Where Things Stand

So it has been a really long time since my last blog.  I found in my files that there is a blog that I wrote at the end of April but never posted it. Weird.  But here is a compilation of where things stand for me and ITEC.  

Recently, we had some friends of Steve and Ginny’s come from Mali, Africa to stay with us for a while. They are actually on the run because there has been an increase of persecution against Christians there lately and since he is a prominent pastor over there, there is a price on his head.  I am actually not allowed to put their names in writing, but you may have heard of them from Steve’s book “Walking His Trail”.  Steve met them in Timbuktu while he was there setting up a base for MAF in the 80’s.

They moved into the house that I have been living in since early August last year.  Some of you have actually stayed at that house while visiting me.  The 4 guys living with me and I moved to another house that is roughly 2 ½ miles away.  There is plenty of work to do on this new house, but I have been able to make some progress, even with all the things that have jumped in the way.

Elijah, my little brother came down for a couple of weeks and was a huge help.   I had a great time with him and everyone here loved him being here as well.  With his help, I was able to get twice as much done in half the time allowing us to get moved in sooner than I had hoped.

During the past couple of months ITEC has had several instances where people have been getting hurt.  Steve’s injury was the worst one, but he is recovering quickly.  If you have not been watching the videos that Brian has been posting on Facebook, I highly recommend you start.  Steve is one incredible guy!!!  It was certainly a blow to ITEC during that time of injuries.  I think that 6 people total had pretty serious injuries.  With the prayers of all the people all over the world, team ITEC was able to pull out of the attack, and we are continuing to work toward accomplishing what God has given us to do here.  

The couple that I mentioned earlier from Mali, Africa have a son who has been here for 8 years.  He came over here for schooling and he ended up finding a wife and is now married and has 3 kids.  I was asked by ITEC to take him on as my helper and teach him the stuff that I do.  It has been different teaching someone the things I know. But it certainly has been good.  It helps me find out exactly what I know and figure out why I do things a certain way.  It also has helped me with patience.  I am not known for my patience, as most of you reading this know, but I have been even more impatient than normal these past several months.  I’ve found myself becoming a hard man, more blunt than normal, to the point of being rude in most cases.  

Also, being the head of the house has been another place where I have been learning patience and humility.  I have 2 guys that work full time at ITEC, Daren and Robby, the two interns, Dustin, who is from Miami, Jimmy, who is from Texas, and an older gentleman who lives in his RV outside named Carl.  My house is used as a guest house, so we generally have quite a lot of traffic. I must say, you get to know some pretty awesome people being the host of a guest house.  

           

That’s pretty much it for now. I’ll try to be better about blogging more often so you guys are all aware of what is going on.  Thank you so much, Dossie Briggs, Ashima Joy, and Paul Hobbs for your donations to me this past month, it came at an incredible time!! I was literally out of money when that came to me, not kidding or exaggerating.  It was totally God!! Thank you so much.  Anyone that has given money to my mom for me that I do not know who you are, please forgive me,  I am extremely grateful for your support of me and ITEC.  

To the village as a whole, Steve asks about you often and is extremely grateful for your prayers and contributions to ITEC.  Here is a text message from him only days after his accident: “Please tell the folks in the Village thanks for praying for me and my family. I just have this deep seeded sense of anticipation for how God is going to use this.”  I do not know if that ever made it around to everyone. I forwarded it on to a few people in the village in hopes that it would make it to everyone.

Thanks again for all your support!!!

God Bless,

Austin

PS- since this blog was written, another thing has come up.  I have two remaining tests to do for the FAA in the process of getting my medical.  One is on Friday the 20th and the other is on Wednesday the 25th. Once those two things are finished, i send the results back to the FAA and we leave it to whatever God wants.  These tests are going to cost about $400, any help would be much appreciated. 

PPS- Here is the latest video on Steve's recovery.  He is such an amazing man.  His focus is in the right place. He is just very inspirational.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfPZ_bIRfmM

As always, I am extremely grateful for all of your support through finances ands prayer.  I could not do what i do without your help.  Thanks so much!!

God Bless,

Austin

Ecuador

So in the four weeks since arriving here in Ecuador, a lot has happened. This could be a pretty long post, but we shall see.  Oh, where to begin….

