Everlasting to Everlasting

Our trip ended a bit prematurely and now we are resting well in Sucre waiting for Navidad to arrive. This was my last trip to the communities but I am blessed to say it was probably the best of trips I could have hoped for.

We arrived in Quchumi the 11th of November with the hope of telling stories to Santo Filipe with whom we had the pleasure of telling the first day of creation the last day of the last trip. It was his interest in the stories that gave us reason to return to Quchumi without having to wipe the dust from our feet.

We still stayed with Don, the man of peace with whom we had much trouble on the last trip and as always were promised with much work. ¨Siempre hay trabajo.¨ After a day or two getting into the routine (as much as one can hope for a routine that is) we visited Santo Filipe and set a date to learn the stories, which was only a day or two away. When the date arrived Santo did not show up. Disappointed we continued with the order of the day which was working on an Adobe with Don.

During the last trip we had more or less given up hope on Don learning the stories or even having interest. We found him much more agreeable from the first day of our arrival. On the same day we were supposed to meet with Santo Filipe, we finally finished work around three. To my great joy and surprise Don asked if we were going to study the story. I was more shocked than anything that my partner had to respond and say that we would be happy to teach the story.

That day I told the first two days of creation. Don kept saying he wanted to learn and was actually very adamant about it. It is amazing how the LORD orders things, this life, and all that we experience. It is always in His timing, His way; we had done nothing to spur this man’s interest and desire. It was clear that the Holy Spirit was moving in him.

From then on until we left we taught stories usually at the request of Don. Starting from the creation we made it as far as the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Throughout this time we could see a real change in our man of peace. There was more of a willingness and trust between us. Don was comfortable enough to ask questions like if the sun was a god. Through our stories and discussions we were able to see more barriers and bridges to the Gospel.

There was a change in Don’s son, Philemon, as well. The same kid that mocked us last time during the stories we found sitting at first in the background seemingly disinterested to later participating in all of our stories. He even asked if he could copy the story of Cain and Abel.

After the first few days we rarely saw Santo Filipe much to our disappointment. Though one of the best moments during the whole trip was when we were called to one of the village meetings. They were passing out seeds for their crops and when they were done asked if we could give an orientation of our work. I explained briefly our purpose to which they asked for a story. I then told the first two days of creation. Being a long story I wasn’t sure if they wanted to hear the whole thing. They asked Don if that was all and he responded, ¨No, there is way more than that!¨ I then completed the whole story of the creation in Quechua to the whole community of Quchumi. It is overwhelming to think that God would use someone like me in such a way. One of the greatest moments I have had in South America. After my story they asked Efrain for the story of the fall of man.

During this trip we helped build a meeting house for the community. I asked if we could later tell stories there and all were more than happy to agree.

Throughout this time I was keenly aware that God was moving. Quchumi is a beautiful place that sits on the side of a mountain leading down to a river separating the mountains opposing the community. It was as if the mountains stood as a testimony of the power, the majesty of God. I was reminded of the prayer of Moses, the man of God, ¨Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.¨ God, the Everlasting God, had formed these mountains with the hearts of these men in mind. It was beautiful to see how God worked in Quchumi and to see it was all Him. May I never doubt the power and glory of God who is from everlasting to everlasting.

My Portion Forever

We got back recently from a very difficult trip though it was only two weeks. It was the first trip for Efrain, my new partner, and we were joined by the Director of Prayer for the IMB, Ed Cox.

On the promise of Don, our man of peace, we came back to Quchumi in order to start the work teaching stories. We were faced with many difficulties mostly from our man of peace. He showed up a few days after we arrived and seemed distant even from the beginning. We were able to work a couple of days but after awhile the man of peace appeared to not appreciate us only working half of the day (leaving the rest to study Quechua and stories as well as rest). This was later only exacerbated as each day went on.

I attempted to teach Don the first day of Creation, which is relatively short but his idea of learning the story was to write it down. Laboriously he copied each word after I spoke it but in the end it was as if he just did not want to put the mental effort to actually memorize it. (During the whole time I told the story the son stood behind mockingly smirking at the event). The next day I tried to work on the story with him but to no avail. He only repeated that he could not do it. We even felt that he only indulged the idea of the story so we could keep working. I brought up the idea of a group meeting and teaching the story to many people, which he excitedly agreed and we planned to do it on Sunday in the afternoon. After a day or two I reminded him of the commitment of which he was supposed to invite people but he said that no one would come because of work. During this same day he decided to work without us, though we know he could have used the help (he just told us to watch wheat, which we are still trying to figure out what that meant – though probably nothing positive) and we received no food in the morning.

We thought all was lost or at least our connection to the community. We had no desire to keep pressuring him with the story because that was getting nowhere and did not want it to become a source of contempt. Later, thinking that three people had to be a burden to feed we decided to buy food in order to help out a bit and during this time we apologize and made sure that we were still right with Don. He said it was fine and no worries but if we wanted to do anything about Sunday (the next day), we would have to invite people.

I invited six people in the community but I only had hope in one. His name is Santo Filipe (Saint Phillip in English), a man in Quchumi that we had met even in the first trip. He speaks the best Spanish and we found him to be the best mannered and the most sincere. I had prayed about this man during previous trips but nothing came of it and we would rarely see him after the first day. This trip, however, he showed great interest to begin with and we had a chance to talk much about God. I decided to risk being culturally insensitive and went to his house uninvited to which he allowed me to come into their kitchen (a very rare thing among the Quechua but a sign of respect). I invited him to the meeting the next day to which he said, ¨all would come.¨

As Santo Filipe was my only hope he far exceeded my expectations. The next morning he brought his whole family to learn the story. They were even dressed up as if they were going to morning mass! It was obviously something important to them. I had a chance to teach the first day of the creation of which he learned rather well and during the time (of which I did not realize until later) was that his wife, who only speaks Quechua, mouthed the words the whole time learning it right alongside her husband. Santo even got upset with himself when he got something out of order and in this sincerely showed that he had interest in what we were telling and had a desire to learn. I then moved to the questions after it was apparent he had the story and though he speaks Spanish very well he answered all the questions in Quechua. I took this to mean that it was something so serious to him that he wanted to answer in such a profound way that only his heart language could explain. We were more than excited with this. Shortly after we left for a seven hour hike back to Pocoata to get some rest.

I do not think I can sufficiently describe the emotions and even the physical difficulties. It felt every day we were in a spiritual battle but that the Enemy had the upper hand on us. Almost as if an undercurrent of evil was undermining all of our attempts. I can say that only the sustaining grace of God and all of your prayers enabled us to keep in good spirits and see it to the end. We were forced to seek His mercies and found them anew with the beginning of each day.

It was as if we were constantly surrounded by darkness everyday but at the end the light broke through shining His glory and sovereignty. I am thankful for what I learned during this difficult time. I found that even in the face of failure after failure mixed with overwhelming disappointment I had confidence that I was still faithful in my duty to God and in this I could feel His daily pleasure in me. He is sufficient in all things and no matter what the circumstance dictates He is my portion; He holds my cup. He is just that good that he gave us such a victory in the face of overwhelming odds.

I just realized that God was asking for the impossible. We fail as men as our hearts our weak, but when God is the strength of our hearts and our portion forever we are truly Sons of God who can rise above the impossible.

¨My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.¨ - Psalm 73:26

Anthem of a Dying Man

I had quite an experience last summer when I was with the Chayahuita. There were two men that died from Malaria during our time there. A day after my partner got Malaria which I was then just recovering from Typhoid.

One of the people that died was a child of about twelve. It was truly tragic and I remember seeing the child laying there and the mother weeping over him. What shocked me was when they buried the child and the other man. There was no service, no words of remembrance, no ceremony, no one wore black. In fact I heard laughing when they put the body in the ground, and I remember thinking ¨how cold.¨

After talking with J, the boss of Xtreme Team, he made me realize that death in this village was just a part of life. It was something common and almost could be expected especially with a disease like Malaria. And so it made me think more and more about death.

