I must say that this post was inspired by a blog post of a co-worker.  Connie Riddle‘s post “Home” stirred up much in my heart and mind and I had to blog.

Home is where the heart is.  Home is where you lay your head.  These phrases and many more have been used to try to define “Home.”  I think we all have different things that come to mind when we hear the word.  For some it is an image of the house they grew up in.  Others it is their house now.  Some skip the building and think of people; parents, kids, grandparents, etc.  Some think of the smells of baking bread, pies fresh out of the oven, pipe tobacco, the breeze blowing in smells from outside.  Some hear the sounds of laughter, mom’s voice calling them to dinner, dad’s reading the Bible.  I must say many people don’t have these positive memories.  Their memories of home hurt.  The memories of home cause them to want to make their home different.

For me, I have had the blessing of living in several homes.  Let me clarify what I mean.  The house my parents live in was the one I grew up in and it was home for me for decades.  But I say I have lived in several homes because, there are several places that I called home in my heart.  I may not have lived in them of long periods of time.  But they were home none the less.  Let me share why.

Mom & Dad’s house on Brown Rd. was our second house, but I don’t remember much of the first.  So the Brown Rd. house was home.  I grew up there.  I had fun playing in the creek that runs beside the house.  I remember playing in the cool basement during the hot summers.  I built spaceships with cardboard boxes, wagons and boards.  I had friends over and we would fly and fight the bad guys.  I build Lego’s and blocks on the den floor.  I spend Saturday afternoons watching PBS (Doctor Who, This Old House, etc).  I practiced my baritone in the kitchen.  I remember doing spelling (daily) with Mom so I could do OK on the weekly spelling tests.  I enjoyed mowing the yard for Dad.  I remember riding my fire truck around the yard and not getting punished too bad when I ran it into Dad’s truck.  The Brown Rd. house was home because memories were built there and my parents live there.

Going to college at Elon changed that dynamic.  Elon, itself, didn’t really become home fully while I was there.  But it changed home for me.  But during my college years a place became more of a home for me.

Laurel Ridge Moravian Camp became home.  I spent one week each summer there growing up.  I loved it and was a place that was a spiritual home for me.  I could look around at the beauty of God’s creation and hear about Jesus’s love for me in one place.  It was a literally and physically a mountain top experience for me each summer and I loved sharing it with friends I made from all over the South.  I spent two summers there in college.  It was a dream come true.  Yes, it was HARD work and not always a mountain top experience.  But for me work and helping are spiritual gifts.  So living there helped me walk out those gifts.  It was home because it was a place that I could serve the Lord, be fed by Him, and give back a little of what I received growing up.    It was also home because of the people.  Serving with 15 others on full-time staff really bonded us.  It is truly because of one other staff member that I came back the second summer.  John Miller was a guy I didn’t expect to get along with.  But I grew to respect him and appreciate him.  He helped me remember why I was serving.  I was reminded of how much I looked up to the M-Staff growing up and how I wanted to pass that along to the next generation.

The houses of both sets of grandparents were home as well.  I have fond memories of being treated like a king by Mary Etta (Grandmother Gentry) when I was sick.  I have great memories of conversations and laughter around the table and fun around the Christmas tree.  It is a place of family and nostalgia as well.  I love sitting and talking with Mary Etta about the past and hearing about her prayer life.  Her spiritual walk inspires me and it is one of the reasons her house is a home.  Granddad & Grandmother Allred’s house is no longer a home to me, because they are both truly home.  Home with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  But that house was home to me.  I spent at least a week each summer there and countless weekends throughout the year.  I loved working with Granddad on the farm.  Loved the games of Uno and times doing puzzles.  Good food and funny stories.  Oh how I wish we would have taped Granddad sharing some of the funny stories of WWII.  I know there were hard times too and I wish I could ask him about them, but I will have to wait.  I remember being excited to go fishing on the lake.  Getting ready and going to church with them.  The Gentry and Allred homes were homes because of love!

Bocachica, Colombia and the mission there is slowly becoming a home to me as well.  I have gone on five mission trips there.  I support the work there and the people.  It is a mission field where the Lord has called me to go and serve and support when I am not called to go. However, I know it is the home of the Ariel family.  They were called out of our church and the Lord has made that community home for them.  Once again an example of home being where you serve.

A year after college I moved back to Alamance County.  After spending time in two different apartments, I moved into Copeland Apartments.  I spent close to 12 years there.

That apartment became home to me.  It was a place of settled-ness.  It was a place of familiarity and memories.  I know that I dreamed about being in an actual house, but that apartment was home for me.  It was home during 9/11 and I remember watching the news there.  It saw me through being jobless for several months and much more.  It was a safe place and one where I could think.  I enjoyed the late nights praying in the sun room.  I enjoyed watching rain, snow, rainbows and sun through those windows.  But things were changing in me and around me and I was truly ready for a house.

