Spirituality in the Lost World
by Brett Klingenberg
Carefully we walked barefoot through the shallows, one eye on our guide, Sergio, and another on the slippery rock below. As we neared the top of the falls, our senses were filled with the beauty of the Great Savanna - an immense sea of rolling green hills, valleys of scattered palm trees, and the ocasional glimpse of the mystical tepuy´s – gigantic flat topped mountains found nowhere else on earth.
We were only on the first leg of our two day tour of the Great Savanna, located in southern Venezuela, and already I was beginning to understand why the local town of 17,000 had a Hindu congregation, Buddist and Mormon temple, and several UFO sightings...this place brings out the spiritual side of life.
The next day as Sergio and I sat visiting underneath another perfect waterfall, I in my swimsuit and he in his underwear, he began to speak about how his entire family is Christian, but he is not. When I asked why, he explained that he likes to take the best of all religions, combine them, and seek to live a good life. He said he likes Buddism and Christianity, and reads the Bible a lot. He said he believes in forgiveness, and that being able to forgive the people who hurt you is the path to a fulfilling life. I couldn´t disagree. Then he said that it´s not just what you know about faith, it´s also about feeling it. "And living it," I added. I told him about my desire not only to know Jesus, but live out his commands and teachings. I mentioned how some of the men of the Mennonite Church had refused to go into the military because they desired to live out Jesus words to love without exception, and how some of them were persecuted and even killed in prison; how my own father had refused to fight in Vietnam and instead chose to serve in a hospital. I also mentioned my calling to be a pastor and how this was leading my wife and I to attend seminary and follow the Lord´s call wherever it may be. Then we changed the subject.
Did I evangelize? Did I do enough to point him to God? I think so. But I think more than these words, it was how our team interacted together...how we had fun, marveled at the land, and treated each other with kindness...that was what stuck out the most to Sergio, something he voiced more than once. I am finding that being a good listener is the key to witnessing - something Jesus taught, and that if our team had not been an example of Christian community, nothing I said would have had any weight. You´ve got to live the call.
Prayer Requests: That the Lord will empower us and lead us without fear into the Amazonas on Saturday, where we will live for a month.
That we will not be afraid when we encounter spiritual warfare, and that we will be bold in claiming the victory of Christ.
Praises - We were meant for an 8 month term, and already our team is beginning to bear even greater fruit in terms of unity, the desire to serve, and becoming completely immersed and present in Venezuela.