Mid-quarter is done!

Grace upon Grace is our school theme this year!

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionarie Joshua Wareham (Serving in Jos, Nigeria)

Educating Global Disciples of Christ

The first half of this quarter seemed to take a while. It had its up’s and its down’s. There was online school for a little bit because there was some unrest in Jos and with that came a 24 hour curfew. Many prayers were lifted and with those prayers the curfew has been lifted for a couple weeks now, and school had been back to normal! It is always great to be back in the classroom to teach and share Christ’s love!

Why Worry?

This past week I got very home sick. I was concerned that I wasn’t the best teacher that I could be. I was worried that I’m not going to be accepted into the seminary (I’m still waiting on that). I have had this problem for a while now, actually my whole life: worrying about the future. I think many people do this, but why do we worry, when the future hasn’t even happened? No one knows what will truly, actually happen, and what does it mean to “worry”?

I think one of the hardest things to do is to put your absolute, full trust in God. We seem to always want our will done and not His; and when our will doesn’t seem to be accomplishing anything, we start to worry. We want to think the world is in our hands and that God doesn’t have it in His. If we weren’t so infected with original sin which is, having no fear of God, no trust in God, and having the inclination to sin, I don’t think that the word “worry” would be a part of our vocabulary. We would trust and know God’s got it in his hands.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Josh!

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Salt of the Earth!

Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth…” was the theme for our 4th anniversary of the Lutheran church “Divina Providencia” on the first Sunday in September! (We have now been in Chile for seven years! This is our second mission.) We were blessed with 36 people who came to worship and be fed by the Word. We can’t help but be amazed at God’s divine provision…beginning in a smaller house with a handful of Lutherans…struggling through the time of Chilean political unrest and protests…surviving almost a year of national quarantine due to Covid…always teaching, praying, outreaching! In this last year alone there have been 5 baptisms, 3 confirmations and pretty soon, another group of people are about to begin their studies. To God be the Glory!

“Salting” our community!

Every Friday afternoon we open the doors of our “Resale Shop”. Our coordinator, Elianeth, and Liisa are always amazed at the people that stop by. There are the regulars, like an older gentleman, Ricardo, who comes to check if we have received sweaters in his size; or the Peruvian maids who are on their way home from their domestic jobs and pick up some baby clothes or a “new” purse; or the recently arrived Venezuelan who needs a warm jacket or a good pair of slacks for his/her new job; or a neighbor who is just curious, and then becomes engaged when we talk about the ministry and offers to donate items for our “garage sale”. Besides providing for the needs of others, this shop draws attention to our Lutheran church.

We are grateful to Lutheran World Relief for a huge donation of quilts that were distributed in all the Lutheran churches of Chile to be used as needed. At our church, we package up the homemade quilts with info about our ministry, vacuum-seal the bag, and they are ready to go! About 100 quilts have been received by the elderly and children in small towns in the cold south. Recently, we delivered 100 to a Children’s Hospital in Santiago, and another Clinic for Children with Cancer has requested a donation. We have shared about 200 with different immigrant groups (mostly Haitian and Venezuelan) and the cozy, patchwork quilts have also been a source of comfort for families in our congregation who have recently lost a loved one.

News from the Lutheran Church of Chile

All the pastors of the Lutheran Church of Chile. (From left) Obed Coronado; Pablo Gonzalez; Omar Kinas; Juan Pablo Lanterna, president; James Tino; Adrian Ventura, secretary.

Every May, the Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile has its national convention. Because of corona virus, this was not able to happen last year and this year it was delayed until August. Finally, last month a group of about 20 – consisting of pastors and congregational representatives – met for a full day to share reports and hold long-overdue elections. We were proud of our small mission plant that has reached “congregation-size” status and chose to send the newly elected congregational president, José Vilches, as our representative! Jim has been serving as interim Secretary/V.P. for the national church, so he was very busy with the preparations and procedures of the meeting.

Besides the six churches, we heard about the four mission plants and about the various Lutheran organizations such as Lutheran Hour Ministries (“Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones”) in Chile. Another important ministry is “Casa Bethesda”, which sponsors a rehab center in Santiago for people with cerebal palsy and other handicaps; and an after-school program in the town of Constitucion run by GLO missionaries Pastor Adrian and Cruz Maria Ventura. After the new board was elected, we closed with a joyous worship service, giving thanks to our Great God.

To learn more about James and Liisa Tino, click here to read their latest newsletter! 

