Lanterns

Last Wednesday during Bible study, G-d gave me a mental vision! I'm really excited and grateful because I don't think I've ever received something like this before.

It was an image of a multitude of people walking in a pitch-black cave, along a narrow pathway with a wall on one side, a darker, yawning, infinitely deep ravine on the other. Some of these people had lanterns, which represent G-d's H-ly Sp-rit within them. I saw some of those with lanterns shielding them with their long coats, only using their light when they themselves needed it.

I saw others who were proud of their lanterns, thrusting them into the faces of those who had none, saying,
"Look at my lantern! Why don't you have a lantern like mine? It will light the way for you! Get a lantern of your own, or you will surely fall from the path into the ravine and die!" But the lanterns being thrust into their faces only blinded those without a lantern, and made them resent the light and those who had it all the more.

And I saw others still who had lanterns, holding them high above their heads. Their lanterns' light shone brightly, illuminating everything around them and revealing every pothole and protruding stone in their path. Everyone within the reaches of their lantern's light, whether they themselves had a lantern or not, benefited from the light and were encouraged in their walk. While these people were an inspiration to others who had lanterns, they intrigued those who had walked- and still walked- in darkness, and they marveled at the selflessness they showed in how the carried their lanterns, not only for their own benefit, but so that others might not stumble. And many of them took up lanterns of their own.

I thank G-d for this beautiful image that He has given me, and I want to learn all I can from it. I think the biggest question is, 'How can I apply this to my life?' not after Chile, but here and now. Also, it's such a wonderful image in my head, I very much want to put it to paper in the form of a drawing. Surely G-d doesn't intend for me to keep it to myself unexpressed. I very much look forward to receiving more images like this- it's one of my favorite ways to learn from G-d.

Eight Hours in a Clown Car Later.....

First post of actually being in Chile!!!!  So far we’ve been treading on Chilean soil for a total of 10 days or so and tons of awesome stuff has happened in that time. So as Frauline Maria would say, ‘Let’s start at the very beginning’ because, as everyone knows, it’s a very good place to start. We left Columbus airport in high spirits which were to last during the whole 22-hour trip to Puerto Montt, despite baggage sizing and weighing stations and a reciprocity fee station where bills in crisp, mint condition were only accepted and we had to pool our bills to cover everyone completely. Nevertheless, G-d was faithful as always and we (as well as our luggage) arrived safe and sound in the Puerto Montt airport. I’ll admit, the others and I felt a temporary rush of excitement just before we touched down at our final destination, because as far as we could tell from the airplane windows, we were going to land in an open grassy field! After we de-planed and retrieved our luggage, we stepped out onto the front platform of the airport to see Puerto Montt’s two resident volcanoes, Osorno and Calvuco.

 Their majestic snow-capped peaks towered above the South American scrub forests and I had to stop walking to close my eyes and inhale deeply, drinking it all in. I was in Chile.

We piled into two small cars bound for P-stor/Outreach Coordinator Eduardo’s house in Alerce, which is actually a smaller subdivision/mini-town on the outskirts of Puerto Montt. We arrived and were introduced to Eduardo’s family, which consisted of his wife Juanita and their three children; Ignacio (14 years, also called Nacho), Elisabeth (7 years), and Josue (4 years).

That was Wednesday.

On Friday, we left for the nearby (ish) island of Chiloé where we would spend the night before attending an all-night pr-yer and w-rship vigil the following evening on another smaller island in the archipelago called Voigüe. From Puerto Montt to the house where we ended up spending the night, we took one charter bus, two smaller, bumpier buses that were more common to everyday travel, a barge/car carrier thing that ferried us across the channel between Puerto Montt and Chiloé, and our own two feet, which were used to hike through the island’s forests on a muddy path that wound up and down hills and in between sheep pastures. After spending the night and enjoying the warmth of our sleeping bags for a few precious hours, we ate a delicious meal of chicken, rice, and potatoes and packed up our things once again and left for Voigüe. We walked through more dense forest “No worry, it is short-cut” to the beach where we caught a tugboat-thingy to the island.

