the other day I (finally) finished the chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. Incredible. It is amazing the way that Lewis can write a book for children that has such incredible philosophical/spiritual/moral/biblical lessons that adults can learn from as well. As i turned through the last chapters of the "the last battle" i actually got kind of emotional haha. It is so cool to see the gospel of Jesus Christ Illustrated through fictional characters. As i read through the series i got more and more attached to the characters and wrapped into the story and, consequently more and more in love with Jesus. One part of the last battle really stood out to me. As the children, the professor, king tirian and all the other narnian creatures who loved Aslan got into his country, they describe the beauty of everything they see. Soon, they discover that this beautiful land that they are walking through (they think for the first time) is actually the true narnia. The same mountain ranges they always thought were so beautiful have reached new heights, the colors are brighter, the rivers seem clearer...etc. They suddenly realize that for the first time they are seeing the "real thing." Lewis explains it like this: " you may have been in a room in wich there was window that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among mountians. Andin the wall of that room opostite to the window there may have been a looking0glass. And as you turned away from the window you suddenly caught sight of that sea or the valley, all over again, in the looking glass. And the sea and the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in some snes just te same as th ereal ones: yet at the same time they were somehow different, deeper, more wonderful, more like the places in the story- a story you may not have ever heard but very much wanted to know..."
basically, to condense a lot of random thoughts, i have been seeing and experiencing so many beautiful things this trip. I have spent the past two weeks between mountain cloudforests, rainforests, and white sand, palm tree lined, nearly deserted carribean beaches with beautiful coral reefs for snorkling. The morning i finished this book i took a boat trip from the island we were staying on back to the mainland and couldnt help but sit in awe of Gods creation. It was a beautiful day, no clouds, mountain range ahead, islands behind, and water so clear we could see the bottom over 20 feet down. The idea that this is only a shadow of how beautiful earth will be when heaven comes down, and all creation is redeemed and restored is incredible. The idea that God can create something more beautiful, or allow me to see creation in a way that is clearer or more beautiful than i am seeing it is incredible.
so quick update:
after my last update from panama city we have been to el valle (small mountain town), boquete (mountain town), lost and found eco lodge (hostel in the rainforest), isla bastimento (quiet carribean island in bocas del toro) and now we are staying in a cottage in manzanillo costa rica (carribean again).
In Boquete Eric and I met a lot of great people, once again from all over the world, and really connected well with a couple from new zealand, Jacob and Emma. We convinced them to come to the lost and found eco lodge with us, where we met tons of awesome people and enjoyed the rainforest (including a four hour treasure hunt through forest and streams for a victory bottle of rum) and the awesome critturs it offers. There was a great group of people staying at the hostel and since it was in the middle of nowhere, we all hung out every night at the hostel and playing cards and listening to music. From here we convinced Jacob and Emma to head with us to Bocas del Toro in panama and then manzanillo. OUr hostel in bocas del toro was a really relaxed hang out spot for lots of local guys and we had a really good time hanging out with them and the guys that worked there.In lost and found we met annother couple named Greg and Aisha (south africa and australia) who met us at bocas del toro a day later and have been with us since.
the six of us have had an awesome time relaxing by the beach, snorkling in the reefs, reading, playing dominoes and cards, and cooking HUGE feasts for dinner. We really love them a lot and are heading back up to nicaragua with them tomorrow and hopefully spending a few days together going to towns none of us have been to before they head off to see many of the things we have already done. Tonight the four guys are all gonna get Cuban Cigars and hang out on the beach for sunset. Last night an american couple that lives near our cottage that we met invited us all over for a huge sea food meal and hanging out at their pool. I finally got control of a computer with internet and some speakers and played radical face and josh garrels all night for entertainment. God is blessing us with great times, great friends and great conversations.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
in honor of indepence day
I hope all is well in Amurrica!