Death is a part of life.

One can mostly see in the United States but hints and shadows can be found in all cultures the idea of maintaining life, of holding onto it until the very last breath. With more and more technology we are able to prolong life and stall the inevitable death a few more years. And though life is very precious how many of our decisions are made in order to avoid the risk of losing this life? We make our lives as comfortable as we can as if we were taking some journey whose end was so undesirable that we lose the true joy of the journey.

But what is this life that He has given us? A most precious gift He has given us but also the very thing that He wants from us; that He demands from us. ¨If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel´s will save it.¨[1] (Mark 8:35, 36)

God has called us to die and yet we still try to hang on.

I believe that the LORD has taught us contrary to this idea of holding onto this life. He not only taught this but lived death everyday as He gave up His own will to the will of the Father. This eventually culminated in His death on the Cross.

It is through this act that Jesus shows us how we can have life. Paul says that we are ¨always carrying in the body the Death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.¨[2] It is in the power of His death and of His resurrection that we can experience both and become more like Him. Paul continues, ¨For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus´ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.¨[3] We cannot have life without death.

On this journey to be more like Him He has called us to carry our crosses. This sanctification is not a one time affair but a continual dying to ourselves; choosing His will above ours.

Death can manifest itself in manys whether it is to our pride, desire for glory, lusts of the flesh, unfaithfulness, impatience, or just our general indifference. Whatever part of us that is not wholly devoted to Christ must die. It is a daily war within.

We fear death, but it is only in this death to ourselves that we can be free, that we can truly live. O how a painful process it is. Our flesh fights to hold on, and makes us believe that it holds life and in this delusion we do all in order to keep our identity, to keep our comfort, to keep our lifestyle of health and wealth. To use a line from Tyler Durden, we are ¨just polishing brass on the Titanic.¨

But once we finally let go, we put the sword to our flesh, and just die to ourself the beauty of Grace reveals itself in the purest way to life unimaginable. For Christ said, ¨I am the Resurrection and the Life.¨[4] These powerful words hold the greatest promise. In every death, from the time we acknowledge our sinfulness and allow the Lord to take over, through every monotonous day that we must overcome all depravity that plagues our souls, to the very end of this temporal physical life, the Lord becomes our Resurrection. We rise from the ashes everytime anew, and a little less like us and a little more like Him. It is only through death that we can truly become one with Christ identifying with Him we finally have an identity that gives us life.

And so this is my anthem, sung to the Glory of God. I am a dying man, and not in the sense of slowly dying a physical death from failing health, but that I die over and over again to myself in the spiritual realms to receive life through my Resurrection, Jesus Christ.

[1] Mark 8:35, 36 (ESV)
[2] 1 Corinthians 4:10 (ESV)
[3] 1 Corinthians 4:11 (ESV)
[4] John 11:25 (ESV)

Qallariypi Diospa Ruwasqan

This is the story of creation in Quechua that we have to learn. It will be the first story we tell in the communities as part of a evangelism track. It has been mighty slow here in Sucre recently and at times it is hard to remain focused. Please pray for us as we continue to learn stories in Quechua in the hope of telling them soon enough.

Tata Diosqa qallarpi janaqpachatawan kay pachatawan ruwarqa. Kay pachaqa mana pijtulla kasharqachu. Yakukuna laqhawan qhatasqu kasqa. Chanta Diospa Espiritun yaku patapi kasharqa. Chanta Tata Diosqa nirqa: ¨k`anchay kachun¨ ajina karqa. Tata Diosqa k´anchayta sumaq kasqanta rikhurqa. Tata Diosqa k`anchayta laqhamanta t`aqarqa. Chanta Payqa k`anchayman ¨p`unchayta¨ suticharqa, laqhamantaj ¨tutata¨ suticharqa. Ajinamanta ñawpaq kaq p`unchay tukuchasqa karqa.
Chanta Tata Diosqa nirqa: ¨yaku uj cheqallapi kananta.¨ Chanta ajina karqa. Tata Diosqa yakumanta t´aqasqata janaqpachata suticharqa. Wakin yaku janaqpachapi karqa chanta wakin yaku kay pachapi karqa. Ajinamanta iskay kaq p`unchay tukuchasqa karqa.
Chanta Tata Dios nirqa ¨yaku kay pachapi uj cheqallapi tantasqa kananta ch´aki rikhurinampaq.¨ Ajina karqa. Tata Dios ch´aki kajta jallp´ata suticharqa. Yakuta uj cheqallapi tantaykusqa chayta mama qochata suticharqa. Tata Dios nirqa ¨jallp´api tukuy laya q´omerkuna poqochun chanta qhorakuna poqochun sach´akunapis poqollachuntaj.¨ Chanta jallp`api tukuy layakunamanta sach´akuna wiñarqa chanta q´omerkuna, sach´akunapis poqorqanku. Chayta Tata Dios sumaj kasqanta rikhorqa. Ajinamanta kinsa kaj p´unchay tukuchasqa karqa.
Chanta Tata Diosqa nirqa: ¨k´anchaykuna janaq pachapi kachun kay pachapipis k´anchanapaq chanta t´aqanapaq p´unchayta tutatawan. Chanta ajina karqa. Tata Diosqa iskay k´anchayta ruwarqa. Uj jatun k´anchayta p`unchaypi k´anchanapaq chanta uj aswan juchuy k`anchaytataj tutapi k`anchanapaq. Chanta Tata Diosqa ch´askakunata janaq pachapi churarqa p´unchaykunata, watakunata, jatuchej p`unchaykunata ima churanapaj. Tata Diosqa sumaj kasqanta rikhorqa. Ajinamanta tawa kaj p´unchay tukuchasqa karqa.
Chanta Tata Diosqa nirqa, ¨yakupi tukuy laya challwakuna miranchu¨ jillanataj phawaj p´isqokuna kay pachapi kachun. Ajinataj karqa. Tata Diosqa tukuy challwakunata mama qochapi ruwarqa tukuy p`isqokunatapis chanta Tata Diosqa sumaj kasqanta rikhorqa. Chanta paykunata bendispa, nirqa, ¨ashqha mirayninku kapuchun jillanataj mama qochaman junt´achun jinamanta ashqha p´isqokuna kay pachapi kachun. Ajinamanta phisqha kaq p`unchay tukuchasqa karqa.
Chanta Tata Dios nirqa, ¨jallp´api kawsachunku tukuy laya uywakuna: runawan kawsakuj uywakuna, k´ita uywakuna, chanta pampapatapi qhatatakoj uywakuna ima, layankuman jina.¨ Ajinataj karqa. Tata Diosqa ruwarqa chay uywakunata rikuspa sumaj kasqanta nirqa. Chanta Tata Dios nirqa, ¨kunan runata ruwasuncheq noqacheqman rijch`akojta. Pay atiyniyoq kanampaj challwakuna, p´isqokuna, chanta runawan kawsakuj uywakuna, k´ita uywakuna, chanta pampapatapi qhatatakoj uywakuna ima. Chanta Tata Diosqa runata jallp´amanta ruwarqa, sinqampi samaykuspataj, payman kawsayta qorqa. Ajinamanta runaqa kawsayta qhallerqa. Chanta Tata Dios Edén nisqa huertata ruwarqa. Chaymantaj runata churarqa. Tata Diosqa iskay sach´akunata huerta chaupiman churarqa. Uj kawsay sach´ata chanta jinallataj allin kajta mana allin kajta yachanamanta sach´atapis. Tata Diosqa runaman uj kamachiyta qorqa, ¨tukuy sach´amanta huertapi mikhuyta atinki. Mana mikhuyta atinkichu allin kaj chanta mana allin kaj yachay sach´amanta. Chay poqoyta mikhunki chayqa cheqamanta wañunki. Chanta Tata Diosqa nirqa, ¨Mana allinchu runaqa sapallan kanan. Paywan kanampaj, uj yanapajta ruwapusaj,¨ nispa. Chanta Tata Dios tukuy uywakunata runa sutichanampaq aparqa. Chaywampis mana karqachu runata yanapajqa. Jinapi Tat Diosqa runata sinch´ita puñurpayacherqa, chaykamataj ujnin wajtanninta orqhorqa. Jinaspari, aychallanwantaj k´askaykuchiporqa. Chanta Tata Diosqa runaj wajtanninta orqhosqanmanta uj warmita ruwarqa jinaspataj runaman pusamorqa. Runataj warmita rikuspa nirqa: ¨Kayqa aychaymanta ruwasqa,¨ nispa. Chayrayku qhareqa tatanta mamantawan saqenqa, warminwantaj ujchakonqa, iskayninkutaj uj runa jinalla kanqanku. Tata Diosqa runata payman rijch`akojta ruwarqa. Qharita warmita ruwarqa chanta paykunata bendispa, nirqa, ¨ ashqha wawankuna kapuchun, kay pachamantaj junt´achun chanta kay pachata kamachichun. Adán, warmin Evawan, huertapi kasharqanku mana p´achayojlla, paykunkaqa p`enqa karqanku mana pachayoj qasqankumanta. Tata Diosqa sumaj kasqanta rikhorqa chay tukuy imata.
Qanchis Kaj P`unchaypi Tata Diosqa tukuy llank´ayninta tukuytawan samarkorqa. Chayrayku Tata Diosqa bendirsqa qanchis kaj p´unchayta. Kay kasahan willay janaqpachamanta kay pachamantawan Diospa ruwasqan.

