welcome to the jungle...

and no, i'm not about to start singing guns n' roses as much as you'd like for that to happen.

i'm actually referring to my recent trip to the central american, northern darien jungles of panama! for those of you who don't know, last week, i went to a remote tribal village called errebache about an hour outside of panama city to work on a mission construction project with my church. i had no idea what to expect from this venture, but i knew that it had the capacity to leave a significant impact on my life. (understatement)

i'll be honest, i started the trip begrudgingly due to several extenuating circumstances (broken commitments @ work, laying on my deathbed, and lauren's last-minute cancellation), but God and i did a lot of talking and He reassured me that if i had a little bit of faith and some patience, He was going to teach me a lot of things.

was that promise fulfilled? most certainly. IT ALWAYS IS.

throughout the course of my very own man vs. wild episode (spearing fish, chasing spider monkeys, butchering chickens, swinging from vines, crossing rivers, and identifying strange insects), i was reminded what a connection there is between nature and spirituality. to be away from society and all of its trappings was such an invaluable gift. to be completely free of deadlines, traffic, money, communication devices, etc. is pure soul restoration...and i relish it.



but most importantly, i was reminded of the power of the human connection. though i had very little in common with an indigenous embera tribe, there are certain universals that transcend gender, age, race, and geography. to forge a bond with someone completely unlike yourself and to go into their community not because you wish to change them, alter them, or give them some brand of western theology...but because you simply want to show up and meet a need...wow, that's powerful stuff.

what struck me the most about this trip was the fact that there was little if no preaching utilized, yet 5 of the villagers came to accept Christ. It was completely unfathomable to them that we would pay hard-earned money to come over to panama so that we could sweat, sleep in tents, and break our backs doing manual labor. there is so much to be learned from st. francis of assisi's "preach the gospel and if necessary use words." there's most definitely a time and place for talking about God and what He's done in your life...but i think it's crucially important to LIVE IT. (a continual work in progress for myself.)

though i left my heart back in panama, i'm so unbelievably excited to see what's going to transpire in that community. God is so good!