Day-19b, July 21 2009 - Special Edition

As we go our separate ways at the end of our mission, I wanted to leave the final word to my 16-year-old friend Mariah Pettapiece-Phillips. This is Mariah's second "special edition entry." Mariah writes of transferring her learnings from this mission back home. And as the head of a training department, I woud like to underscore that the value of learning is all in how it's applied:

Where do I start? That's usually the question I ask when facing the daunting, sometimes slightly intimidating sight of a blank page. Today I sat down armed with pen and paper, my never-far-away iPod, and my always-far-away mind for a full five minutes of being stumped before I realized something important. It's useless and unprogressive to ask myself where to start when I really want to know where I can go from here. The question that should be asked is, 'Where do I want this to lead me?' In fact, the initial question of asking oneself where to start seems incredibly stupid when you think about it logically. Although I'm not always a fan of the common logic my mother taught me to use when I was little (in my mind, logic never inspires colourful dreams and it lowers sky-high limits to thinking inside the box), it only makes sense that asking where you are present-tense will never bring you as far or as high as contemplating where you could be in the future.

When I was younger and I heard the familiar deep-thinking, answer-seeking questions people would ask in terms of life (Where am I? Why am I here?), I couldn't help thinking to myself, 'Why do you care where you are or where you've been? Obviously you aren't satisfied with yourself currently or you wouldn't be asking in the first place. Therefore, you already know the answer to your own question, so why ask in the first place?' I find that you'll never find the answer you're looking for if you first don't ask the right question. So for that reason, I'm not going to bother myself, or anyone else for that matter, with why I came on this trip or what I did while I was here. Instead, I want to think about what I'll do next. There's no use worrying about lessons here if they don't bring further lessons back home. In my experience (as limited as it may be), there's a fine line between learning a lesson, and taking that lesson, bringing it internally, and carrying it around in you so that you can't help but be changed and influenced by it. The fine line, I believe, are those questions that bring you a step forward. What am I going to do with what I learned? Where will this take me next? All of it means nothing if I can't take it to the next level. Sure, you can light a candle to lighten up a room, but that light won't go very far if you don't spread the light and share the flame to other candles. Just like the candle's flame, a lesson forgotten will fade and die.

To bring this in terms of my own life and lessons, after this trip's work is done in Peru, I can't help but think about the future. Not the far off into the distance future, because there are far too many unknowns there, but the near future that's somewhat controllable. As much as I know a difference has been made for the people in Peru, I know this trip has made a bigger difference in me. If that makes this trip selfish in other people's minds, then so be it. I've never understood why anyone should feel guilty for benefiting from helping others. No matter how drastic the charity work, or how selfless its intentions are, helping others can be therapeutic. I can't, and won't, apologize for something inevitable and uncontrollable. You feel good when others do, it really is as simple as that. I also can't describe to you the changes or influence that a trip like this has on the people helped without it being tainted by my personal perspective. However, what I can do is provide a sparksnotes version of my thoughts.

I want all the small things back in life that I started to forget and take for granted in the confusing bustle of everyday life. In the midst of tight schedules and ever-present deadlines, many people forget the small details that make the biggest differences. After this trip, I've had the urge and need to start excercising more, for those endorphens. I want to get a pet for the unconditional love, and for that same reason I want to spend more time with kids. Being able to see the cloudless sky filled with brilliant stars every night has reminded me that sometimes the city's overbearing noises and countless sights drown out the more beautiful silence and the freedom of open space. Now that I'm noticing the small things, it's been easier to smile more and laugh louder. Although all of these things might seem small to you, they're what I've noticed has changed me the most. The schedules and busy things people fill their days with are useless if you don't stop to notice the small things. Without them, days jumble together until soon enough, you can't remember why you bother with anything. The small things in life bring purpose to the big things.

All of these things are only one reason why I'd recommend anyone and everyone to go on a mission trip. I'd especially recommend teenagers because maybe, like me, years after they'll look back on their life and realize that the mission trip played a big part in shaping them to becoming who they are.

Day-19a, July 21 2009

Ola!

For those of you anxious we'd been devoured by an anaconda, apologies. Internet access was severely restricted in the Amazon Basin.

