Where does the time go? It was just November, I blink, and now we already find ourselves in April! So, what’s happened over the last 4 months of my life? I hope this blog does its job to fill in the gap.
In Iquitos, we had a team change, and for the next portion of the trip I was a team leader. Here are the wonderful women of team Holy Genes! Some of my greatest memories are with these lovely ladies!
Emily, Madison, Tera, Raychel, Me, Sarah
After finishing our ministry and celebrating Thanksgiving in Iquitos, Peru, my squad embarked on one of the most untraveled portions of the Amazon River. From Peru to Ecuador, we spent 4 days/3 nights traveling on some of the most interesting boats of our journey.
Within the first 12 hours of being on this boat, we hit a sandbar; so, what else was there to do except seize the moment, jump into the water and push us out?! This one boat also had these want-a-be airplane seats and lawn chairs nailed to the floor. We spent the second night sleeping in these chairs; have to say, this isn’t the worst place we’ve slept. God is good.
Once we arrived in Ecuador, we bussed to Baños, the adventure capital of South America! To start off the adventure, we experienced some of the worst car sickness together as a squad on the winding roads into the city. *Note to self: always have a plastic bag when traveling by bus in South America. God also had some other amazing adventures for my squad in Baños! We hiked to the Swing at the End of the World, hiked the Quilotoa Loop up to the crater lake (picture), saw God provide adventure and food on our faith day (went out in pairs of two – no money, no phones, etc. – in search of what God was doing in the community), and went white water rafting and canyoning!
One day we also spent doing a scavenger hunt through Baños. Before my team even got to the main area of town, God stopped us to meet this man and his family. He invited us to the back of his property to see the view, a little hesitant, we went. My teammate Tera, asked him if he was a man of God after seeing a picture of Jesus hanging on his wall. He broke down in tears, and shared that he believed, but also dealt with alcoholism. We were able to pray with him and his family, and he recommitted himself to living for God. That day, we learned a little more of what it looks like to live the interruptible life.
We also celebrated Christmas as a squad together in Baños! !Feliz Navidad!
After two weeks in Baños, the squad moved on to our ministry for the next month in Ecuador. My team stayed with Inca Link International, a missionary organization in South America who’s “mission is to identify, connect, facilitate and mentor high capacity youth leaders to multiply their impact in Latin America,” (www.incalink.org).
They connected my team with a day care for special needs children, called Camp Hope, where we spent our first week doing ministry. Photos unavailable for protection of the children. The rest of our time in Ecuador for ministry, my team spent in the small town of Loreto, Ecuador. We shoveled this dirt (times 6) that will be used in the construction of a classroom for the church (photo), and spoke at a few of the services. We also celebrated New Year’s in this little town, and have to say that was a once in a life time experience, thankfully.
When our time in Ecuador came to an end, the squad then made our way back to Cusco, Peru for debrief and some adventure. We hiked Machu Picchu, and Rainbow Mountain, and had another team change!
This is my friend, Linda. She is from Washington state, is 74 years old, and works as a substitute teacher. On her vacation days, she travels the world. We met on the hike to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu. She and I quickly bonded over our love for scuba diving, and her eyes lit up as she shared about all the incredible places she’s been to dive. Places like the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Argentina! She keeps a blog of all her adventures here > https://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Never-too-old/. I also got to share with her about my travels and mission in South America this year and how God has given us more exciting adventures than we could have imagined.
So, after a fun time in Peru, we packed up once again and hit the road to Bolivia! My team, team S.W.E.G. (Sisterhood Will Encourage Growth), got to spend a month serving at Misión Adulam, a halfway house for young men and women recovering from addictions and living with mental illnesses. Two of my teammates and I spent our time with the young men playing card games and soccer, making bracelets, and teaching some English. I learned a lot about God’s unconditional and unlimited love for every person, and that everyone deserves love and a second chance. Not one of these boys is too far gone for God to reach and redeem!
We also got to visit the Salt Flats of Bolivia. Let’s just say, I don’t think the world will ever run out of salt.
From Bolivia, we bussed our way to Chile! Chile has recently been experiencing a large amount of wild fires, so my squad came to help in the recovery of some areas that were burnt. My team is in the small town of San Nicholas, 5 hours south of Santiago, living with the family of a local pastor. Our first week here, we helped serve in the church, and did some construction work for people in the community whose homes were affected in the fires.
The following week was our Parent Vision Trip (PVT), when our parents joined us for a week of ministry! It was an incredible week getting to know the parents of my wonderful squadmates and to see God work in their lives as He has worked in ours. We lived and did ministry at an orphanage in La Pintana, Chile. Our work was sanding and painting the homes for the girls (photo), visiting a school, and my personal favorite, painting a mural for the little girls to enjoy (photo)!
Now, we are back in San Nicholas, but ministry looks a little different. We are still serving in the church, leading Wednesday night church and youth group on Saturday, and visiting and praying with church members throughout the week. Our other ministry is teaching English in the primary school and high school! One blessing is that we can talk about God in the classrooms and share how he has worked in our lives this year! Praises, God has been working in the hearts of two the high school teachers and they have been asking to know more about Him! We will be continuing this ministry for the next two weeks and know that God has a lot in store.
We have also been able to have some pretty awesome adventure days with our hosts as well! In the family of Christ, there are many blessings!
So that’s a brief overview of what life has been for me the past 4 months!
And speaking of gaps…
God has been allowing me to see more and more of how he fills in the gaps of my life where I feel I don’t measure up. Without God I am not enough, but when I open up and let him fill in the gaps, I am becoming all of who He created me to be. I am learning to embrace the ways he made me to be different; my differences are not hindrances, but the ways that God allows me to connect with many people. Everything about me he wanted to create that way, there are no gaps he can’t fill, and by his grace and the work of his son, I am enough.
God has also been growing me in the understanding of how to stand in the gap for others. I recently read “A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare,” by Quinn Sheerrer and Ruthann Garlock, and it opened my eyes to how God calls us to engage in spiritual battle for ourselves, the church, and the world. With the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to stand in the gap and intercede for others. It’s something I’m still learning about, but I’m excited to see God lead me in this journey.
Lastly, I have one last gap in fundraising that I need to raise in order to finish out the year! God has continuously shown his faithfulness and brought the funds I’ve needed. I believe that He gives me my daily bread and will provide for my needs in his timing, so I’m asking for you all to join with me one last time to raise the last $1,200 for my race. Thank you to everyone who has supported me, is supporting me, and will support me, I know that this gap will be provided for because God Always Provides!
For Christ and His Kingdom, Susan
