Two Men and Peru

When I was down in Ecuador, I had an interesting experience with two men who helped me get into Peru. Looking back – well, it’s embarrassing looking back, so I try not to do it too much with this story – but looking back I would have done several things several different ways. Yet, it was still an fun couple of days.

So, basically, if you were a poor, weary traveler in Ecuador then you traveled by bus. Since I was a smart poor, weary traveler – I traveled by nite bus. The whole time I was in Ecuador I really wanted to go to the two countries that bordered us: Columbia and Peru. Columbia is a whole ‘nother story, but one weekend I did decide to go to Peru. It was about 15 hours away by bus. So early one evening I boarded a bus destined for Peru…and I was sitting next to destiny.

Actually, I wasn’t sitting next to destiny. It was more like stupidity. Actually, no, stupidity was who I met when I got off the bus. Ah, but enough attempts at humor. I digress.

In reality, I ride on this bus all nite and into the next morning. When we finally pulled up at the border of Ecuador and Peru, I pulled my sweaty self off of the seat, grabbed by way-too-big backpack, and got off the bus. Immediately when I got off the bus, I was bombarded by dozens of Peruvian men vying for my attention (and money). They all wanted to help me get across the border. So – being the innocent fresh meat that I was – I went with the guy who was yelling the loudest. That’s just the principle I live by.

Without a word he shuffled me quickly over to a waiting car. I got in the backseat and he and his friend were in the front seat. We started driving before we even started talking (not the wisest course of action). The following conversation ensued. I will translate it into English here.

Me: I need to go to Peru.
Them: Yes, yes, Peru. We will help you. Yes.
Me: So you know how to get me into Peru?
Them: Yes, yes, Peru. We will help you. We are helpers and friends.
Me: Umm, where are we going right now?
Them: (silence).

So now that I had confirmed what was going on and still very confused, we continued driving. After driving about 2 minutes through this marketplace that kept getting more narrow and more narrow, we arrived at this makeshift parking lot. From there we walked for about 40 minutes through another marketplace and to a different car. When we got in the car, the guys asked me if I had my papers. I looked blankly at them.

So after walking back to the car and driving to the Ecuadorian Immigration Office, we then drove back to the parking lot, walked the 40 minutes back to the other car, and started driving. We drove for about an hour to this small office: Peru Immigration Center. Once we got there, the guys told me that I needed to give them my passport and that they would then go and talk to their friends. At this point I still really don’t know who these guys are, I have literally no idea where we are or even what country we are in, I have no idea how to get back to Quito, and I am keeping a firm grip on my backpack and the door next to me unlocked. After much haggling, I finally gave them a copy of my passport and some American granola bars. They said this would suffice.

I sat in the car alone for about ten minutes. Then all of a sudden the two guys come back running. They sprint to the car, jump inside, and put the pedal to the metal getting out of there. At this point, I didn’t even ask what happened. I simply held onto my backpack and kept the door unlocked. But – after some more interesting maneuvers through markets and a quick business deal later – we finally made it back to the bus station. They then told me that I owed them 200 dollars each for their services. Riiiiiiight. We haggled some more and finally came to an agreement: 10 dollars each…and another granola bar.

Guys, which hero would you want to be?

Okay, here is a really interesting question that I have been thinking about lately. If you could be any of the movie/literature heroes out there, guys - which one would you want to be? (p.s. this is a very different question than determining which is your favorite superhero. There are a lot of different factors that come into play here).

Indiana Jones - He's an archeologist. He is a professor. He has a doctrate degree. He is pretty cool and does something that almost nobody else does in the world. It's kind of a cool gig.

Batman - Batman would be pretty cool. First of all, he's loaded. He has like billions of dollars and kind of runs this huge company. He fights crime with thousands of cool gadgets at nite, and he has Alfred basically do everything for him.

Jack Ryan - This is an interesting one. Jack Ryan is doing very well financially. He is basically a genius. He has a habit of getting himself into sticky but awesome situations that have a large stake in world government. He works for the CIA. He has a great family.

Harry Potter - You might not put this one in there, but I think that it is a good one. He has a ton of money (wizard money, but still). He has all kinds of powers. He has a cool scar on his head and an awesome history/lineage. He has all kinds of adventures and gets himself into the most interesting and cool stories.

Neo - This one would be kind of cool. First of all, he is the "One". That is cool. He can do basically anything in two different worlds. He is very cool, and he has a dedicated girlfriend.

Ethan Hunt - He has almost any resource that he needs. He is kind of a like a hero-consultant who doesn't have to work all the time. He can do almost anything. And he is generally pretty cool.

Jack Bauer - Ummm, need I say anything more?