Our group was split into three once we flew from Cusco to the inland port city of Puerto Maldonado. It ressembles a dusty, wild west town of 46,000 people that is bustling with tuk-tuks (a three-wheeled motorized version of a horse and buggy) and Honda motorbikes. Puerto Maldonado sits at the crossroads of the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers. Just to give you an idea of the abundance of wildlife, on the Tambopata Reserve alone, there are 620 species of birds and 1200 species of butterflies. To compare, in all of North America there around 700 species of each. It was all aboard for three different adventures.

It appears that everyone enjoyed their wildlife tours. Some of us were able to go on canopy walks and climbed 100 metre towers to begin a nerve-wracking crossing over seemingly rickety, suspended bridges from platform-to-platform amongst the tree tops. One set of towers took 15 years to design. Most of that time was spent studying root systems (which are shallow) to understand how to build a sturdy foundation and weather patterns to determine which materials would prove hardy. The actual construction took only a month.

Our primary guide, Jesus (pronounced hey-zeus) was knowledgeable and hilarious. For example, when we were beginning our canopy walk two thirds up the tower, he went to the very top and poured a yellowish liquid down beside us. Was it humming bird food or...well I'll leave it up to your imagination. We also took a bridge detour to a treetop cabin. For $500 (USD) a night you can play Swiss Family Robinson.

Some groups had nighttime forays up the river to see caymen or into the rainforest to discover tarantulas, snakes and locusts. Some groups saw monkeys. Two groups were delighted with their food and accommodation - cabanas or huts and gourmet dishes. One group was less pleased with the lack of privacy, electricity and mediocre food. On Tuesday these adventures all came to end as we were reunited at the Puerto Maldonado airport. From there the group flew to Lima.

It's Wednesday morning as I write this. We have now scattered. Some have continued onto vacations in the Galapagos Islands or Easter Island. Some have departed back to Canada via Miami. Some will depart back home today or tomorrow. Most are a bit weary. But we will all rally. Joe and Jennifer head to another mission in Guyana - their country of origin - in early 2010. And there's already a buzz about a mission to Tanzania and Kenya in 2011.

I'm going to leave the final word to my 16-year-old friend Mariah. This young writer is more focussed on transferring her learnings from this mission back home. And as the head of a training department, I believe the value of learning is all in how it's applied.

Here is a link that you can click to a see the mission photo gallery. http://gallery.me.com/davidhillock

Day-15, July 17, 2009

Ola!

Remember the movie Indiana Jones? Well the movie figure was modelled after "Indiana" or Hiram Bingham - an American explorer. Bingham discovered the lost city of Machu Picchu (well re-discovered as the locals certainly knew where it was) in 1911 and the Inca Trail in 1915. Bingham was led to the ruins by an 8-year-old boy named Pablo - now proclaimed as the first Peruvian guide. Remarkably 70% of what remains is original. Bingham was a historian and pottery lover - which was unfortunate on both counts. He carted away pottery from its original sites and to this day we are unsure as to the purpose of every room in the Machu Picchu community because these artifacts were removed from their context. Bingham also took some pottery for display at Yale University. However Bingham must be credited for bringing Machu Picchu to the world. We were able to wander fairly freely. In five or six years this awe-inspiring site may no longer be accessible to the public. Japanese seismologists have discovered that the ruins lie on two fault lines and fear that earthquakes and tourist traffic make its foundation fragile.

The Inca Trail is a 50 kilometre trail from Cusco to Machu Picchu. There are limits on the number of trail users - 200 hikers and 300 porters maximum are allowed to travel the trail each day. Some do the trail over 4 days. An additional trail was discovered only last week!

Our group had a daunting uphill climb for four hours followed by lunch, followed by a level path of stones followed by a steep 30 metre incline.

I was fascinated to find out why one of our group tackled the trail. 78-year old Norah Heater was one of the first to sign up for the hike. She said "I thought it would be a 6 hour walk. And I did the preparation. I walked three times a week and continued with my aquafit. I didn't know it would be as challenging as it was. My best moment was reaching the top of the Sun Gate (which is a mountain top view of Machu Picchu). My worst moment came when I arrived at the steps they call the Entrance to God. It was 52 steps straight up. I'm glad I did it. I don't feel like it was any big deal. No matter how rough I had to finish it! There was no choice."

We were inspired by Norah's achievement and raised a glass in her honour that night at a pizzeria. Not a single hiker from our group gave up! Congratulations all!!

Here is a link that you can click to a see the mission photo gallery. http://gallery.me.com/davidhillock

Day-14, July 16, 2009

Ola!

The pace has picked up since last I blogged in so forgive my tardiness.

On Wednesday our Bolivia teams boarded the Andean Express to Cusco. It proved to be a first-class - albeit 10 hour - train ride. There was breakfast, entertainment, a free pisco sour (the national drink of brandy, sugar cane, egg white and bitters) at 1100, a lunch, bar-tending demonstration and tea time - all served with the greatest of professionalism.

Meantime in Cusco, the Peruvian teams were enjoying their introduction to this wonderful little community. As Kent Sikstrom recounted, "it's an intimate city. People are affectionate, warm and kind and it's reminiscent of Italian towns I have visited. There are narrow streets and cobblestones. And in the centre is the town square which is where everybody congregates. There are festivities every night and it feels good to be here." Speaking of festivities, that night the entire team enjoyed good food and folk music and dancing.

On Thursday our group split - just under half of the group decided to take the train to Machu Picchu to hike the Inca Trail for ~ 6 hours. The rest ventured by bus into the Sacred Valley beyond Cusco.

In this entry, I will tell the tale of the latter. For more on the Inca Trail hikers please see my next entry.

The day began in a panic. The primary camera of David Hillock - the trip photographer - had a breakdown -- all the pictures were coming out blue! Without missing a heart beat, the backup camera went into action. I have to confess that as David's sherpa for some of the equipment on this trip I have not always thought charitably about lugging his extra gear. However in this moment, my sherpa days paid off. Later that night, David would rip apart his non-functioning camera and with surgeon-like precision dissect it for malfunction. The surgery would prove successful and the offending problem benign. The camera was restored to full health and once again, click, click, click, was the order of the day.

So our bus departed through beautiful Cusco. A full 70% of its citizens are employed by tourism although farming is big. Guinea pig is the favourite dish. A Peruvian hastened to add "that's because we don't name them." You can always down your pig with a glass of room-temperature chicha. It's distilled alcohol made from corn and the villagers fly a red flag on their doorstep when their personal batch is ready for consumption. There is often frost in the morning because we're at such a high altitude but then the temperature can climb to 22 degrees celsius. In the highlands -sadly - the cold weather can lead to infant mortality. The children do not have sufficiently warm clothing. There is no snow because Cusco stands at 15,800 feet and snow happens only at 16,000. Severe earthquakes (7 on the Richter scale) happen every 3 to 4 years. It was interesting to see "tuna" cactus along the roadside. These cactus have a parasite which is removed, dried and ground up for red dye in textiles.

From Cusco we travelled by bus to an Alpaca and llama farm. These animals hail from the camel family - with the llama certainly looking most like the camel because it's bigger. Our first misadventure was losing Kent - quoted above. However, fortunately -particularly for me as I happen to be his mother - we found him.

From there we journeyed to the old village of Pisac. It was hosting a colourful parade. Other than that - Pisac is known for its market. I would call it a mayhem of bargaining. Our group does like to shop.

From there we went to the Inca ruins in the mountainside of Ollantaytambo. Seven of us ventured up to the very, very top. The Incans were marvellous engineers. They were also marvellous at conscripting the citizenry. Yesteryear - every year - a Peruvian had to devote 3 months of labour to the government in lieu of taxes.

Our second misadventure was losing Janet Duff. However, fortunately, we found her.

From there we boarded a train to Machu Picchu to rendez-vous with our team-mates.

Our third misadventure was nearly losing the entire Pettapiece-Phillipps family. They unfortunately had some alleged over-sized luggage and became embroiled in a heated debate about what it would cost to load it. They apparently won the debate and came screaming down the platform as the train was pulling away from the station.

Anyway. We have all made our way to the wonderful site of Machu Picchu. We have all supped and headed for bed. And the starttime tomorrow is 0400.

Goodnight!

Here is a link that you can click to a see the mission photo gallery. http://gallery.me.com/davidhillock

Day-13a, July 15, 2009 - Special Edition

Ola!

This is another special edition blog entry. Our guest writer this time is one of the younger members of our mission team, Amit Parasar. Amit was assigned to the Construction Team in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His team was putting the finishing touches on La Trinidad Anglican Church.

