Jungle Trip (part 3 of 3)

As we were doing the interviews for the students, a Brazilian man came up and asked if we wanted some Jacare (amazon crocodile). I have to say that I prefer Jacaré over any other meat – it is the cleanest, leanest and best tasting meat I have ever had. Don’t even think of comparing it to gator! It is like white steak…so I was listening to an Indian speak some broken Portuguese, writing his summary in English and listening to the “Jacaré conversation”. I knew they didn’t have the funds to buy it but when I head the price of 30 Reales (15US) I asked if they wanted it (I already knew the answer). I bought us lunch. I continued the interviews and took pictures of each young man to finish the project packet to send out to donors. While I was doing that, a couple of the young men went and prepared our feast.

As we wrapped up, we all headed to the eating area. Lunch – Jacaré and rice, with farinha of course. They also fixed me some juice. I didn’t realize it until that point but I was in desperate need of some fluids. We thanked the Lord for His provision – in Matis. I want to quickly say here, it never ceases to amaze me to hear people with different languages pray to our Father. Amazing to think that in a instant He created all these languages and now, some that have never mentioned His name are now beginning to thank Him for His provision.

They graciously served me first and gave me the best 2 pieces of meat. I was honored and humbled. Thankful that God has given me favor among these people and humbled by the fact that He would use me to serve them and help them learn and grow to share Christ with their families.

After lunch, it was time for me to go. I thanked them all and told them I looked forward to returning in January. Shapu, who has an incredible testimony of how Jesus used a Jaguar to cruch his skull as a 12 year old, to get him to the Gospel, helped me get to the taxi place. It was a great time together as we shared what the Lord was doing in our hearts. He shared with me that he REALLY wants to return to his village, his heart is broken for his people. He is ready to graduate next year and is already planning his return to his people. He is going with the other Matis and Marcos during December to give the Gospel to his people. I was so encouraged to hear his heart and see what the Lord is giving him vision to do. He helped me pick a safe taxi and I was off.

That afternoon, I had the opportunity to meet with Pastor Lolo in Benjamin. He left his village and made the hour trip up to the town to meet with me. I was excited to talk to him. We spent some time talking about what the Lord has been doing in the village and I shared the desire I had to help sponsor him and the churches first missionary (imagine that people, these “primitive” Indians have started a church and within 4 months have sent out their first missionary to another village.). I explained the program that I would be launching to get financial support in for these guys so they can reach more of their own. We talked about how good the Lord was and all the ways he was blessing us.


I told him I wanted to treat him to lunch on Saturday and also wanted to invite his wife, Fernando (the missionary) and Otasio (the village medical leader). He said they would be free, we prayed together and both headed out.

I tried to find a free place to stay with several of our contacts in Leticia and Tabatinga but no one was home. I ended up having to get a hotel but I was very glad to have accomplished so much.

Saturday, I checked out, found peanut butter in the local store for my pregnant wife and son and then headed to the restaurant. As soon as I got close, they were already there. I want to explain the depth of that. Brazilian culture (much like most of Central and South America) is NOT punctual for anything. The Indians are even worse –they come from a culture where time is counted by moon phases – not hours and minutes. So when I arrived 15 mins earlier than our agreed upon time, I expected to wait at least an hour. To my surprise they had already arrived. Otasio, whom the Lord saved on one of my trips back in April, was the first to greet me with a big hug and a “Nuxmaxē  Pa Chauenee”, Ticuna for “Hello my dear brother”. Otasio is a man of great influence in his village, it is amazing what the Lord has done with his heart. This is a man that would have run me out of his village less than 2 years ago because of his hate and distrust of the Branco. Now, with the Lord changing his heart, not only has he invited me into his village, he has also told the chief, who is against us, that we are welcome not matter what he thinks and has even gone as far as to give a large portion of his land to ME to build a house for my family. When God changes a heart, it truly is something amazing.

