{"id":2370,"date":"2013-07-24T18:59:20","date_gmt":"2013-07-24T18:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-mcmartin\/?p=2370"},"modified":"2013-07-25T09:18:05","modified_gmt":"2013-07-25T09:18:05","slug":"reflections-from-our-village-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/joel-mcmartin\/2013\/07\/24\/reflections-from-our-village-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections From Our Village Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Uneventful\u00a0Drive<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This past week, we packed up and traveled 14 hours down to one of the remote villages we work with as a mission.\u00a0 The first day we drove 10 hours.\u00a0 During this drive our AC broke.\u00a0 We stopped to have it fixed and ate\u00a0lunch\u00a0at\u00a0a restaurant with a pool.\u00a0 I let the boys swim some and even got to take a dip myself when Tyler got in a little over his head.\u00a0 It took about an hour and a half to get the the AC fixed, but it was worth it.\u00a0 About an hour later our guest in the car asked why he smelled fresh baked cookies.\u00a0 We pulled over as we saw some smoke and Joel yelled for water when he opened the hood.\u00a0 Thankfully it was only a rag and funnel that had been left under the hood and the fire hadn’t spread anywhere else.\u00a0 Another hour later we were stopped for about 30 minutes as we watched a crane try to help a stuck truck start moving again.\u00a0 When we arrived at our destination, Joel and I both concluded that the drive wasn’t that bad.\u00a0 I guess our definition of an uneventful drive has changed over the past few years.\u00a0 We made it within the time frame we were hoping to and never were stopped at one time for more than two hours, there is not much more you can ask for here.<\/p>\n

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What was left of the funnel and rag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The truck blocking our road<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A taste of what our roads look like, but yes it got a lot worse than this<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Ministering As A Family<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was our first time to travel as a family and, I will be honest, I had my doubts.\u00a0 I knew we needed to try it, but I also knew it wouldn’t be easy.\u00a0 Our boys have their limits, but those limits are a little easier to control in the confines of our home.\u00a0 Here we traveled long hours, on horrible roads, to a place that was unfamiliar with even fewer comforts than we were used to having.\u00a0 It wasn’t an easy trip, there were definitely times that I wondered what we were thinking, but I also reminded myself that almost everything felt like that the first time we experienced it.\u00a0 However at the end of the trip, I was reminded of the joy and importance of sharing our ministry with our children, even when it makes it more challenging for us.\u00a0 Our kids were able to make connections with missionaries who rarely get to see other kids, they have memories that they will probably never forget and most importantly they were a part of what we were doing and we were able to serve together.<\/p>\n

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It wasn't all smiles the whole time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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But it was so worth it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n

God grabbed a hold of me this weekend to give me a little of perspective:<\/p>\n