Hey, Friends! I’m back from Peru and trying to adjust to being back in the States. I know-such a short trip. But, oh, it was incredible!
We landed mid-afternoon after a flight of clear skies, and the typical jungle downpour fell as we crossed the tarmac. Crystal was there with her friend, Chris, an awesome woman who’s lived with her in Peru for much of the past year. It was so good to see them and to be in Peru. We ate lunch and took an hour and a half taxi to Nauta, the village on the Maranion River in the Amazon Jungle. Rain came again and finally let up that evening-just in time for a neighborhood volleyball came with some local girls. We had a lot of fun laughing at each other as we tried not to hit it out of the court. I really struggled with that and kept sending it out of bounds-which was really easy to do because the court was so small!
Pastor William explained to us a lot about the state of the Church in the jungle and what it desperately needs. As with the Church in many areas of the world, unity is a big problem. Churches work against each other in competition (“Come here to my church, it’s better than yours’ “, that type thing) instead of working together as the Body of Christ. So our team is going to go in and intentionally try to engage different denominations and churches, asking them to work together with our team-which is also composed of teens from all walks of life.
Another area the people in this area of the jungle really needs help is with their greatest resource-the land. Despite what many of us would assume, not a lot is known about agriculture and taking care of the plants. We’re praying about training our students in this area so that they can go and teach those they come in contact this too. The result will be plants that will live and produce food-it will sustain the people and provide physical nourishment.
At the end of the trip our students will take a group of people (from several churches) with them on a trip up river to a primitive village (like what I stayed in when I was there two years ago). Only instead of being in the forefront, our team will be in the background. They will do what gringos do best (according to Crystal)-which is draw a crowd. It’s true. Gringos overseas-in any country-draw attention. No matter how circumspect I try to be (and y’all know how quiet I am), even I draw attention. It can’t be helped-it’s the lure of the false “American dream” and assumed wealth (btw, this term is loosely associated and has less to do with the color of skin than with nationality itself). We always try to use that for good, like using that attention to talk about Christ. So people will come and our team will support, pray, and encourage the national team as they disciple the church in the village and also teach them about how to best tend to their land. Best of all, we won’t be the ones finally teaching. Ultimately, the end goal of missions is to work ourselves out of a job-to equip an area of the world with the gospel and discipleship tools that the Church is self-sustaining without the help of missionaries. This team’s purpose is to work towards that end.
that time-that two years ago I spent several months in the Peru. I joke about how I graduated from college and woke up three weeks later in the Amazon Jungle. It was literally the greatest adventure I’ve lived so far-and if you’ve heard some of my stories, I’ve had a lot! There was just something about the jungle. I loved being so remote, surrounded by nature, so very aware that I was in the presence of the Almighty God even in the ends of the Earth, in a place where the rest of the world doesn’t even exist. My time in the jungle is something I remember often and tell stories about… but for some reason I never thought I’d have the chance to go back. It wasn’t even on my radar. I thought it was just a once-in-a-lifetime thing. So when this opportunity came up, I was just in awe.
Just as I never expected the impact of being back in the jungle, I wasn’t prepared for leaving, especially so soon. The jungle will always have a special place in my heart. I pray that one day God will allow me to go again-hopefully for a bit longer.