i am currently in panama city, having an incredible time doing ministry both in my hostel as well as in a poor urban community a few blocks down the road. The other day i drove in a taxi past these crumbling (literally) projects with people sleeping on the sidewalk, selling drugs in the street, and prostitutes on the corner. I went back to the hostel and felt like i needed to go back down there. I was really tired and tried to brush it off, however, i couldnt get it out of my head that i needed to be down there. So, Eric and I grabbed our drivers licences (still ID but less important) and just enough money to take a taxi out if necessary and walked down towards the neighborhood of el Chorillo. We got stopped by a cop about 2 blocks down telling us not to go any further we would be shot. However, I could tell my desire to go there was not from me, so i told him i knew what i was doing, we would be fine. we walked two more blocks down and people started shouting out their windows telling us to turn around, dont go further. Finally a woman cooking outside her apartment yelled at us, this is a red zone you are not allowed here. I tried to explain to her that we knew we had to be out by dark and that we just wanted to find a church we could go too and worship with people on sunday. As we argued, haha, I noticed she had some fish cooking on her grill. I interupted her to ask what it was and she said it was jamaican style fish. Soon, as we started asking questions about her and her friends, we went from unwanted intruders to having chairs and seats brought out for usa nd great conversations with neighbors while she cooked fish for us (3 dollars for a whole fish, shrimp, and fried plantanes). We learned about life in urban panama and got to share stories, laughs and the gospel with them.There were kids playing soccer in the street, men lining the sidewalk drinking beers, families bringing their meals to the curb to eat outside with everyone and music blaring out a top story window for everyone to enjoy. At the end of the evening, one of our new friends, stanley, walked us home so their would be no trouble.
It is so cool to see how quickly the gospel can break down barriers. the Gospel is personal, it is individual, does not group people together. The gospel says that God loves people individually, chose them individually, and dies for them individually. Looking at the world with this in mind, color is no longer important, social class doesnt matter, and stereotypes (although difficult) can be broken. I am realizing that that, among many other things, is what is so unique about the gospel and is one of the many things that gives it such power. Lorraine, stanley and their neighborhoods have been categorized. They are seen as poor, dirty, dangerous, and better avoided. They have begun to believe that about themselves and even see themselves as dangerous people. However, despite the fear that so many panamanians and "gringos" have of them and their neighbors, god is not afraid of them haha. The gospel is so much more powerful and so much bigger than that, that it doesnt back down in the face of stereotypes, racism, and dangerous neigborhoods, it thrives. In case anyone was wondering, yes i am very excited about Newark New Jersey.
We got back to the hostel, excited, and as we told people about our evening we were able to easily transition into conversations about what we are all about. We invited people to come back the next day with us to support Lorraine (the fish woman) by buying her fish instead of going to a bigger nice restaurant. so, yesterday, we went back with two friends. Once again, we got stopped by a cop (two this time) and had people telling us not to go any further, but when we turned the corner lorraine jumped up and gave us a huge hug and went and called her friend stanley who had been their the night before. Our friends were nervous, didnt talk a whole lot, but got to be a third party in a night of great conversations displaying Gods love for us individually, his love or people in general, and the way that that should manifest itself in the life of a christian. when we left, both guys that came with us were really excited. one guy had been working as a doctor in costa rica for 6 months and had never had an experience like that with locals. It opened up for a night of great conversations about Jesus, incarnation, love, and travelling in a way that is respectful to locals. Being the 4th of july, these conversations all took place after our journey through the night to find a six pack of the king of beers haha. the whole time really reminded me a lot of summer up in Newark and got me so excited to get out there again and get to live in a community like this. God is really preparing Eric and I alot on this trip for the next year up there. I cannot wait!
- i wish i had pictures, but i did not want to offend anyone or get my camera stolen!
- David
i am currently in panama city, having an incredible time doing ministry both in my hostel as well as in a poor urban community a few blocks down the road. The other day i drove in a taxi past these crumbling (literally) projects with people sleeping on the sidewalk, selling drugs in the street, and prostitutes on the corner. I went back to the hostel and felt like i needed to go back down there. I was really tired and tried to brush it off, however, i couldnt get it out of my head that i needed to be down there. So, Eric and I grabbed our drivers licences (still ID but less important) and just enough money to take a taxi out if necessary and walked down towards the neighborhood of el Chorillo. We got stopped by a cop about 2 blocks down telling us not to go any further we would be shot. However, I could tell my desire to go there was not from me, so i told him i knew what i was doing, we would be fine. we walked two more blocks down and people started shouting out their windows telling us to turn around, dont go further. Finally a woman cooking outside her apartment yelled at us, this is a red zone you are not allowed here. I tried to explain to her that we knew we had to be out by dark and that we just wanted to find a church we could go too and worship with people on sunday. As we argued, haha, I noticed she had some fish cooking on her grill. I interupted her to ask what it was and she said it was jamaican style fish. Soon, as we started asking questions about her and her friends, we went from unwanted intruders to having chairs and seats brought out for usa nd great conversations with neighbors while she cooked fish for us (3 dollars for a whole fish, shrimp, and fried plantanes). We learned about life in urban panama and got to share stories, laughs and the gospel with them.There were kids playing soccer in the street, men lining the sidewalk drinking beers, families bringing their meals to the curb to eat outside with everyone and music blaring out a top story window for everyone to enjoy. At the end of the evening, one of our new friends, stanley, walked us home so their would be no trouble.