Otasios brother who is also Lolos father-in-law, Alcydes, was also invited to the lunch. This was the last big miracle of the trip. Alcydes, from all I can gather, is not a believer. His daughter is a VERY strong Christian and her husband, Lolo, is the Pastor that I will be discipling when we make it to the village full time. We installed a water purification system in the village in April. Most of Alcydes’ family lives there now and he has great influence there. After hearing from his family the work that I had done for their benefit, he wanted to meet me. We had a great time talking and he thanked me for all that we had done. He talked about future projects and he told me I was welcome any time. Now, here is the BIG part of the story. He is a member of the elite Indian affairs agency that is run by the Government here. They have been the single biggest hurdle to evangelization of the Indians. They rate missionaries on the same scale as loggers and drug traffickers. Now, because the Lord has given us favor, he is writing an official document from the agency granting us unlimited access to live and work in this village and not only that but to also bring teams to work as well! It is always amazing how the Lord works. He has moved even the heart of an unbeliever, who has a great amount of power and influence to help us do what He has called us to do.

I left the lunch VERY excited and humbled once again. God is certainly up to something in this place. One thing I have always believed and was confirmed even more for me on this trip is this; God created these cultures to glorify Him. They don’t need me to bring in a denomination, a certain type of dress of a certain type of music. As a matter of fact, they don’t need me, a branco, for anything! Yet the Lord, in His infinite Grace and Wisdom, decided when he created their race, that he would not only allow but USE me to serve these people. He has been knitting this story for a long time. Their souls were on His mind as He hung on the cross and He is letting me be a part of it. I have NOTHING to boast in but the cross, everything I “have” or “can do” was given to me by Him to be used for His glory and it can be taken away just as quickly.

I am committed to serving these people and guiding in any way I can to help them see the cross. I want them to know what it is like to live a life devoted to Yahweh. I want them to see that He created them for a purpose and the He has plans to glorify HIMSELF through their lives. Some have caught that and they are teaching others to the extent they are able. My goal in life is to enable these people in any way I can to reach their own. After all, God has given them the call to missions as well – they don’t need a white man to “show them how it is done”. They need a bit of guidance, discipleship and love so they can grow in Him and lead others to do the same. I have always planned and am more than willing to live my entire life with these people, with my people, my brothers and sisters, but I am praying that the Lord will allow me to “work myself out of a job” to the point where they have a strong leadership that is fully independent.

Thank you for your prayers and support in our lives. We are SO ready to be in the jungle full time. We love these people and miss them dearly. If you would like to learn more about the 2 projects God has laid on my heart to begin, please contact me at B.r.whittemore@gmail.com.

Jungle Trip (part 2 of 3)

We arrived there at the small place where Marcos does his discipleship program. I was apart from the group from Manaus so I headed down as they asked Eli a few questions. I was humbled by what happened next. Indians are very quiet, non-emotional (outwardly) people. As I approached the thatch roof hut where they meet for church, Shapu and Tumi Matis ( 2 young men I had spent time with over the past several trips) came out with a BIG smile on their face and gave me a big hug as I walked up to them. They had previously taught me some of their language so we had a brief exchange in Matis. As I walked in to the “Maloca”, I realized there was something bigger going on. There were about 35 Matis men and women and children sitting in there with Marcos. In this crowd included 3 top witch doctors within their culture. One, Tumi’s father, is mentioned is a previous post here. The pastor and his family came in and took their seat, I always seek to blend with the Indians (although not much “blending” actually happens, they appreciate the attempt) so I stood in corner with my new found posse.

I knew the following conversation would be interesting as the Pastor was there to see what he could do for these people. I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time around Indians and I have learned and been taught that you always ask how to handle things and how certain questions may be perceived. The problem with us as outsiders is we may have the best of intentions but without the correct knowledge of how to handle certain topics and situations we can ruin opportunities to build relationships with these people. Unfortunately, that is what happened next. The Pastor began a monologue with about 35 people that are VERY primitive and are just now beginning to think about knowing more about Christ (by the way, the reason they want to know more about Christ is because of Marcos and his ministry but that is for later).