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Guatemala celebrating 200 years of independence!

September 15th marks the bicentennial celebration of independence for Guatemala. Hooray! But with this grand celebration of freedom approaching it seems as if the country is shutting down again, restricting our freedoms.
After 2 months of being stateside I adjusted fairly well to the freedom I was given in regards to pandemic protocol and had forgotten what the situation was like in other countries. In Guatemala, a mask, hand sanitizer, temperature and in some places shoe sanitizing is still a must to enter any store regardless of being vaccinated or not. Here the entire country follows whatever orders the president gives, the current ones being, curfew from 8pm-4am, and everything virtual, including churches. So with that being said our church is back to Facebook live (video) for the next month, or until further orders are given.

New and young music students!
With restrictions and curfews handed out like candy to every business and school, I continue to teach my music classes as usual. Right now I teach about 15 one-on-one music lessons a week at the church, and have weekly rehearsals with the church musicians. The exciting news is that six new students have started lessons with me in the last month! And they all go to the church! And they are all under 15!! Three of them are learning trumpet, two on flute, and one learning the piano. These fresh, young students have been my motivation this past month as I am super eager to get them playing in the church after seeing how quickly they are learning. Please pray that they continue to grow musically and remain connected in the church as they grow older.

In my spare time…
I have come across many broken instruments buried in the church. So I have taken it upon myself to fix these instruments! One guitar and a keyboard have been fixed, and currently I am working on another keyboard as pictured above. Having extra (working) instruments is always a blessing!

I also continue to work on my hymnal project. Thanks to several donations from several people I met during furlough, I have been able to print 12 more hymnals. These hymnals are only for the musicians who play or sing in church, as it serves to unify them into one book with all the same songs, chords, and lyrics. If you would like to make a donation towards a hymnal you can do so by donating $40 with a note saying towards hymnal project. Thanks!

And I am also engaged!
After 2 years of dating I asked my girlfriend, Scarlett, to marry me and she easily said yes. She is from the city of Puerto Barrios, about 3 hrs from Zacapa. We plan to get married early next year, and Scarlett will be joining me on the mission field! Hopefully you will all get to meet her on the next furlough to the states!

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Ben!

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When the sea roars and the earth shakes

The “dog days” of summer are winding down and, it’s hurricane season in the Caribbean! The season when hurricanes form runs from June to November, but the storms are more likely between August and October.

Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 storm, in New Orleans, August 29, 2021. Ida blasted ashore as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States, knocking out power to all of New Orleans, blowing roofs off buildings and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed from the Louisiana coast into one of the nation’s most important industrial corridors. It hit on the same date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier, coming ashore about 45 miles (72 kilometres) west of where Category 3 Katrina first struck land. Ida’s 150-mph (230 kph) winds tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the mainland United States.

A little more than a week earlier, Hurricane Grace pounded Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, downing trees and causing power outages for nearly 700,000 people. Then Grace moved on to the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, causing severe flooding and mudslides that killed at least eight people. Before striking Mexico, the storm showered torrential rains on Haiti, a country still recovering from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti on August 15.

Northern Venezuela and Colombia only have a 1 to 5 percent chance of a hurricane strike in any given year. The northernmost part of Venezuela, namely the Paraguanà Peninsula, the Paria Peninsula and the islands (but sometimes also the northern coast), is located in the southern end of the trajectory of hurricanes. But it can happen. 

But although Venezuela seldom has to deal with full-fledged tropical storms, we are affected by “tropical waves”. A tropical wave is an area of low pressure in the atmosphere moving westward from Africa into the Atlantic. Tropical waves last from a couple of days to several weeks, with new waves forming every few days. On satellite, these disturbances appear as clusters of thunderstorms and convection originating over North Africa and traveling westward into the tropical Atlantic. By providing the initial energy and spin needed for a hurricane to develop, tropical waves act like “seedlings” of tropical cyclones. Approximately 60 percent of tropical storms and minor hurricanes (categories 1 or 2), and nearly 85 percent of major hurricanes (category 3, 4, or 5) originate from tropical waves.

Even if they do not cause hurricanes, tropical waves often bring with thunderstorms and flooding rains. That’s what we have received over the past few weeks. Tropical waves 38 and 39 have destroyed over 8,000 homes and forced about 35,600 citizens to refuge in shelters. Besides affecting 116 roads and ten bridges, floods and landslides have damaged power stations in the states of Amazonas, Barinas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro, Merida, Monagas, Tachira, and Zulia. Multiple floods and mudslides in in the neighboring state of Mérida have left 20 people dead and more than 1,200 buildings destroyed.

