“Now
before we before we got this day started we began with a meeting. It
started with prayer, then some worship, and a debrief on the day and
what the plans were. Due to recent events that had taken place in
the last 48 hrs there was a need for another journey… a journey
that required 5 hand-picked individuals to be willing to…” –
Willing to go
through that all over again. The Pastor from Higuerones was raised in
a town called San Pablo, which is where his friends and family still
live. He hadn’t been there in years, but the death of his cousin
called him back. He had passed away a day before our trip to the
jungle and from what I was told they wanted a group of us to go out
there and visit with the people and share why we were here. At least
that’s what I thought was going on….
So as
we sit in this meeting and are getting this information a voice in my
head said, “you are going,” so whether I had to volunteer or was
picked I knew I was going. About 30 seconds later, I was the first
name called…so here we go, labor in the sun in a country that sits
right on the equator until 2 p.m. then head out on another 3 hour
hike, through knee deep mud, across the jungle to another town.
Right…
Would you call me crazy if I said I looked forward to the challenge?
Well after demolishing the old church and a quick lunch consisting of
crispy rice and a small piece of chicken the size of a half dollar (a
portion that would anger a toddler), we headed out. Thirty minutes
later we had to stop and pray… again…
because we knew the ONLY WAY we were going to make it there is if God
gave us the endurance to do so. The hills were twice as tall, the mud
was twice as deep, the jungle was twice as thick, but 4 hours later
we made it.
As we
are wading across a stream, we see the area where the gathering was
supposed to take place and when I get closer I see something that I
wasn’t expecting… a casket. As I am trying to process what my eyes
just took in another stream is in our path, it was the last obstacle
between me and a bottle of water (which was SOLD
OUT, I had to settle for
a “negro cola”, I know, IRONIC). After our quick stop at the
store we walked further down the road to a house. Now
let me back up for a second,
when I was picked I was told that we would have a place to stay and a
meal to eat. We get to this house and it was obvious that nothing was
set up for this. Basically what happened was straight out of Luke
10:1-12:
[Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two]
[10:1] After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent
them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he
himself was about to go. [2] And he said to them, “The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the
Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. [3] Go
your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of
wolves. [4] Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no
one on the road. [5] Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be
to this house!’ [6] And if a son of peace is there, your peace will
rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. [7] And remain in
the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the
laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. [8]
Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set
before you. [9] Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom
of God has come near to you.’ [10] But whenever you enter a town
and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, [11] ‘Even
the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against
you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
[12] I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than
for that town.
(Luke 10:1-12 ESV)
We went to this house, which happened to be the only family of
believers, and said we need a place to stay and food to eat. So they
opened their home for us. I’m sure I had a feeling similar to the
disciples that Jesus had sent out that day.
After
a quick time of freshening up in the river, we go inside to rest and
pray before we head out. As we are praying up stairs God tells me
that I am to speak, I think about this and am a bit taken back. You
see, I have shared my testimony and spoken to large groups of
strangers without a problem but this was different. Of all the places
I have spoken and of all the places I expected to speak while on the
race a FUNERAL was
not one of them. The first funeral I ever expected to speak at was my
fathers, I know that sounds drab but that is the truth. As we
continue to pray one of my squadmates who came on this journey asked
God to rain his spirit down on this town, a few seconds later the
bottom falls out, It rained like I had never seen it rain before. It
confirmed for me that we were there for a reason and a purpose and I
was not there to hinder that, so I spoke up and said that I was going
to speak at the funeral. A few moments pass and we continue to pray,
another squadmate that came asked God to speak with a voice of
thunder to the people of the town since there was such a stronghold
there. We began to wrap up our prayer and as we look up all we see
are little puzzled looks all around the room. All the kids of the
house, maybe 7 or 8, were just standing there staring, with no clue
as to what where were up to. Percy, our guide on this whole adventure
stepped in to explain what we were doing before we went down stairs
for dinner.
Gathering around the table, the family ushers us in and sits us
down. Sacrificing what probably would have been their meal for the
night, they blessed us with what they had. Granted the rice was
crispy and the portion was once again small (enough to anger a
toddler), but it was all they had, and they willingly gave it to us.
After eating, it began to thunder… loudly. We all looked around,
thinking about what we just prayed, and before we could really talk
about it the family entered the room. They wanted us to lay hands
one sick members of the family. We pray for about 10 minutes and the
mother of a baby that we had prayed for begins to ask questions as
Percy translates. I tell her that, “God wants to love her the same
way she loves her child” the conversation continues and she ask to
receive Christ. The reality of our dinner conversation begins to hit
me. Over supper (yes I said supper) Percy told us that we were only
the second group of missionaries to ever come to this town. The first
group that had come here, came only 2 weeks prior to our arrival and
were there for 2 days. There was also a much deeper reason to why we
were there. By this time I knew I was going to be speaking at a
funeral, but the reason why not only shocked me but scared me a bit
as well. You see, the man who passed was a believer in Christ, but
later in his life he had strayed from his faith. I am not sure why or
what might of caused him to do so, but he did. As his physical
conditions worsened and death closed in he had one wish, one last
request, one last bit of proof that God was still with him. He wanted
someone to share the love of Christ, the Gospel, at his funeral.
Sadly, no one in the town would do so, but low and behold a group of
missionaries where within hiking distance at the same time.
We
leave the house on fire, overjoyed for what God was already doing. As
we head to the church in the pouring rain, we are told we have to
hurry. Because of the rain, the ankle deep streams we walked through
on the way to the house were now thigh deep with a strong current. We
cross the two rivers, arms linked, trying to to get swept away,
staying dry was not an option. Not only did I have to navigate the
river used in the movie, The River Wild starring Kevin Bacon, I had
to cross it with a child on my back. Soaking wet, we trudge up the
muddy hill to the funeral, let the awkward stares begin. It is safe
to say that was not a funeral service that I was used to. We were
outside under tarps, there were people smoking, people drinking, the
family that we were staying with I find out is family with the man
who passed and they were singing praise and worship. After about 30
minutes Percy silences the crowd and says some words that I don’t
understand. A few moments and some kind words later he look at me and
Lacey, my teammate and translator for the moment, and God takes over
from there. I share a portion of my testimony that just came to me
when he looked at me and Lacey begins to translate, we go through
parts of my past that I normally wouldn’t bring up in these
situations, but they’re coming out and I’m not going to intervene. I
finish to blank stares all around, questioning whether I went too far
our not, but immediately Percy picks up the ball from there. Moments
later hands shoot up declaring that they need God in their lives.
Once again God set an appointment that put me in the time and place
where he could use me. Once again God used me in a way I never
thought would happen. Once again his will was done. I go to sleep
that night, on a mattress on the floor, sleeping next to 4 of my
comrades thinking about all that just took place. The thing that
killed me the most was not that hike back at 6 am, it was the thought
that it was only month 2 of my 11 month journey and look at what God
has done, fires and funerals, two places I never expected to be.
