From the moment I stepped out of the airplane onto the long stairwell, I felt as though I was returning home...
You must understand the majesty of God behind such a realization. Iquitos is by no means an easy place to live and this trip was no different. The humid jungle climate contrasted with torrential downpour. (One of my days there saw a possible record rainfall that flooded department stores.) The rain means most areas with poor drainage are greeted by sewage in their homes and throughout the streets. This comes with mosquitoes, various bugs, bites, water and power outages, and wondering if the sun will come out to dry your clothes that took you an hour to wash by hand. And this is just in the city!
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| Evangelizing in Belen the day after the rain storm. (Click to enlarge) |
Regardless, not only did mi familia pick me up from the airport, but two of my photography alums as well. Yes, my time in Iquitos was short at a whopping 8 days. With this, I was very intentional to catch up with as many old faces as possible. I met with multiple people in charge of different ministries. Though everyone is not in the same season, by and large, they are all doing well and growing or changing for the better. I must highlight that living with the Construyendo Sueños team again was awesome. (They made sure to note that not only were they surprised that I hadn't forgotten my español but also at how skinny I had become. When they asked "why?" I had no response besides, "Soy pobre.")
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| Surprise birthday party for David! |
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| Catching up with ministry leaders. |
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| "Sofita" with her new toy. They named it Sam after me. |
It was a special treat to meet "mi sobrina" (niece) Sofía. Although she keeps the ministry leaders quite busy, it has not stopped them from ministering to youth. I was able to fully participate (nostalgically and joyfully) in all of the regular family ministries. My primary work in that week was to photograph and do videography for campamento de jovenes. ("+ of Him, - of Me") You may recall, in 2013, I had various photo and film projects between the discipleship school, women's ministry, promotional material, the kids camp and the (Grammy nominated) ROJO concert. My leaders were quick to inform me of how important this job is, not just for keepsakes or to decrease the amount of selfies being taken, but to promote and raise support for the ministry so these camps can continue. Money is always a factor, for example; in 2014 the kids camp was cancelled due to a lack of finances. (the money was instead used for Christmas gifts for the children)
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| Kids Ministry is now done in 3 locations with some youth leaders co-leading. |
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| Club Jesus: Welcome to the JUNGLE! |
As was the case in 2013, we used the beautiful campamento vida abundante. We were definitely very busy, most days running from 5am-1am. This, and the rain that hit most of the second day, were rather difficult on my immune system. Apart from that (and the illness to follow), I was so very impressed by the quality of material presented throughout the camp. First, by the Puerto Rican team, who did most of the skits, small groups and messages. Second, by Juan Carlos and the worship team, who had an amazingly fun production complete with requiring the students to learn the dance moves and lyrics to the songs. For the equivalent of 20 USD, these students got every centimo worth!
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| We almost never made it to camp! |
Seeing student's lives change is always amazing. Capturing precous moments as they surrender their lives, their dreams and their sins to the LORD is an amazing thing. I was touched to watch some of my former students, now friends, speak on the tug-of-war that they have with the world and their flesh. The biggest personal highlight was sharing my testimony in Spanish. I wrote it out the best I could and had a friend edit it. The rain the night before had soaked all the microphone cables, so I had to speak loud in the best Spanish accent I could. The biggest reactions were to my life's direction from fear of working with children to a career goal of working with children. I also shared a personal story about God's love as a father for a refugee in the Middle East. (Not easy to do in a second language.)
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| Nothing compares to lives changing. |
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| Teams of 6 were connected by belts. #Unified |
We also had extreme competition team building games. I made sure to dive into the mud pit myself! The last morning we woke up the students by surprise for sunrise worship. It was beautiful and entertaining as all the rain had killed quite a few of our voices, including the worship leader. Before packing up, we finished with guy's and gal's small groups. The guys talked about an array of deep issues such as pornography, homosexuality and healthy relationships. #TheStruggleisReal
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| Sunrise Praise |
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| I had to jump in myself! |
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| If that wasn't bad enough, the ants were biting! |
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| Grilled fish, chicken, tacacho and rice. Eduardo's mom treated us like royalty! |
With one more day in Iquitos, I had just enough time to sort through all of the material, pack up and have a fairwell lunch with my former students-turned-leaders. This was my first trip returning to a place I had been before and, no matter how strange it may seem to say, Iquitos truly does feel like a second home to me. I wouldn't have changed anything about my time there. It was truly anointed in how everything came together and I know I am always welcome. Matter of fact, after expressing their disappointment in me leaving so soon, everyone was sure to let me know they are praying for my quick return. I gratefully accept those encouraging words and place it all at the feet of the LORD. I was in Iquitos searching for possible opportunities to bring a team from Northwestern down this coming year, but as i have learned many times over, His timing is better than any plan I could ever make. Please keep this and the ministries in your prayers. So many lives are impacted and so many needs are met physically, mentally, emotionally and most importantly, spiritually. If you would like more information about any of the ministries or how to support them, I have included some information below. May we all be sowing into a beautiful harvest in one way or another.
In Christ,
Sam
MINISTRIES
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| My old room is completely remodeled after the YWAM base fire last year. (Click to enlarge.) |
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YWAM Iquitos - Jungle communities, women's ministry and discipleship school.
Construyendo Suenos - Children's and youth ministry
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| Iglesia Genesis: Visiting old friends. |
Genesis Church - many people are currently pledging to go bald if they can fundraise enough money for their new church building by the deadline! (update: they rose $44,000 in two days, only needed $15,000.)
Seeing student's lives change is always amazing. Capturing precous moments as they surrender their lives, their dreams and their sins to the LORD is an amazing thing. I was touched to watch some of my former students, now friends, speak on the tug-of-war that they have with the world and their flesh. The biggest personal highlight was sharing my testimony in Spanish. I wrote it out the best I could and had a friend edit it. The rain the night before had soaked all the microphone cables, so I had to speak loud in the best Spanish accent I could. The biggest reactions were to my life's direction from fear of working with children to a career goal of working with children. I also shared a personal story about God's love as a father for a refugee in the Middle East. (Not easy to do in a second language.)
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