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¨Qallariypi Diospa Ruwasqan¨ means the ¨Works of God in the Beginning.¨

The Good Fight

I have not yet introduced my new partner from Columbia, Efrain Mosquera. He is twenty-five years old and has been on the Xtreme Team for quite some time. He is rather quiet and usually does not say something if he truly does not mean it. In many ways he has no fear by what he says and has told me many times that I am fat. But even more importantly he is fearless with the Gospel and I have not met anyone else in my life with a better relationship with Christ. Efrain spends hours and hours with the Father and is always trying to be closer to His presence and this has greatly challenged my walk.

This time of waiting and anticipation has been somewhat tough on Efrain. Though as usual he has found a way to grow through it. He wrote this on our computer almost as open journal blog and shared it with me. I deeply moved me and I hope that it will inspire in you in the same way.

¨This is a letter that I am writing no with my own hand or fingers but it is through a keyboard.

I am in my last days of this year and it started to become very slow; the difference is that every day we or really I am a little different inside, and have more become intense in my prayers for these days the spiritual battle is growing in me, I feel that I am in a war without quarter, many times, the arrows of the enemy has harmed me. However, I recognized who God is and has raised me to continue the good fight of faith, not in my strength but in Christ´s, and die every day taking the hard and heavy cross. This part has been the most difficult because I am found with two sides inside: the Spirit and the Flesh. The Bible says that these two are in opposition, the point is that GOD has given me the capability to choose good or evil. But at times I do not choose the good, always aksing God to please help me be crucified just like Jesus did...once and forever. The small struggles will prepare me for the greater battles and of course continue in God with His Word.

The date to leave the community has passed but we keep praying because we have the hope of going and sharing the Gospel. Now we are here in the house and personally I am bored. This time I have used to learn a story, the story of disobedience of man in Quechua. This is a serious thing to learn. The thing is that God has given me the ability to do this because he knows that this is for His Glory, and Miguel°, my new partner already knows the story of creation in Quechua, and told me that he feels a peace waiting for the moment to leave. We think that this time God is using to protect us from some danger or is preparing the hearts of those who will hear the Gospel of Christ, or even working in our hearts.

I dreamed about my old friend from High School, and the made me pray for him, and for all of my friends from my High School. I don´t know if they are living, but it is my desire and the desire of God that they receive salvation like God has had mercy on me. It is something so beautiful to wake every morning and know that it is for the goodness of God that I can or we can enjoy one day more and know that this day we will have the opportunity to give glory to God. In my Study Bible I am in Ezekiel. It is a serious thing to be a prophet of God, but also, is even more serious to be far from God and not know that God is God and always wants the best for his chosen people.

I miss my family, but this morning I learned one more time that if you don´t hate your most beloved and totally give your obedience to God, you simply cannot be his Disciple. LORD, this is my prayer I give to you every day, without reservations or conditions, in the middle of society that every time I am in sin, LORD, I need you deeply to help me walk in this world with your light and your truth and in this way be light and truth to many people that know nothing of you. Only for your Glory. Thanks for your faithfulness and your forgiveness in Jesus, Amen.¨

- Efrain Mosquera

°¨Miguel¨ is my name in Spanish and the name all the Latinos use for me.

I translated the letter so I know there are many errors. I just hope that his message was a clear picture of a man after God´s own heart. Please pray for us as we try to stay sharp and find our satisfaction in the Lord everyday.

All Things and Donkeys

I used to love to write in my journal. I could express all the joy that lived in me always impossible to contain. I lost a lot of love for many things in my life. This did not result because of my lack of love for the things of the world but rather a lack of love for The Savior. Interestingly how it works: The more love I had for my LORD the more I was able to love all things. It is like my love for Him only enabled me to love more and more. But as time passes and as we finite, fallible creatures succumb to our own weakness we start looking to the result instead of the source. And as that happens we lose all. Of course it would be wrong to look at the Savior only for His benefits, but I believe that is what is so beautiful about our relationship with Him. That as we make Him our all, our everything, when we truly abide in Him and our joy rests in Him we are able to even enjoy those things that we might find otherwise boring or irrelevant. With God at the center of our heart, our True joy, it is as if we see the world through a different lens. I can enjoy all things because in all things He is my joy.

This was an excerpt from my journal while I was in the community. Some things are just that much clearer away from all the hustle and demands of the city. I believe that same day we had to round up some donkeys and they ended up running away from us making it to the well (the same one we drank out of). After many amusing attempts by the two gringos and the whole village getting a front seat at the very new and very ineffective techniques of rounding up donkeys we finally managed to bring them home. I used to think Donkeys were interesting creatures but after that experience I understood why their name became a pejorative term.

Either way, I have found that when we simplify things in life much of our worries fade into the background and we can have a better picture of the Savior.

Greatest Day of Eleanor

I apologize for the delay in writing. I know there is much time that elapses between blogs but I do appreciate your visits. The delay comes from an overall apathy mixed with indifference. My partner and I were supposed to be in the communities over a week ago but due to political unrest we have had to wait.

It has been as if I have been sleep walking these past few days waiting for life to wake me up. I feel as if I need to confront God and just come to His burning presence.

In that burning I have found that I have placed my significance on the conditional, various circumstances, the changing of the season. I am left wanting because I don´t find myself in the Unconditional. But here is the grind: When I am not ¨serving¨ God or in a sense doing my work I find my life without meaning as if I am drifting. This begs to imply that my significance depends on my work, my actions instead of God Himself. Another form of idolatry that is very subtle as it stands in the high places far away from the throne. I believe if I cannot find my meaning, my worth in Him right now when all I can do is be then all my work and service in His Name is shallow and in a sense defiled.

Maybe e that is what I am finally learning. This could be the lesson that I must learn before I move on or at least just face the day given to me. That who I am is not based on what I do as much as my position before Christ. The nearer I am to His Presence the more I am capable to do His work and the purer the work will be. My significance lies within the Heart of God.

I named the title of this blog after the Smashing Pumpkins´ song, ¨Today.¨ When I was in High School I used to blare this song before school everyday and claim the lyrics for myself: ¨Today is the greatest day I have ever known.¨ Though of course the first time I heard this song with my boy, Dino, I thought ole Billy was saying, ¨Today is the greatest day of Eleanor.¨ I thought, ¨Who is Eleanor and why is the day so great to her?¨ I always thought this would be a great name of a book or something.