The Pastor explained who he was (through Tumi as the translator) and what he did. He explained that he was there to help and wanted to know what he could do to help them. He then moved into telling them that the most important thing they could ever do is accept Christ into their heart as their Savior and only trust in Him. That life is only available in Him and that He is the most important decision in their life. He said all this was clearly written in the Bible and they could see it for themselves. I want to take a minute and say that everything he said was 100% true. It is the message that gives me hope and a reason for life. It is why I was in this place. My heart burns for these people to have their eyes opened to who He is. BUT, and this is a big one, these people literally have NO idea who Jesus is. All they know is, once again, a “Branco” (literally means “White person” but is the favored term by Indians for any non-indian) was telling them how to live their life and what they needed to do. What happened next took the color out of the Brazilian Pastors face and literally made him a “Branco”. He asked if there were any questions, the lead Pajé (witchdoctor) spoke up. He looked squarely at the Pastor and said, “Have you ever seen your God?”. The answer was in the negative. That was all the Pajé needed to hear. He said, “How are you going to come to me and tell me about this God of yours when you have not even seen Him?” “All you “broncos” have is a book to read about Him but you never see Him”. His next words left us all thinking a bit, “I have seen your God, I spoke with Him, I see many gods and talk to them frequently – and all you have is a book. Don’t tell me what I need to do when you can’t even see Him.”

I was expecting some sort of response from the Pastor – something….but he was truly speechless. He had just offended a Pajé by insinuating (not intentionally) that he had all the answers and could fix everything for them. When the Pajé returned with a difficult answer, there was nowhere else to go. That is when Marcos stepped in and asked them to let the Pastor know what they needed physically. They began to speak about wanting to have a fence built around Marcos’ property to keep their young men protected. They loved Marcos and what he was doing for their children but they felt like the boys were unsafe without any type of fence. The Pastor said, “Ok, we will see what we can do”. Now, I was homeschooled and I was once told that you can tell if someone was homeschooled by the way they run from awkward confrontation. I don’t know if that is true in a general sense but it is for me. I don’t really know what happened after that because Pastor Eli and I both left the Maloca. I used it as a chance to speak with Eli more about what he needed and the needs of the seminary. We talked about that for a little while. We then brought up the elephant in the room. He said they were great people and had helped financially in the past. He said he understood their heart but that they didn’t understand they were doing more harm than good with attempts to make a convert. You have to remember, we grew up in a world surrounded by Christianity (and still so few actually “get it”) and here we are trying to give the Gospel with ZERO background, explanation and absolutely no life examples for them to see (as far as Brancos are concerned).

They soon finished up the meeting and they were on their way. I went back into the Maloca once the awkwardness had cleared and began talking with some friends. Very quickly, about 15 of the Matis came and surrounded me. They wanted to know about me, how I knew their boys, etc. I used it as a time to talk about how much I love their culture (no smoke here, I have always had a special place in my heart for the Matis over all the other tribes). I talked about how I had met one of the Pajés (who was there) in 2010 and what a privilege it was for me to be there with them. We had some fun as they taught me some Matis words. Essentially, I didn’t come in and try to convert them. I did speak the Gospel in words they didn’t understand. I did everything I could to live it out and love them. I wanted them to see that there was something different about this Branco. I want them to see that their young men respect me and that I respect them and that even though I am an outsider, I don’t want anything for myself – I want to love them, unconditionally and let them know that they are of utmost important in my life. After all, that is what Christ did. You may argue that He also said to PREACH the Gospel. That is very true, but He also had certain people go to the Jews and other to the Gentiles because He knew how to best reach them. It is my firm conviction that these people will be reached by their own! They will not need the Gospel from a foreigner because God is raising up young men RIGHT NOW to be able to adequately convey the Gospel message in their own language and in a way that incorporates their culture, a culture God created to Glorify Himself.

