Day 15 - Snow, Snow, Snow!

I'll get some pictures up here soon of the mass of snow that is in our region. They are calling for another storm Tuesday night into Wednesday (another 12 inches). We got about 28 inches this weekend. Martin shoveled the driveway and sidewalk and it took him a total of 5 to 6 hours. Our driveway can only fit about four cars. There was just that much snow. It's beautiful. I hate driving in it. The roads aren't fully clear and my car informed me this morning that I was driving with "no traction" going up a hill that was covered with ice. "Go for fresh snow!" is what my dad always taught me. I kept an eye out for it as I going. I should have had Martin drive me in the Jeep but I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning.

Still sick. Not sure what is wrong with me. I don't have a lot of energy but I've felt worse before. I was able to do tons of laundry and keep the kitchen and family room clean all weekend. I can't sleep well and that's probably the reason I am not getting better. I am resting but not sleeping. I go to sleep then have crazy dreams and wake up every hour. I'm not sure if I have a fever or I'm just weird. Maybe both. I hate taking meds and I keep hoping that all of this will just go away with old fashion vicks vapo rub, the neti-pot, rest, and relaxation. Mornings and evenings are the worst.

This morning I received an email from some missionaries from ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism). We are now on the Missions Committee so we get all kinds of missions updates now. They said that after nine years the CIA finally released the video of one of their missionary plane being shot down.

I remember this well because nine years ago Kevin Bowers came to Word of Life for the annual Missions Conference. Kevin and his wife were missionaries in Peru. They had two children - a boy (around 3 or 4) and baby girl (around 9 months). They had a houseboat and ministered on the river. The Peruvian Government along with the CIA were cracking down on drug trafficking. The CIA followed their plane and had a Peruvian Air Force plane come to check out who the plane belonged to. In the video you can hear the CIA operatives saying they aren't sure if they are enemy or not. The Peruvian government was sure they were. They sent the plane a message that if they did not identify themselves they would shoot them. The only problem was, the plane was on a different frequency. The plane was on the air traffic control frequency as it should have been. And they were communicating with them. After no interaction from the plane with the government, they shot the plane. They quickly realized the plane was not a drug plane and help was sent to the river it landed in. Kevin's wife and daughter were shot with a single bullet through their stomachs (his wife was hold their daughter), killing both of them. He and his son survived.

I remember this well because Kevin came only months after the tragedy and he talked with us at Word of Life and he was so transparent and his pain was so raw it still brings me to tears today. What he said was that he and his wife lived in a houseboat with their children. It was a "mini-America" floating among the natives. They left the boat when they felt like it, ministered to whomever they felt like and was almost as comfortable as if they lived in their old house in the U.S.A. He said it took a tragedy like this for God to show him that he is on this earth for Him. Not for anyone else.

The video is terrible. It's five minutes long and I was begging them not to shoot. You can hear Kevin after the shots were fired, probably after he saw his wife and daughter shot, screaming for someone to help them.

We'd love to blame our government or the Peruvian government. But I'm afraid we'd be missing the point. We, as Christians are told to take up our cross daily and walk with Him. That's exactly what we must do. And if that means death then so be it. I spend all day thinking about how I can make my day easier for me. How I can get home faster. How I can make an easier dinner so prep and clean-up will be easier. But I rarely look outside myself. Looking outside ourselves is the best way to grow but it's also the best way to heal. I've got to stop looking at this world and the circumstances I am in as if I am in control. I am not. I am not here for me. I'm here for my God. To serve where He sees fit and love where He wants me to love.