It is so cool to see how quickly the gospel can break down barriers. the Gospel is personal, it is individual, does not group people together. The gospel says that God loves people individually, chose them individually, and dies for them individually. Looking at the world with this in mind, color is no longer important, social class doesnt matter, and stereotypes (although difficult) can be broken. I am realizing that that, among many other things, is what is so unique about the gospel and is one of the many things that gives it such power. Lorraine, stanley and their neighborhoods have been categorized. They are seen as poor, dirty, dangerous, and better avoided. They have begun to believe that about themselves and even see themselves as dangerous people. However, despite the fear that so many panamanians and "gringos" have of them and their neighbors, god is not afraid of them haha. The gospel is so much more powerful and so much bigger than that, that it doesnt back down in the face of stereotypes, racism, and dangerous neigborhoods, it thrives. In case anyone was wondering, yes i am very excited about Newark New Jersey.
We got back to the hostel, excited, and as we told people about our evening we were able to easily transition into conversations about what we are all about. We invited people to come back the next day with us to support Lorraine (the fish woman) by buying her fish instead of going to a bigger nice restaurant. so, yesterday, we went back with two friends. Once again, we got stopped by a cop (two this time) and had people telling us not to go any further, but when we turned the corner lorraine jumped up and gave us a huge hug and went and called her friend stanley who had been their the night before. Our friends were nervous, didnt talk a whole lot, but got to be a third party in a night of great conversations displaying Gods love for us individually, his love or people in general, and the way that that should manifest itself in the life of a christian. when we left, both guys that came with us were really excited. one guy had been working as a doctor in costa rica for 6 months and had never had an experience like that with locals. It opened up for a night of great conversations about Jesus, incarnation, love, and travelling in a way that is respectful to locals. Being the 4th of july, these conversations all took place after our journey through the night to find a six pack of the king of beers haha. the whole time really reminded me a lot of summer up in Newark and got me so excited to get out there again and get to live in a community like this. God is really preparing Eric and I alot on this trip for the next year up there. I cannot wait!
- i wish i had pictures, but i did not want to offend anyone or get my camera stolen!
- David
Friday, July 2, 2010
july 2nd
it has been so long! my apologies!
Although there is internet almost everywhere, it is often hard to find a spot/time to sit and blog. Since my last post we have been so many places and had great experiences. Here is a quick list of places we have been to thus far (stayed at least one night): Managua, Masaya, Granada, Isla Ometepe, San Carlos, El Castillo, San Juan del Norte, Managua again, San Juan Del Sur, Playa Matilda, Jaco Costa Rica, San Jose, and now panama city!
After my last post we said bye to the guys we were travelling with and headed the rest of the way down Rio San Juan. We got to San Juan del Norte, a tiny town with one hostel, no roads and no electricity until 2pm. Here, we stubbornly came to a realization that has begun to change our whole trip. As many of you know, Eric and i came here wanting to love locals everywhere we went. We wanted to get off the beaten track and really experience local culture. We have had and will continue to have great experiences with locals, however, things have changed. Jesus did incarnational ministry. HE came to earth, from heaven and dwelled with man. We realized that really doing incarnatoinal ministry in local cultures is next to impossible, especially if we want to travel to more than one village our three months. On the other hand, the backpacking community is transient. People meet in hostels for a night and maybe spend a day or two together, maybe not. Hostels are set up with huge communal spaces for eating, drinking, and conversations. We realized that instead of running from the backpacking community "off the beaten track" God could be leading us into these communities where we can really do incarnational ministry. So, we headed back to managua and have gotten back on backpack row hitting up more touristy areas and staying in hostels with lots of people, forming friendships, hearing/sharing stories, praying for opportunities to talk about jesus with a group of people who seldom have any idea who he is, and meeting AWESOME people. Of course, we will still love local poeple, eat in small family restaurants and play as much street soccer as we can between now and august.