Six months of searching with the help of a good realtor and a great brother in the Lord (who is a contractor) lead to Emma.  My affectionate name for my home.

This house was near where I lived in the apartment.  It had a style I liked.  It was in a good area.  It was in my price range.  It became home well before the papers were signed.  But as I spend time working in the house, it became home more and more.  After a month’s work by Thom, the sub-contractors, myself and others.  I was able to move.  My church family and my parents helped me move in one day.  The house was blessed by the prayers of many, blessed by the hard work of many, blessed by the financial and practical support of many, and I pray blessed by the life I lead in it.  It is a place I have made own.  But I truly know it is not mine.  I’m making loan payments.  But money for a lot of it has come from both sides of my family.  It is truly a blessing to be here thanks to the hard work and provision of my family.  It is filled with furniture  photos, art, and items from family and friends from around the world.  Each space tells a little of the life the Lord has blessed me with.  Would I be sad to lose it all, sure.  But I try to hold on loosely and see the things as reminders and not possessions   I see this home as a tool, a gift and place entrusted to me to be a good steward of for as long as the Lord wills.  It has been a joy to have family and friends over and I look forward to doing that more as the years go by.  It is home because it is where the Lord is establishing me to serve.    It is a home base from which to go out and serve.

So you see it is not just a place, not just a building, not just memories, and not just people.  Home is all of those.  But for me, home is where God has your heart.  Contentment, peace, grace, shelter, love, service, memories, nurturing, helping, fellowship and faith are all things that make a home.  We need to appreciate the home(s) the Lord has given us.  But like all other good things the Lord give us, it is only a shadow of what is to come.  We all have a longing in our hearts.  Family, friends, work, service, and home are all things that make our lives full and rich.  They are blessings from the Lord, but none of those blessings can fill the longing we have in our hearts.  Jesus Christ, God the Son, died to restore our relationship with the Father and give us eternity with Him.  This world is not our home.  Our home is with God.   And when God has our heart, we are truly HOME!

Day 9 – We said a sad goodbye to the Ariel family at the hotel.  We LOVE getting to get caught up with, spend time with and see the ministry of the Ariel family.  They were blessed by us coming as well.  We then headed to the airport.  We got our tickets and luggage (a lot less going back) checked.  We then said goodbye to our new German friends and to Karen & Jorge.  We made it safely to Miami, then after a lot of arguing with American Airlines, we got checked in.  We had a meal and relaxed.  We then bid goodbye to Rob and Meredith as they flew back to D.C.  We made it safely back to Raleigh and home.  It was a wonderful trip and we were all very blessed to go.

Day 8 – This day is one of the hardest of the trip.  Saying goodbye to the staff of the mission and the people of the island is always hard.  We have spent a week getting to know people and spend time in the community.  This was really true this year thanks to the work of the Ariel’s in community.

We had a safe boat ride over to Cartegna and made it safely to our hotel.  We dropped off our bags and then walked around.  We got some money and then ate lunch and enjoyed some shopping.  We stopped a grocery store and bought a lot of coffee to share with friends back home.  People relaxed around the hotel and got cleaned up.  Some of us had to hang out in the courtyard because our rooms were not ready.  We then headed over to Old Town and to Las Bogadas for some shopping.  These were a storage space for cannon balls and powder.   They have been converted into shops where you can find jewelry, clothing, hammocks, and much more.  After shopping we walked through Old Town to Crepes and Waffles.  It is a chain that has a huge menu of savory and sweet foods, desserts and drinks.  We got the loft section and enjoy both the food and the fellowship.

Day 7 – The day focused on people.  We dropped of the toilets and supplies at the two latrine sites.  We then walked a cross the island to the cliffs.  So much had changed in the 2 years I had been gone.  There is a man building a resort on that side of the island.  But he is not employing anyone from the island to do the work.  It is a shame.

We made it to the cliffs.  The cliff are a spot that people can enjoy jumping off and enjoying the thrill of it.  We have to go in the mornings though because the fishermen use the area.

We then headed to the two homes and put the toilets in place in the latrines.  We then presented each family with a Bible in Spanish and prayed for them.  It was a blessing to see them get the Word and one of the families, in particular, really appreciated it.

After lunch, they guys took a small refrigerator from the Ariel’s house down the hill, into the mission, and up to the 2nd floor apartment.  We then took the big refrigerator to the Ariel’s house.  They now can use this fridge since their wiring can handle it.  Both trips were a challenge.  The guys talked about the Sand Water Filter project Nate is wanting to start.  Nate spent years researching it.  He built one on the island and wants to get sponsors to help take it to others on the island and beyond.  This filter can take water and used gravity, sand, stone and a biotic layer to purify the water.  The filter costs $50 and can provide water for 4 families.  Clean water is a major issue on the island.  The cost of the filter will also include training about health, water and spiritual health.  It is an exciting project.  The women walked around the community sharing homemade banana bread and spending time with people.  A lot of us also bought beautiful hand made jewelry from one of the Ariel’s neighbors.

