Amazon trip video

 

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

One Path

Our lives are complicated! They are wrapped in emotion and tend to be directly affected by our immediate surroundings and state of being. Joy, peace, sorrow, dispare, boardem, excitement, depression, hope, loneliness, love, anxiety, and fear bombard us constantly. Living life without faith leaves one completely vulnerable to the emotional storms of life. Faith in God is a gift. It allows our hearts to stay centered, faith keeps us from going over the deep end, faith allows us to believe that there is more to life than just existence. I am very thankful for the faith that I have found in Jesus Christ.



Ephesians 2:8

New International Version (NIV)

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God

Metamorphosis

While visiting the Amazon jungle I saw many different flying insects. My favorites were the dragon flies. They came in many different colors and sizes and seemed to fly with purpose. Upon my return I found out another interesting aspect of their existence that made their lives seem even more interesting.

From the time a dragonfly egg hatches, it can live anywhere from six months to six years, but only about two months as an actual dragonfly. Most of their time is spent as a nymph in the water before the dragonfly’s metamorphosis into a full grown dragonfly.

It is interesting to me that a creature so beautiful, and perfectly designed to soar spends the bulk of its life wiggling through the watter doing its best to eat and avoid being eaten. After reading this fact I began to wonder what is required in my life for true transformation. Romans calls us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This verse instructs me to give my whole self, holding nothing back. It is my prayer today that God would grant me the faith to fully trust in him, holding nothing back so that I may experience transformation allowing him to soar in me.

Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Bogata, a moment captured

Bogata, a city of 8 million. It is 11pm and at the moment I am only interested in finding 1 of those people. Senior Saul, our caretaker for the night. Walking out of customs I search the many waving signs for my name. Daniel with a significant height advantage at 6' 9" spots senior Saul first. 35 min later we find ourselves at the home of our caretaker in the sprawling suburbs of Bogata. It has been a long day, but a good one. I close my eyes wondering what God has in store for tomorrow.

The morning comes early, but the cold shower and fine Columbian coffee do their job. Daniel and I follow Saul down the street to a small cafe. He patiently instructs us how to order in Spanish then grins like a proud papa when we both succeed in ordering coffee, eggs, and perisian style bread.

Over breakfast we struggle to communicate with our limited Spanish. I learn that Saul is an artist and ask to see his paintings. His studio is on the third floor of his home. The street level is occupied by a restaurant and the second floor is the living area. saul's paintings are beautiful. We linger in the studIo for a time and Saul picks up a guitar and plays some traditional Columbian tunes. I then ask if he would like to see some of my work. I have brought with me several sketch books and a few photos. At this point the communication feels less strained.

Saul holding a sketch of Jesus on the cross that I have shared with him looks at us very seriously and begins to share his testimony. Saul in his 60s has been a Christian for 17 years. Through Spanish, pantomime, and broken English he shares with us how he came to know Christ and decided to open up his home to missionaries and pastors who are passing through Bogata.

I met Saul as a caretaker, but he dropped me off this afternoon at the airport as a fellow artist and brother in Christ.

Daniel and I are currently on our way to Leticia to meet Our local missionary contact Orchidy Boyd.

I will finish this post with the thought that is running through my mind. We serve a truly creative God, who does not see color, language, or culture as a barrier, but only as an opportunity for creating unique connections that will draw us closer to Him and one another.

Casa de Orchidy

While in the Jungle we stayed in a one room open air structure built 8 feet off the ground. The locals called it Casa de Orchidy because it is the house that Orchidy (local missionary) stays in during her frequent visits to the village. I sketched this drawing for Orchidy's doctor, a man who not only cares for the physical needs of his patients, but who takes time to get to know them personally and will ofter use prayer as part of his treatment. He said he would remember to pray for Orchidy and the Yagua tribe each time he looks at the sketch.


Isaiah 4:6
(NIV)

6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.