In La Caramuca, we have only had to deal with power outages. Our solar panels continue to work well, keeping the lights and security cameras going and the cell phones recharged. All the rain means excellent crops of fruits and vegetables. Luz Maria and I share the produce with our neighbors, those who stop by the mission and those we visit on evangelistic calls.

There also was a 5.2-magnitude earthquake in Portuguesa, another neighboring state, on August 25, and a 4.9 quake off the coast of Sucre state on August 30.

All of which brings to mind Luke 21:8-11. “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.” As with many Biblical prophecies, the Lord in these verses speaks of two impending catastrophes, the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world, with one foreshadowing the other. So he warns his followers of the persecution that will precede the city’s downfall, and of false prophets who will predict the end of the whole world based on natural disasters and terrible wars. 

For those of us living in these days, the Lord’s words also apply to hurricanes, earthquakes, COVID-19 and even the persecution of believers in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. Like the first-century Christians, we are not terrified by cataclysm, for we not the end will not come until the day God has pointed. Nor do we regard them as random events, but signs that great day will come.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Ernst’s

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From Freedom to Freezing!

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries James and Liisa Tino (Serving in Santiago, Chile)

With pastor Brian and Sarah Stolarczyk and family, Lutheran Church of the Cross, Port Charlotte, FL. It has been a LONG TIME since our last newsletter! From April through mid-July, we have been on furlough. A furlough is a time for missionaries to step away from their work on the mission field, reconnect with family and friends, renew relationships with mission partners and supporting congregations, and share what God is doing in their mission corner! It is certainly not a vacation, although sometimes we can squeeze in a little of that, too! Our mission partners and family members are scattered across the USA, which makes it a challenge to visit everyone. From Freedom to Freezing! We’re back in Chile! After enjoying life in the USA which is relatively free of covid restrictions, and after enjoying some summer weather, we returned to Chile – it’s dead winter here, and covid restrictions are still nearly in full force. Here is how our “re-entry” has gone: Another line at the airport, this one to board the government-provided bus to insure that we arrive at our designated quarantine hotel. About 20 hours after leaving Miami – 8 of them spent on a plane – we finally got situated in our “Quarantine Hotel”. What happened in between? Well, there were delays, documents and Covid protocol lines. Our flight was the last of several to arrive at the Santiago airport early in the morning on Friday July 16. We zigzagged through a roped off area for 3 hours before presenting our recent negative covid results from the USA, and then proceeded to take the PCR test one more time. Immigration, baggage and customs went smoothly, only took about an hour or so. Then we had another 3 hour wait for the government-sponsored bus that took us to the certified quarantine hotel.      After that journey, we were thankful for the 5 days of hotel quarantine, isolation and rest. On July 21, we were released to continue mandatory quarantine for 5 more days in our own home. We were finally able to leave our house on July 27! It’s time to get back into ministry! To learn more about James and Liisa Tino, click here to read their latest newsletter!

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We are set to Travel 4th August!

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Dixon and Christy Gbeanquoi (Serving in Tanzania):

 A Difficult Journey in Getting Our Visas!
What we took to be an easy task, became one of the most difficult periods of our lives and ministry. We thought we would just leave Tanzania to come to our various home countries, get our visas in few weeks or maybe a month or two. I guess we were wrong, the process lasted for almost 4.5 months and cost us a whopping $5,175, for our visas, Dixon traveling process, and all of us getting our new passports. Christy and the children first interview appointment was on April 23rd and due to some technical issues, they were denied visas. This was indeed sad for us because, for this particular interview, we had spent $1,080 in total. We had to again start another process to secure their visas.

 Dixon’s Second Trip to Liberia for His Interview
As we did mentioned in our last newsletter, Dixon was given an appointment for 14th June to sit his visa interview in his home country Liberia. He had to again travel from Nigeria to Liberia, this again was a blow to our already depleted finances. We had to spend $2,565 for ticket costs and changes, hotels, and four different Covid-19 tests in Nigeria and Liberia, and new passport. Dixon was successful on his first attempt in securing a visa on-like Christy and the kids in Nigeria. Dixon visa was issued to him on the 17th of June and he was due to fly back to Nigeria on the 27th of June after having quality time with his parents and siblings, unfortunately, after doing a Covid-19 test to get a negative result for travel, he was told on the day of his travel 27th June that his result came out positive. Meaning he was Covid-19 positive, even though he is fully vaccinated. He was told to go home and come back after a week to do another test. 

