Well, my team and I finally got a taste of the World Race as we anticipated it to be. Real jungle, real bugs, real mud, real (boiled, but still brown) river water to drink, and real ants the size of your face (basically). I had no idea what to expect in the jungle and no idea what our ministry would be there. I think I approached it with excitement but a liiiiiittle bit of trepidation at the thought of giant spiders and flesh eating bacteria.
When you leave for the World Race you have high hopes that you will maintain an amazing attitude the entire year. That you are following God’s leading, and so you will obviously listen to Him every second and every word out of your mouth will point to Jesus. This…….is a lovely thought, but obviously doesn’t take sin and the fall into account. It also doesn’t take into account the near death experiences by drowning in sweat, dying of heatstroke, and the INCESSANT buzzing of 23 bees and mosquitos in your ears. I trust that one day I will encounter these things and maintain a good attitude, but it will be only through God’s strength.
And so, despite my preconceptions of the Race, once I found myself a 3 hour boat ride from town–in a village in the middle of the jungle–I had a horrible attitude, at least inside my head. Felipe, our guide and our ministry coordinator, led us on many of what felt like pointlessly tedious rabbit trails. Through deep, suction-y mud, over fallen trees, into swarms of biting insects, and onto/sometimes into (sometimes intentionally…) rivers. We were all hot and sweaty, my feet were swollen from bug bites, and our 2-hour-long walks were usually rewarded by a five minute visit who didn’t seem responsive at all. But the Lord is SOOOO faithful, and He used these trips to paint an incredibly beautiful picture of Himself for me.
Jesus, like a shepherd, will go to ANY length to find one lost sheep. And like the woman with the lost coin (Luke 14:8-10) He rejoices and throws a celebration when He finds that one. I was reminded through Felipe’s heart this weekend that God will (without complaining) trek through MILES of our mud in order to speak to us; to touch us. Even if it is just to say an encouraging word and show us love. When we feel His love He experiences overwhelming joy and elation, and He wants that for us as well. He wants us to joyously, without even one thought of self, to hike for miles if only to speak to one lost soul, just because we’re so desperate to show them love. Sometimes when He seeks us out, it is to rescue us. But 99% of the time He endures our endless unfaithfulness simply to speak one kind word to us. To remind of us of His love. To convict us so that we can draw even nearer to Him. I’m so thankful that the Lord gave us Felipe to show us what it means to have that kind of love. Once we got over ourselves and the bugs and the heat, we were able to experience the most incredible people, and demonstrate to them that we would travel miles and miles to find them because they mean so much to God.
This week was by far the most impactful for my heart out of the entire Race.
The school where we slept.
Our bathroom. REAL fun at night.
Arriving at the second village after a three hour, GORGEOUS ride down the Benni Rio.
————————- If you’re bored, stop here. 🙂
On our second day in the jungle, the whole team was hanging out in the area where we cooked our food and just learning more about each other. A HUGE storm was brewing, and we could tell the rain was about to hit. I decided to leave the group and make the trek back to the school, where we were sleeping. On the walk back the wind got so crazy that my hair was whipping and leaves were filling the air. When I got to the field in front of the school a big group of the village children were in the field, running, spinning, and laughing in the wind that was almost knocking them over. We really hadn’t had any chance to get to know the people yet (they are an INCREDIBLY shy people) so I ran into the field and started spinning and falling over into the grass with the kids. Once it started raining we all ran to the shelter of the school, and I got to have an entire hour one with about 10 Chiman kids, learning their names, joking around, and having dirt fights. The Lord knew I needed this. Time alone with these kids was incredible, not only because I suddenly knew so many of them and they were comfortable around me, but also because I didn’t have anyone with me to lean on. I couldn’t stay quiet and let my teammates do the talking/playing. I couldn’t speak English and let someone translate. It was just me with these precious (sometimes troublesome) kids. It continues to hit me every day: These children live here. This is their real life and they will probably never leave home. They need Truth and love, and someone needs to bring it here so that they will grow in the love of Christ. These kids: Ronan, Simon, Lupe, Angelica, Vanessa, Mariella, Maribella, Mateo, Enrique, Ronato, and Kristina. Jesus loves them so much, and I hope that I showed them that love. Please be in prayer for the Chiman people!
Ronan.
Simon. Sooooooo sweet.
Church in the jungle. It reminded me of Paul when the pastor asked us to tell the people that we encounter that “the Chiman people are seeking the Lord and we remain faithful.” How awesome.
