Well this year is over. Christmas is in less than two weeks, and all seems to be the same in Canada. Only this year I have just finished the most crazy ridiculous amazing year of my life thus far instead of anticipating it. The shows on TV are the same, the stores are the mall are the same (although we do have a new CampusCrew), and all of this mundane living is really fairly similar. However, this past year was so jam packed full of insane stuff that I’m ok with a little break. But just a LITTLE! And that doesn’t mean forgetting who I am or what I have been through, but just that I am ok with something familiar for a couple of weeks. Anyway, I just wanted to give you an overall recap of what this year was like.
To start off with, to the best of my record keeping this is how much travel time we spent. This is time ACTUALLY MOVING. This is not layovers and early airport arrivals. This is time actually in transit: we spent 110 hours on an airplane, which is 4 days and 14 hours. 1.5 hours spent on a boat, 244 hours on a bus (10 days and 4 hours), and 34 hours in a car (going from one place to another, not daily transportation to the internet cafe). Total we spent 16 days and 5.5 hours MOVING. This is a ridiculously long time, if you stop and think that for most flights we arrived at the airport 3 hours early, and usually had at least a 3-5 hour layover in between. We spent a long time getting to all of the places God called us to. I’m glad He had grace for us and allowed most travel days to go smoothly- although 4 people missed our first flight in Peru, and Meredith was too sick to fly with us to Africa and had to come a few days later on her own. Overall travel wasn’t as bad as one might imagine. We really all got used to it and by the end were saying “what? the bus ride is only 10 hours? thats not bad”
First we went to Chincha, Peru.
Chincha: My team worked with Pastor Nestor and his family at his church in Los Jardines. We ran a VBS, planted a community garden and played with a lot of children. I fell in love with one little girl in particular, Marisol.What God was teaching me through this time was: Reliance on God -for daily strength, -beginning to TRUST God (I have used that word a lot even since the beginning of the year), and reliance for God’s healing. I also learned about what it means to have God “break my heart for what breaks yours”, and what it really means to LOVE.
Some fun activities: White water rafting, going in a plane over the Nazca lines, going on a speed boat tour to see sea lions and penguins and then spending the rest of the day swimming in the Pacific and a weekend in Lima.
Nauta: We spent two weeks living on a boat on the Amazon river. We worked with a church and again ran a VBS, which we dubbed Fiesta Con Dios (party with God). We also had a youth group, and put on a play to Lifehouse’s Everything. Angie and I met with Hilter and his family, who became believers, and Rubie and I spent time with an older woman and her family, where we eventually served her by cleaning her house.What God was teaching me through this time was: About prayer and REALLY praying for people, and how to remove my selfishness from my prayers. As well, how God intends our roles to be as men and women, and God’s majesty.
Some fun things were: jumping off of our boat and swimming in the Amazon on our day trip to the head waters, and going for long random walks into the jungle community.
Iquitos: We worked with another church, called Iglesia Berea. We were welcomed very warmly into this small jungle church. We again hosted a VBS and youth group. As well we had experiential services in the evenings that Kim and Andi did an amazing job with. What God was teaching me: Trust as a theme is continued. I was also learning about focussing my thoughts on God, and recognizing His answers to prayer. I began learning how to really love God, especially as a father. He was also teaching me about tongues
Some fun things: Mark buying an ocelot fur, going to the zoo, and something of interest, that wasn’t so fun, was walking through flooded streets the day we left… that was not so fun.
Bolivia: We first debriefed in La Paz, which is a gorgeous city. Then we worked in two different locations with International Orphanage Union. First we were in Cochabamba painting orphanages and playing with some children. Then the biggest project that we did (at least the girls) was in Chapare, which is in the rainforest. We painted and varnished and finished off an orphanage that was being built there. Mark, who stayed with us, was able to build them a really nice staircase. What God was teaching me: About the Holy Spirit, TRUST was continued as a theme. Worship and Heaven were two other things I learned about.
Some fun things: In La Paz we went 4 wheeling in the Andes mountains, in Cochabamba we climbed to the Cristo statue on Easter sunday, and in Chapare we bathed together in the river… I think that was most fun for Rusty ha ha.
Stay tuned for the summary of the rest of the year!