Amit was the Bible Study leader for his team and discovered his colleagues had varying levels of faith. Such variance can cause tremendous rift - even unChristian-like behaviour - as I personally witnessed on my first mission. While no such rift occured on Amit's team - in fact team leader Brian Van Order told me the team was strengthened through Bible Study - how does one reconcile these varying levels? I hope you will appreciate Amit's thoughtfulness on this topic:

What does it mean to participate in a Short-term Christian Mission Trip? I must confess that while Bolivia 2009 is my 7th mission trip, I've never actually pondered this question until now. This trip was the first time I officially undertook the responsibility of being the spiritual leader of my mission team. I can honestly say that I never thought I would be hosting discussions questioning the existence of God like I found myself doing this year because a firm spiritual grounding has always been a prerequisite in every other mission that I've been on. I must admit that seeing such lack of faith was frustrating and even depressing for me because I know how my faith has pulled me through the most difficult times of my life. I wish that I could give that strength to my mission teammates, but if there's one thing that I've learned thus far is that belief is a choice. In some cases, people struggle with faith because Christianity is far from easy. It requires an honest effort at a lifestyle change and, for the most part, people are comfortable in their own ways. In other cases, people want to know God exists, but unfortunately knowledge and faith are two different things entirely. Indeed, if I were to define faith, I would say that it is believing despite the fact that you have questions, believing despite the fact that you don't know. Jesus summarized how much God values our faith when after his resurrection he said to Thomas, "Blessed are those who do not see and believe."

I realize that I've gone on for some time and have yet to address the question presented in the beginning of my blog. What does it mean to participate in a Christian Mission Trip? Does it mean that only those with the strongest faith should be allowed to embark on a Christian Mission? To those who believe this I say that Jesus came to heal the sick, for what does a healthy man require even of the best surgeon? In Romans chapters 14-15, Paul writes about different levels of faith and how those with strong faith should not judge those with weaker faith. Everyone is on their own journey. Where some stumble, others will run. Should the runner look down on the one that stumbles? Of course not, because it is when we stumble and fall that we can get back up again. It is in these moments that we learn the most. If anything, the runner should be humble enough to ask the one who fell what he learned so that they can grow together. I've witnessed weak faith develop into strong faith over years and I've seen far more dramatic spiritual development happen over a few days of mission work. I've learned much from my teammates in both instances and I've learned so much from my mission teammates this year. While they've questioned God's existence, I've watched Him work through those that don't even believe He exists. While they struggle with their belief, I've watched them display Christ-like qualities and deeds to a far greater extent than some people I know who claim to be Christians, but happily continue on in their sinful ways. If I were asked to choose which of these cases I believe God would be more pleased with, I would certainly choose the first. So, who belongs on a Short-term Christian Mission Trip? If you feel that you can decide that, I'll leave that up to you. I prefer to let God decide.

Day-12, July 14, 2009

Back again!

Its been a whirlwind few days since the last blog entry.

On Monday July 13, our teams across Peru and Bolivia bid adieu to their project sponsors. Our mission work is now done. For some it was a tearful good-bye. For others more circumspect - that with life's adventures comes "blessin's and lessons." And at times, the lessons outweigh the "blessin's." But I hope I'm speaking for all as I write this - there is a humble hope that each of us made a difference in some small way.

On Monday night, the Lima team was joined by new team members who were unable to participate in our mission work and have now joined us for a "cultural tour" of Peru. I am particularly excited because two of the new members are my sons Matt and Kent. Now begins the reunion of all teams.

On Tuesday morning the Lima teams - eye glass, children's ministry and dental - departed Lima for Cusco, Peru. They will be sightseeing during their visit and will await the arrival of the rest of us.

On Tuesday at 0430 the Santa Cruz teams - medical and dental - left for the airport. Similarly the Cochabamba teams - construction and the girls' home and children's orphanage - departed. These teams met in La Paz, Bolivia. From there we boarded a bus and then catamaran to cruise Lake Titicaca. This lake is stunning and particularly mesmerizing was our stop at the the Island of the Sun or Isla del Sol - the birthplace of the Incan Empire. We climbed 280 steps to take in the breathtaking view and visit a museum brimming with opulent costumes. These costumes are used today in parades and festivals and they are brightly coloured and laden with gold and jewels. We ended our cruise in the delightful seaside town of Copacabana and then took a bus to to Puno. A late night toast with a pisco sour - a popular concoction of brandy, cane syrup, lime, and egg white - and it was off to bed.

