Category: Advent 2024 – Advent Adventure

Today we complete our second week of our “Advent Adventure.” I hope you are tracking with me as I go through my jungle training course, but I also hope you are grasping how to trust God in every circumstance.

After six weeks at the main base camp, the staff helped us plan for the second phase of training: Advance Base. During the next six weeks, my partner and I would move deeper into the jungle, and we’d construct our own champa (shelter), beds, a latrine, and a mud stove. Linda and I would also go on a survival hike.

Each of us was allowed one 88# duffle bag, 10 straw mats, one jungle hammock and a cook kit. We needed to place our food orders for those next six weeks. There would be no grocery stores nearby. We also had to divide everything we planned to take into “priority” (carried in our backpacks) and “non-priority” (carried in the duffle by a mule). Even our food supplies had to fit into these categories. After we had crammed our duffle full, Linda noticed the wood stool she had made in carpentry class. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a stool to sit on in our new place?”

We quickly unpacked the non-priority duffle and calculated how much we would need to cut off each leg in order to fit the diameter of the stool into the duffle bag. Sure enough, it fit!

When Jesus left heaven and came to earth, he had no duffle bag to sort into priority items and non-priority. He didn’t even arrive with a high priority diaper! Yet he offered us all the riches of Heaven. Luke 10:38-42 tells us that Jesus had different priorities than his friend Martha who needed help in the kitchen. “Only a few things are necessary, really only one thing; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

What are your top priorities for today? Is there room in your plan for God to interrupt your schedule and use you for His priorities?

Have you toweled off after our time in the river yesterday? Ready for another watery episode in our “Advent Adventure”?

All campers faced a tough canoe trip downstream through 22 sets of rapids. Each dugout canoe that we used weighed from 500 to 1000 pounds and held half a dozen passengers plus camping gear. Our camp director warned us, “If you lose your balance, fall out on the upstream side of the canoe. Otherwise, the current will push the canoe on top of you and you may be crushed by its weight.”

All was going well for us until we came to the very last set of rapids. The camper at the front of my canoe was directing our craft left toward deeper water, but the current was swifter than he anticipated. It pushed our vehicle sideways onto a rock shelf. Like hitting a wall, we stopped instantly, jarring Jerry and knocking him out of the canoe. With his weight gone, the canoe floated up off the rocky ledge and moved farther downstream. But it quickly hit another portion of the rock shelf, and suddenly I found myself flying through the air, but unlike Jerry, I fell out downstream. The canoe lifted a second time and raced towards me. Unbelievably, my 5’ wooden paddle was still in my hand. Acting as a wedge, the paddle interrupted the canoe charging through the raging water; it took the full force of its weight. Instead of being crushed up to my hip, all I had was a sore tailbone! As I wrote in my letter home that night, “Don’t worry about my safety here…God is taking very good care of me!”

Do you remember when Mary and Joseph lost track of Jesus in Jerusalem? Luke 2:42f tells us he was only 12 years old, still a child in their eyes. They searched everywhere looking for him. Three days went by, their anxiety mounting with each passing hour. At last, they found him with the teachers in the Temple. He looked at them. “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know I was safe in my Father’s house?”

What is stressing you this holiday season? Are you afraid of things beyond your control? Or can you say, “Don’t worry about my safety here…God is taking very good care of me!”

Welcome back to Chiapas, Mexico. We are about halfway through our “Advent Adventure.”

The jungle river that swirled past our camp was a never-ending challenge in our training. We rode in huge 500-1000 pound dug-out canoes through rapids, we bathed at the river, we swam there too. One day, Judy had one foot on land and one in the canoe when the strong current pulled the canoe away from the riverbank. In a matter of moments, Judy was fully suspended above the water’s surface. Splash! One afternoon, our team came to the river only to find that our canoe was tied up on the opposite shore. Another swimmer and I jumped in, clothes and all, and swam across the current to ‘rescue’ the canoe back for the other campers. For us, it was merely one more adventure!

We don’t know if Jesus ever learned to swim, but he did far greater things than crossing a jungle river. In Matthew 14, a great storm rolled across the Sea of Galilee. Waves there could crest as high as 15 feet when shrieking winds whipped across the surface of the water. Add in the pitch darkness of nighttime and we can understand why even professional fishermen like Peter and Andrew were terrified.

But then Jesus appeared walking on the water. He came, not as a hero coming to save his disciples, but as himself, simply out for a stroll. Before rescuing the men in the boat, he called out, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Trust me, he said, before the waves ceased and before the winds calmed down.

Holidays are not immune to crises. Some people have car accidents while traveling for Christmas. Others end up in emergency rooms. Houses burn down. Loved ones die. What crisis are you facing this season? Let’s remember Jesus’ words: “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Before the crisis is over.

