Last Day

Wow, the trip is over. I'm home now. Got up at 3:30am in Quito and began the all day journey back to SD. Made it at 6pm and there was the welcoming party to greet me. Even though some of them did have the flu...haha But it was an awesome trip. Here are some of the highlights that come to mind:

~Missing our flight to Quito because of a raging volcano

~Visiting the Equator and standing with one foot on both hemispheres.

~Seeing three waterfalls. One by high-flying cable car, one by a nice jungle hike, and the last one being able to actually swim underneath it and feel the power of God.

~Taking off in a Cessna 206 and flying to the Waodani tribe in the jungle.

~Meeting one of the Waodani killers and seeing the change that resulted in his life and the lives of his people.

~Hiking through the jungle and seeing the grand handiwork of the Almighty. And having Him take my breath away time and time again.

~Competing in a blowgun and spear throwing contest with the local Waodani's and using the same tools that they have been using to hunt for centuries.

~Hanging out with the awesome group of guys, gals, and old people :p that were on this trip. Bus rides with you guys were DA BOMB!!!

~Squishing in a little SUV and traveling up to visit a poor church that was on fire for Christ and to feel their passion inspired my heart.

~Visiting the various other mission organizations that are in Shell and hearing how God has used each and every one of them to further His kingdom.

~Being able to hear the devos and testimonies of all you guys in our group. You were such an encouragement to me on this trip.

~Visiting the Nate Saint house and seeing the impact that the faith of five men can have on the world.

~Being able to get my hands dirty and serve those who have given so much already.

~And of course all the crazy, wacko exotic foods that we ate. Including, but not limited to:

Whole Tilapia...

Piranha...

Cow Tongue...

Fish eyeballs...

And Cui...spanish for Guinea Pig...

~And I even found Snoopy...finally

So the adventure in Ecuador is over. But the adventures of Snoopy continue....stay tuned for more of the exciting things that God has in store....

Until next time

~

Day 8

June 4^th

Has it really been 8 days already!? It seems as though I just got here, and already we are leaving Shell tomorrow. We are sad to go, but so so happy for all the memories and adventures that we have had this last week.

Well today was a busy day. After a long day of touring yesterday, I was aching to get my hands dirty again and get a nice sweat in the humid Amazon one more time. Well that was just what the doctor ordered. Ron, the repairman for Alas de Socorro needed our help today laying some concrete next to the hangar. Me and the three other dudes got to work mixing the sand, rock, water, and cement and then wheelbarreling it over to the place where we poured it and made a real nice concrete strip, if I do say so myself. We even wrote our names in our work at the end of the day (sorry, someone else took the picture and so I won’t get it for a little bit.) Funny story happened during this. So we were using an automatic mixer to mix the concrete. We had these large bins that we would fill with rock and sand to pour into the mixer. These carriers are designed to be lifted by two people using the handles on either side. Well, I was stationed at the mixer the whole day and so was in charge of how much of each went into the mixer so that the consistency was just right. Then the other guys would fill their wheelbarrows with the mixed concrete and tote it off to where we were laying it. Well it was a good ways off, and so I would be left for about 4 or 5 minutes until they came back. Well about half-way into this, I decided that I wasn’t going to waste any more of these down times. Instead of waiting for the guys to come back and help me pour the bins into the mixer, I told myself, “I’m strong enough to lift one of those myself.” And so I did. This was tough work. The bins were probably 60 or more pounds and they weren’t easy to get your arms around. But I managed. This went on for about three or so loads. Until…. One of the bins was a little low and I wasn’t able to get my arms around it jus right. I remembered back to my {wonderful} PE training in college, where my prof always stressed, “Lift with your legs, not your back.” So I decided that I would get under this one and really man it up. Well, my legs were already in a pretty tight position and the bin was real heavy. I tried once and couldn’t quite get it up all the way. I set it down, and this time sucked in some air, and lifted with all my might POPPPP! I had succeeded in lifting the bin and heaved it into the mixer, but to my great agony and dismay, as I looked back I realized that I had split my shorts along the seam all the way down my back side……oh brother…so much for Mr. Macho. It made for a funny and embarrassing rest of the day, but I fortunately had brought some boardshorts and so slipped into those very stealthily and so not too many people saw me…..haha Another great story from the mission field.

