As I had mentioned before, this was my first mission trip. To be honest I was a little nervous about what to expect. I'm a pretty introverted person, and I was coming into this trip with the preconceived notion that we would all sit around a campfire and tell our innermost secrets.
Silly, right? Not so far from the truth for some, but it wasn't so bad. As usual, I took everything in and didn't let anything out. I did admire the honesty of the people who felt led to share things going on in their lives and how the Lord's hand is at work in their lives. Some day I'll not be so nervous to speak in a group...
The other thing that amazed me about being with this group of people was how God was so evidently knitting our hearts together as we
worked alongside each other,
shared meals together,
experienced the culture,
worshipped together
and learned about the work that God is doing in this remote part of the world.
How could we not come away from this experience with stronger relationships with each other?
Matt and I and the other married couple, the Knapps, stayed at the doctor's house, along with four other teenage girls. I don't know how it happened, but I didn't feel like I was 34 when I was with them. I was ripped back into my teenage years, and it was a blast! My sly, pranking ways aren't so far behind me, and I just couldn't help but fuel the girls' fire when it came to planning some darn good pranks on the guys. I've probably used better judgment at some point during my 34 years...but stronger relationships were formed with these girls that weren't there before the spoons were stolen or the doorknobs were greased (and various other objects were strategically placed).
If I had to name one particular event that brought us closer together (and no one got hurt), I would have to say it was the night of Rachel's birthday party. Rachel, one of the teammates, was celebrating her 15th birthday while we were in Peru. Heather planned a birthday celebration for her, and she invited the local Shipibo tribe members to come sing and dance for us. They walked over to the float plane hanger, wearing their traditional Shipibo clothes, and they performed for us.
It was incredible. There are not enough words to express the flood of emotions I felt that night, towards the Shipibos, who so graciously came to share their love of Christ with us through their song and dance. Towards the Gahagens, who took the time to come up with such a memorable experience for Rachel. Towards the other team members, with whom I could share this heartwarming time.
After they performed, they came over to Rachel and sang a traditional Shipibo birthday song to her.
During the song they pulled each of us into a circle where eventually all of us were dancing together with the Shipibos.
They even brought jewelry that they gave to everyone. While I have many pictures of that whole event, there isn't a camera on the market that could capture the depth of what took place that night. It is a night I'll always remember.
Our Peru 2008 team at the end of our trip:
