Ministry Trips

Sam and Bubba returned from the Beni safe and sound. They had an amazing experience, although Bubba commented that it felt a bit like being on Survivor. Sleeping in hammocks, traveling down a river, constantly swatting mosquitos, not being able to escape the heat or drink a cold drink.......all to bring the gospel to communities along the rivers that are not often visited by other Bolivians, much less Americans. While hard at times, they are both glad for the experiences they had, for the chance to be a part of this God glorifying work. Sam loved every minute of it and can't wait to go back!

We also had the opportunity to work with the Orange Hill Baptist Church team from Georgia again this year. They are a great team that has been coming down for the past 11 years. We traveled with them out to San Jose and Santiago de Chiquitos, not an easy trip. We were able to do VBS in several Ayore communities as well as give medical attention. The men had several building projects going as well. In Santiago we worked with the local church, a small struggling congregation. While there, we held VBS for the kids, teaching for the women, a time of praise and worship, and a building project. Most importantly, we were able to encourage this body of local believers. The trip went off without a hitch, well almost.....we were a group of 30 people, traveling in 4 cars, so when one car broke down 45 minutes into the 10+ hour trip home in the middle of nowhere, we were kind of "up a creek without a paddle" so to speak. We towed the broken down car, with all 7 occupants inside, 2 hours to San Jose. The kids and I plus 4 team members stayed behind to take the train back to Santa Cruz while the rest of the group got on the road at 7 pm for the rest of the 8 hour drive. Thankfully, God took care of all the details and we all made it back safe and sound. Whew - adventure for sure!

A huge highlight for our family during the Orange Hill trip was that all 3 of our children were baptized. They had each asked us over the past few months about being baptized, and we were so excited to walk with them through this. After talking with each of them individually, we felt like they were each ready for this important step. Bubba baptized them in some hot springs and we sang "I have decided to follow Jesus" in both Spanish and English. It was amazing!