 Christy and the Children Second Attempt for their Visas
After being denied the first time, we decided to apply again for Christy and the kids. This time we had to go through a visa agent to help us with the process. What this means is that we had to pay a fee for the processes. In total, we had to pay $1530, for visa application fees, consultation, agent  fees and earlier dates for interviews. We are thankful to God that this time around Christy and the kids were each given two years visas. We are thankful to God that they were all issued visas on their second attempt.
 

Milcah’s Birthday Celebration
This year for the first time in six years we celebrated Milcah’s birthday in Nigeria and under difficult circumstances. Her birthday came at a time we all were struggling to get our visas and I was in Liberia, while they were in Nigeria. What was most interesting is that her birthday came on the same day they were to have their interview. So her birthday brought blessings for us during their interview. Milcah on the day of the interview reminded the interviewer that she was celebrating her birthday that day and this brought some calmness and friendly discussion during the interview and the interviewer wishes her a wonderful birthday celebration. Also, it was sad that I wasn’t able to be around for Milcah’s birthday, the reason being I was diagnosed with COVID on the 27th of June and was prevented from traveling for  two weeks. This caused me to miss Milcah’s birthday. We are hoping we can all have a wonderful celebration in the  US as a family.

  Transition Challenges
As we go through the excitement of moving to the States, we still have before us huge financial challenges that we must resolve as we make our way to the US. We still have a debt of $5,175 to pay back to Global Lutheran Outreach as a loan taken to complete our visa processes. Now we have the challenge to pay back the loan. We are also looking for $2,500 as an amount we will need for our transition process in St. Louis. We have been given an apartment that is furnished, but we will need to get some essential items for our new home. We have gotten our date for travel and we are to arrived St. Louis on the 4th of August. We left everything in Mwanza including our clothes and some important items for the children we wanted to take along with us. This is our project for now. 

To learn more about Dixon and Chrity Gbeanquoi, click here to read their latest newsletter!

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After being stateside for 8 weeks and 2 days…

My furlough has ended! From mid May to July 14th I was back on US soil taking a much needed break to reconnect with

Above is a family picture we took in late May, minus my sister Gabi and her family, who live in PHX.

family and friends, as well as raise support for my ministry in Zacapa by visiting congregations across the east coast. Mondays through Fridays I would spend the time either driving or with family, and Saturdays and Sundays were spent at the church. In those 8 weeks I logged a few miles as I drove from Miami to Detroit to New Hampshire and back to Miami. I was able to visit six loving congregations where I helped out with the music and was given a moment to share a little about me and how I serve as a missionary. I am truly grateful for each church I visited as I met so many caring people and made many new friends! I pray you all are doing well, and that through my newsletters we can stay connected until my next in-person visit!

Playing trumpet with the talented musicians of St. James

         The six churches I visited were: Miramar Lutheran in Miramar FL, Guardian Lutheran in Dearborn MI, Shadow of the Cross in Farmington Hills MI, St. James Lutheran in Southbury CT, Trinity Lutheran in Keen NH, and Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran in Ft. Lauderdale FL.

I arrived back to my home in Zacapa around 530pm July 14th, and after a few days of settling back in (and writing this newsletter) I am eager to get back to teaching music. During those 8 Sundays away my students led the music on their own, and I have only heard positive remarks about how they did! We can celebrate and thank God that my students were able to survive 8 weeks without me, and the church in Zacapa is well on there way to having church musicians of their own! My plans for now are to keep teaching music and hopefully within a year see where we are at and what else God has instore for me.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Ben!

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Brinks’ final Chile mission newsletter

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Paul and Barbara Brink (they served in Santiago, Chile)

We are now at home in Las Vegas.  Due to the COVID lockdown in Chile, our original flights to the U.S. were canceled and we had to rebook with another airline.  The Lord worked out all the details, including arrangements to receive our COVID tests when the timing was very problematic.  Thank the Lord, we arrived home safely on June 30.

We are thankful for your support during our time in Chile.  We know that prayer makes a difference and we are glad to have partnered with you in helping with God’s mission there.