But the day is not over, and the stories are not through just yet. Brian, our group leader, loaded us all into the van after lunch and told us we were going off to see another waterfall. We had known beforehand and so had brought our bathing suits. (Hence my previous salvation) lol. So we drove for about two hours on this road basically in the middle of the jungle until we turned. I thought we were there, but actually we now had another half hour of driving on a dirt road until we got to a trail head. Seems as though we were going to be hoofing it. We then got our bathing suits on and towels in tow, set off on the jungle trail. It was so incredibly awesome to hike along the trail. The trail paralleled a river for most of the way, but when everyone was quiet, all you could hear was the rushing of the water, and the squaks of the birds overhead. And even the occasional “other sound” which must have been some other animal deep in the bush. It was so neat to walk along and look up to see the sunlight just peeking through the canopy overhead. Everything was moss covered and looked just like any movie you have seen, except for the machete toting trail guide. Of this we were remiss. Oh well, maybe next time.

But anyways, after about 30 minutes of hiking we came upon a beautiful waterfall peeking out from among the trees. We raced across the log bridge until we were at the base of the falls where we found a small pool right under the water fall. It was a good 70 foot drop and a gorgeous waterfall to be sure. Well after a few pictures, we decided to brave the cold waters and swim in the pool. 

The water was crystal clear and it was so incredibly cool to swim right under where the water was pounding down overhead. As you passed under the falls, it felt like a bag of concrete was instantly dropped on you and you sunk deeper into the water, but if you kept swimming you could make it out to the other side. Then you could sit on a little beach behind the falls and look up and see the water cascading down in front of you. It was truly an amazing experience, and one which I will not soon forget. Everyday that I spend down here, I am reminded time and time again just how awesome and creative our God is. Each plant is wonderfully crafted and serves a distinct purpose and plan. And together they form a beautiful scene known as the rain forest. The majesty of it all will take your breath away. What a wonderful last day in Shell. It has been such an amazing trip. And tomorrow we begin our journey back….

Day 7

June 3rd

Today was another awesome day....I'm running out of adjectives to describe things...maybe a thesaurus is in the works...lol   But anyways, today we spent the day touring the multiple mission organizations that are in Shell besides Alas de Socorro. There are ALOT of missions here! First off we toured the orphanage here in Shell. It was a tough sight. The facility was very run down and there was mold everywhere. Many of the kids had lice and so it was hard to really hug them and hold them. They are in the process of building a new site up higher on the hillside, but it won't be completed for another year or so. Yet even through the hard circumstances, one bright spot was the obvious love that the orphanage workers showered down upon the kids. And it showed through the kids. They all had smiles and ran to hug you when we walked through the gates. As we went through the nursery area where most of the younger kids were asleep, we saw two pairs of eyes twinkling back at me. A little girl named Laura was obviously not sleeping and she just sat there smiling back at us. Even through the hardships, the love of God shone through. This was an encouragement for me.

HCJB Mission Hospital

The next place we toured was the HCJB mission hospital. Although Shell has a public hospital, the care that many patients receive there is quite minimal, so some of the people that MAF flies in on emergency rescues come to HCJB where all the doctors and surgeons are experts in their field and provide excellent care for minimal cost. The reason? All the medical staff are missionaries. Many of them are from the US and are completely mission-supported. The facility was wonderful and it was so cool to listen to the director tell of how God has used the hospital to reach the Ecuadorians for Christ.

Rick Labuffe's hanger and plane.