Soon they all left, I swear that these people have to be ninjas because literally one minute there were 35 of them and the next there were 4….I have no idea where they went and how they did it so fast!

I began to talk with Marcos about the project that I wanted to develop to bring funds into his ministry. He is training 11 young men in their language. He is one of them, they trust him, he cares for them. And they are getting the Gospel through him. He is feeding them, giving them a place to live and teaching them the Gospel. He is also supporting a wife and a 2 year old on $250US a month! You read that right…..it is disgusting to me the amount of money that we waste as the Church when there are SO many that are scraping by with nothing. We think we do well because we give the magical 10%....most of them don’t even have that 10% to eat with….once again, that is for another blog. He was very excited to hear that there were already 17 people who had committed to giving and other than me, none of them had ever met him......

Jungle Trip (part 1 of 3)

The following is an update from my (Richard) most recent trip to the deepest part of the jungle I, as a foreigner, can go. This trip, for those who don't know, was to finalize plans to launch our first project here. It is amazing what the Lord is doing in this place and I am humbled and honored to be a part of working along side the indigenous leadership to get the G0spel to people that no foreigner will EVER be able to reach.

Wednesday, 10.15.2012, at 4:45am here in Recife, my trip began to the jungle. It was an hour earlier in the Jungle and I had about 14 hours and 4 stops before I would finally be in Tabatinga. After that, I still had to get a moto-taxi to the main port and get on a fast boat and go to Benjamin Constant and try and find a place to sleep. The next morning, I would be up early and on another taxi to get to my final destination of Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas, Brazil. I was dropped off by my good friend that I met in Argentina, Guilherme Franco, at the airport here in Recife  and started the long flights. The whole time I was up and down in the air and walking through the airports, I was focused on the task ahead and thinking through everything. After all, I had 2.5 days to finalize 2 large projects that I was starting and I didn’t want to miss any opportunities. For those that know me really well, you can testify that I am a person that likes organization and for things to be planned out well in advance. So, me, Lecrae, the iPhone and my notebook were busy most of the trip getting everything down on paper to make sure I didn’t miss anything. No amount of planning could have prepared me for the following few days and what God had already predestined before the creation of the earth.

 All my flights were uneventful and I was glad to be travelling light with just a backpack – my last 10-15 international trips have been with teams and the latest was our international move so those have inlcuded thousands of pounds of equipment, 10-12 people each trip and immigration paperwork to be responsible for.

My trip began to get interesting as the man across the plane came and sat next to the free seat to my left and began talking. He broke all the first conversation rules, our talk ranged from how horrible the US is, why we are to blame for the drugs and Guerilla war in South America and how it was unfair that we killed Saddam just for his oil. He also proceeded to tell me I was wasting my time working with Indians, he explained all their problems and why I would never be successful with them. I am generally very easy going and love to talk to others but this encouraging fellow began to become a frustration as it was the last thing I wanted to hear at the end of 14 hours of flying with another 2 to go on motorcycles and boats. It was there that the Lord began to work in my heart and say, “Don’t you see that this man sees no hope for these people because he has no hope for himself?” My frustration quickly left and I was searching for ways to share Christ with this man. He finally gave me the chance and I had the opportunity to explain that he may very-well be right and the Indians may not accept anything that I try to do. But I quickly followed that up with the fact that I wasn’t doing this for the Indians (even thought they are the “beneficiaries”). No, in fact I am doing this because Jesus has called me to do it. I was able to explain how I turned down a 100K plus dream job to come here and didn’t regret it one bit because my life was all for Him. He changed his tone and began to talk about knowing more about what we do and wanting to visit – he even asked for my contact info to stay in touch…..that was quite a difference from, “You gringos are so greedy that you are ruining the rest of the world”.