During the last month, Bo’s responsibilities didn’t slow down. He finished teaching the Christian Doctrine course to 13 students enrolled in the Bible Institute of the national church. In the course we call “Towards a New Life,” five friends of the congregation remained faithful and will complete the course with Pastor Jim. In the last week in Chile, Bo led a Zoom funeral for a Lutheran Christian in Venezuela and planned the worship services for the three Sundays between our departure and the arrival of the Tinos.

Barb finished presenting the “Teaching the Bible to Children” course on June 21. She also helped one of the ladies of the congregation prepare for teaching Sunday School through the month of July.

By mid-June the government again tightened the COVID-related restrictions. This made it necessary to livestream one Sunday worship service from our house. We were thankful for the tech assistance of Genesis and Elianeth.

 We came to love and admire the members and friends of the little congregation in Santiago.  We have remained in contact with them. They are doing well and looking forward to the return of Pastor Jim and Liisa, who will arrive on July 16.

To read more of Bo and Barbara's work in Chile, click here!

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We Are Excited to Announce that we have Received Appointments for our Visas Interview

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Dixon and Christy Gbeanquoi (serving in Tanzania)

Clarity on our Ministry in Tanzania  And Opportunity to Study at St. Louis!

As we look set to do our visas interview, it is important that we give more clarity about our ministry and why attending St. Louis is an added advantage to our lives missionaries.

When we first joined Global Lutheran Outreach in 2012, we had a plan that we were going to serve as a family for not more than Five(5) years and then take a little break to improve ourselves academically for the sake of Christ’s Church. This was what we had planned, and we are thankful to God that our prayers have been answered. As a family serving in the East of Lake Victoria Diocese, we have seen a great need for empowerment, training of more laborers and caring for Christ’s Church, and therefore we have agreed with the leadership in the diocese that it will be good we seek further help by developing ourselves spiritually and educationally for this task.

Christy’s Education and its Importance to the Development and Growth of the Church in Mwanza

It will be important we make it clear here why Christy is taking up a course in Spiritual Care and Counseling. A year back before we had our son(Uri), Christy had started a program for young girls in our local congregation, were she was helping in counseling them on hygiene, spiritual care and career development. This program led her to a wider vision for the Lutheran congregations within the Mwanza area, the Lutheran Bible college, Lutheran Hospital and the Lutheran High School that we are presently developing. With an Education in Spiritual Care and Counseling for two years, we believe it is the right fit for carrying on this task.

Dixon’s Education and its Importance to the Growth of the Church in Mwanza

Moving to Mwanza in 2015 (Dixon) idea was to actually help the diocese with her church planting efforts. This is written on Dixon’s work permit. However, knowing that there was no department set aside for Church Planting, therefore we had to accept to pastor a local congregation in the Kisesa area. Within two years of our effort in growing the Kisesa congregation, we were again asked to teach at the Lutheran Bible College in Mwanza with the responsibility of training more Pastors, Evangelists and Church Workers. Now, with this opportunity of studying at a PhD level, we believe Dixon will be able to set up a department for Church Planting, not just for the diocese in which we work, but for other neighboring dioceses that are all mission dioceses.

Appealing for your Support to Make this Happen

As we look to transition to St. Louis, we see this transitioning process as a continuation of our ministry in Tanzania, we are fully involved as missionaries with Global Lutheran Outreach. As we study we will still be carrying on our various ministries in Tanzania. Our ministry still continues and we are still in need of your support(s). As we write this newsletter, we are still struggling financially in our ministry. As we prepare for our various visas interview and subsequent return to Tanzania, we are really struggling to sustain our ministry financially. As you many be aware we took out all our finances to for our travels and visas preparation. We are still struggling to raise the remaining $6,500 for all that we will need for our ministry between now until we get to St Louis for our studies in August.

If you will want to give, $10, $20, $50, $100, and $500  please go to www.globallutheranoutreach.com/blog/gbeanquoi, or

Make U.S. checks payable to

“Global Lutheran Outreach”.

Write “Gbeanquoi” in the memo line.

Mail to:

Global Lutheran Outreach,

6709 Ficus Drive

Miramar, FL, 33023

Christy and the Kids Preparation for their Visas Interview

We are thankful to God that we were able to pay the visa fees, $640 for all Four(4) of us , including what Dixon paid in Liberia. This amount is a lot for us giving that we are now going through financial constraint. However, we are thankful to God that we were able to scheduled a date for the interview. Christy and the kids have been scheduled for April 23rd. The visas cannot be mailed to us we will have to pick it up at a specific location in Abuja. Staying for Five(5) days or over as a family will required finances. We are looking to spend not less than $500 for transportation, hotel and feeding. Please keep us in your prayers as we look to God to provide and please pray for a successful interview.