                Once there, we hung around and ate dinner until 10pm, when the whole shebang began. Basically, from 10pm to 6am, there was simply a time of continuous pr-ying, w-rshipping, and pr-aching with a half-hour snack break at around 3am. The team got up onstage and played 3 w-rship songs early on, which was a good thing if we were to do it at all, because by the time 2:30 rolled around, all of us were dead- tired. The constant sound of people talking and singing was the only thing keeping us awake. Add that to the fact that none of us had showered in the past two days or more, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for one cranky, filthy, tired batch of white Americans (despite the fact that the following morning was my birthday). In retrospect, each of us regretted our attitudes that night, but we came to acknowledge it as a lesson in patience and tolerance. Immediately following the s-rvice, we packed up and boarded the tugboat once again to return to Puerto Montt.

                We got back from that on Sunday, and just kinda chilled out for Monday, besides buying mattresses for the girls’ house. On Tuesday, we split up in two groups (the girls with Juanita, Jeff and I with Eduardo) and made our rounds with visiting the families of Fe y Esperanza, the subdivision in which we lived.

The brothers and sisters of the ch-rch would invite us into their homes and talk with Ed. about their lives and the condition of their sp-ritual health. He would then give them a miniature dev-tional and pr-y with them. It took quite a while- we covered two families in the space of three hours. Even so, it was such a good feeling to actually be doing what we came here for- to min-ster to people and do     G-d’s work, even if it meant for now tagging along with Eduardo and not hardly saying a word. This month, it’ll be our job more than anything to simply sit and observe.

                The next day, six of us piled in a 4.5’ x 4.5’ x 4.5’ space in the back of a car headed for Concepción (8 hours away), where we were to hear Eduardo speak at a marriage seminar.

 The Seminar wasn’t bad by itself but the trip itself was interesting to say the least. The tight situation made for many sleeping limbs and less than comfortable conditions, but once again G-d taught us a lesson in patience. During the trip, we stopped at a black volcanic sand beach, which was absolutely beautiful, and a waterfall by the name of Salto del Laja, which would drench you if you got within 100 feet of the waterfall itself, due to all of the spray coming from the rocks.

 Yesterday afternoon we returned from Concepción very tired, but this morning’s sleep-in session very easily fixed that.

                So there you are, the 4-1-1 on the past 10 days or so, in a nutshell. Hope you enjoyed it, and we hope you stay tuned for the next installment of my blog!

Que Di-s les bendiga!

I'm a man on a mission!

DTS is officially over. It's really hard to believe even now, but in a matter of 72 hours I'll be in Puerto Montt, Chile. I'll be living with the same 4 people for 6 months, and they'll serve as basically my only direct connection with the English-speaking world, which is a daunting thought in itself.
But most of all, I'm looking forward so much to what God has in store for me there. He has shown me so much in these past three months, it would take a book to include it all. And now that I'll be spending twice as much time in Chile, it just blows my mind to try to think of what He will teach me starting Wednesday.
Anyway, this post is mainly for the purpose of marking a new chapter in this epic journey of mine, one that I am sure will be packed with new experiences, new friends, and new challenges from beginning to end.
Also, since I've made it this far, I'd like to give my much-deserved thanks to a few people that God has given me to make all this possible:

-Thank you, Uncle Tom and Aunt Karen, for being guests at my family's house last June and acting as God's couriers to introduce me to REACH. You helped me take my first step into this new season of my walk with Christ.

- Thank you to each and every one of you that supported me financially by donating toward my entry fee. I really wouldn't be preparing for this now if it weren't for you, and I mean that in a very literal sense. I also hope that you will continue to support me in prayer, something I've come to value more than any sum of money.

-Thank you, Mom, Dad, Brian, Bradley, Grandpa and Grandma, for supporting me in every way you knew how, from preparing a fundraiser meal for me at church or simply spending an hour with me on the phone. I love you more than anything in the world, and I know in my heart of hearts that the same is true for each of you. To me, you are the best thing God has blessed me with, by far. I will miss every one of you until the day I come back to Virginia. Mark it on your calendars- my goal is to allow God to change me to the point that I return barely recognizable from the college kid that stepped onto the RIC's campus for the first time. Always remember to love God and others actively- I truly believe that that's the real key to a perpetually joyful heart.