I made it to the hotel that night and searched for a place to eat. Nothing was open so it was a good thing Ashley had packed me one of Elliott’s cereal bars. The next morning I ran into Pastor Eli (the indigenous leader that is responsible that most of the leaders in our area have received the Gospel) and we headed to Atalaia. We were also joined by a Pastor from a more fundamental denomination in Manaus. He and his family were going to see about Marcos’ ministry. We had also run into an American lady that was with the same denomination in Benjamin. Eli later confided in me that they have had many issues in the past because these missionaries have taken credit and ownership of the ministry in the area. He said they had donated to help in the past and then claim credit for the work that is being done 100% by indigenous effort. He also said they have tried in the past to make these Indians that are barely out of the Jungle, starting a discipleship ministry with Marcos, to start wearing ties, cut their hair and not be around people that didn’t look like them. I have to admit that I was angry with these people at that point. Who are they? A song I listen to says, “They talk about the Law, but they are twisting the Law, the Law is the tool that leads us to Christ, by GRACE we are JUSTIFIED and HE gives us life”. It is amazing how we are saved by grace yet resort back to the chains of the Law. Galations 5:1 says, “ He freed us INTO freedom”, not chains, preferences or ancient Jewish Law that was put out not to be fulfilled by us but to show us we could NOT fulfill it! Anyway, I shared with Eli that many do horrible things in the name of the Gospel with the best of intentions but poor foundations. I told him I had NO intention of pushing any denomination, I was there to be Christ and serve in any way I could be used. He then said something many would say he (as an Indian) was uncapable of even understanding. He said,” Ricardo, I’m not interested in denomination. They have hurt my people so much in the past. I’m not talking about Doctine, Doctrine is extremely important and we will guard that but my allegiance is to Christ – not a human-founded denomination.” Wow! Sounds like the Holy Spirit just spoke through someone.......

Thankful Thursday: Friends

Today, I am thankful for the amazing friends that God has put in my life. I am truly, truly blessed.

Elliott and I drove (ok, I drove, but Elliott was with me) up to Elkhart, IN and spent the past week with three of my best girl friends. (Richard is in the Dominican Republic so it was the perfect opportunity and possibly the last before we move to the field full-time.) I met them all through my time at Word of Life Argentina (05'-06') which just further proves that that year of my life was one of the most growing and shaping times and I am forever grateful that God allowed Richard and I to spend that year abroad learning more about
Him and meeting so many great people.

Here are some photos of our time in Elkhart :)

Steph and I went to this great little ice cream shop. It was delicious... can you see the excitement on our faces? :)

Rachel, Cambri, me, and Elliott

Elliott was super sweet with little Cambri....

 ...but not so much with Abigail! We have a long way to go with the sharing principle......

 Me and Jenna at the beach in Michigan



This boy loves the beach and was covered from head to toe with sand by the time we left!

Dying for Living Water

I opened the refrigerator a couple of days ago to get some water. I pulled out the pitcher and there was less than an ounce sloshing around in the bottom. I caught myself as I started to say, "Uh! Who didn't fill up the pitcher??"

Really? Who didn't fill up the water pitcher that purifies the clean water that flows from the tap every time I turn the handle?

I was surprised at myself considering I had just spent 10 days in a place where clean water is scarce and water-borne illness is rampant. A place where people not only drink dirty water, they die from it.

My mind went immediately back to the Sunday morning we walked up into the tribe to receive word that the night before an infant had died.

At first the details were unclear. We knew that the child had been dehydrated but that was about it. Then we found out that our friend and photojournalist Rachel had been invited to attend the funeral. To our knowledge, she is the first "outsider" who has been asked to attend this intimate ceremony. Her experience gave us a unique look into the culture and a shocking reality of their need for the Truth.

Rachel was able to gather some details about the child's days before his death.

This particular culture is very spiritual and they believe there are good spirits and evil spirits. When this child become ill, they believed that an evil spirit had come upon him. He had diarrhea and desperately needed water for hydration. The parents chose not to give him water, believing that was a source of evil spirits.