Our contingent will now head to Cusco by train. Tonight will mark the final phase of our reunion to be celebrated with a special dinner and folklore show.

Ciao!

Day-10, July 12, 2009

As I reflected upon the mid-adventures and mis-steps of the trek to Concepcion...I wondered about the other side of the story....the perspective of our sponsor...on that ill-fated day so the media team decided to interview Ron and Violet Firestone.

As our mission members were frustrated, so were the Firestones. Dr. Ron has spent most of his life in Bolivia and is a chiropractor by profession. He says that 45 percent of adult men and women suffer pains and strains of heavy work. He has conducted and led perhaps hundreds of mission clinics for years. His approach differs from that of our team. He believes in triage only for the extreme cases - parachuting in to treat the worst cases - and dispensing medication for the short-term - only until the patient can see his or her doctor. He does not believe in lengthy consultation during these clinics - nor in dispensing medication for the longer-term because he fears Bolivians may misunderstand the directions and consume it all at once or share it with their neighbours. He does however believe in preventative medicine such as teaching those who come to a clinic to brush their teeth. The Firestones call their way the "Bolivian way."

Then there is the "Canadian way." In some respects the two ways are similar. For example, our dental team instructs patients on how to brush as well. Then there are differences. Our medical and dental teams interview patients about their ailments, create a record for each patient and dispense medication for the longer-term as they deem appropriate. Dr. Trudy Poggemiller says the differences swirl around a disagreement over minimum versus maximum standards. Judith Mitchell adds that the Canadian team is always concerned about risk management.

The tensions between the "Bolivian way" and the "Canadian way" have been palatable. The media team is interested less in judgement and blame. More about what can we as a mission team learn. So we asked our team over dinner on the final night of our mission work. We discovered there are five lessons: the five C's.

#1 - COMMUNICATION
Team leader Dr. Evelyn Elsey believes the first lesson is about upfront communication. What does the sponsor expect? What do we as a mission team want to accomplish? How will we work in tandem?

#2 - CONTRACTING
The second lesson is a drilling down of the first and it comes from Dr.Trudy Poggemiller and Judith Mitchell: look beyond the personalities and create a contract or manifesto and checklist of questions for each clinic site:

a) What does the site access (travel) look like?
b) What are the logistical arrangements?
i. Toilets
ii. Food and water
iii. Sterilization and other medical facilities
iv. Interpreters
c) What support is required and what support are we offering?
d) Who are the contact people?

#3 - CONTEXT
The third lesson is about context. As Dr.Hardy Limeback asked for example, what are the political pressures under which the sponsor is working? What might be the personal pressures?

#4 - COLLABORATION
The fourth lesson says Dr Evelyn is having an openness to collaborate and she points to a positive working partnership she established with a sponsor on a mission to South Africa. Where is the honest exchange about the best of our approaches? What do we bring to the table? And what does the sponsor bring to the table? For example, Dr. Trudy was interested in learning about the benefit of sulfuric soap as a treatment for fungal infections.

#5 - COORDINATOR TO TROUBLE-SHOOT
The final lesson says Dr. Evelyn is about trouble-shooting. Who will represent our mission team's interests when things go wrong? Who will ensure that the logistics are in place? Who will be the single point of accountability? In this instance, we had no one assigned to that role locally.

As a wise person once told me, in every endeavor in life there is a blessin' and there is a lesson.

Some members of the team such as Dr. Trudy are not at peace with this mission. Others like Judith, are frustrated and are choosing not to follow-up on their concerns. Another team member, Janet Duff is circumspect: "there are incongruities between all societies. I think the important thing is not to reconcile them but to understand each other. Every time I see a new culture I learn new or different ways of doing things. I believe that understanding and respecting each other is the key to living in a global village."

As a final note, the media team has learned that perhaps part of our responsibility is to ask the questions that might lead to self-discovered leanings.

Here is a link that you can click to a see the mission photo gallery. http://gallery.me.com/davidhillock