-Thank you, Josh Collins, for being the best friend a guy could ask for. Pursue an intimate relationship with Christ with everything you've got, no matter how far it takes you (and it will). Hold onto the people you love most and love them more than you love yourself- I challenge you to consider seriously what that means.

-And finally, thank You, Father, for giving me this opportunity to spread Your light into the darker corners of the earth. I thank You so much for everything You've given me and all the people You've surrounded me with. I know that I am so richly blessed. Please give me a servant's heart, not just for the people of Chile, but also for everyone I come in contact with when I've made the journey back home and face the responsibility to be a reflection of Your light to my closest neighbors. Break my heart for what breaks Yours, and re-form it into a vessel that carries Your Holy Spirit and glorifies Your eternal, holy name. Shape me into a man of God, one that proudly proclaims Your good news to everyone that will listen, and even to those that won't, whether it's with my words or actions. I love You, Lord. Now as I take this next step of faith, walk with me and hold my hand as I answer Your call for me to serve. Amen.

And now, for the greatest adventure of all...

Detroit!

This week marks team Chile's practicum test- run in Detroit, Michigan, and it's certainly been one to remember. God's blessed us so many times with incredible people to reach out to/ be reached by. The better part of our week here in Mo-town has been doing odd jobs for Focus Hope, a non-profit organization whose goals include dispelling racism and poverty.

We've handed out fliers for Focus Hope's annual 4-mile walk, helped set up everything for said walk, and after that big event had come and gone, we've worked on various projects that didn't really benefit anyone in particular, but nevertheless needed to be done, such as moving innumerable old VCR tapes from one building to another (a very dusty and sweaty job). The past couple days, we've helped out in F.H.'s food pantry warehouse, making boxes, breaking boxes, and packing boxes with food.

One particular employee at Focus Hope, a guy called Denny, turned out to be a real blessing and encouragement striaght from God. At age 57, he's been through throat cancer as well as a 16-year period of divorce, and yet looks like he could be in his low 40s and is the praise and worship leader at his church in Toledo, OH- 75 miles away from Detroit. He's an avid believer in Christ and was really inspiring to each of us in our faith. Each time he saw us his eyes would light up and he'd immediately greet us with a smile.

In short, Denny quickly became one of our favorite parts of practicum. We've finished our time at Focus Hope now, and we said our good-byes to Denny yesterday afternoon, after an awesome praise and worship session with Denny and his 12-string guitar. All of us, alone in an empty warehouse side room, worshipping God was just unreal. (pictures soon to come)

The five of us have gotten incredibly closer together over these 5 days, growing into not just a team but a family as well. It's been great. I'm feeling more and more like God has His hand in everything we do, as well as our development as a working team-family-thing. Sorry for the long gaps between updates; life at the RIC has been, as always, busy.

Anyway, this week has been very encouraging in the way of giving me a sneak preview into what life will be like with just the five of us to keep each other's company. It's been good, very good.

The Plot Thickens.....

Finally I managed to get the pictures I've taken up on the computer! And, as the faithful blog author I am to all of you, I've only uploaded the best of the best.

One of the first days us young budding missionaries had at DTS without our parental units present consisted of the 2nd annual DTS Olympics! Each of the 6 or so events "prepared" us for the challenges that lay ahead when we embarked on our trips for our respective countries.

One of these such events dealt with our becoming accustomed to our country's culture, including the way the

locals dressed.

 So, each country dressed up a volunteer (me) in newspaper and then each "model" was judged.

Another day of the pre-embryotic stages of DTS 2011 was the Prayer Challenge. This was when all of us were dropped off in inner-city Columbus and were given a scavenger-hunt themed mission to find our group sponsors, pray for the people we met, and give a lunch to a hungry person (not necessarily homeless).



The first sponsor we found was our (Chile's) own, Brian (Bam) Troyer. He presented us with water bottles and told us to give them to someone, maybe talk with them for a bit, and then offer to pray for them.

