Bolivia Recap Video
October 2016. Atlanta, Georgia. Hours before our first flight to India… We were lingering around in the hotel conference room, chatting it up and drinking the last dregs of complimentary coffee. Excitement, thick and buzzing all around us. I pulled out this little coloring book “for adults” and debated on whether or not to drop it on the “free table” (a common place where racers drop items they no longer want – one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, if you will). After flipping through, I decided aloud that it would be nice for passing time on the travel days, and I could color and write special listening prayers and encouragement on the back for my friends. My brother Marlin thought it was a good idea. He grabbed my book and flipped through it, landing on a peculiar page… “butterflies in the jungle?” We joked about how I should write a song about it… or better yet, maybe it would become something I would experience on the race? Each month Marlin would ask about it and I would laugh and say, “not yet, but definitely before the race ends… there is still time.”
Well — here I am, ten months later, on the bus to my final destination, Peru… and the phrase has come to pass. Butterflies in the jungle (of Bolivia). Hundreds. Maybe thousands. The memory immediately flooded back to me.
This past month, I was invited to join two teams in the ministry opportunity of a life time. The kind of stuff racers and young radicals dream of — off the grid, no communication, just what you can carry on your back, and a machete (obviously). We traveled to a remote village in Bolivia that only receives visitors once or twice a year. Just five years ago they received the gospel of Jesus Christ and began a local church gathering. The trek there and back involved nearly ten hours of off-roading through muddy mountain ridges, crossing a swift river, and hiking over 64 miles through the Amazon basin. In this region, the jungle is mountainous with harsh overgrown plants, biting bugs, lurking pumas, and dangerous snakes. Thank God, we didn’t see any… but our host teased, “They probably saw us!” Shivers!
Throughout the trek, we stopped at streams to fill our bottles with the running water. At one river stop, where my good friend Zachary was baptized (AMEN), swarms of blazing blue butterflies graciously flitted among us, landing on our sweaty bodies and dirty packs flung everywhere. Butterflies in the jungle!!! Was it true that God prepared me for such a whimsical time as this? Of course! It was a sweet, gentle (and rather humorous) reminder that God is with me. He knows every thought and hears each word that passes my lips. I can imagine him saying, “Oh, I’ll show you butterflies in the jungle, Paige. You’re going to love this!” What a marvelous God that remembers the smallest of details and desires. I’ve been praying some big prayers lately, and this simple response from the Father’s heart is such a gift to me. He seems to be saying, “I hear you, Paige. You are faithful. You are persistent. Trust me. Do not worry.”
I’ve always had a spiritual connection with butterflies. My best friend Kelsey and I have this weird love of bugs and God often speaks to us through them. Whenever I see a butterfly, I pray for her. It’s been that way for years now. God sends them at just the right moments. (A precious friendship, indeed!) When I encountered these beautiful creatures in the jungle, my heart beamed. I thought of Kelsey and prayed for her. I thought of the new friendships and new threads of life woven into my story. I thought of this grand adventure called “The World Race” and how I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now. The butterflies surged my spirit with the refreshment of gratitude. A reflection of the past and a boldness to step into the future, one day at a time.
God, I am deeply grateful for this experience and all the supporters that have made it possible. Thank you for choosing me and sending me into the world as your representative. Thank you for all the countries… your stunning Church that has welcomed me as their own. Thank you for the unique and creative opportunities you have given me… thank you that you love when I dream with you. Thank you for my gifts and talents. Teach me to steward them well. Thank you for this final month. I know you go before me and behind me. You hem me in. You are with me. Thank you for this chapter of my life. Thank you that although it feels like the end, it is just the beginning. There are new mountains to climb. You are not done. These are not the glory days. There is more. Thank you, God. I love you. I am in desperate need of you. Holy Spirit baptize me again, fill me with new wine. I need you. Let’s do this together. IN JESUS’ NAME. Amen.
* For a closer look at our ministry in Apolo and Mojos, please watch the video above. Most of our ministry was relational and involved teaching English and Spanish, visiting families, harvesting/cooking, and playing with children.
