“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you,
saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'” Isaiah 30:21


“Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7


Thursday, June 13, 2013

From every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages

I stood in a quieter part of town and watched the sun rise over the hills this morning. Some of the clouds were low and crawled across the mountains while others were high and illuminated with gold contrasting the blue sky. I ran in to Jenny and Rebekah as they were finishing up their workout. My walk around town was great! School started off great today too, when I went down to the house to get a pump for gym classes, I saw Edison sitting outside. Edison was all dressed up and I was informed he was going to get his picture taken for his visa, because he is being adapted. The smile and joy radiating off his face was so God glorifying! I worked around the school instead of taking the morning off and was able to set up a little library display of new books! During break time I learned a new game from professor Sylvia. I started learning one similar to it yesterday after school with the girls, but this one was even cooler. Both of the games are similar to my childhood hopscotch, but more complex! I also got to tutor Genesis in reading. It is hard for her to read and working with her reminded me of the reading help I use to get when I was in elementary school, because I used to really struggle with reading. My gym classes went well, especially kick ball with oldest girls. They worked hard and had a blast playing! The sun was brightly shinning was I walked up to the school, so I decided to have a seat on the front steps and soak in the sun. Heidi was heading down while I sat there and we ended up talking through my lunch break, I was really blessed and encouraged by our conversation! Shortly after I had
Shooting blow darts inside a traditional hut!
accepted that I wouldn't be able to go on a MAF flight again today, they hollered my name and I got to go. Dwight drove us over to the landing strip on the military base, we weighed in, and loaded up. We didn't have to wait long, but while we were waiting they served us pop and chilfes, talk about great service. Our pilot was Chad Irwin, one of the local missionaries, and I was so thankful the Lord gave us him as our pilot. Leading up to the flight I got a little nervous, because the planes were so very small, but when I found out he was our pilot I wasn't worried, I was confident in our pilots abilities. GOD is the pilot of my life, I never know what is coming next and need to trust where He is taking me every day! The flight in to the Waorani tribe was just over twenty minutes and it was a
Group photo!
smooth flight, there was a lot of beautiful scenery and jungle for miles and miles. When we landed we were greeted by some of the tribe members and led up to their church for a welcome song. Typically it is led by the men, but a lot of them were gone today, so the women welcomed us with "I have decided to follow Jesus". I understood most of what they were saying, but Chad helped up out with translating too. It was cool to see the relationship he has been able to build with the community and the way he communicates with the people. After the welcome at the church they lead us to a traditional house where the women, children, and an elder led us in a dance. The elder that was the head of the dance was present when the 5 missionaries were speared in 1956. It was pretty surreal to meet him, he is somewhere around eighty years
A tribe elder and I, he was present when Nate Saint
was speared and has since become a Christian!
old and one of the three men still alive from that attack. Eighty years old is incredible old for his generation, due to all of the attacks that used to happened longevity was not really a thing. I got to to try using blow darts, the first two were way short, but my third attempt was right on target! It was incredible seeing how good at using the blow darts they were, but I guess it is how they go hunting! Some of the kids that were showing us how to use it hit the target from way further away than me.Technically the one we were using was made for kids, because the adults use ones that are even bigger. There wasn't poison on the dart we were using, but when they are hunting they use a plant poison to stun their game. Before leaving I bought a couple of bracelets the women make. It was really a unique experience being in this tribe, seeing how they live, what they do, and how they survive. Revelation 7:9, "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands." As we were taking off a bunch of the kids stood behind the plane to feel the breeze from the propellers. It was crazy to see them doing this, but to them it is a huge fan! A little boy was chasing the plane as we were taxiing down the runway, the next thing I knew we were back in the air. On the flight back along with the incredible scenery there was a little rainbow that came and passed quickly, but it was incredible! We got to take a little detour and fly over Casa de Fe which was awesome! Going in to this tribe showed me the miraculous ways that God is everywhere. He changes hearts and draws us near, God is everywhere! When we landed I asked the big question of how the landing strips came to be in the villages and learned that they are built and maintained by the tribes. Missionaries walked in to the tribes to offer medical help and flights and if the people were interested in this they could build a runway. Shortly after arriving home I went to a spaghetti feed at the Joy's. There was a group of us teaching staff hanging out their and enjoying a great evening together! There was delicious food, dessert, and fun games including mafia! There's nothing like a group of adults playing a game of Mafia, at one point three of us claimed to be the police, I couldn't stop laughing it was so great!

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