So, from San Juan del Norte, we headed back up the rio san juan and took a miserable bus ride all the way to managua, where we stayed with the Sharpes for 3 days, did laundry, rested and got ready for the rest of the trip. We also got to visit Mandy in managua and met a great guy named Cobren who let us help out at his ministry center for a day. Mandy is working with some really sweet girls at an orphanage in managua and is doing an awesome job. After Managua we went down to San JUan del sur which is the biggest surfing town in nicaragua and went to an awesome hostel called casa oro. HEre, we met a guy named Bubba who pointed us toward another hostel on a less populated beach where we could stay for cheaper so we went out there with him and a canadian couple and stayed 3 days. We swam, read, surfed ( I caught an overhead wave and succesfully turned left down the beach), ate HUGE oysters, raw muscles and clams that had just been taken out of the rocks in the water by some nicaraguan divers, and hung out on our basically private beach the five of us every night. We went back into the town for 2 more nights after leaving that beach and stayed at Casa Oro again. Here we met an awesome guy named Josh from richmond and also ran into one of our friends that we met in Granada. We had an incredible night our last night in San Juan Del Sur where we had multiple conversations about Jesus. Also, i met a woman who works for a non-profit organization working with women--many of whom are prostitues or victims of domestic violence-- who, after listening to eric and i talk about how we think a man should treat a woman invited me to come and speak at the center in august. She says i have free range on what i choose to say, so although it is not a christian organization i cannot wait for this awesome opportunity to preach the gospel.
From San Juan Del sur we crossed the border into Costa Rica and hopped local buses all the way to Jaco Costa Rica where we met up with Brandon Duke and Josh Poe. We slept on hammocks outside their hostel had an awesome time with them and the crew staying at Christian Surfer hostel. We hung out with some local kids, went to a YWAM mission site and watched a lot of soccer. It was crazy hanging out with a group of CNU guys in Costa Rica--definately felt like we were at VA beach.Costa Rica is nice, and we enjoyed seeing the guys, but it is very touristy and overpriced and almost all the backpackers we met encouraged us to skip over it and go straight to Panama.
So, two nights ago we took a sixteen hour bus ride from San jose to Panama city and got here yesterday evening. We met some really cool israeli girls on the bus on the way over and went to the same hostel as them. They made us easily the best dinner we have had this trip so we are hoping to continue travelling with them haha. It is a HUGE colonial mansion which fits 100 people and has awesome social areas and probably the coolest bar i have ever seen (pictures to come).
Today we were walking down the street to find a place to watch the Brazil v holland game and some guys called down to us from their apartment and invited us to watch with them. It was awesome. They lived in a room smaller than my bedroom in a large apartment building. Most of the windows in the building were blown out or borded up, the stairs felt like they might collapse underneath us, but when we got upstairs the guys gladly shared their one fouton (probably mispelled) with us to watch the game. If it stops raining we are gonna go play soccer with the guys tonight. Tomorrow, we are gonna go visit the canal as well as be super tourists and rent roller blades and skate through a huge park that runs along the water and is home to all sorts of cool wildlife and trees haha. Pray i dont die...its been at least ten years since my roller hockey days at Tuckahoe elementary with the cousins.
on a side note, Erics bag was stolen in San Jose and we are now down to one backpack with 4 shirts and 3 pairs of shorts for the two of us haha. Luckily nothing happened to us and the passports were both in my backpack.
also-- quick shout out to England, Holland and Denmark! we miss you guys and cant wait till you come to New york!
--more updates to come
- David
Although there is internet almost everywhere, it is often hard to find a spot/time to sit and blog. Since my last post we have been so many places and had great experiences. Here is a quick list of places we have been to thus far (stayed at least one night): Managua, Masaya, Granada, Isla Ometepe, San Carlos, El Castillo, San Juan del Norte, Managua again, San Juan Del Sur, Playa Matilda, Jaco Costa Rica, San Jose, and now panama city!