           

            Well, I arrived in Quito on a Sunday evening and my first sight of Ecuador was a rainy one.  I found out later, we get an average of 35 ft of rain every year. My one bag took an eternity to get from baggage claim, I was standing there for just over an hour.  I met up with my friend, Galo, who I know from him being in the States working on airplanes with Jesse. After meeting his mom and brother we got in the van and headed to his sisters house where he had been staying over the weekend for a family reunion.  He ended up telling me that the flight number I had emailed him did not exist, but somehow he was at the Airport when I was, Someone must have been looking out for us.

            We left for Shell the next morning, a beautiful 4-hour drive through the mountains.  After several stops along the way for Galo to find a part for a car, we made it to Shell, my home for the next 3 months.

            Shell is a very small town on the edge of the Jungle.  The Airport is pretty much the length of the town but it goes a bit deeper.  Mountains covered with thick jungle surround Shell, and clouds often cover the tops. Out of the four weeks I have been here. There have been 3 days that it hasn’t rained.  The temperatures are perfect but the humidity is so high that I sweat more than I do in Florida.  Another downside to the humidity is that nothing dries if you just leave it hanging in your room, even with a fan on.

            The building I am here to finish is right on the airstrip and about a 2 minute walk from the MAF base which is right across the road from Nate Saint’s house.  It has a main building  that is two stories and is mostly office space.  The back part is a hanger that is used to work on planes and cars.  The car business is to try to make ITEC Ecuador self-supporting, but it is not working out very well.  We are working on shutting down that business.  The plane business is slowing down a bit too.  Saint Aviation use to work from there, building RV10’s but we just sold our last one.

            My job is to finish the second story of the main building before March 8^th.  Here in Ecuador, their buildings are all made of concrete, even the ceilings. Sometimes the roofs are tin.  Thankfully, ITEC Ecuador has a tin roof.  That did present a slight challenge, but we managed.  So pretty much, the more I saw and realized I had to do, I was surprised, and unsure where to begin.  I have done construction for quite a while, but never in Ecuador. There are a lot of things to take into account living in a rainforest that I normally didn’t have to consider working in Memphis.  For instance, we had a leak on the exterior of the building and when I suggested we caulk it, I was informed that it was a bad idea.  It takes a long time to dry because of the high humidity.  Another thing is that because of all the rain, all the buildings are built in mud so there has to be more focus on the foundation.  That’s just to mention a few things.

            I was also under the impression that there was going to be another guy here that I would be working under who has done construction in Ecuador so he would be teaching me.  Upon my arrival, I found that the whole project is on me to finish before the group gets here from the states on March 8^th.  So I basically realized that I have to build in a country I have never built in, with helpers who cannot understand me or I them, and I have a deadline to meet.  Bring it on.

            So construction started right away with me working on the ITEC building during the day and finishing the room I was going to be living in at Galo’s house.  I was shown which route to take when I walk to ITEC, and then on my walks I learned the general layout of Shell, where the HCJB Hospital is, the millions of bakeries, grocery stores, restaurants, and the like.  

            There is a river not far from the house they have created a slight dam to make a swimming area and small park.  Galo has a German Shepherd that he affectionately named Booger, and I take him for walks down there sometimes.  I went wading up and down that river one afternoon.  It is such a pretty river.

            The other thing that started right away was the learning of Spanish.  Immersion is quite a way to learn. It is both embarrassing, and challenging, but makes some hilarious stories.  Galo tells me to make trips into stores or bakeries to force me to try to speak and understand Spanish and to get use to hearing it in general.  Thankfully the people are somewhat used to seeing missionaries around here so they are generally kind and understanding. However, when they see you struggling and stumbling through your Spanish, or just using a word instead of a sentence, they have this knowing smile that makes you want to go crawl into a hole.

            Working with my helper, Carlos, has been educational too. You have both of us trying to explain things in each others language.  He knows less English than I do Spanish.  It takes several minutes before we get the idea of what we are saying, there is a lot of pointing, and body language. But we are getting better.  

            One day I had just finished running on Galo’s treadmill and it was slightly raining outside so I went outside and took my shirt off too cool off in the rain.  The guys that work the car business live on the bottom floor of the same house I do and they saw me and invited me in where they were watching TV all three of them saw all of my scars and were asking me what they were from.  Now, explaining my former heart problems is already difficult in English.  Add trying to explain with my lame vocabulary of Spanish.  Wow.  It was a long conversation.