Where would this thinking come from? Why would they associate something so vital with evil?

Keep in mind we are talking about a place where the only source of water is a river that is filled with bacteria and a people with no way to purify it. They drink it because it's all they have and it's all they know. Obviously drinking dirty water leads to illness. So this tribe is accustomed to seeing people become ill and die from drinking water. Unable to make the connection between hygiene and illness, myth and circumstance have led them to the belief that evil spirits live in the water and come upon a person at their own discretion.

So was this case with this child.

We were told last year that the leading cause of death in this region is dehydration caused by diarrhea. That tells us that this is no isolated case. It also reiterates the importance of what we had come to do: give clean water and through that share the Living Water.

(SIDE NOTE: Some argue against meeting physical needs before spirtual. Those people have never seen first hand tragedies like this and they've never read the New Testament. A major part of Jesus Christ's ministry was healing the sick. Besides, it's really hard to share the Gospel with someon who just died of dehydration.)

When this happened, the team had not yet begun construction of the water purification system, but it gave even greater motivation for them to get in and get the job done. The system was installed in the home of a missionary by the name of Jhon. Jhon is one of the godliest, most humble people I have ever met. Time wouldn't permit me to share of his giving heart and servant spirit but I'll suffice it to say that God is using this man in a great way to reach this village with the true Living Water.

The reason it was installed in his home rather than a central location in the village is two fold:

1) Because the people don't recognize or understand the value of clean water, it's unlikely that they would care for and maintain the water system adequately at least until they are taught the importance.

2) The people are very relational, meaning they highly value personal communication and family. By installing the filtration system at the home of the missionary, the people will have to come through Jhon to get clean water and therefore will need to communicate with and build a relationship with him. THIS IS KEY to reaching this people group!

Below are some photos from the funeral taken by Rachel. As you look at them, of course thank God for His blessings, but also ask Him what you can do and what sacrifices you can make to bring truth to these tribes.

A father watches his older brother build a coffin for the child who died of dehydration during the night.


Family members surround a baby boy during the wake.


A baby lay surrounded by candles at a wake. He died of dehydration.

Iranda mourns the loss of her child before walking to the cemetery.


Family members carry the coffin to the cemetery on top of a mountain.


Missionary Jhon scoops dirt out of the grave with a plate.

A father says good-bye to his baby son. It is very uncommon for men in this tribe to show such emotion.

Iranda and her husband weep before burying their oldest child.


The father and his brother lower the casket into the grave.

Family surround the grave and light candles before saying a final goodbye.


A bowl of fish and farinha sit on a grave of the recently buried child. The families leave things associated with their loved one's life with the belief that they may need them in the afterlife.

Bring on the Rain!

Ever heard the phrase, "When it rains, it pours"?

We found out the truth behind that on our recent trip.

When you think of the jung|e, you likely think of rain.... lots and lots of rain! And for most of the year, this is very applicable. Someone once told us that the difference between rainy season and dry season is that during rainy season it rains all day and during dry season it rains every day. In other words, it's always raining!

But, as with anywhere in the world, there are still dry spells. And it just so happens that the area we were installing the water filtration system was having a dry spell. This was good for the team as they were working on a dirt covered hill and rain would have only served to complicate matters. It wasn't good for the locals, however, as they relied on the rain for their "clean" water source. No rain means no water.

Now, water is something that we ALL take for granted here in the States. As a matter of fact, most of us flush our toilets with cleaner water than most of the rest of the world has to drink. One of the ladies in the village told me that during times that they were without rain and unable to go upriver to buy fresh water, they would walk to the river, fill a bucket, let it sit for 24 hours to allow the mud to settle, and then drink the top half that was "cleaner". They don't have electricity or gas so there is no way to boil the water. They just drink it and pray they don't get sick.