Either way I am learning the preciousness of each day because I am finding that preciousness in Christ. The days and seasons are just waves breaking against the immovable rock. I find that the greatness in the day is because of the greatness of the Savior.

So celebrate with Eleanor and me in the greatest day we´ve ever known.

Chariots and Horses

I am still in Sucre and waiting for the arrival of my mom and our vacation. During these past few weeks my new partner, Efrain Mosquera from Colombia, has arrived and we both have been focusing on learning Quechua. Efrain has been with the team for over a year and a half now. He and Bobby Lane worked with the Yaminauah in the jungles of Peru, where the Yaminauah now have their own church and missionaries to reach their own people. We are really happy to have him.

This time has been good for resting and preparing for the next trip which should be the most exciting of them all as we are going to start storying with the Quechua in Quchumi. Recently I have been translating the story of creation from Spanish to Quechua (who would have ever thought?) and though it has been quite difficult I feel so excited about what our LORD will do through His beautiful word.

¨Some trust in Chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.¨
- Psalms 20:7

A friend of mine told me that they were praying the chapter of Psalm 20 for me while I was in the community. Verse seven of this chapter has always stood out to me. When I was a kid I thought it was kind of funny. I mean why would someone trust in a horse? It seemed to be to me all too silly. But after growing up a little and studying scripture especially in the times of the Judges and Kings I realized how much importance it was to have horses and chariots. The very numbers determined battles and gave hope to men or broke their spirits.

Time and time again when the numbers were against Israel God showed His power and saved His people. In many instances the Kings would lose heart at the sight of the great number of horses and chariots before them. Some even hired other nations to protect them. I reflected on this when I was in the community and though as I kid I thought it funny to trust in a horse in many ways I found myself still doing so, whether I was trusting in my own strength to get through the day or just the circumstances that appeared favorable to our mission. We put trust in the things we think will give victory but reality we are shown that victory is only given by God in ways we would never expect.

I guess that is one of the tests of faith. To look across the battlefield and know that we are in enemy territory and outnumbered on all accounts, and be able to reach down and find that hope in our LORD.

I look at the upcoming days in the community of Quchumi and I know that we are in enemy territory and in many ways outnumbered. We are able to face this with joy and hope because we are there in His Name. We are able to trust that He will do all and eliminate all obstacles in order for His Glory, His Precious Name to be known. Though some trust in chariots and some in horses, we will trust in the name of the LORD, our God.

Lost Sheep

I am sorry for the delay in the blog. Andrew and I got back about a week ago and he has since left to go back to the States. Also Kay´s parents were here for a bit.

In this blog I will just tell how our most recent trip went. Though it was rather short it was one of the most important trips we have done thus far. My first trip with Andrew the people worked us really hard and at times it felt we were only hired hands which seemed as if the real reason we were there was lost by the people. This trip was to regain the focus.

We decided to plan only to work half the day and reserve the rest for studying Quechua. If the people were willing to accommodate we could stay and if not then we would have had to find another place. Learning the language is of the utmost priority and we wanted the people to remember why we were there.

To the Praise of our Father it was a very successful trip. Upon arriving to Quchumi we found that they had been saving our room for us until our return. We were able to work with our Man of Peace all the days and were never without food.

The first time we had to leave to go study and not work the rest of the day was hard because Don, our Man of Peace, had a hard time understanding and even asked us who was now going to help him. Though a little worried at first, we still received food and the promise of work for the rest of the week.

Andrew had memorized a story, which was Jesus´ parable of the lost sheep. Upon hearing this story, Don was excited about learning more stories in the future and understood the need or our studying. I asked him a few questions about the story Andrew told. His favorite part of the story was that God was looking for the lost sheep and he even said that he felt like that he was the lost sheep.

Though our trip was short we are really excited about what we were able to see during our time there. God is preparing the hearts of the Quechua in Quchumi for His Precious Word. We are just excited about being a part of this work.

I want to thank Andrew Griffith for his time here in Bolivia. Though he was only here for two and a half months the work he did here was invaluable to our team. Andrew, thanks for being my partner and being so passionate about His Glory as I believe you accomplished much here for the Kingdom. You are going to be missed.

Fellow Workers

As many of you know I don´t exactly have experience in working out doors except picking up pine cones and mowing the grass. This aspect of our job always scares me a little.

We enter into a community with the promise that we will work for a place to stay and food to eat. At times when we didn´t have work we wouldn´t eat (many a time the people were so generous and gave us food anyway). For most of the people they live hard lives and seem to age faster than normal. They work from sun up to sun down with little variation in their average routine. Though difficult we were fortunate enough to help the people and work along beside them.

Every morning Andrew (my partner) and I would wake up with the sun do our usual morning routine and walk outside, sit on a wooden stump and wait for whatever was to come that day. If food came then usually came with it the promise to work. The first few days were the easiest as all we did was seperate potatoes and later spread them out. Though boring, it was not all that bad. The people also made this type of potato called Chuño. It takes a long process of several days to make these things, and there is stomping on the potatoes which we got to partake later in our stay. They are probably the worst things known to man.

Right now being in harvest season the work we did the most had to do with wheat whether it was cutting or carrying. It took us some time getting used to cutting the wheat but after awhile we took pride in our work. (Weirdly enough we began to have conversations about wheat like, ¨that wheat was great to cut because it was long and smooth unlike yesterday which was very dry.¨ We realized we had cut too much wheat at this time.) Many times we spent all day cutting fields of wheat, but sometimes we would have to walk an hour or so just to get to the field.

Our health was good basically the whole time. Andrew got sick one day (the day we had community work day repairing a stone road...good times), and I got sick the very last day which has since affected all my team members. I cut up my hands pretty bad doing stupid things (like cutting my own hand with a sickle). We had to take vitamins to supplement the lack of everything in potatoes. We had potatoes every meal, and though sometimes it was in a soup type deal, most of the time it was just a basket of potatoes. In the end I did not bathe for three entire weeks (new record). We did our best to wash up whenever we could be there was not much of a chance really at all to do so. When I finally got to bathe it was as if the dirt was caked on and took several showers to finally remove the filth.

Though it was very difficult working and living like the Quechua it is of the upmost importance and advantage to do so, if only to not be a burden to the people as Paul did in Thessalonica, ¨for you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to you.¨ Also in this way we have become more like the people, equals, and not just strangers with some foreign message. It is amazing how deep with the people we were able to be just because we were living life like they do.

¨He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God´s fellow workers...¨

As we keep planting we know that God gives the growth. But how thankful we truly are to be given the privilege to work not only for God but with God. To think we are His ¨fellow workers¨ is a humbling thought but it also gives us strength and hope to face each day. And though our work was very physical and not many people could see the eternal results, we worked with confidence that God was working the whole time and that makes all the difference.

Greeting Them From Afar

We just got back from our trip to the Quechua who are in Quchumi, a small community of twenty families living in the mountains in the Chayanta Department in Bolivia. To the praise of our Gracious Father we were able to stay for three weeks working and trying to learn culture and language.

In the next blog I will write about the work and physical aspect of our trip. This blog I will just relate about what God did with our time in Quchumi.

We entered Quchumi the 13th of June trying to find a Man of Peace to stay with, work with, and eat with in order to earn our keep while we studied the language and culture and built relationships.

There were many hardships that we encountered. The suspiciousness of the people at first, the food, and the work. We started working for several different people in the community, which turned out to be a blessing in itself allowing us to get to know more people in the community. We, however, finally ended up with our Man of Peace in the last seven days of our stay, which we worked really hard for him all those days. He was, by God´s design, the owner of the house we had been staying in the whole time, but did not find this out until the end.