            Then they were trying to ask me if I had eaten dinner yet.  When I said no, they asked me to go out to eat with them.  So we all went to eat at a Chinese place.  It was quite interesting.  I was trying to get fried rice with the meat and vegetables. So I was trying to explain that to them to order for me.  So you have an English guy trying to explain what he wants through and Ecuadorian, who is trying to explain that to a Chinese woman.  When my plate came back it was a huge pile of fried onions, peppers, and that kind of loveliness.

            I did end up going back this past week and managed to order the right stuff.  And when they asked if I wanted the big plate or the small I said big because I hadn’t eaten breakfast, and I was taking lunch late.  They brought out a plate with a mountain of friend rice on it.  If any of you have seen Game Plan and remember the scene when the little girl is looking at the huge plate of spaghetti, that is what my plate looked like, I am not joking.

            We have all the walls plastered, foam on the ceiling to help deaden the sound of the daily rain, and the tile in the bathrooms.  I am hoping that I will have a good bit of the drop ceiling finished before Galo gets back on the 13^th and then I will finish installing the bathroom hardware.  I am hopeful that I will have this finished before Jimmy arrives with the team on March 8^th.  I really appreciate all your prayers and support.  You are what make it possible for me to be here doing this for ITEC

God Bless,

Austin           

Bound for Ecuador

Hey friends,

So I have refrained from blogging about this till now because I didn’t know any details, nor did it seem that anyone else did.  I wasn’t keeping it a secret, I just told some people and knew that it would get around eventually and if it didn’t, then I knew that one day I would get the details and then I would blog and then you all would know:  I am going to Ecuador!!!  

So the story goes back to when I was at the Call2All conference in Long Beach, California last month.  As you read in the last blog, I was really having a hard time with being home and not on the front lines in missions.  As you also read, around the end of the conference, God gave me peace about being at ITEC and I was entering back into the work here with renewed drive.  

When I got back from Call2All I went to Tennessee for my best friend Joel and Ashelie’s, wedding, and since I was up there, ITEC sent me to Nashville to pick up an engine for a Maverick.  I ended up driving all night to get home and stopped both in Tallahassee and Gainesville to see some friends, which put me at ITEC just before lunch.  I really just wanted to go to bed, but I had to drop the engine off first. I pulled in on the airport side of the hangar, stepped out of my truck and walked up to Jesse and Galo.  The moment I got up to them, Jesse had given me 3 small projects and was told that I was going to Ecuador.  I wasn’t sure if they were joking, because I have been asked in the past to go but it never went anywhere.  

Well, it turns out they were serious, and wanted to send me the following week, but there were other things that needed to happen first. The only detail I was given was that it was sometime in January.  How are you supposed to prepare for a trip that you don’t even know when it is happening?  I have worked at ITEC long enough to know what that translates to, but for those of you who don't, I shall translate for you.  That basically means, "you will have a less notice than you need".

So today was my first day back after spending several days with my family and friends. I was asked when I was going to Ecuador and I told them I had no idea. And they said "well you need to get down there yesterday."  After throwing around a few dates and times,  It was decided that I will leave Sunday morning and return on the 17^th of March when a large church group comes back.  Jamie Saint and Jimmy Tingler are going to be taking a group down in March and I am returning with them.

ITEC has a building down there called the ITEC Training Center and I have 2 months to finish it before Jamie and Jimmy arrive with the big church group in March.  I will be staying with a man named Galo and his family.  He has been working with ITEC for a really long time.  He is a pilot and also builds RV10s with Jesse Saint.  I have met him several times while he has been in the States.   As I understand it, he lives in Shell Mera, technically in the Jungle, but more accurately, Shell Mera is on the edge of the jungle; it is the same place where Steve Saint lived and his dad, Nate Saint, flew from each day to bring supplies to the many jungle stations before his death in 1956.  

I find it amazing how I have struggled for so long with not being on the front lines of missions and when I finally gave it up and have peace about being here at ITEC, God sends me to Ecuador.  I love my God.  For those of you who want a life of adventure, follow God, He will take you on an adventure that will constantly amaze you.  

Call2All

Today is the last day of Call2All and I find myself full of very mixed emotions.  Part of me is excited to see how much these missions organizations have accomplished over the past decade or so. Another part of me is sad to find the number of people groups that still have not been reached.  The rest of these emotions are selfish, I am confused in wondering what my part is, excited to be in full time ministry, and sad and frustrated because I am not on the front lines of the mission field.