Thank you for returning faithfully each day to join me here for this “Advent Adventure.”

Not all the lessons God taught me at the jungle training camp were painful memories. After returning from that 50-mile hike, staff who had remained behind in camp met us as we trudged in at the gate. They handed us mugs of hot tea. When we stepped into our rooms, we found pails of warm water waiting for our bath. They had located enough dry bedding to replace our soggy sleeping bags. We had eaten one-course meals out of a 5-gallon can for four days, but the spread the staff set before us at supper that night was a feast! It included fresh roast beef, hot yeast rolls, and chocolate cream pie! And the staff wouldn’t even let us help clear the tables!

We campers knew that once we finished our training and moved on to our permanent assignments, we wouldn’t always have a friendly staff waiting to receive us and welcome us home, but that night, those who had hiked all day went to bed with full tummies and rested under warm dry blankets. We were thankful.

When Jesus came to earth, he had to learn to walk. When he was 12, he and his parents walked on foot over 70 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem. He hiked with his disciples everywhere. They were not always welcomed at the end of the day when they were hungry, tired and footsore. Yet, after Jesus died and ascended to the Father, just imagine the banquet the Father served His Son the day he finally returned to heaven!

Do you have a friend who is exhausted, stressed, or ready to give up? How can you encourage someone today? How can you make them feel welcomed?

Welcome back to another episode in our “Advent Adventure.”

Our first night at Naja was miserable. Torrents of rain poured down, soaking our sleeping bags and leaving us shivering in the cold. At last, we erected a plastic tarp where we could gather underneath and build a fire. Our local Tzeltal guides were as cold and wet as we were.

As we huddled together, I decided to elicit some new vocabulary. My notebooks were full of phrases like, “It is raining,” “He is looking at the fire,” “Are we ready to eat?” and “I am cold.” Can you tell what was on my mind?

Later in the afternoon, a local man from a different language group came by to purchase some medicine for his child. He spoke Lacandon, and our staff spoke Tzeltal so, of necessity, they communicated in Spanish. I listened as Tiburcio, one of our guides, shared the message of Christ with the visitor. It was no accident that Tiburcio used the story of the Tower of Babel to illustrate man’s rebellion against God! Tiburcio was not concerned with the rain and discomfort. He was concerned for the man who had a sick child.

What a contrast to my focus. All I had thought of was my own hunger and the numbing cold.

When Jesus was in the wilderness, he could have focused on his own hunger, thirst and discomfort. But he chose to focus on God’s Word. When Satan came calling, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

As you prepare for Christmas, where are your thoughts focused?

Have you ever been camping? Join our “Advent Adventure” today for another episode in learning to depend more fully on God.

This year, my son John and his family bought their first tent. They went camping in a state park. They hiked to a nearby waterfall. That evening, the family sat around the fire and enjoyed s’mores. My experience was a bit different in Chiapas, Mexico.

On our first overnight trek away from base camp, rain poured down the entire time. After a 25-mile hike through mud, we set up a temporary camp at Naja. We had to hang our jungle hammocks before we could call it a day. These canvas and mosquito net contraptions came rolled up in a compact bundle, but you needed to use a machete and cut branches of various sizes to slip through pockets for assembly. Once I had everything ready, I still had to tie the hammock to two strong trees, high enough to be out of the mud, low enough to climb inside. Can you imagine doing all this in the dark, in pouring rain, after an exhausting hike? And when I was done? I discovered that the zipper on my mosquito netting was stuck!

Yet, I remember that night being glad that God had brought me to that place. No experience in the States ever taught me so much about relying on God’s care as this training program. I found myself forced to lean on the Lord for strength at every turn in the road. I could recite Psalm 23 with new passion: “The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything I need.”

In Heaven, Jesus had no need to lean on others for help. But when he came to earth as a newborn, he was completely helpless. As an infant, he had to trust that Mary would provide food and warmth. He couldn’t even walk on his own; Joseph had to carry him from place to place. The Son of God had to rely on others daily.

Take a moment and look around your room. You have a roof over your head. You are wearing clothes. Is your tummy full? In what ways do you need to rely on the Lord today?

Are you enjoying our “Advent Adventure”? Why not invite a friend to join us in the jungles of Mexico?

Swimming class was held down at the river, complicated by flood season and steep muddy riverbanks. One day, after class, my contact lens fell out. The whole group of girls helped me search for it but to no avail. The soft wet mud glistened and made it almost impossible to find a single tiny plastic lens. I was in tears.

Leah, one of the staff, shared with us about how she was learning to pray really believing that God would answer her request. So, together we prayed and agreed to believe that God could and would return the lens safely. As we left the area, Leah asked the men’s swim class to keep an eye out for the lens.