The greatest hardship was the language barrier. Many of the inhabitants of Quchumi spoke enough Spanish for us to get by, though most of the time our limited Spanish exceeded their level. We had few chances to practice the language but heard it a fair amount. The temptation was great to begin telling the Gospel in Spanish, but to keep the Gospel pure we refrained. It was quite difficult to stay for such an extended time without engaging in any time of ¨Evangelistic Outreach¨ or even start storying. We strongly believe, however, in our method of learning the language and teaching the stories, God´s Story, from beginning to end if not to cheat or rob them of truly understanding His Message.

At many times it just felt like we were surviving. We would get up and work, some days for over ten hours with little conversation (when eating with the Quechua in their homes they usually serve guests outside while they eat separately inside their house). I believe even with the barriers of language and limited fellowship we were still able to build valid relationships. At times long days of work were made all the worth it when a five minute conversation somehow came through revealing their interest in hearing the Gospel. Upon many questions we found out the people have a general idea about God, almost nothing of Jesus, but all have the interest to learn the Word. We have received an invitation to come back any time to stay with them and to start teaching.

At times it was extremely difficult to keep looking down the road to when we could start storying. This is such an important process and during days of hard work, eating a million potatoes, of being the outsiders for so long, we had to keep saying to ourselves, ¨we are doing this so they can hear.¨ Though through this work we aren´t able to see any ¨results¨ yet, we believe it will lead to something beautiful. As the saints of old greeted the unreceived promises from afar we too greet the promise that the Quechua will hear and we continue in that hope.

¨...not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar...¨ - Hebrews 11:13

Beside Still Waters

My partner and I just got back from a short trip from the major communities in the Chayanta Province. We needed to make good contacts and get some more information about the area before we headed out for months at a time.

The trip was absolutley amazing and I don´t have time or space here to tell how God just showed Himself over and over again. In Ravelo, the first community, we couldn´t find anyone that knew anyone from the church and pastor has left to go somewhere. It started off rough and I remember being so discouraged right from the beginning thinking we weren´t going to find anything or be able to visit all the communities on the list in the short allotted time we had. God was ready to prove me wrong.

We got on the next bus to get to the small community outside of Ravelo, and I sat there on the thiry minute praying hard to God that He would just move and we could see Him move. There was a nice guy on the bus that helped me with my bag (I had nowhere to put it). When we got off to this tiny village, the guy that helped got off too. I asked him if he knew if there was a church in this village and if there was could I talk with the pastor. It turned out that he was the pastor and we had such a great conversation and he helped us so much.

From that point I was able to have peace in His providence and for the rest of the trip things happened in such a way that I looked back and said, ¨That was Him,¨ whether it was receiving food from random farmers who couldn´t speak spanish when we didn´t have food as we were just walking by, or finding the only bus leaving a certain city to the very place we needed to go, but only because the woman at the little store brought it up randomly (or not so randomly), we felt His presence everywhere. Only in His timing and His way were we able to reach each community that was on the list in four days (we had 7 or 8 to do so), though couldn´t have done it if we needed one more day given that we didn´t bring enough money. When we got back home to Sucre we had less than 20 cents between the two of us.

I praise God because I know for a fact that He did everything, brought us to each and every place we needed to go, and met people on the road and every corner who were exactly the person we needed to talk to. At times as we had our backpacks and met other travelers I felt as if I was in The Pilgrim´s Progress and each person, each city, each experience we grew in Him, in His presence, as well as His pleasure. He lead us every step of the way, and in His peace we were always beside still waters.

I didn´t take a bath for four days, and if this was fifteen years ago I would have been really proud of that. I was happy to get a hot shower this time around though.

¨He leads me beside still waters.¨
- Psalms 23:2

Moments of Silence

I can honestly say that one of my biggest vices and biggest weaknesses is impatience. I am sure anyone can confirm this with any of my friends or family. When I ran track the worst thing about a track meet was the time I had to wait before my race. I would sit there on the bleachers watching everyone else do their event, sitting in the unbearable sun, listening to my CD player, trying not to think of the four hours before my race. It would never fail and my nerves would start to get to me and I would get restless. I was already so nervous for the race to sit there and have all the time in the world before my event was the worst. I could not enjoy a meet until my event was over. I remember being so unbearable. By the time my race came about I was so worked up that I was mentally shot because I had wasted so much energy being impatient. Sometimes I feel I am in that state now...impatiently waiting for my race.

Patience is defined in the dictionary as ¨the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.¨ Also, ¨an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.¨ 1

I never saw this impatience as a serious evil…until recently. There has been much delay since I have gotten out of training. I had touched briefly on this in my other post, ¨Walking in the Wilderness.¨ I find myself still there, still complaining. I have been able to see my impatience, my attitude towards the situation as fervor or a strong passionate desire to do ¨what¨ I came here to do. The Father has been showing me something different, which I would like to think recently but know He has been trying to tell me for sometime.

The evil of impatience I have found breeds many more vices. It is a mother vice. In my impatience, in my complaints that my present circumstance are somehow not satisfactory, that God is not ¨using¨ me, I have found my self doubting, fearing, and questioning the Will of God. It is as if He is not enough in all circumstances. Who am I to not bear annoyance, irritation, or the like when confronted with delay? Our Lord Jesus waited 30 years before starting His ministry and I am sure during that time ¨grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God…¨ (Luke 2:52)

In Hebrew, I believe (correct me if I am wrong) the word for wait is the same word for hope. Or at the very least is interchangeable in the translation to English. I find this to be so beautiful. In waiting on God we are hoping for what is to come. By being impatient I have shown my lack of trust and faith. But I am ready to hope. I am ready to be patient and allow Him to speak to me and enjoy His presence.

In struggling in this matter, my boss made an incredible analogy. Though I know almost nothing about music, he explained this situation like a piece played on a piano. That the audience hears beautiful melodies and walks away remembering the main parts, the climaxes of the piece. But, he said, it is the moments of silence that no one notices but are most essential in setting up the parts that are the most memorable. It is a preparation, a climatic anticipation that truly creates something so beautiful.

I can remember so many times in my life periods of waiting on the next thing and being impatient in the process. I am still learning this, and maybe this is what I have to learn before I can start racing again. But I can also tell you that these ¨moments of silence¨ were always precursors to God doing an amazing work in my life. I cannot begin to grasp to what God is up to now with all this waiting, all this silence. But I wait and I hope and in this, in Him I can have joy and trust His timing. I will be thankful for this moment of silence for I know that something beautiful will proceed.

1. Dictionary - http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/patience

Out of the Grey Twilight

One of the things I like about South America is that they name streets and plazas after important days in their history. One can see almost anywhere a street named 9 de Agosto or 24 de Septiembre. Though they mean almost absolutely nothing to me (except September 24th is Carmen’s, my sister-in-law, birthday) they have grown into something to celebrate, something to remember, something to reflect on what they were before and what they became after.

I believe April 18th will always have this importance to me. Today, the 18th of April, is exactly a year since a stepped on Peruvian soil to embrace the work that the Lord had called me to do. More importantly, however, it is my mom’s birthday. If you will indulge me a little, I was hoping to dedicate this blog to my mom, Mary Ann Michael.

Where should I begin to describe my mother? She is probably the most wonderful person I know in this world. She is so beautiful, though in her humility she would never admit it. I was so fortunate to inherit her dark eyes and auburn hair. She is intelligent, and discerning, and has a depth of wisdom not seen in many people. She has always been so committed to the Lord and so insistent about doing the right thing. My mom used to tell me when I was faced with a decision that had any moral weight, “I trust you will do the right thing.” Of course this was enough for me to do the right thing. Her commitment to us as a family was second to none, and we never did without. But more importantly she was always there for us, always ready to listen, always there when we needed her.

She is probably the coolest mother in the world as well. On any given day, walking into the house I could always find my mom so content to be watching a baseball game (it could be just as well be basketball, hockey, or football) while doing a load of clothes (usually mine). At all my games from little league to high school she kept my all my stats, no matter what the sport. After the game she would usually give me advice on how I could have played better. She one time caught for me when I used to pitch to help me warm up. Though after receiving a wild pitch in the throat we decided it best not to do that anymore. Since I have been down in South America she always giving me updates on the major sports and it is great that we share the same passionate hatred for Duke, Atlanta Braves, Dallas Cowboys, and the Boston Redsox. She also loves action flicks and novels. And at the same time she has a love for cats, even though at one time she was allergic. I can also say that I have had some of my best talks on theology and life with her, and she always listens despite my nonsense.