I heard the story of “Table 71” and that kind of thing sets me on fire.  I have seen the numbers of unreached/unengaged people groups of when the table 71 event happened and what they are now.  It is so incredible to see how much God is using these organizations to make it possible to fulfill the great commission.  It is also exciting to be apart of a conference where the Christian leaders of hundreds or organization are working together to 1. Blur the lines of the organization and work as one to fulfill the great commission. And 2. Strategize to work together and combine our resources to fulfill the great commission efficiently and effectively. 

Most the people here are Christian leaders from organizations or representatives or organizations so most of the sessions are geared toward them.  Yesterday I was part of a session that was working on filling out commitment papers: papers that you would commit to giving money, or commitment to start a church in places where there are unreached people groups.  I was really having a hard time with filling it out because I really wanted to fill it out and commit to an unreached people group but I couldn’t because I work for ITEC and I am not a leader of ITEC so I have no say in the matter.

To be totally honest, I have been really struggling with not being on the front lines in missions.  I am not the person actually helping the lost and needy.  I want to be one of the pioneers, someone that is really using the tools to help fulfill the Great Commission.  However, I have been in missions long enough to know that every part is just as important as the other.  Steve has reminded me that it is the people at home that provide the means for the soldiers to be effective.

ITEC is not an organization that has missionaries at its disposal to send overseas; that is not our part.  Our part is to provide door-openers for missionaries on the front lines to be more affective in spreading the gospel and helping peoples felt needs. It is our job to partner with organizations, to blur the lines of the different organizations, and work together to do God’s will, God’s way. I know of half a dozen stories off the top of my head in which our dental system or optometry kit has helped people get into villages that were formerly hostile and spread the gospel as well as meet their physical needs.

I have considered going on a trip to Australia with Sam to get a chance to work on the front lines for a bit.  Maybe that will happen, maybe it won't. But I have peace about being at ITEC, I honestly feel that God has me there, and I don’t plan on leaving until God leads me to.  I can see that what I do at ITEC is important and what God wants me to do.  

Paul's Visit

Sunday night in the intern house, we are all kind of just chillin' and preparing ourselves for another week of work.  I myself start my work solo again come tomorrow morning, I had my brother-in-law, Paul, working with me all last week, but he headed home today.  I have several things on my mind that I could easily write an entire blog on, but I will have to restrain myself so that I can get across the important things that are happening, and the needs that are most urgent.

Last week on Friday, I flew up to Birmingham with Steve, Ginny, and Sarah to pick up a truck that was being donated to ITEC but really it is for me.  The deal is, it is my truck until I leave ITEC, and since I have no plans to leave ITEC, the truck is mine.  It will be in my name, and under my insurance, so it is mine.  I find it amazing how God makes things like that happen.  My car died before I made my trip to TN at the beginning of the month, I really had no money to buy a new car and fixing it would cost more than the car is worth, being 20 years old.  I looked into a few cars, and really had to just leave it to God. He knows that there is a need and He has yet to let me go without, so I wasn’t unduly worried. I honestly cannot deny that I was at least a little nervous, though not nearly as much as I would have been before I started working with ITEC.  Living off of support from others, though is not easy or desirable, has increased my faith.  I just knew that God was going to do something.

So Steve, Ginny, and Sarah stayed up in Birmingham to stay with Sarah’s family, and I drove the truck back.  It is a white 2008 Chevrolet, Heavy Duty 2500, extended cab.  I was looking for a car originally because they are much more economical, but I honestly needed a truck. I do construction for a start, but really I do so much stuff for ITEC that requires a truck that it was a need.  God met that need for me and I am extremely grateful.  Thank you all for your prayers for me to get a vehicle, they obviously worked. J

I drove straight from Birmingham, AL down to Kissimmee, FL for a fall retreat with my church group. I didn’t get in till 3 am, waking up more than one person as I walked into the room.  The retreat was really great; I had a blast with all of my friends.  The retreat is one of those things that I could write an entire blog on, but I need to continue on.

The day I got back from the retreat, Paul arrived for the week to help me build a Cyclorama Wall.  For those of you who do not know what a Cyclorama wall is, it is a wall that curves from the floor to the wall and is built in just a way that you do not see any difference as long as the floor and wall are painted the same color and provided the workmanship is good.  If that short description is not good enough, you will probably have to look it up.

