I can still remember watching the ‘Fasten Your Seat Belt’ sign come on. As the plane began to descend I caught my first glimpse of the Andes Mountains. When the wheels of the plane hit the runway, my stomach was filled with butterflies as we landed at the tiny airport in Quito, Ecuador. It was my first mission experience, my first venture into the ‘deep waters’ so to speak. I was 19 and had decided to come all by myself.
I experienced so many ‘firsts’ that summer. Riding on the top of a train to the coastal city of Guayaquil and seeing bananas, bamboo and coconuts grow along the road were new to me. Living in another culture opened my eyes to so many things I had taken for granted while living in the States. No longer could I communicate with those I passed on the street. I had never seen anyone really wash their clothes in the same river they bathed in. And the roads were so treacherous, you prayed as you rode along that you wouldn’t veer off into the deep ravines. The smells and sounds of the marketplace reminded me daily I was not in America. I soon learned how hospitable the Indians were. Invited over for dinner, my stomach churned as I watched a little boy catch their pet guinea pig (which had been running around inside the mud hut they lived in) and proceed to roast him over an open fire. You guessed it, that’s what we had for dinner.
Another first was landing in a small plane on a strip of grass in the jungle. The missionaries who lived there took us on a hike one day. First we hiked down to the river following an Indian guide who had to machete the pathway through for us. He warned us not to grab onto any branches or vines along the way, because there were a lot of deadly creatures that could really hurt us. I believed him when I glanced over and right beside me was this black and white ringed snake curled up in a hold along the path. As the snake slithered into the dense green, I shuddered. What had I gotten myself into!
Summer passed by quickly and my summer mission experience was over. Soon I was back on the merry-go-round of daily life again. Yet deep inside my soul, a fire began to burn. It was something I couldn’t explain. Psalm 107:23 says, “They that go down to the sea in ships, That do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, And his wonders in the deep.” It was my first experience of doing business in great waters and seeing God’s wonders thousands of miles from home. There are days in all of our lives which take us by surprise. No voice shouts from heaven, no writing suddenly appears in the sky. Most often, it is in looking back that we realize the way our lives were impacted. I now understood. Once you feel the winds of the open sea and experience the thrill of venturing into the unknown, you can’t go back even if you want to. God compels you to move on and you are never the same again.