I think her greatest legacy has been her battles with Cancer, and how she has overcome them one by one through the strength of our Gracious Father. She has been diagnosed with cancer four different times, and it has been through this that she has allowed herself to grow, to trust, and to come out of it stronger every time. She used to say if she could only see all her kids graduate that she would be so thankful. And that day came, and I started to realize how precious she saw each and everyday. Her continual faith has been the greatest example I have ever seen and I could not be more blessed.

And so today is her birthday and her son is a million miles away. It was on her birthday this time last year that I last saw her. She has been my biggest supporter since I have been here and it was she that instilled in me a belief that I could do anything, because she always believed in me. And so here I am.

She gave me this quote from Theodore Roosevelt that says,

¨The person who succeeds is not the one who holds back, fearing failure, nor the one who never fails…but rather the one who moves on in spite of failure. Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumph, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with these poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory or defeat.¨

And so on the 18th of April I finally stepped out of the grey twilight that I had known for so long I became willing to be in the arena where I would face many defeats and many victories and lay my life in the hands of my Lord and trust that that alone is victory. What I have learned since I have been down here though I have always seen it in my mother is that great men are not great because of their accomplishments, for if anything those are given from the Lord, but it is how a man face circumstances no matter how beautiful, or how dire.

My mother taught me this if only by living it. And for her, for all that she is, I am thankful to the Father who lavishes us undeserving creatures with such a blessing. For her I celebrate the 18th of April, and if I was Peruvian I would name a street after this day.

Walking in the Wilderness

I am in Lima right now, just got out of the jungle near Pucallpa where I helped with the training that is going on now. I am still waiting on my partners to get their money so please keep praying for them. One of the trainees, Jeffrey Johnson, has since joined our team. He has to have surgery before he can start the work but we are excited about him coming to the team.

These past few months have been good and challenging but also hard in so many ways. The LORD has been working through me in many areas of my life and I wanted to share how. I will try to make this a little more brief as I have received complaints from my boss that they are too long. My bad.

I came here almost a year ago now, all with the intentions, the dreams, the expectations that the Father was going to use me and I would see Him move through a people group and they would come to know Him and His Glory. There have been many things that have delayed my actually working with my people group from arriving in the middle of a training having to wait three months to go through my own training, to not having partners and fulfilling obligations of the team. I have met a lot of frustration having the Quechua in my sights but not yet arriving. I have had in the back of my mind yet surfacing too often the idea that God will just not use me here, that I won’t see the work of His hand.

Reading in Deuteronomy the other day I came upon the passage in chapter eight that says, “And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep is commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

The Israelites were given the promise over four hundred years before, and though they were able to leave Egypt having the Promise Land in sight, they still had to walk for forty years until they were ready to receive the promise. It was hard to think that I could come down here for the desire for people to know Him, to be used in this way and after all that was done was me being changed and nothing more. But as I have walked these “forty years in the wilderness” I realized how much I needed that change and I have come to know that if He is going to use me He will use me in His way. My heart is stubborn and foolish, and this process has been necessary and still is to rid me of the things that hinder my usefulness to the Kingdom.

My prayer is that I will start living on the Word, that when tested the Father will be pleased to know what is in my heart, and that not by my acts or righteousness but by the mercy and grace of the LORD I will see this promised land.

“For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land…And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.”

Lead me to the Rock

Now in the City of Our Lady Peace (La Paz) and we are headed to Peru for our Annual Meeting for the Xtreme Team. I figured I would take this time to relate what happened in our last investigation trips. By the way, I have loaded many photos of our travels on Facebook, but have yet to do it on this blog site. Sorry about the delay it just takes a long time to download for that particular site.

After many delays we were able to finally head off to Colqa Pampa, one of the bigger communities about a seven to nine hour walk away over some pretty high mountains. My partners had taken a shady little bus the time before, but we all decided to do the walk this time, proving to be a lot shorter...and a lot harder.

The mountains we have to climb over stand mockingly to the east of our base camp in Pocoata. Upon first sight of them I was a little intimidated, then my feelings were confirmed with the ascent. Our base camp sits at over 11,000 feet, so with our climb we reached as high as 13,500 feet, just 500 feet below the tips of the rockies. At this altitude it is hard to breathe, and makes it that much harder trying to climb mountains.

Before we actually left, the caretaker of our house told us there was going to be a huge festival, and that all the people in all the communities would be drunk. With our limited time to do the investigation we thought we would give it a try anyway.

It seemed like nothing went right with this trip. The ¨Man of Peace¨ from Javier and Caleb´s last trip was not there, so we had no where to stay. People were getting drunk at ten in the morning, and so most of the people were incoherent. After my partner got in a awkward situation of where he had to drink some alcohol, we decided it best to leave and try to our chances with the other communities. It was all the same everywhere we went. It was such a sad situation and we decided to come back when this festival was over.

After a day of rest we decided to head back. The mountains this time looked smaller, more manageable and we reached all three communities in one day. Though having nowhere to stay in the first we tried the second, but they didn´t want us to stay, so we went to the third, called Qarchumi. At this time we had been walking for over nine hours and I was deserately praying for a place to stay the night. We had the option of the tent, but still had to walk a good ways to even set it up. We met with the Mayor of Qarchumi, a community of twenty families or so, and they fed us and we were able to stay with an elderly lady that night. God provided.

The next morning the Mayor told us that they had no work and nowhere for us to stay so we needed to go onto the next community. Feeling the rejection once again we left. As we were leaving another guy came up and gave us fruit and asked us where we were going. I told him we didn´t know but wanted to work for our food and a place to stay if only to learn from the culture. This man then gathered the leaders of the community including the mayor and after meeting for thirty minutes they questioned us about our reason for being there (some of them wanted money from the North American) but after explaining our desires, they all agreed to give us work, food, and a place to stay.

The first day we worked with the Mayor, basically clearing a field of rocks preparing it for planting. It was a good six hours of labor. The Mayor kept sticking leaves of cocaine in his mouth and chewing them, occasionally offering it to us, but we graciously declined. Caleb threw out his alcohol thinking it was left over water. This is what we call creating a barrier. His kids were with us throughout the day as well. They were kind of the highlight, laughing at everything I did.

We were really excited about this and one of the guys even mentioned that we could teach something every afternoon. Hoping to do this next morning we woke up with great expectations, only to be shattered by the news that none of the people had any work for us and couldn´t feed us. Once more the Mayor told us that we needed to leave.

Feeling somewhat unwelcomed we decided it was better to leave, but they promised they would allow us to stay another time. The elderly woman, who was wonderful, told us that when her husband returned we could work with him, and that she would cook us something very good. This was good news, on many accounts. We could return in the future and have someone that wanted us to stay and work provided, that and the promise of good food considering the time we were there, it was somewhat lacking.

The generosity of the people was such a blessing from God. The people kept bringing us potatoes and corn. It was overwhelming. Also because they would stand there in front of us waiting to get their bowl back, and after five bowls of potatoes we still had to put it down. God provided.

Not having sufficient time to investigate another area and a festival on the horizon we thought it best to return to Pocoata.

Thanks for all your prayers and please keep praying for Javier and Caleb. We still don´t know about their situation and are hoping to see the LORD work in way we know it is from Him.

Both small trips really pushed us to our limits at times. Between the physical aspect, trying to find our way, the drunkenness and rejection, and just trying to really inquire of God of what to do next, I felt so overwhelmed and drained at times. Though, in every situation, though at times ambiguous and uncomfortable, I could feel the LORD´s leading and the confirmation of His Will for my life. Looking at the foreboding mountains before me I could only think of all the times that God has called me to something terrifying, challenging, and ultimately higher than I. It is in this leading to the Rock that we are purged, tried, and ultimately changed into something more beautiful than we could ever imagine. It is in this leading that I rejoice. I hope to keep ascending.

