I am truly thankful for adventure…
The kind that makes my heart pump so fast I didn’t know it was possible to beat at that rate. The kind that fills me with terror and thrill at the same time.
The kind that makes my heart ache…and rejoice at the same time.
I’ve talked a lot about my travels on this blog.
Tobin and I are very passionate about seeing the world and not only seeing it but changing it as well.
But I rarely talk about the trip that started it all…the one that made my heart burst with love and bleed with pain.
When I was in college, I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Peru with some friends.
I saw it as an adventure…a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a corner of the world I’d probably never have the chance to experience again.
I had no idea that this adventure would be life-changing in so many ways.
I left for Peru early on a Saturday morning with five friends. After a long layover in Dallas, we flew overnight, landing in Lima around 5:00 a.m., just in time to catch an in-country flight to Iquitos, where we were met by several missionaries who drove us to our home for three weeks.
A houseboat.
Yes, you read that right.
We stayed on a two story houseboat during our time there. It was SO cool!
Pardon my immaturity.
We spent the first week in the city of Iquitos, making connections, visiting schools, talking to students, and possibly my favorite…hanging out with streetkids.
Eladio was one of my favorites.
He had a sweet smile that hid the pain in his eyes.
I could tell he wanted nothing more than to just be loved.
I never knew his entire story, I never asked. We just took the chances we had to love him…to buy him extra food when we could and to let him shine our shoes…to the point of ruin. (Really…though it took me years to throw those sandals away.)
Our last two weeks were spent traveling on the Amazon River, visiting villages, sharing songs, stories, leading a week-long VBS, and most importantly…learning to open up and let these people see Jesus.
My heart broke to see such poverty…but rejoiced in knowing that so many of these people knew the Father and that while their earthly possessions were few, they truly had everything they needed.
It was hard to go.
It was hard to see this come to an end, to leave it behind when there was so much left to do. To wonder why I was leaving this place I loved to return to the land of plenty…which I didn’t want.
Eventually some of those feelings have faded into the background, and we’ve been on many adventures since the time I spent in Peru. I’ve seen pieces of the world that make me smile…and pieces that make me cry. Parts that are memorable and parts I’ d like to forget.
That adventure in Peru…led to many more.
And my life motto,
Attitude: The Difference Between Ordeal and Adventure
still rings true.
No matter where Tob in and I go, we choose to f
ind the adventure in it.
Thank you, God, for adventures.
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