After my last post we said bye to the guys we were travelling with and headed the rest of the way down Rio San Juan. We got to San Juan del Norte, a tiny town with one hostel, no roads and no electricity until 2pm. Here, we stubbornly came to a realization that has begun to change our whole trip. As many of you know, Eric and i came here wanting to love locals everywhere we went. We wanted to get off the beaten track and really experience local culture. We have had and will continue to have great experiences with locals, however, things have changed. Jesus did incarnational ministry. HE came to earth, from heaven and dwelled with man. We realized that really doing incarnatoinal ministry in local cultures is next to impossible, especially if we want to travel to more than one village our three months. On the other hand, the backpacking community is transient. People meet in hostels for a night and maybe spend a day or two together, maybe not. Hostels are set up with huge communal spaces for eating, drinking, and conversations. We realized that instead of running from the backpacking community "off the beaten track" God could be leading us into these communities where we can really do incarnational ministry. So, we headed back to managua and have gotten back on backpack row hitting up more touristy areas and staying in hostels with lots of people, forming friendships, hearing/sharing stories, praying for opportunities to talk about jesus with a group of people who seldom have any idea who he is, and meeting AWESOME people. Of course, we will still love local poeple, eat in small family restaurants and play as much street soccer as we can between now and august.
So, from San Juan del Norte, we headed back up the rio san juan and took a miserable bus ride all the way to managua, where we stayed with the Sharpes for 3 days, did laundry, rested and got ready for the rest of the trip. We also got to visit Mandy in managua and met a great guy named Cobren who let us help out at his ministry center for a day. Mandy is working with some really sweet girls at an orphanage in managua and is doing an awesome job. After Managua we went down to San JUan del sur which is the biggest surfing town in nicaragua and went to an awesome hostel called casa oro. HEre, we met a guy named Bubba who pointed us toward another hostel on a less populated beach where we could stay for cheaper so we went out there with him and a canadian couple and stayed 3 days. We swam, read, surfed ( I caught an overhead wave and succesfully turned left down the beach), ate HUGE oysters, raw muscles and clams that had just been taken out of the rocks in the water by some nicaraguan divers, and hung out on our basically private beach the five of us every night. We went back into the town for 2 more nights after leaving that beach and stayed at Casa Oro again. Here we met an awesome guy named Josh from richmond and also ran into one of our friends that we met in Granada. We had an incredible night our last night in San Juan Del Sur where we had multiple conversations about Jesus. Also, i met a woman who works for a non-profit organization working with women--many of whom are prostitues or victims of domestic violence-- who, after listening to eric and i talk about how we think a man should treat a woman invited me to come and speak at the center in august. She says i have free range on what i choose to say, so although it is not a christian organization i cannot wait for this awesome opportunity to preach the gospel.
From San Juan Del sur we crossed the border into Costa Rica and hopped local buses all the way to Jaco Costa Rica where we met up with Brandon Duke and Josh Poe. We slept on hammocks outside their hostel had an awesome time with them and the crew staying at Christian Surfer hostel. We hung out with some local kids, went to a YWAM mission site and watched a lot of soccer. It was crazy hanging out with a group of CNU guys in Costa Rica--definately felt like we were at VA beach.Costa Rica is nice, and we enjoyed seeing the guys, but it is very touristy and overpriced and almost all the backpackers we met encouraged us to skip over it and go straight to Panama.
So, two nights ago we took a sixteen hour bus ride from San jose to Panama city and got here yesterday evening. We met some really cool israeli girls on the bus on the way over and went to the same hostel as them. They made us easily the best dinner we have had this trip so we are hoping to continue travelling with them haha. It is a HUGE colonial mansion which fits 100 people and has awesome social areas and probably the coolest bar i have ever seen (pictures to come).
Today we were walking down the street to find a place to watch the Brazil v holland game and some guys called down to us from their apartment and invited us to watch with them. It was awesome. They lived in a room smaller than my bedroom in a large apartment building. Most of the windows in the building were blown out or borded up, the stairs felt like they might collapse underneath us, but when we got upstairs the guys gladly shared their one fouton (probably mispelled) with us to watch the game. If it stops raining we are gonna go play soccer with the guys tonight. Tomorrow, we are gonna go visit the canal as well as be super tourists and rent roller blades and skate through a huge park that runs along the water and is home to all sorts of cool wildlife and trees haha. Pray i dont die...its been at least ten years since my roller hockey days at Tuckahoe elementary with the cousins.
on a side note, Erics bag was stolen in San Jose and we are now down to one backpack with 4 shirts and 3 pairs of shorts for the two of us haha. Luckily nothing happened to us and the passports were both in my backpack.
also-- quick shout out to England, Holland and Denmark! we miss you guys and cant wait till you come to New york!
--more updates to come
- David
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