“Are you ready to give the word?” That is what Pastor Juan Carlos asked me Thursday night after dinner. I heard rumors of this happening to people while on the World Race. However, I didn’t think it would happen to me. At first I thought he was joking when he asked me, but he wasn’t.
Thursday was our first full day here in Mapiri, Bolivia. We arrived Wednesday afternoon and upon arrival we were shown to our room and then directed to settle in. We were all so happy to be out of the SUV that we had crammed eight people into.
Eight doesn’t sound bad until you factor in luggage for seven people, two guitars, a ukulele, and our day packs. Mix three people into the equation who get car sick and need to sit up front and what you have is the two tallest people shoved into the very back of a SUV with our heads hitting windows and everything else when we hit bumps.
If you are thinking that there probably weren’t that many bumps, you are wrong, so wrong. Death Road was no joke, even though at first we thought it was. We seen a sign that we were on Death Road and immediately started cracking jokes about it. The road was paved and smooth. There were rails protecting us from going over the cliff. We did come around one curve and had to switch lanes to avoid two dogs laying in the road. I joked and said “they really call it death road because the dogs try to commit suicide by laying in the road waiting for trucks to hit them.”
Little did we know that the two dogs lying in the road would only be the start of our adventure. Death Road went from pavement to dirt. Death Road went from safe with guard rails to no rails along with steep drop offs. Death Road went from driving on the right side of the road to driving on the left side so the driver could see how close to the edge they could get when there was oncoming traffic.
Imagine a two lane road that is just wide enough for two normal size vehicles. Now imagine that road with a two thousand foot drop on one side. Okay, now add in dump trucks and tour buses on that road. While we are at it, imagine that road getting so narrow on some parts that only one vehicle could fit. The only option you are left with is to go in reverse along the edge of a cliff in hopes to find a spot wide enough for your vehicle and a dump truck to get by. By the way, your vehicle is the one closest to the edge. Remember there are no guard rails.
This was our experience on Death Road. The worlds most dangerous highway is no joke. Obviously we made it to our location but we did have a couple mishaps along the way. The SUV started over heating at one point after struggling to make it up a road covered in mud as thick as Georgia clay. Our second mishap was when the SUV couldn’t make it up a hill due to the worn ruts and mud slide. Our driver, Umberto, tried several times to make it up the hill but all we did was slide sideways back down. The seven of us got out hoping that a lighter load would make the feat easier. We were still unsuccessful; the mud was wining the battle. It got to the point where the seven us were pushing the SUV up the hill and praying that it would work. All it took was some women power and inhaling exhaust, but we made it.
It was a few hours after having to push the SUV up the hill when we finally arrived in Mapiri. A 14 hour adventure on the road, plus a night stay in a hostel in G(that is a story of its own). Mapiri is a small, small town with wonderful people. The people here have beautiful hearts who go out of their way to serve and ask nothing in return. When we first arrived there was a shell of a church standing. By the end of the day Wednesday the church was demolished. When they said we would be helping with construction, they were not exaggerating. We are literally going to build a church, even to the point where Bailey and I are helping with the plans for the construction. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday consisted of gathering “mas grande” stones for the church, leveling the ground, and setting up the temporary church.
By the end of the day Thursday we were all exhausted. We had spent the day gathering stones from the rock beach by the river. I turned my “mas grande” stone gathering into a workout. I would pick up the large stones and curl them or press them over my head while walking them to the piles. The smaller stones I would use to do tricep kickbacks. I was in my own little world enjoying the work, enjoying the workout, and thanking God for the beautiful location.
Dinner was late Thursday night and the first time that we got to spend time with the Pastor. He sat outside under the hut with us for about an hour and a half telling us about the community, and some of his background. A couple of the girls had dismissed themselves and when they did the Pastor turned to me and complimented me on my hard work. He then said that the Lord has many gifts and talents that he is going to develop in me and that the Lord has big things in store for my life. Everything he spoke over me have been things that I have been praying for. He then looked at me and said “are you ready to give the word?”
I had been avoiding the same situation last month when we were given different opportunities to preach. The entire month I felt the Lord tugging at me but I didn’t want to do it. I have never preached before and I had no desire to. I like being the one listening, not the one talking. However, you can’t run from what the Lord has planned for you.
I literally felt like Jonah in the Bible. I was trying to avoid preaching but instead the Lord spit me out in Mapiri. The Pastor whom I have never spoke to asked me to give the word after I spent the past month running from the opportunity and avoiding the Lord tugging at my heart about it.
I wanted to say no to giving the word, but instead “sure,” and “when,” were the words that exited my mouth. I don’t know what I was thinking but for some reason I wasn’t nervous about it. In fact the Lord had already been weighing on my heart about following and obeying His timing, so that is what I prepared my sermon on.
The next morning I woke up early and decided I would let the Lord take me to where He wanted me to be in the Bible. Luke 4:18 is where my attention was directed. The verse reads, “ The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” I laughed, all I could do was laugh…and prepare my sermon. After all, I am suppose to obey His timing. I had a little less than two days to prepare the word, and an hour before I was to preach I was set and ready, with the help of my faithful translator of course.
“Some one once told me that if you spend your life waiting for the right time the right time will pass right by you,” that was the first sentence of my sermon. To sum it up I preached about how our flesh desires to act on our time instead of following God’s will and acting when He says to. We disobey His call and operate in the flesh being selfish, but when the Lord calls you to do something it doesn’t matter how far you run, He will make it happen. I gave several examples from my life, and even told them how I avoided preaching in Peru only to have the Lord bring me to Mapiri to preach.
All in all, the Lord is a funny guy. It is like playing hide and seek with a master mind. You can run from His call, but you surely can’t hide because He will find you and bring you to His calling. Before leaving for this mission trip I even had a couple people ask me about preaching and I laughed and said “no way will that ever happen.” His sense of humor wins again.
Crystal vs. The Lord
Crystal=0, the Lord=He wins every time. lol
