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! 

A Blog by any Other Name

"Latitude 41? What the---?"

Originally, this blog's namesake was merely the geographic south coordinate of Team Chile's outreach location- Alerce. Actually, to be more precise, Alerce is located at 41˚ 28' South, 72˚ 56' West. Of course, this isn't to be confused with 41˚ North, which, at the same longitude, would put you somewhere around Haddam, Connecticut, and as great as I'm sure Haddam is, let's be honest with ourselves, people- Chile sounds way more exciting than Connecticut.

But what has been on my mind since I named this fledgling of a blog is whether or not its name holds any meaning for me personally or any helpful hints to keep in mind during these next nine months of service. 

Well, for starters, I realized that I didn't name this blog some variant of 'Alerce' or 'Chile' because one thing I'm sure of is that as far as this trip is concerned, I'm not sure of anything. I have no clue yet if I will get along with my group (no offense, guys), no clue if this is even what God is calling me to do, or if I will come back from Chile having learned and grown the way God intended, or- well, I think you get the idea. Anyway, I think the title 'Latitude 41' lends itself to a certain air of the unknown, because it gives me a feeling of remoteness, farther from my admittedly large comfort zone than I have ever been before now. It's much different from using a location's proper name- I think doing so brings with it feelings of familiarity, direction, and certainty; none of which I posses in relation to this trip as of yet. 

But at the same time, this air of mystery captures my sense of curiosity and adventure; I very much want to step out of the metaphorical boat and walk across deeper waters, towards my goal of a more meaningful relationship with Christ. Ironically, Latitude 41 South is about 98% occupied by seas and oceans. 

Call me Peter, but this time instead of sinking for fear of the wind and waves, I want to stand confidently on tumultuous waters, never letting anything distract me from my Savior's gaze and outstretched hand.

--God, give me strength to push all my doubts aside. Calm my thoughts.

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But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

"Come," Jesus said.

--Matthew 14:27-29 (NIV)

Ladies and Gents: The Fantastic Five!

Well, here we are, including yours truly, of course.
1. - Beth Hale
Superpower: Armadillo Whisperer.

2. - Jeffrey Eberly
Superpower: Mind Control via guitar music, especially with the song "Kumbaya".

3. - Jean Marie Ropp
Superpower: Marshmallow Peep Ninja (turning "Shanghai" into "Sugar High")

4. - Kirsten Yutzy
Superpower: Known as "The Yutzy Touch", Kirsten can transform any object into a litter of puppies.


5. - Clayton Bontrager
Superpower: Known as "Red Light Immunity", I have the ability to never get stuck at a red light, even in, say, downtown New York City at rush hour.

Fantastic Five, together we take the form of.......

ONE SUPER CRAZY AWESOME CHILE MISSION TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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- On a, *ahem* slightly more serious note, I just want to attempt to express how blessed I feel to have God calling me into mission work, and with what seems to be an amazing group, no less. One of my highest goals for this next 9 months is to come back home with SO much more than what I left with, and I'm not talking tourist souvenirs, here.

God is always more than capable of opening the "eyes of my heart" ever wider to the needs of His children, regardless of whether they know Him as their Father or not. So with that said, I want to devote all of myself to my Father's business during these upcoming 9 months, no holding back.


(Let's hear it for my very first blog-post-thing! Stay tuned for more!)