Dixon Travel to Liberia for Preparation for Visa Interview Appointment

After securing Christy and the kids visa interview appointment, Dixon had to travel from Nigeria to Liberia to prepare for his visa interview appointment. Arriving in Liberia and beginning the process to secure an interview date, it was disappointing to be told that the embassy in Liberia is yet to open due to the pandemic. They finally open the embassy on 17th March and the only date Dixon could get for his appointment was 14th June. This was due to the fact that there were many interviews that were put on hold due to the pandemic and now after opening the embassy they have to attend to these people who interviews were pending. He will again travel to Liberia early June to sit his interview.

Dixon also took the opportunity to visit a village that is struggling to have a school building for the past Forty(40) years. There is no school building or even hospital in a community of over 1500 inhabitants. The only makeshift building they built for the kids was destroyed by a rain storm. Now they are using a local Church building as a temporary school building until they can built theirs. Dixon has taken upon himself to pray for this community and if possible help them a get a building for kids to have the opportunity to get a primary education.

We Took Our First Jab of the COVID-19 VaccineThe vaccine was administered to us free and we are glad we were able to take it. We have delayed our return to Tanzania so that we can get our second dose. This will help reduce the cost of doing test every time we have to travel.

To learn more about Dixon and Chrity Gbeanquoi, click here to read their latest newsletter!

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The last quarter of school has begun!

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionarie Joshua Wareham (Serving in Jos, Nigeria)

Educating Global Disciples of Christ

The third quarter has ended and the fourth has begun. The year is going by so fast it seems as though I have only been teaching here for few months…well it has been only a few months here in Nigeria, but it does feel like yesterday that I was packing my things not knowing what to expect when I got here. God is great! He brought me here and has carried me through the ups and downs and has seen me through the beginning of this journey here at Hillcrest.

Luna is getting huge and is off the bottle. She now enjoys salads and fruits. Her horns are starting to poke out through her hair.

This last quarter we finished reading the books War Horse, The Giver, and The Diary of Anne Frank. These books were great to teach because the books bring up controversial topics that the students need to critically think about and apply what they have learned to create a dialogue in the classroom from their perspective in Christ’s word. These topics were sometimes tough to discuss, but they are important to have so that they can be effective in sharing Christ’s word in a loving way.

For spring break some of the missionaries in Jos went to a game reserve called Yankari in Bauchi State. It has a beautiful warm spring that constantly flows even in the dry season. It is interesting to see this spring full when a huge river dries up this time of year.

Life Giving Water. John 7:37-39

On our way to Yankari, I saw many interesting things. I saw families of four or five riding on one motorcycle. I saw people sitting in the open trunk of a Honda civic with their feet dangling a few inches from the   going 60 mph down the highway. I saw people walking on the side of the road with some sort of good to sell or keep for themselves miles from the nearest civilization. The most interesting thing I saw though on the drive to Yankari was how dry the landscape was. There was not much green to be seen except in some trees. The rivers were nothing but sand and any movement on the ground kicked up a small cloud of dust. It is truly its own sight to see and experience. I could not imagine Yankari would be much different, until I saw it.

This is the warm springs at Yankari.

When we got to Yankari, the first place we went was the spring, and it was a magnificent sight! It shouldn’t be there; but there it was, flowing water emerging from beneath a giant rock, the beginning unknown to us, and the end unseen. The water was a deep blue, teeming with plant and animal life, yet clear enough to see everything in it. It gave the plants in the area sustenance and the animal life around it the thirst quenching satisfaction of water in the driest of times. This spring keeps the life around it alive.

It was an awesome experience to have and see, but after looking at the two photos above one can get a picture of what life is like with and without Christ. In this world we are all wandering down the dry river searching for some water to quench our thirst of meaning and purpose. Sometimes we stumble upon a dirty puddle that we taste and drink. It seems to quench our thirst for a moment, but in the end causes us to be more dehydrated and sick; full of sin. We continue to taste test these dirty waters in life because it always seems good in the moment. It is what we think will quench our thirst for a complete life; and If we continue this in the dry river, we will die. God knew this was our situation. He knows we only want to search the dry river because “we know best”. God sent the Holy Spirit to stop our search in the dry dead rivers of man to guide us to the life giving water of Christ and His word. He wants us to have an abundant life here and be with Him in heaven. He says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink…Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

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