¨from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.¨

- Psalm 61:2

Top of the Hill II

¨So Moses said to Joshua, `Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.`¨

We are finally headed to Pocoata, my base camp, and from there we are headed out to do various investigation trips. My partners still don´t have their promised money from their churches, but we are going to focus on the work until we have to return to Peru for our Xtreme Team reunion. We are leaving the money situation in the hands of God and while we are out we are hoping for some opportunities to present themselves.

This trip is very important for so many reasons. We have to investigate the area for how to travel in the future, know where the communities are, and study the culture in order to know how to present the Word in stories being sensative of the bridges and barriers.

Our first objective is to find a ¨Man of Peace,¨ someone that we can stay with and work for in order to earn our keep. We hope he will be the key to the community and we can make great contacts for future engagements.

In my partners´ last investigation the people were very suspicious of them and many were afraid because they are foreignors in this land. They did not know the meaning of the word, ¨missionary¨ so they assumed they were ¨Kelecheri,¨ which are people that steal blood from others in order to use it against them. They are a very suspicious people and we are just praying they will be open to a Gringo and two Peruvians, and we will be accepted.

We are also learning Quechua right now, Javier and I. This is of the upmost importance because most of these communities speak only Quechua. Caleb is Quechua, but being from Peru there is a lot of difference between the two dialects. We want to be able to communicate in nothing but Quechua and tell all the stories in Quechua so they have their own church, own Bible, and not just a religion of foreignors.

So, these are our prayer requests:

1. Find a man of peace.
2. Open doors to communities
3. Learning Quechua
4. Safe and Healthy travel
5. Support for Caleb and Javier

As Moses interceded on behalf of Joshua and the Israelites, I ask you now to do the same for us. In so many ways the fight is won by those on Top of the Hill and not those on the battlefield. We need the prayers of you faithful ones, and something we cherish with all our hearts. ¨

¨Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.¨

The Refuse

Right now I am in a city called Oruro, which is about six hours outside of our base camp in Pocoata. I just wanted to update about what is going on with our team and ask for a lot of prayer. This is quite a long post, but it would be great if you could take the time to read it.

I have two partners on the team. Caleb is from Sicuani, which is just outside of Cusco and is Quechuan. Javier is from Samán, a small community on the river between Pucallpa and Iquitos. For them both to work on our team that have had to raise support from their local churches. They were promised a certain amount, just enough to be able to live and work in Bolivia. After they completed their first investigation, they were out of money and came back to Oruro, which is the closest city that has an ATM, to get money. They only had enough money to get to this city but not enough to get back. When they arrived there was no money in either of their accounts. That night they slept on the street and went without food as well.

The local church was able to help out a little, enough for them to have a room to stay in and some crackers to eat. They used some of the money to buy back the camera they had to pawn in order to get some food. Coming back from Chile, I finally arrived to give some support. We have talked with the churches and are trying to work all this out. At one point Javier called his church and they had told him they changed their mind about the money and didn´t believe that he needed it. Right now we are still waiting on the churches to send the promised money.

At first the guys were really down, if you can imagine. They felt abandoned in so many ways, and felt even guilty for having feelings of resentment. Last night we met as the church and just start praying and reading scripture. To be honest it was really the first time our team was together and had such an opportunity to do so. It was such a beautiful thing. We had a time of confession, sharing what we learned and what we are learning, and as more time went on we really felt the presence of the Lord and our confidence grew that He was in control of the situation and we were able to start resting in that.

We read the passage in 1 Corinthians where Paul talks about what it means to be a missionary, a servant of Christ:

¨For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ´s sake...we are weak...we are held in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.¨

After reading this passage you could see the change within my partners by the appearance of their faces. It was like a joy washed over any disappointment, any sense of abandonment. We talked about what a privilege it is to be the refuse. This is what we signed up for, and more so what we are called to be. For now we see all these things of hardship and difficulties as a sign that we are in the lowest ranks, the most desired of all.

This is not to say we have faced so much, but only as all this happened as to prepare us for whatever the LORD has for us. That when we face hunger, thirst, sleepless nights, and total rejection, that it is not something strange happening but it is our life as Christians.

Caleb, the Quechua, is very soft spoken and even at times it is difficult to hear what he is saying, unlike Javier who loves to talk and at quite a substantial volume. Caleb shared the story of the Caleb in the Bible, and how at the end of his life he asked Joshua for the territory promised to him. He says, ¨And now behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.¨ My partner Caleb then said, that when the LORD called him to be a missionary He gave him such strength and such a desire to do so, and after all that happened, after so many years of training and waiting, like his name sake in the Bible, his strength and desire hasn´t diminished a bit.

Both of my partners have such a desire to see the lost who have never heard come to Christ, and they absolutley have to trust God´s provision for them to be able to do so.

One day in Pocoata, Caleb and I were eating lunch. We thought Javier was still in Peru because he had not received his money yet from the church. Caleb looks to me and say, ¨I feel as if Javier hasn´t eaten today. I don´t know why but I feel someone is telling me this.¨ Later that night, Javier shows up unexpectedly and turns out that he had been traveling all day and hadn´t eaten anything.

I have been blessed with the best partners, who are just so broken for the lost and so humble before the LORD. Please pray for them, that they can receive the support they need, and just be able to praise the LORD for His sovereign provision.

·Caleb is on the right and Javier is on the left

The Road I´m On

Part of my job is to travel...travel a lot. After having a moment of weakness, complaining that I had seen no victory (O how foolish I was), that I was just barely surviving. I then started reading in my journal and saw all the many things the LORD had brought me through, all the ways He had kept me safe, and how He had brought me to every place I needed to be.

This is a list that I was able to extract from my journal and expense reports and in the end I was blown away at the Faithfulness of the LORD, and how He had been with me everywhere I went.

4/18/7 - Orlando to Atlanta to Lima, Peru (plane)
4/19/7 - Lima to Puerto Maldonado (plane)
5/23/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Cusco
5/24/7 - Cusco to Lima
5/26/7 - Lima to Tarapoto
5/28/7 - Tarapato to Yurimaguas
5/30/7 - Yurimaguas to Nueva Vida
6/14/7 - Nueva Vida to Yurimaguas
6/16/7 - Yurimaguas to Tarapoto
6/17/7 - Tarapoto to Lima
6/19/7 - Lima to Pucallpa (plane)
6/20/7 - Pucallpa to Samán (boat)
7/8/7 - Samán to Pucallpa (boat)
7/13/7 - Pucallpa to Lima (plane)
7/17/7 - Lima to Cusco
7/18/7 - Cusco to Puerto Maldonado
7/20/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Cusco (plane)
7/22/7 - Cusco to Tacna
7/23/7 - Tacna to Arica, Chile to Tacna
7/23/7 - Tacna to Lima (plane)
7/27/7 - Lima to Puerto Maldonado (plane)
8/31/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Laberinto
9/2/7 - Laberinto to Puerto Maldonado
9/10/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Laberinto
9/12/7 - Laberinto to Puerto Maldonado
9/17/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Laberinto
9/19/7 - Laberinto to Puerto Maldonado
9/24/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Laberinto
9/29/7 - Laberinto to Puerto Maldonado
10/4/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Laberinto
10/6/7 - Laberinto to Puerto Maldonado
10/12/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Laberinto
10/14/7 - Laberinto to Puerto Maldonado
10/19/7 -Puerto Maldonado to Laberinto
10/20/7 - Laberinto to Puerto Maldonado
10/21/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Lima (plane)
10/23/7 - Lima to Puerto Maldonado (plane)
10/27/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Laberinto
10/29/7 - Laberinto to Puerto Maldonado
11/9/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Cusco
11/11/7 - Cusco to Sicuani
11/12/7 - Sicuani to Cusco
11/15/7 - Cusco to Puerto Maldonado
11/28/7 - Puerto Maldonado to Cusco
11/30/7 - Cusco to Lima
12/3/7 - Lima to Guayaquil, Ecuador
12/4/7 - Guayaquil to Quito
12/14/7 - Quito to Borbón
12/15/7 - Borbón to Loma Linda (boat)
12/16/7 - Loma Linda to Zapallo Grande (boat)
12/17/7 - Zapallo Grande to Borbón to Esmeraldes to Quito
12/23/7 - Quito to Guayaquil
1/2/8 - Guayaquil to Lima, Peru
1/4/8 - Lima to Cusco
1/6/8 - Cusco to Puno
1/7/8 - Puno to Copacabana, Bolivia
1/9/8 - Copacabana to La Paz
1/11/8 - La Paz to Oruro to Llallagua
1/12/8 - Llallagua to Pocoata
1/18/8 - Pocoata to Llallagua to Oruro to Cochabamba
1/21/8 - Cochabamba to Santa Cruz (plane)
1/22/8 - Santa Cruz to Santiago, Chile (plane)
1/29/8 - Santiago to Santa Cruz to Cochabamba (plane)
1/29/8 - Cochabamba to Oruro
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2/1/8 - Oruro to Llallagua
2/4/8 - Llallagua to Oruro
2/6/8 - Oruro to Llallagua to Pocoata
2/7/8 - Pocoata to Colqa Pampa (walking)
2/9/8 - Colqa Pampa to Pocoata (walking)
2/11/8 - Pocoata to Colqa Pampa to Taruqa to Qarchumi (walking)
2/13/8 - Qarchumi to Colqa Pampa to Pocoata (walking)
2/16/8 - Pocoata to Llallagua to Oruro
2/17/8 - Oruro to La Paz

