It’s More than Words…

One of the most unique things about backpacking overseas is the incredible opportunities in meeting and hanging out with fellow backpackers.  If you never thought that you can have a ministry while backpacking, think again.

In this one particular place, I met a Jewish backpacker from Israel, and ended up staying with him for a few days. He ended up being a  pretty cool guy. We began talking and he wanted to know how I knew so much about Israel, and I told him that I was a Christian. The next morning, as I was reading my Bible and praying, he walked in and saw me. Later that night we were sitting outside talking, and he told me it was really cool to see that I did not leave my religion behind. What a huge opportunity this was to share with him about my faith and why I believe what I believe; that it’s more than a religion, but a lifestyle of faith and obedience in Christ. Our salvation is not defined only by the things we do, but by grace through Him and faith in Him. He was very intrigued.

I learned something really valuable that night…actions really do speak loud into the hearts of people. I didn’t have to go preach words to this guy. He saw something and it was big enough for him to engage in a conversation about it with me. It’s so simple. This is what it should look like everyday…Living Life. Loving God. Loving People. Allowing God to pour His love into their hearts by the time you’re investing in them.

Unforgettable Memories

As I was walking down this path, these are the beautiful faces of the kids who warmly welcomed me as I was making my way through their small village heading towards the hills on the outer edges of the town. This was one of the first shots that I captured as I approached them.

As I began to talk with them, I will never forget the smiles on their faces and the humor in their laughter as they listened to a foreigner speak to them with strange words. I tried to speak the few indigenous phrases I knew by asking what their names were, but they just smiled and laughed. I started taking pictures of them, and like all the others, they were so intrigued by the camera. They immediately surrounded me as I knelt down to show them the pictures I had just taken. They loved it!

I continued on my walk up the mountainside, and reached a spot with an incredible view over the countryside. As I sat down to spend some time with God in His Word, a few minutes had passed as I began hearing the noises of little feet rustling through the rocks on the path, and I realized they had been following me. It was the coolest moment I had. As I was sitting there reading my Bible, they sat around me and just listened. I had a great time with these kids as we sat overlooking the beautiful valley that they lived in. We threw rocks out into the air, laughed some, picked some flowers, laughed some more, and while taking tons of pictures we laughed even more. We could not understand the words we tried to speak to each other, but the amount of time we spent laughing definitely signified the good time we were having.

I will never forget trying to take a picture of all of us together, and not being able to get everyone in the picture. Of course we were all laughing. After many failed attempts, I remembered I had a timer on the camera, so I set it on my backpack and ran back over to them trying to get them to all look at the camera, but they could not understand why I did not have the camera taking the picture…I was like just trust me. Needless to say, they did not get it on the first go around, but they soon realized what was happening.

The day spent with these kids is definitely a day of unforgettable memories.

Enjoy the pictures!!