Next, we drove to Rick LaBuffe's house. Rick is a very unique mission pilot in that he is not part of any specific organization. Also, he is different from MAF in that MAF pilots spend all their time flying and really don't do any direct evangelism while on the job. True, their lives are a witness of the love of Christ, but they do not preach in any of the villages that they fly to. Rick, on the other hand, will fly out in the morning to a certain village, land, and spend the day preaching to the village. If you have ever seen a pilot land in a village in the jungle, you will know that before you even get out of your plane, the entire village is swarming around your plane, eager to see their new visitor. The natives have excellent hearing, and so they can hear the drone of the plane miles off, so they know when you are coming in to land. Rick then says to all his captive audience upon landing, "Hey! why don't we all sit down, I have something to tell you guys. Something that will change your life." And they listen. Listening to Rick talk about his work fascinated me. I had never thought that this kind of mission work existed. It has definitely given me alot to think about. To be honest, I have heard alot of people from MAF tell me that after flying for 20 plus years, the joy of flying, just as in any other job, will wear off. And so if you don't have some other ministry in the area (like in the local church, or a bible study) you will get worn out and begin to think of your life as a glorified taxi-driver. Because the honest truth is, that because of the reduced support coming in for the organization, they have had to increase their commercial part of the program. So instead of flying only missionaries, MAF also flied commercially for businesses and oil companies that need to get supplies into the jungle. So although they still have the Christian influence and character, the operation is changing a bit. This is why Rick's work intrigued me so much. Because many of the tribes speak the trade language of Spanish, he can reach pretty much any tribe with the gospel, and instead of just taking supplies in only, he uses the plane as his transportation tool, just like a pastor uses a car, and goes around as a flying preacher. I haven't even begun to sort my thoughts out about this, but it has definitely opened my eyes to the multitude of opportunities that exist out there, that MAF is not the only option that there is.

And then, what better way to finish off the day, than a wonderful pool party with the group. The Hosteria where we are staying has a newly built pool, and a sauna, and a hot tub, and even a turkish bath. We tried everything (even though we didn't too much enjoy the smell of the roasting eucalyptus leaves that was so strong in there that it suffocated you.) But we had a blast sitting in the hot tub telling stories and sharing our thoughts from the day. We really have a great group here, and it has been a real joy to be around these guys.

Might not be able to see it, but we are sitting under this pretty epic waterfall at the pool...good times

Well until next time. This is Captain Snoopy, signing out from the jungle. You're watching Channel 20. Good Night...

Day 6

June 2nd

Wow, has it really been six days already? Time has flown by so quickly… More reason to savor every minute I guess….thats why I’m up past midnight tonight typing this.. lol

Well today was another great day in the wonderful land of Ecuador. We spent most of the day helping out at the Nate Saint house. Across the street from the airstrip, the original house built by Nate Saint 50 years ago is still standing. But termites and mold have taken their toll on the poor house and so it is currently in a state of severe disrepair. They have decided that they are going to tear down and rebuild the house this summer. The plans are to create an exact duplicate of the two most famous rooms of the house, the kitchen and the radio room. Then they are going to build a meeting room, a small apartment for local missionaries, and also a few guest rooms.So we are some of the last people to see the original house before it is torn down. But right now, it is being used largely for storage. So our job today was to transport the wash machines, refrigerators, cabinets, barrels, and load upon load of wood and lumber. It was so cool to be a part of history and to be able to say, "I walked through the house that Nate Saint lived in, and I got termite dust on my head, and looked at the books that Nate read." I don't know, it might sound silly to you. But Nate is my greatest human hero. Saint is the reason I want to be a missionary pilot. Reading the biographies about his life, and seeing the End of the Spear was the inspiration that God used to call me to the mission field. 

Then for lunch, to continue on my adventerous side of culinary taste, I tried the house special at the restaurant we were at. What was the special you ask? La Lengua. or Cow Tongue.....:) And you may not believe me, but once you got past the fact that you could see the bumps on the outside of it, it actually tasted really good. I ate the whole thing....haha

So after finishing up clearing out the house, we then came back to the Hosteria and cleaned up and we each went out to a missionary family for dinner and talked and shared stories about our lives. The family that I got to have dinner with was Fred and Desiree Schmidt. This couple has been on the field for over 25 years. http://www.maf.org/schmidt 

They were such an awesome couple and it was so great to hear how God had provided for them over the years and be able to ask them lots of questions about their life, and why they felt called to the field. This week has been flying by and I have made so many awesome memories and adventures. And its not over yet.... :)

Day 5

June 1st 2010
Jungle....the very word brings to mind vivid pictures of lush topography, dangerous animals, and fierce tribes....and I got to see all of these today. All in one day. This day has been one of the greatest days of my life. There is no conceivable way that this last 24 hour period could have been more filled with epic and fantabulous moments. The only way it could have been better is if it had never ended....