Still, it was hard for me to walk back to my cabin that day. I searched my clothes to see if by any chance the lens was still on me. I believed, but I was afraid. Suddenly, one of the men came running up carrying something in his fist. A miracle! He had glimpsed the lens just before one of the other men almost stepped on it! God wanted me to learn to rely on him for big things like protecting my life but also for even the smallest things like a contact lens.

When Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt with their infant son, did they wonder how would they pay for all their travel expenses? Joseph would need housing for his family. He needed to purchase tools to earn a living. Mary would have to buy food at the market. They had to ask God to meet each need.

Before they ever left Bethlehem, the Lord had summoned kings from 800 miles away to bring gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus. Joseph and Mary could use that treasury to fund all they needed to care for Jesus.

Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever (big or small) you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” What requests have you placed on God’s altar?

Welcome back for another episode in this “Advent Adventure.”

During the first week of our jungle training camp, I was assigned to make breakfast for the entire crew of over fifty people. Little did I imagine how one of God’s angels would have to protect me that morning!

At 4:00 a.m. I trudged to the main kitchen. In the dark, I fumbled around the unfamiliar landscape until I found the Coleman lantern. Matches were on the counter nearby. I opened the valve and casually lit the wick. Only later in the shop class did the staff teach us that lighting the lamp without first pumping up the air pressure could result in an explosion. Despite my ignorance, God’s angel somehow kept that lantern from erupting in fire and sending shattered glass into my eyes.

That was not my only mishap that morning. When I looked at the recipe for oatmeal, I substituted tablespoons for teaspoons as I measured out the salt. (Did I mention being nearsighted and bleary-eyed?) Not even the camp mules would eat the cereal that day!

Which angel do you think the Father assigned to care for Jesus? Mary and Joseph raised him in Egypt where poisonous asps were a dangerous threat. Do you think Jesus never hit his thumb with a hammer when he learned carpentry in Joseph’s shop? Did a scorpion ever dare to hide in Jesus’ sandal? Even Satan quoted Psalm 91:11,12: “For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands, so you won’t hurt your foot on a stone.”

How many times has the Lord protected your life? Did you ever wonder why the Lord spared you or what purpose God had for you to fulfill?

Can you believe Christmas will soon be here? Thank you for taking time from your seasonal activities to join me here for another thought about this “Advent Adventure.”

Once I arrived in our jungle training camp, communication with family and friends became much more complicated. Fifty years ago, there was no Wi-Fi or email. A mule had to carry our letters out to a small airstrip, then the pilot ferried it over the mountains to the nearest town. Just when those planes would fly was unpredictable. They were at the mercy of the weather. A storm cloud could delay our mail for days or even a full week. Sometimes letters got lost in transit.

I wrote home regularly, and my mother saved all my letters. In November, I wrote, “It’s Sunday afternoon, and I have time to fit in a note here before hiking off to visit a nearby Tzeltal village. The plane came and left yesterday so I don’t know when this letter will get out. Thanks for all your letters and updated addresses for my mailing list. Alas! The addresses can’t be corrected for a while as I had to pre-address two batches of envelopes before we left Mexico City.”

When he left heaven and came to earth, did Jesus miss being able to communicate each day with his Father? Were some of his prayers lost or mislaid? Was there ever a delay in delivery? Not a single prayer went astray. Each day, Jesus “wrote” home. Mark 1:35 tells us, “Before daybreak, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” And Luke 22:39 speaks of his daily habit of seeking time alone with God.

Why not set aside your holiday preparation and take an extra five minutes today to sit quietly in God’s presence? We too can know that our prayers fly to the Lord without delay.

At last, our “Advent Adventure” has taken us into Jungle Camp! Here’s a glimpse of my new home as described in a letter home.

“Like a small Tzeltal village, camp is a series of mud-walled, dirt-floored, and thatch-roofed buildings. The largest one is the kitchen and dining room where we meet. Smaller huts are toilets (pit-type) and showers (bucket-type). The place where I sleep houses eight girls, with bunk beds, table, shelves and chair.”

At camp, I started off with several advantages: I already knew how to cook over a wood stove. I was also familiar with riding horses, even though my camp skirt got tangled in my mule’s saddle. I was a strong swimmer — some of the campers didn’t know how to swim at all.

But I had to other lessons to learn. I discovered I had no skills at soldering. My tin “candleholder” was a drippy mess of molten lead. Other campers were far better than I was at carpentry. I kept trying to even the legs of my wooden stool until it ended up becoming a boot scraper!

When Jesus came to earth, he had no advantages over other small boys in the village of Nazareth. His house was not grander than theirs. His education was the same as theirs. They all ate a similar diet of fish and bread. He wasn’t even better looking. Isaiah 53:2 tells us, “There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.”

Do you ever feel like others have greater advantages than you? The Lord asks you to use whatever talents he gave you, not to compare yourself with others.