Wow... two weeks of my life (quite possibly the two greatest of my life) flew by in what felt like a few days. It's impossible for me to share every little thing that impacted me because, frankly, so much happened I can't remember it all. Regardless of whether I remember it or not, God used every moment to teach me something new.
Let me just start by saying that my expectations were high for this trip. Last year I had very few expectations and those were blown out of the agua. So this being my second trip, I expected God to do incredibly huge things. Therefore it's no surprise that I was disappointed when my travel team had to leave a day late. But only a few hours into my trip was I shown why we were delayed. You all know about the lady suffering from cancer that Sunny was able to share Christ with. It was a divine appointment and even though I thought I was going to have no influence on this situation, I was again proven wrong. I had been picking up bits and pieces of the conversation between Kathy and Mrs. Schlenker going on behind me, but I just thought to myself, "I have nothing to contribute, this isn't my kind of situation." So I started to dose off. Suddenly I was wide awake and realized that I hadn't started my day with prayer. Thus I began to pray. Without explanation I felt the need to pray for Sunny. She was asleep right next to me. So I prayed for her. Approximately 2 minutes later Mrs. Schlenker traded seats with Sunny and Sunny shared Christ with this woman who had very little hope... and I had been a part of it. The power of prayer was probably the biggest eye-opener for me on this trip. In Ecuador my first reaction whenever we needed something was to pray. Why can't it be like that in the US? My personal prayer life looks very different.
Another divine appointment was named Carlos. Carlos was our bus driver's grandson and acted as our translator in El Coca. He was raised Catholic but never claimed that religion as his own. He didn't believe in God because when his grandmother was dying he prayed for her to be healed yet she died anyway. Myself, Andrew, Lydia, Austin, Sabrina, Hannah and Mrs. Tucker had the incredible privilege of representing Christ to our new friend for a week. I got to use Skillet's music to strike up conversations between us guys during painting. Carlos jumped in and helped us with skits on the fly and picked up on dances for songs like Sapo and Soy Una Taza. And when Mrs. Tucker asked him to explain our Cada Dia and Liberame skits, he gave a beautiful gospel message. God was using a non believer to reach others with the gospel truth.
My biggest take-away from this trip was the strong calling I felt towards worship. In El Coca, after VBS one morning, I had my guitar out (we had opened with worship). I started just simply playing for anyone who would listen. Then a girl and her mother came to listen. The girl asked me if I could teach her. It was hard not speaking much Spanish but she learned a few chords. Soon all the kids wanted to learn. After trying (to no avail) to teach them chords I simply let them play whatever they wanted. A few nights later, after discipleship with the youth in Coca, I again had my guitar out and soon was teaching one of the guys who knew some basic chords how to play "Abre Mis Ojos (Open the Eyes of My Heart)". Pretty soon a group of the teens asked me to simply play my favorite songs. "En Ingles?" I asked. "Si si," they replied. The language barrier didn't matter. I could share the love of Christ with others by merely playing music for them. Just like how I could use Skillet to minister to Carlos, I could use my own favorites to reach out to people who know like three words in English. To preach the gospel is a privilege. To worship God through music is an honor. To do both at the same time is my passion.
One thing that bothered me last year and a little this year was the fact that I never knew if I really had an impact on the people I met. This question was answered for me by Mrs. Tucker during bible study. She said "When we minister to people, we just do what we can to share the love of God with them. Whether or not it changes them is between them and God. We don't need to know." That's somewhat of a paraphrase but nevertheless it answered a burning question in my heart: is what I'm doing making an impact? I may never know. But that's okay.
From playing hours of soccer to eating grubs; fighting off tarantulas to witnessing and praying over an epilleptic seizure, this trip will always remain in my mind as the time of my life when I learned the most. Thanks to everyone who prayed for our team and supported us with funds; thanks to my team for being awesome; thanks to you for reading this; and glory to God for the blessing this trip was.
In HIS name, love and power,
-Drew Bentley... the chicken killer...muahahaha
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