The next person we found was Toby Maust, whom we found near Columbus's replica of the Santa Maria, one of the ships Christopher Columbus sailed to North America in.

Another staff member we found was Jesse Swartz, who was chillin' at the courthouse. We had to find references to God and faith in the POW letters that were inscribed on nearby memorials.

We also found the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile!!!!!!!!! It was kind of awesome, at least I thought so. The rest of the team unfortunately didn't quite completely share my excitement.

The RIC (Rosedale International Center) where everyone lives is one great place to be. In a matter of days, the 20-odd participants, including team leaders and staff, gelled with each other incredibly well with such enthusiasm that it just couldn't be explained with anything other than the Spirit of God among us, and it definitely is.

There are absolutely no tomfoolery or hijiinks or any shenanigans of any sort that take place during our free time. None.

If I ever had any doubts about my choice to come here and sacrifice a year of my life to the service of God, they're completely gone now.

(More awesome posts to come, complete with PICTURES!!!!)



It's only been how long???

I've gotta say, even though myself and the rest of us here at REACH have only been in training for 4 days now, it seems like it's been so much longer than that. It's just incredible how much God has revealed to us in such a short period of time. I would've posted a couple pictures with this post, but unfortunately my camera and the computers provided here aren't on the best of terms with each other. Hopefully I'll be able to figure that out. So far we've already gone out into the heart of Columbus, praying for basically everything in sight or anything that the Lord made us feel should be prayed for.

Each of the twenty-odd young adults here are already well on our way to becoming seasoned veterans at confronting complete strangers on the streets and offering them with a free lunch or the opportunity to be prayed for. It's amazing how much some people are willing to share their stories and to see what they desire of life in what kind of prayer requests they make. I've learned so much about prayer and worship and establishing an intimate relationship with my Father in heaven in just four days, it completely blows my mind when I remember that we still have TEN more weeks after this one to learn and grow in Christ, and that's only the end of training!

Another thing that amazes me is how quickly each of the REACH participants here became best friends and were just as concerned about another's spiritual walk as they were with their own. Many of us have shared our stories and life journies with each other, and it's only served to bring us so close together. God is so much at work here, it's almost tangible. I'm doing my best, but it is so unbelievably hard to express in words how much God has blessed me through this program already, I feel like I'm not doing it justice.

Anyway, hopefully next time I'll be able to accompany my post with a few pictures and a couple awesome stories to go along with them. Until then,

God Bless!

It's the Final Countdown!!!!!

Spanish word of the day: ombligo 

Translation: belly-button

As the first day of DTS (Discipleship Training School) looms ever nearer, preparations are sluggishly being made around the Bontrager house. Suitcases are in the beginning stages of being packed (lying open-mouthed and empty on the bedroom floor), travel plans are being considered (subconsciously at least) and soon-to-be-vacant bedrooms are being claimed by younger siblings desiring an upgrade. 

And in accordance with the prevailing atmosphere here, I feel like something significant is prowling around the periphery of my conscience, and I haven't realized it yet. It's not something foreboding or ominous, though; just the opposite. I feel like something powerful is on its way, a great experience disguised in mission trip's clothing that could be destined to change the way I think and feel about my faith and how I should live the rest of my life. 

At the risk of being repetitive, something great is in the air, and I'm not giving it the appreciation it deserves. What's more, I don't think I can appreciate it until I've fully experienced it. For now, I can only sense that my Father has something indescribable lying in wait for me in these next nine months. Could this be merely wishful thinking? Maybe. All I know is I won't stop searching until my Father reveals His grand design for my life to me.

In the meantime, I'll just remain extremely stoked, pumped, psyched, fired up....... you know what, to give you a more accurate idea of just how completely and utterly excited I am for this new chapter of my life, let me put it this way: an entire tribe of 457 cannibalistic pygmies couldn't keep me from going on this mission trip! 

Aaaaaaanyway, as this will be my last post to be written at home, let me just say to all you good-looking blog followers out there: grab your alpaca, pull up a chair, and join me in the journey of a lifetime!