. This ministry is both dynamic and challenging, as the team sometimes works with up to ten different ethnic groups simultaneously.
Vera serves as the academic coordinator, overseeing curriculums, classes, and teachers. Additionally, she has developed a method of teaching Portuguese as a second language to those who arrive at Ami with no prior understanding of the official language of Brazil.
Don teaches first and second-year classes. In the first year, students learn 74 Bible stories from Genesis to Revelation in their own context of orality. Don also helps maintain the expansive 40-acre property. He leads afternoon work sessions where the team and students work shoulder to shoulder. Twice a year, he leads trips to remote villages with the students, providing them with hands-on experience to apply their studies.
Don and Vera love seeing eyes opened to the power of the Holy Spirit as Bible stories are told, and world visions are broken and transformed. Only Jesus.
