South of the Border(s)

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. If so, I will be several thousand words short in telling you about my trip back to Colombia, because my camera was stolen, down on the edge of the jungle. I was sorrier about the loss of the pictures than I was about the loss of the camera; I’d taken some really good ones. But I’d decided beforehand that I was willing to run the risk of losing the camera in order to get pictures. I don’t regret the decision. It’s the same with life. We can carefully shield ourselves from all danger and uncertainty, or consciously choose to be exposed to hardship in our pursuit of God and His will. We do run the risk of losing what we hold dear in this life, if we choose the latter course of action. But there is a difference between me risking my camera and Christ’s followers laying their lives on the line. My pictures are gone for good, but whatever we lose in the service of Christ will be repaid a hundredfold (Mark 10:29-30).  

Off the coast of Florida

I was back in Colombia for nearly three weeks, this February. The period was book-ended by a couple episodes of “Delhi belly” (except in this case, “Bogotá belly” might be a better name). This nefarious malady doubles as an effective weight-loss tool; forget the South Beach Diet, Colombian street food is the answer for you!! So much for the supposed glories of missionary life; I assure you that nobody feels too spiritual at 3 a.m. after ingesting a toxic empanada the previous afternoon.  

 

I think this was pre-empanada. I didn't feel like going up on the roof, post-empanada.

The purpose of the trip was a little nebulous, at the beginning. Honestly, it was like this – the Lord opened the door for me to go, and so I went. He defined things for me as the days went by. Looking back, there were multiple reasons for it. For one, it was the catalyst for me to process my year and a half living in Colombia. So many things happened during that period that I hadn’t really dealt with in any meaningful way. Being back in Colombia gave me the opportunity to digest the experiences I’d had there in the past.    

Bogotá - el Centro

 

For another, it was a visionary trip. Not only did I deal with the past, but God gave me a peek into what He has for me in Colombia in the future. For some time I have been grappling with the question of what exactly the Lord wants me to do there. Merely moving to another country never makes a person a missionary; concrete action has to be taken if disciples are to be made. I have passed many years with a vague sort of vision for rural Colombia. Over the past few months, that vision has become sharper. It has narrowed down to planting New Testament-based churches in strategic locations throughout rural Colombia, particularly in the jungle. The vision had become clear to me before this trip, and going back to Colombia for a couple weeks was the chance to do what I hadn’t had time to while I was working in Colombia. I was able to talk to missionaries who are involved in work similar to the kind that I believe God wants me to be involved in, and see some of what’s happening firsthand. It was a real encouragement, to tell the truth. It gave me an optimism about the future in Colombia that I haven’t had for some time. And I’m excited about what God has in store. 

 

 …And then again, another reason for going back was to sharpen up on my Spanish, which has gotten so rusty that it’s unquestionably scary! 2 ½ weeks of Colombia was an awesome refresher course, but I’m afraid that it’s not where it was when I left for the States last September. 

Graffiti in the center of town

I started off in the capitol city of Bogotá – the only part of the trip that I have photos from. I visited the school I used to teach at, as well as several old friends and a few new ones. A few days later I went to a town called Villa de Leyva in the department of Boyacá. Here I helped out at a Christian camp for a couple days, mostly by helping to dig a trench and trimming up some very overgrown trees. This area of Colombia is beautiful. (Here’s where a picture or two would have come in handy, but I’ll just have to let you Google it, if you’re that interested!) Villa de Leyva is the cleanest town I have ever been to in Colombia, probably because of the large influx of tourists who boost its economy. The camp I was at has tremendous potential to serve churches across Colombia; what they could really use are volunteers to chip in and help with the upkeep and improvement of the facilities. Anybody interested?! 

The best was saved for last – several days in San Jose del Guaviare, which is on the edge of the jungle. It’s a blazing hot summer down there right now; the most recent rainfall was a few days after the new year, and the dust on the roads is inches thick in places. The Guaviare grabbed my attention the first time I saw it, as a college intern who spoke no Spanish and had no idea where they were or what they were doing. I pretty much fell in love with the place, honestly. That was four years ago, and I’ve never quite recovered since. Whenever I’ve been in the jungle, it’s as if the Lord has told me, I saved you for this. Now we are saved from and to many things; elaborating them isn’t the point of this post. But I do know that, among other purposes, I was granted salvation so that I might serve God in Colombia’s jungles. And that is an awesome and fearful privilege and responsibility.      

Sunday @ Orquideas in Bogota

I’ve purposely refrained from talking about specific people I encountered on this trip; I need to keep the privacy of some, and if I talked about all of them, this post would be way too long (you’re thinking, Well duh, like it isn’t already…?!?!). But the people were by far the highlight. I’m thinking of several, but I’ll just mention Gustavo. Gustavo is a 44-year-old from the coast of Colombia, who has just about one of the biggest genuine smiles I’ve ever seen on the face of anybody. I met him and his family over a year ago, on a trip to the Guaviare. They work with an indigenous group close to San Jose; they’ve learned the culture and language, developed relationships, and are in the process of translating the Bible into the language. This is the investment of a lifetime; you don’t just up and quit in the middle of it because you feel like it. I stayed with Gustavo’s family while I was in the Guaviare, and was impressed by several things –their sacrificial hospitality and acceptance, their godliness while just being normal people, their joy, their humility, their perseverance, among others. If you think that a missionary is always a pith-helmet-topped white guy in darkest Africa, you’re dead wrong; there are people from many cultures like Gustavo and his family – Christ’s ambassadors taking the Gospel across cultural and language barriers around the world. Get to know some of them!      

 

Gustavo and his family (thanks, Facebook)! 

It’s been nine years since I became a Christ-follower, and since God called me to Colombia. I still haven’t been able to move there long-term. The longest I’ve been in Colombia was for about 1 ½ years. I really thought the move there in 2012 would be permanent, but God had other ideas, obviously, and I still wait for the day when I’ll be able to go there and stay indefinitely. In the meantime, I continue running around like a nut between states and continents. Since the new year, I’ve been to Colorado-Iowa-Colorado-Colombia-Colorado. It’s been a good reminder of what on earth we’re doing here anyway; like Abraham, I’ve been called to go out, and I’ve gone out, although I haven’t always known where I’m going, in the short-term. I’m dwelling by faith in a foreign country, waiting for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:8-10). Our status, my brothers and sisters, is that of strangers and pilgrims (v. 13). Maybe you haven’t been to two states and as many continents since January 1^st, but you’re fully as much of a stranger in a foreign country as I am, if you’re Christ’s. Don’t lose sight of your heavenly home! And on your journey there, live on purpose to magnify the glories of your God to those around you, to the end that they might follow you on the same road.

 

For now, as far as I can see, a short trip to Utah will probably come up in mid-March, then a few months in Colorado. There’s a chance I might move to Texas later in the year; I’ll update y’all as I know more. Pray that I’ll abide in faith, hope, and love as God unfolds the particulars of His good and perfect will. Keeping in mind that our true homeland is yet to come, Colombia is nevertheless where I belong, for as far as I can see into the future. I miss the place with all my heart; it’s frustrating not to be there, but then again, this is a good chance to learn to rejoice in God’s will, instead of grudgingly bearing with it. Frustration is not in order; neither is panic, discontent, worry, or other related sins. Only faith and trust in a good God, who does all things well. And so remembering the faith of Abraham, and the Faithful One who had his trust, I leave you with these words from Hebrews:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (12:1-2).

Look to Him!