That night we had a celebration time.  We played several games, ate some good snacks played cards and had some great conversations around the tables.  It was a great way to end our last full day on the island.

Day 6 – Rob gave the morning devotion to the staff & team on really knowing God.

We took a good part of the day to finish up the latrines.  The guys headed to the first latrine and put on the 2 concrete slabs to form the floor.  Then we hiked over to the second latrine.  On the way we hiked up a hill to see some beautiful views of the island.  We put the slabs down for the second latrine and then built up the walls on the slab to give privacy.  Nate gave Rob, Nathan, Mark and I a lesson on laying block.  We each took turns at laying a course of block.  Needless to say he is a master at the trade and we are not.  But we finished it up and built up some stairs to the latrine.  (The soil was so tough the latrine had to be built up, since they could not dig any deeper.)

After lunch and siesta time, we headed back to the first latrine.  We mixed up the mortar mix and built up the walls.  The rest of the group spent time working on patching one of the walls at the mission.  They also worked cleaning the clinic.

The mission holds a cell group meeting each Thursday.  The service starts with a time of worship through songs.  There was a time of fellowship and testimony.  A woman shared how the Lord had brought her through the trial and treatments of cancer.  It was so encouraging.  Then part of our team took the kids up to the feeding center.  They taught them a song with motions.  They had a great time sharing the Word and playing with the kids.  Nathan Heafner had been preparing for a good while and he brought the Word, while Karen translated.  I don’t have any photos of Nathan sharing because I spent the time videoing it using Nathan’s camera.  Rob graciously took over for the last bit when my arms were starting to go.  It was a great day.

Day 5 was not a great one for several of us on the team.  Stomach issues hit several of us in the night and began to hit different ones at different times the rest of the week.  Thankfully the Ariel’s had some medicine that helped us out.  After morning worship most of the team headed out and poured the floor in the second home.  The rest of us rested and recuperated at the mission.

In the afternoon, most of us headed over to the mission’s medical clinic.  There we painted and did work on the half that needed work.  The Ariel’s and others were in need of water.  A boat came but the pump Nate and his neighbor had would not fit the hose correctly and therefore not pump water up the hill to their houses.  So they took two containers (which would hold 3 tons of water) to the water.  They filled them.  Then 5 gallons at a time team members, family and neighbors carried over a ton of water up the hill.  It really makes me appreciate turning on a tap and having clean water!

That night the conference was different.  The men met at the mission and the women met at the feeding center.  Mark taught the men on being providers and protectors and Cindy taught the women.  Karen translated for Cindy.  A couple, who are staff members at the YWAM base in Cartegana, came in that afternoon.  The wife translated for mark and did a great job.  Both sessions were well received and appreciated.  In the men’s session one of Samy’s brothers came to the Lord.  Many of the men also received prayer so that with the Lord’s help they could be the husband’s and father’s the Lord wants them to be.

Day four saw most of the team helping to pour a concrete floor in a home.  A few others went and did some work on the latrines.  Most of the floors in homes are dirt.  Adding a concrete floor is a real help and blessing to the household.  We gathered behind the house where the supplies were located.  We shoveled buckets or rock and sand, added buckets of water and watched the experienced men mix them all with concrete mix and lime to make the concrete.  It was great to see the Ariel boys bring their little shovel and help us out.  We then formed a bucket brigade to pass the buckets of concrete into the room and the empty buckets out.  In the room, Jorge, Luis and Caleb worked on pouring and leveling the floor.  They worked from the corners to the door.  Later a fine mix with color added was put on top to complete it.

After lunch, some of the ladies helped inside the mission layering on moisture protection and plaster on the walls.  Others painted in the mission.  Five of us guys formed the Manly Cleaning Brigade and headed with Alexandra over to the feeding center.  We moved all the things out of the kitchen area.  We washed all the dishes and cooking pots.  We swept, dusted, washed and mopped.  We had a blast doing it and kidding each other about it.  Alexandra had fun with us doing it as well.

After work, Nate, Rob, Nathan and I headed over to Jaime’s house.  He is a local fisherman and craftsman.  Nate has been talking with him for a good while and Nathan developed a good friendship with him last January.  We sat on his back porch and sipped wonderful coffee (made with sugar in a pressure cooker) and talked.  We then looked at and bought some of his jewelry.  It was a good time.

That night the conference continued.  Mark taught on men as priests in the home.  The turn out was even better the second night.  It was a challenging message for many and it encouraged the families to have devotions each day.  Mark asked if anyone needed to surrender their lives to Christ and one lady came forward.  It was a very good evening.