2/20/8 - La Paz to Puno

2/21/8 - Puno to Arequipa

2/28/8 - Arequipa to Lima

3/2/8 - Lima to Pucallpa

3/12/8 - Pucallpa to Lima
3/30/8 - Lima to La Paz
3/31/8 - La Paz to Sucre
4/8/8 - Sucre to Cochabamba
4/10/8 - Cochabamba to Santa Cruz
4/15/8 - Santa Cruz to Lima, Peru (Plane)
4/28/8 - Lima to Cusco
5/2/8 - Cusco to Puno
5/3/8 - Puno to La Paz, Boliva
5/4/8 - La Paz to Cochabamba

· The travels that have no description after them means we traveled by bus or taxi.

I take a lot of buses. Many of these buses take anywhere from ten hours to over thirty hours. On a bus we don´t have much to do. They usually blare horrible regge music or show some movie from the eighties that I didn´t know Kevin Costner played in dubbed in horrible spanish. Many times it is a good opportunity to pray, to reflect, and just try to focus on what needs to be done in the future.

I started training on the 12th of August and it ended on the 20th of November. During this time my partner and I would take trips to this community called Laberinto about an hour away to practice stories and just being a missionary.

Boats would range anywhere from a peki peki, which is a boat carved out of a tree with a very undependable motor called a peki (hence the name) to a huge boat called a launcha, where the boat was full of hammocks stretching from one end to another. Going from Samán to Pucallpa was a three day ride.

I know it just appears to be places and dates and nothing more to many people, but to me I am able to see how we waited for a boat for a week because of a strike in a city, how my symptoms for Typhoid went away hours before a two day boat ride, and how no matter what the situation the LORD brought me safely home and always on His timing, which is always the right time.

So, this is the road I´m on and who knows for how long. At times I have no place to rest my head, but resting in Him and having Him walk this road with me I could not be in a better place.

Back to the Holy Hill

I have been wanting to share what the Lord has been doing in my life ever since training. It has been many a valley and mountain but a journey that eventually brought me to the sweet presence of the Savior.

After training a spent a month in Ecuador with a native of the land, Fausto, that went through training with me. We did an investigation trip up in the north of Ecuador of a people group we are looking to engage in the future with Xtreme Team. For some reason, many reasons, I just really struggled spiritually there. I had a few highlights, one of them being with my brother Mateo Baker and just be really encouraged by his walk and seeing how the Lord is working through him. It was, however, a time I just really struggled to maintain time with the Lord and stay focused. The actual people group I am working with seemed to be lifetimes a way and I started listening to the lies of the enemy that the Lord would just not use me, that He could not use me. On top of this it just seemed like I found myself around everyone else´s family around Christmas time and I just felt terribly lonely.

During Christmas time I got really sick, some kind of infection, and it just deepened my valley. This prolonged my meeting up with my partners and being able to head to Bolivia.

I was finally able to go and I took an almost two day bus ride from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Lima, Peru, that day took a day long bus ride to Cusco, from Cusco to Puno, and then from Puno another bus ride to Copacabana in Bolivia. We were headed to La Paz and eventually our base camp when there was Paro, or a blockade that Bolivia does every now and then, and all the roads were shut down. So, we were stuck. That day I got really sick again. This is when I felt totally defeated and attacked from every side.

I wish I could explain this situation, and I hope to do it justice because it was something so profound, terrible, and wonderful all at the same time. My struggle was that I was attacked with all these feelings of doubt, fear, and guilt. I felt so weak, so helpless, so worthless and I had been crying out to the Lord asking for some kind of relief. And to be honest, ashamed as well, I could not understand why I was struggling so much with all these feelings. I had been in the continent away from family and friends, spending so much time alone for many months, and I was proud that I had survived and was keeping on. It had now felt that the Lord had taken away His protective Hand and was now leaving me to myself, to my weaknesses, to my overall inability.

I began to search for sin in my life, disobedience, anything that was hindering my relationship with my Father. The one glimmer of hope that I did have was that it might have been from the enemy and the Lord had something truly, wonderfully special for me, that He was going to use me and it was something that the Enemy was trying to prevent.

In the end I was really, truly, desperately seeking the Lord, for answers, for understanding, for endurance, for fellowship, anything to save me from the mire that I found myself in, and absolutley helpless of getting out. And one thing that I have to confess is that over the previous months I had been not having much time with the Lord, not in the sense that I was seeking Him, and not satisfied until we had our fellowship. I knew at the time, even was confident, that it had been the Lord who had carried me this whole time, had been my strength, had pushed me along the road, and with out His Hand I was utterly, hopelessly, tragically lost.

The Lord had been walking with me so intimately despite my neglect, my lack of passion, and in order for me to realize what a grave, dangerous position I was in, He let me walk alone for a bit. How lonely I truly was. It wasn´t just that I had been away from friends, family, and any type of thing familiar, but the Lord, my King, my passion, my life had been removed from me and I could not feel Him.

But it is in the absence of something that one finally realizes what it meant to them.

So, to try to describe how it was, it felt as if God had been wanting me to come into His presence, to be in The Holy Hill, to be consumed by His righteousness and goodness...but I was settling for just getting by, walking alone. And by withdrawing His Hand, His presence it brought me to the point of desperately seeking Him. It is really only in this place of desperately needing Him that is an accurate description of our relation to Him. I must be in this state of desperation at all times of constantly seeking Him and not being satisfied until I am on top of that terrible, beautiful mountain, that Holy Hill.

¨O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your Holy Hill?¨

I also have to give a thanks to all those who prayed for me that knew I was struggling, and to those who prayed without knowing what spiritually was going on. Being without contact at times can bring me to a place that I am utterly alone and I feel that I am fighting this uphill battle with no support. But part of the lesson that I learned, that the Father wanted to show me, was that I have so many warriors praying for me, lifting their hands on the hill interceding for me, and that I am not alone. To all of you who pray so conistently, you are so important to me, so dear to my heart. God is using you in such a mighty way to carry me through all of this. From the bottom of my heart I give you thanks. I am eternally indebted to you.