The trip is going well. Tonight I experienced the most meaningful moment of the trip so far, but I’ll save it for another post because I don’t have the energy to give it the attention is deserves. We did have some other memorable moments today:
1. Tonight, on the way up to the mountain village to deliver supplies for a big event tomorrow, our truck stalled out and wouldn’t start again. It’s an hour trip and we were only about 30 minutes into the jungle. The sounds of the jungle at night are fascinating. Fortunately, we were able to jump start the truck by pushing it down the road.
2. Once we arrived, the people of the village were thrilled to see us. It was a lot of mingling and talking until a great big explosion lit up the village and all the power went out. Turns out the transformer blew. Unfortunately, there was a thick cloud cover so I couldn’t see any stars. But it was a blast with the kids from the village, they really made the “burnout” fun.
3. We went to a local college to speak, and some of the students opened the gate for our truck. I waited with some of our group as the pastor, our missionary and a few others went in to talk with the school administrators. In the meantime, a soldier armed with an automatic rifle approached the back of our truck and asked me why I opened the gate. I tried to explain that we were supposed to be there, but he interrupted me and asked to see my ID. I handed him my PA driver’s license, and he told me to come with him… Turns out he was just a security guard wanting me to sign in.
But you don’t have to menace!
Lots more on the agenda the next few days. I should be able to post some pictures Saturday night our time, so keep checking back for more updates. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts!