Jason Bourne - He can literally do anything...at any time. He is awesome. He can disappear. He can figure out any situation. And he seems like a pretty good guy.

Spiderman - He is a scientist. He has a very cool girlfriend. He is a good guy who is naturally humble. He has a crappy job, but he also doesn't need much. Oh, yeah, and he is Spiderman.

Superman - He is a newspaper reporter. He has a great family (even though he is an alien). He has a killer body (p.s. what would happen if he got fat? Would his fat be bulletproof?). He can fly. Oh, yeah, and he can fly.

So just from these guys there is a lot to choose from. You could be someone who has super-human abilities. You could be someone who is filthy rich. You could be someone with a family or without. You could have all kinds of cool adventures or you could have the regular adventures.

Which one would you want to be?

Moments.

There are certain times in life that can only be classified as “moments”. These are things when it almost seems like God is smiling down upon you. It is an accumulation of a lot of hard work and effort that materializes itself in one well-deserved moment. It is a time when the best parts of you all come together in a moment that you will never forget.

These are the “moments” of life.

A friend recently had one of these moments. He was retiring from a job that he had dedicated himself to for the past 15 years. He might not have been fully appreciated during this time, but – as he was in his final days – people realized just how much he had done for this organization. All of his hard work, great successes, and wonderful relationships all came together in a retirement ceremony held in his honor. I watched as a throng of people stood in line to shake his hand and thank him. He had all of his family around him. He was playing with his grandchildren and having funny banter with his wife. He was enjoying the fruits of his labor, being blessed by the relationships he had developed, and humbly reveling in the work that he did exactly where God wanted him to do it. He was having a “moment”.

These moments are things to pursue in the future and things to hang onto from the past. They build a foundation of faithfulness from God, and they provide the motivation for service to the Lord, as well. Every life can be full of these moments. But, sadly, many lives do not have near enough. How can people make sure that their lives are full of these moments? Have you ever had one of these moments?

Work hard. Love people. Trust God. He will bless you in big and small ways. Your moment may be different than everybody else’s moment. It will be special for you. Work hard for it. Look for it. Live fully in the midst of it. And hang on to it afterwards. These moments are special things in life. They are some of the most special things in life. Praise that Lord.

For My Mom...

With mother’s day being today, this is a blog post for my mom.

Literally, if there was an award for Best Mom in the World – my mom would probably win it. And anyone who knows my mom would definitely agree, too. Simply put, my mom is an amazing mom. She is just the best mom in the world. Actually, I would even put her up against the moms on Mars and Venus and Pluto and other planets. I think that my mom is the greatest mom in the universe!

But some of you might not know why my mom is so great. Let me just tell a couple of quick things about my mom that make her so great. First, my mom is so good at anticipating needs. I can’t even explain how great she is at helping people before they even ask and being there for people simply based on seeing a need. She meets people’s needs without making them feel badly or embarrassed. Basically, I think my mom is so great at anticipating people’s needs because she is so in tune with people. It has been a lifelong example for me, and I hope I can be half the helper that my mother is.

Also, another thing that makes my mom great is her ability to always be there. One of the things that I looked forward to the most when I came back from Ecuador and from Kenya was simply seeing my mom. I knew she would be there for me. I knew she would just be mom. That was one of the things that I knew I could depend on. And my return from Ecuador is still one of my favorite moments with my mom. She is just always there for me – no matter where I am. I love my mom.

(And, yes, I really did write this blog for my mom. Although I have to print it off and give it to her…because she has no idea what a blog is.)

What do you ache for?...

There is a song that I heard first on an episode of Smallville (a very underated show, by the way) called “Ache” by James Carrington. It is an amazing song. So naturally I downloaded it on iTunes. But through subsequent listenings I have been really challenged by the heart of the message.

Basically, the chorus of the song simply repeats, “Did you know that I ache, did you know that I ache, did you know that I ache for you?”. I don’t know exactly what the motivation it was for the original rendering from the author, but I do know that there can be many different motivations for the listeners. And this is where I was challenged, and this is where I hope you can be challenged, as well.

So the only question is this: What do you ache for? Is there anything that pulls on your heart so much that it makes you ache? Is there a certain person that does this for you? A specific cause? A country? A mission? An injustice? A hope, a possibility, a dream? What makes your heart ache?

This isn’t just a desire or a wish. This isn’t simply a floundering hope or a possible obsession. I am talking about something that makes your heart ache – something that pulls on you so much that it consumes you. Your heart and your mind and your strength simply ache to follow this thing through or help this person or be involved with this certain something.

Do you have anything that you feel that strongly about? If you were singing that chorus: Do you know that I ache, do you know that I ache, do you know that I ache for you….. who would you be singing that to? What do you ache for?