The actual construction of the wall and curvature framing went incredibly fast, but the mudding and painting took an eternity!  The weather was not exactly on our side so the mud had a hard time drying for us even with a heater and 2 fans blowing on it.  For an entire week it felt like old times, I had my best friend down here working with me.  We were able to be crazy, work late, blare the music, laugh at inside jokes, and trash talk about who was going to catch the biggest fish when the weekend came.  It is so awesome to have someone else I can fellowship with while I work and who knows the trade. It made it possible to just work together. The two of us just think the same way, and speak the same language, and it makes it easy to come up with a plan. 

After a week of crazy hours, missed meals, and coffee overdoses, we drove down to the Skyway pier in Tampa.  We fished till about 2am then got in the truck and went to sleep.  We planned to just sleep in the truck.  It was all great till I went to lean my seat back.  It was broken.  I was shocked.  I tried to sleep sitting up, but it just didn’t work.  After an hour or so of twisting and turning and trying my best to get some sleep that way, I decided to go to the back of the truck and sleep in the bed. Thankfully I brought a sleeping bag.  It was so cold and windy, I left my jacket and shoes on and still was cold.  I didn’t get to sleep till about 3:30 and Paul and I got up to start again at 6:30 quite lovely, eh? But fishing is important, you have to do it or you start going insane.

We had a blast fishing and caught several fish though only a few were keepers.  I do have to tell one story though because it is just plain out epic!  This story is true and accurate, not just a typical fisherman’s lie.  The first keeper of the day was caught by me, an 18-inch Mackerel.  Paul caught the next one but threw it back. Then things suddenly took a nasty turn.  I started pulling in a 3^rd one.  It was about 10 feet out from the pier when it got off the line, needless to say, I was so not happy.  Then Paul pulls in a 4^th one also about 18 inches long.  But as it got to the edge of the pier and was about to be pulled up out of the water, a huge fish (probably a Barracuda or Shark) about 4 or 5 feet long, swims up and bites Paul’s fish completely in half, and 5 seconds later, it went ahead and took the other half for good measure.  Paul decided that his 18-inch Mackerel was a worthy price for a 5ft something.  He pulled up the pole to set the hook in this monster’s mouth and the thing's teeth just slit the 40-lb test right in half like butter.  We were in such shock that we didn’t talk about anything else for an hour.

So after all our adventures, and craziness, it was time for Paul to head home.  He left Sunday morning before I left for church.  I think that it was the hardest time I have had with anyone leaving here.  Paul and I just roll the same way, our interests are similar, our fellowship is real, our work ethic is the same, and our love for each other is genuine.  It felt weird to see him go.  I myself was surprised to feel ripped in half when he was leaving.  I am such an independent person, and so use to working and operating alone that I usually don’t have much of a problem when I see people move on.  I obviously miss the people that leave from here after a visit or whatever, but this was different somehow, I don’t really know how to describe it. 

Everyone here at ITEC loved Paul, and I know that Paul loved it here too.  And no, I don’t think that it was the ride in the Maverick or the flight with Steve that did it. Well, maybe it was. J Thanks, Paul, for everything, It was great having you here.

As I said earlier, I now have a new truck.  I really need to get it in my name and a plate for it, pronto.  And I really need some help financially. I do not have the means to pay for it right now.  My car cost me $400 when I registered it and got a plate.  I am not sure if the price changes with newer vehicles or not.  Also, I have had to buy some tools and clothes recently, but those are generally few and far between.  The big expenses that are consistent are fuel and food.  ITEC covers my fuel that I use while working for them, but I cover personal use.  It is $100 dollars to fill up the tank, I use about $80 personal use every week.  I generally spend about $60 a week for food.  The other expense that is a drainer is insurance, I am paying about $100 a month but I have not put the truck on insurance yet so it will undoubtedly increase.  I am debating whether or not to spend the time and money to fix my car so that I have something with better gas mileage for times when I am not in need of a truck.  But I also am not keen on having 2 vehicles on my insurance.  I am open to any advice on the matter.

Thank you all for your prayers and support, it means a lot to me and I could do what I do without you.  I love and miss you all.  Have a wonderful week,

Your brother in Christ,

Austin