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."