This seems like a good time to insert a picture of what this water looks like:

Notice you can't see this kid from the chest down? Now, think on the fact that everything--EVERYTHING-- goes into the river. People bathe in it, do laundry in it, wash dishes in it.... and yeah, they see it as a giant toilet.

Would you drink it?

Before you say no, remember, there are times when it's that or nothing.

Anyway, it hadn't rained our whole time in the Jung|e. It was Wednesday night and the men had just completed the water system that day, giving the village 5,000 gallons of water storage and a system to clean it.... something they had been praying for for YEARS.

We were having our evening devotional time together and sharing about how good God was to allow everything to go so smoothly and with no injuries. It was decided that the only thing left to do was to pray that God would send the rain to fill the three huge water tanks.

Everyone was tired so it was off to "bed": hammocks for most. Keep in mind, it's nighttime and we're on a houseboat in the middle of the river. Within two hours, we started to hear the sound of rain drizzling down the boat. Then the wind starts to pick up. Then the lightening commences.

Then comes the rain!

Next thing we know, water is pouring into the sides of the boat through the windows. Michael, the missionary whose boat we were on, was pulling up the anchor and heading up river to keep the boat from being tossed too much. The speedboat attached to the side of the big boat was taking on water, so my hubby and Andy had to jump in the boat in the pouring rain and lightening to bail it out.

This hard rain lasted for about 30 minutes. By the end of the storm, everyone was soaking wet, the boat interior was soaking wet, and we were wide awake at midnight (including our 6 month old baby boy)!

What was everyone's first reaction to this abrupt awakening?

PRAISE THE LORD HE SENT THE RAIN!

The next day we were back at the village and found out the tanks were filled almost completely. The water filtration system worked like a charm. And for the first time in years, the missionaries had clean water to use and to offer to the village.

And guess what. It didn't rain the rest of the time we were there.

Isn't it good to know that we have a God who controls the rain and sends it at just the right time?

Amazon September 2010

Ok, so I plan to write some really detailed blogs, but I wanted to go ahead and get a general one out because we have so many people asking about our trip!

If I could summarize it in one word..... well, it would be impossible to do! It was by far the best trip yet and God's hand was all over it from start to finish. I'll just give some highlights and elaborate on some of the biggest blessings in future blog posts:

• Absolutely no trouble going through the Bogota airport! With a group of 11 and big containers of water filtration systems, an inverter charger, and lots of other potentially "scetchy" looking items, we thought for sure we'd be held up in the Bogota security checkpoint. Nope! Got through without so much as a box being opened.
• We were going to have to pay over $500 in extra baggage fees on our Bogota-Leticia flight and the lady who checked us in completely waived the fee! It worked out perfectly because we ended up needing that money for supplies later on the trip.
  
• No one got sick on the trip! Between a new environment, hard work, lack of sleep, food we were unaccustomed to (though very good!), and bug bites galore, we anticipated some sickness during the 10 day trek, but God protected our immune systems the whole time!
• The entire water system was set up in 5 days and the filtration system worked like a charm!
  
• No one was injured (aside from some cuts and bruises) and there was plenty of opportunity for injury!
• Richard was able to attend a tribal council meeting with several influential tribal leaders to share the reasons behind our efforts to bring clean water. This meeting also helps us get a name with the tribal leadership for the future of our ministry. HUGE!
  
• The team worked GREAT together and each evening we had an awesome time of sharing and connecting. This was the first mission trip for 5 of the guys and they were all flexible and I don't remember hearing a single complaint even though we were packed tight on a houseboat and the heat was intense. God brought together a great group!
• One evening, the houseboat was stuck on the shore. For 2.5 hours the group worked to free the boat and God miraculously made it happen! (More to come on this story!)

And the stories go on and on of how God provided! Thanks to EVERYONE who prayed for us. We have no doubt that God is going to use these efforts to further his work in the region.

Please stay tuned for more detailed updates!

Our Home for 8 Days