Day three brought the start of work.  We split into two team.  Each team went to a home and began work on a latrine for the household.  The digging started and we began the hard work.  Each latrine is supposed to be 5 feet deep.  But this can be a real challenge on the island.  My group got down a little over 3 feet before we had to stop.  The other team got down a foot or two.  Once the hole is dug, concrete block walls are constructed around the hole.  We also pour 2 concrete and rebar slabs that will form the top of the hole/floor of the latrine.  The size of the hole is marked out and then shovels, picks and metal bars are used to dig out the hole.  Dirt is emptied into buckets and then they are dumped near by.  The dirt is used later to fill in around the sides of the walls.

At our site we had Susannah, Meredith and the Ariel girls helping us (Rob, Mark, Nathan, Nate, Luis and I) out.  They were a great help in removing dirt and even helping with the shoveling at times.  It was a hot first day and we were all tired by the end of the day.

After lunch and a siesta, some people went back to the sites to lay the block walls.  The rest of us headed over to Proyecto Libertad’s feeding center.  The heat and salt air are rough on things and paint is no exception.  Our team repainted in 2011 and the walls needed work again.  So we scrapped the walls and repainted.  We had an audience of little boys who watched with interest and had fun playing with us when we took breaks.

In the evening, we went back to the feeding center for the first night of the marriage conference.  Mark taught on men as the prophets in the home.  Karen translated for him.  We had a good turn out with good questions afterwards.  It was a good word to the people of the island and challenged them all.  We were so thankful to the Ariel’s and others spreading the word of the conference and inviting others.

Sunday is typically a day of rest and getting used to  the climate.  In years past, we have gone to a resort that the Colombian’s enjoy.  This year we decided to do something different.  We walked across the island to a beautiful beach.  On the way there we stopped by and saw the well the Ariel’s had dug (a first for the island, there are two Spanish era wells on the island but no modern ones).

Water is a huge deal on the island and most of it is shipped in from the mainland.  But the Ariel’s would like to make some changes for the people in the water area, more about that later.

We reached the beautiful beach and set down our things and began to enjoy the water and the sand.  We played football, Frisbee, people went snorkeling using the Ariel’s boat, and enjoyed the water.

Kristen Ariel, Nate & Tara’s youngest girl, had accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and she wanted to be baptized.  We gathered around and she gave her testimony and Nate explained, in Spanish, why baptism is important.  Then Mark and Nate baptized her in the ocean.  It was such a beautiful picture.  She was instructed by her parents and Antioch in the ways of the Lord, she saw her need and accepted Christ, and she was baptized surrounded by family and friends from her old home and her new one.

We enjoyed a lunch of grilled chicken and great food.  We napped, played and enjoyed the day.  We then walked back and took a little tour of the Ariel’s house.  It is amazing to see what they have done and how the Lord is using it to be a light on the hill.   They are a safe place and an inviting place people come to see.  They are building relationships and sharing the Gospel with those all around them.

We relaxed in the afternoon.  After supper we went to the Ariel’s neighbors, missionaries from Bogota.  We had a time of worship in English and Spanish songs and then Nathan Heafner shared a devotion and Nate translated.  It was a great way to end our first full day there.

The bulk of our group met up at 3:30 am and headed to RDU.  After paying for extra bags, supplies we were taking to the Ariels and to the mission, we caught our flight to Miami.  That is where the first reunion happened.  We met up with Rob Mancuso and his daughter Meredith.  Rob and his wife Amy were a year ahead of me at Elon and I met them at the service Antioch had on campus at the time.  I became good friends with them and enjoy visiting them when I can.  Rob has traveled with Antioch to Kenya and Zimbabwe before but this was his first trip to Colombia and Meredith’s first mission trip.

It was great to catch up with them in the airport and get excited about the trip.  I had talked with Rob about the trip this summer and the Lord worked it out for both he and Meredith to join us.  It is truly a God thing and having them a part of the team was a blessing.

We had a save flight to Cartagena and a save trip across the sea to Bocachica.  We were greeted at the dock by the Ariel family and staff from the mission.

It was wonderful to see the Ariel Family.  Antioch sent them out to Colombia 14 months ago.  We miss them and they us, but the work they are doing in the community of Bocachica is a huge blessing.  Mark & Cindy fox put it better than I could and you can read all about it here.

Seeing the staff of the mission again and meeting the new group of German’s was great.  This was my 5th trip to Bocachica and it is wonderful to see and catch up with these folks in person.  I was so glad to see and talk with Samy & Marley.  They have been fixtures at the mission for years.  They just got married this fall and are now heading up the day to day work at the mission.

After a wonderful supper, we had the mission rules and rundown and talked about the schedule for the week.  Then it was time for fellowship and fun around the tables.  All in all a very fun and full day!