the jungle call

We are home, exchanging the real jungle for one composed of concrete. Unlike any other experience, this story will take time to process.

An excerpt from Tuesday's journal on the return flight reads:

I phoned the States and talked to my Dad, Ali and Cheeks, but I struggled to articulate what exactly has happened that could fill this notebook, 20 hours of tape and half a gig of memory cards. It's been a journey of adventure, of stretching, of uncomfortable conditions and incomparable beauty.

The Man-Maker has certainly cut this trail, and the team has walked it valiantly under His Power. This is a story of forgiveness, of mercy, of love, of needs and generosity and sacrifice. It amplifies the extreme call of Jesus and His followers to take His story to the ends of the earth.

It is a story of hope and potential, heartbreak and oppression, empty promises and the age-old tale of humans leveraging power over the powerless, the love of money versus the love of God, of turning the other cheek, of bearing with one another in love. It illuminates the role of family and fidelity and communal living, contrasted against the rugged individualism and rampant materialism of the West.

It is a story of God's provision in nature, of tilling the earth, of co-creating, of naming the plants and animals, of exercising dominion over the ground we labor against. Above all, it is a story of the great diversity and riches in the Body of Christ.

An excerpt from Through Gates of Splendor, from the writings of Pete Fleming:

"It has seemed that the severe requirements of a difficult field like Ecuador are matched on a spiritual level by the severe requirements placed on real disciples. Ecuador, as it seems, is a God-given opportunity to place God's principles and promises to the extreme test.

This door seems to be opening at a time when I was looking to the Lord regarding the future, and thus is the Lord's answers to my prayers. Remember the last few verses of I Corinthians 3: 'For all things are yours . . . and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.'

Throughout all our personality we are God's and since God has made our whole selves, there is great joy in realizing who is our Creator. This realization is to permeate every area and level of life. In appreciation of beauty, mountains, music, poetry, knowledge, people, science--even in the tang of an apple--God is there, to reflect the joy of His presence in the believer who will realize God's purposes in all things."

ecuador schedule

Below is the schedule for the Ecuador trip to visit the Waodani Indians. Please pray:

January 20: Leave Grand Rapids at 3:30 p.m. to drive to Chicago.

January 21: Fly from Chicago to Miami; Miami to Quito, Ecuador. Arrive at 7:20 p.m. (EST)

January 22: Bus trip past volcano to Shell Mera. Stay in hotel overnight and prepare goods for the jungle.

January 23—27: Cessna flight into the jungle with three planes, with possible stopover in Tiweaeno. During these five days we engage intense church planning, Bible study, testimonies, projects with women and children, prayer with the elders, relationship connections, encouragement, strategizing.

January 28: Fly out of jungle, bus trip to Quito.

January 29: Day of relaxation and reflection in Quito.

January 30: Fly from Quito to Miami; Miami to Chicago; drive from Chicago to GR. Arrive in GR at 11 p.m.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

expect the (un)expected

On Friday night I was invited to go to the Amazon jungle in Ecuador on an eleven-day trip to visit the Waodani people, the indigenous Indian tribe made famous for killing Christian missionaries in 1956. To say this was unexpected is an understatement.

Late that night, I began to dig into the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship, a book that slices to the core of “following Jesus.” While searching for clarity on this opportunity, which at first glance, appeared impossible, I reasoned, “There is work to be done, meetings to attend to, plans to make and bills to pay.”

But Bonhoeffer, a positively-subversive Christian who was martyred at the hands of Hitler’s Nazi forces at the end of WWII, wrote clearly on the summoning of Levi (Mark 2:14) and Peter, on Jesus’ famous calling, “Come, follow me.”

“So long as Levi sits at the receipt of custom, and Peter at his nets, they could both pursue their trade honestly and dutifully, and they might both enjoy religious experiences, old and new. But if they want to believe in God, the only way is to follow his incarnate Son.

Until that day, everything had been different. They could remain in obscurity, pursuing their work as the quiet in the land, observing the law and waiting for the coming of the Messiah.

But now he has come, and his call goes forth.

Faith can no longer mean sitting still and waiting—they must rise and follow him. The call frees them from all earthly ties, and binds them to Jesus Christ alone. They must burn their boats and plunge into absolute insecurity in order to learn the demand and the gift of Christ. Had Levi stayed at his post, Jesus might have been his present help in trouble, but not the Lord of his whole life.

Peter had to leave the ship and risk his life on the sea, in order to learn both his own weakness and the almighty power of his Lord. If Peter had not taken the risk, he would never have learnt the meaning of faith.”

Bonhoeffer’s writing resonated strongly with my heart, partnered with spiritual stirrings of late and piecing together the events of the past few months. This morning, a good friend wrote, “Since I first heard about [the trip], it's had the aroma of God with it.”

Last Tuesday night I had the privilege to lead worship for our church community, wondering aloud what God will do with open people, “living sacrifices” willing to be consumed by God in every facet of our lives. My dad joked that we should be careful what we ask for, and I agree (James 5:12, Matthew 5:36). Before bed that night I scratched a phrase on a piece of paper, “Lord, enlarge the territories of our hearts.”

Days before, I had written a song while resting on the Sabbath about the freedom that is ours in Christ, expressed eloquently by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5. The lyrics to ‘Rhythms of Your Love’ are:

It’s for freedom
That Christ has set us free

Holy God, give us sight
Give us ears to hear Your still strong voice
Holy God, fill us up
Keep us moving to the rhythms of Your love

So we won’t be burdened now
By the yoke of slavery
It’s for freedom
That Christ has set us free

So we’ll love each other now
Break the chains of slavery
It’s for freedom
That Christ has set us free

Lord, soften our hearts
Lord, open our eyes
Give us ears to hear
And hearts that understand

I just booked my flight. On Sunday, we’ll drive to Chicago and fly to Ecuador on Monday. On Wednesday, we’ll board three Cessna planes that will take thirteen of us deep into the Amazon jungle, where we’ll travel by hollowed-out canoes down the river to our team village.

We’ll be spending five days living with and encouraging the leaders of the Waodani church. My primary role is storytelling through video, photography and writing, and whatever unknowns God has in his queue. We’ll return to the U.S. on January 30.

Thank you for your prayers for the movement and protection of God on the trip.

the scales of sadness (a song)

may the scales of sadness
fall from her eyes
will You pull her from darkness?
right into Your light?

may the lies and deceptions
fade from her ears
will You give her new birth?
she’s been dead all these years

from the miry clay
from the depths of hurt
You pull us up
You lift our heads

so, God Almighty
shine Your light
so, God Almighty
shine Your light

may folly and madness
fade from her mind
transformed by Your kindness
renewed in Your time

may the scales of sadness
fall from her eyes
will You pull her from darkness?
right into Your light?

dreams for the new year

The first day of last year began by walking on water. Trudging down the path away from my parent’s house, through the woods and onto the water, where the blue sky met forest green trees, stuck to rocky cliffs hovering over the frozen mini sea.

And standing on the ice and blowing snow, in full view of the sun, I encountered Beauty in the midst of winter, and I knew it would be a good year. Not a year without trials or hardship or pain or disappointment, but a year well lived, where much was added, and much was taken away.

The first day of this New Year began with excitement, with renewal of dreams once stored away or forgotten or disregarded as impossible. But perhaps we should be in the practice of taking things out of boxes, rather than putting things in them.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 20:21)

Dream big in the New Year.