Today I got to fly into the jungle. Today I got to FLY into the JUNGLE...wow

So here's how it all went down...
We started the day off with a nice breakfast of eggs, biscuits, pineapple slices, and this very tasty blackberry juice....these people sure know how to make their juice... We then drove the 15 or so minutes to the Regional airport in Shell, which although no commercial jet ever takes off from here daily, this airport is the third busiest airport in the entire country of Ecuador. Next to Guayaquil and Quito, which both have over a million people...so thats quite the accomplishment. We then proceeded to tour the hangar and the base of operations there which is called "Alas de Secoro" which is Spanish for Wings of Help. ADS currently has five airplanes in operation. Most of them are Cessna 206's and they also have a Cessna 182 and another one whose name escapes me, but its like a six-seater, single prop.

We got to see all the maintenance operations and how they organize the parts and keep the records accurate. We then went across the street to the Nate Saint House. 

This is the original house built by Nate Saint himself in the 1950's It is set for renovation in the next month, so we will be some of the last people to see this historic landmark in its original form. We toured around in the house and even got my picture taken in the famous radio room where Nate would call back to while in the air over the jungle.

After touring the place, we went and got lunch then we came back and all 11 of us loaded into two Cessna 206's and we took off for the jungle. They even let me fly the way there in the right front seat! I was so stoked. I have loved the views of East Texas during my training, but I apologize to you Texans, nothing compared to the view of the entire jungle laid out in front of you with the rivers all snaking around through them, and the mist capping all the mountains around us...I will remember that sight for as long as I live.

We passed through a little IFR {basically stuck in the middle of a cloud and flying by instruments only} during the flight, which made for a little turbulence, but it was so cool to be going thrugh complete whiteness and not being able to see anything…then going in and out of the clouds at 140 knots was really sweet. It was amazing to see just how many airstrips there are in the area. Brian told me there are over 200 airstrips in Ecuador. {And Ecuador is only the size of Colorado} It is because it takes so long to walk or travel down the river, that each village wants their own airstrip, so they build one. We finally landed on a strip next to a little village called Tiweno. The landing was unforgettable. My dad would have probably died. He could barely take landing on an asphalt runway, but this was a grass and mud runway. {more mud than anything else.} I think we bounced at least 3 times before our pilot could get his wheels to stay onto the ground, and we were really jerking around. But Brian told me that this strip was one of the smoother ones….lol

I enjoyed every minute of it.

And as we taxied to as stop, the whole village cam running out to greet us…it was such an amazing sight. Come to find out that this was the famous Waudoni tribe of South America. If you have ever read about the life of Nate Saint, you will know of the Waudoni tribe. This was the very same tribe that 50 years ago were some of the fiercest killers in the jungle, and were the very same ones that killed the four missionaries, Nate Saint, Jim Eliot, Peter Fleming, and Ed McCully in 1955. I even got to meet one of the Waudoni tribal members who had killed these men. His name is Dewy. I even shook his hand. 

Then he prayed over us....

A man that had been so lost that all he knew was hatred and murder, was changed by the witness of four men on the banks of the river. He was changed, and he heart to God, and then proceeded to bring the rest of the tribe to the saving faith of Christ.

That is the power of the Gospel. That is the power of four men who didn't let their fears stop them from following God's call. That is the God that I serve. My God is MIGHTY to save. And that is the kind of legacy that I want to leave....To live my life, sold out for Christ. To lay it all down in sacrifice to the one who sacrificed it all for me. And I shook Dewy's hand....

The Indians then led us into their village. They painted our faces, they showed us their church, and they let us even use their spears. I got to throw their famous 6 foot long spear that they have used to hunt for centuries. The same kind that Dewy used 55 years ago that changed the course of history for the Waudoni tribe. Some of our group even bought some miniature ones. Then we all joined in on a little tribal dance that was alot of fun. We then started a blow gun competition for who could hit the hanging lime first with the 7 foot long blow-dart tube. It was really cool. 

Then we wrapped the day up with a little soccer match with the little kids in the pouring rain....it was a great day. One of the best of my whole life...Thank you God. You are awesome...

God is Good.....