IT’S NOT THAT FAR FROM THERE TO HERE
Arlen Stauffer
It always seems like such a long travel to get to South America and back. But, in human terms, and in God’s
eyes, it’s not really very far at all.
One of the most often recited scriptures is John 3:16, which begins, “For God so loved the world…”
He loved the entire world….not just Florida. And… not just North America. God’s love extends to South
America, to Asia, to Africa, to the North Pole.
So, each year, when we spend months planning a mission trip, hours and days traveling to a distant village,
several days working there, and many hours traveling back home, it is good to remind ourselves of just where
we’ve been and how close it really is to home.
The farthest “out there” we were on this mission to Peru was the village of Parinari. After the drive to Orlando,
the 7-hour flight from Atlanta to Lima, the 1-hour flight to Tarapoto, the 3-hour bus ride to Yurimaguas, the 15-
minute Moto-Kar ride to the Rio Huallaga, the 5-hour boat trip up-river on the Rio Huallaga and the Rio
Yanayaku toward Parinari, and the 30-minute walk through the jungle to the village itself, it would be easy to
think of this village as being a long ways from New Smyrna Beach.
But, God was already there, long before us. He was there in the beauty of the jungle, the rivers, and the
people. And, in many ways, Parinari is just like home back in Florida.
The people are the same in Parinari and Florida: they love others and they have frustrations, they talk to their
friends and they experience anger, they get thirsty in the heat and they keep their children from danger, and
they hope that their children somehow walk a better path in life.
The necessities are the same in Parinari as they are in Florida: we all need some food, water, friendship, love,
and protection.
Some things are different: there is no air conditioning in Parinari, and no septic system, no roads, and no
streetlights. Food has to be grown, caught, or found instead of just buying it at Publix. There are no computers
or BlackBerries in Parinari, no cars or trucks, and no Wal-Marts or Home Depots.
The people and the necessities are the same there as they are here. God is there, just as He is here.
It’s really just a blink of an eye from New Smyrna Beach to Parinari.
Arlen Stauffer
It always seems like such a long travel to get to South America and back. But, in human terms, and in God’s
eyes, it’s not really very far at all.
One of the most often recited scriptures is John 3:16, which begins, “For God so loved the world…”
He loved the entire world….not just Florida. And… not just North America. God’s love extends to South
America, to Asia, to Africa, to the North Pole.
So, each year, when we spend months planning a mission trip, hours and days traveling to a distant village,
several days working there, and many hours traveling back home, it is good to remind ourselves of just where
we’ve been and how close it really is to home.
The farthest “out there” we were on this mission to Peru was the village of Parinari. After the drive to Orlando,
the 7-hour flight from Atlanta to Lima, the 1-hour flight to Tarapoto, the 3-hour bus ride to Yurimaguas, the 15-
minute Moto-Kar ride to the Rio Huallaga, the 5-hour boat trip up-river on the Rio Huallaga and the Rio
Yanayaku toward Parinari, and the 30-minute walk through the jungle to the village itself, it would be easy to
think of this village as being a long ways from New Smyrna Beach.
But, God was already there, long before us. He was there in the beauty of the jungle, the rivers, and the
people. And, in many ways, Parinari is just like home back in Florida.
The people are the same in Parinari and Florida: they love others and they have frustrations, they talk to their
friends and they experience anger, they get thirsty in the heat and they keep their children from danger, and
they hope that their children somehow walk a better path in life.
The necessities are the same in Parinari as they are in Florida: we all need some food, water, friendship, love,
and protection.
Some things are different: there is no air conditioning in Parinari, and no septic system, no roads, and no
streetlights. Food has to be grown, caught, or found instead of just buying it at Publix. There are no computers
or BlackBerries in Parinari, no cars or trucks, and no Wal-Marts or Home Depots.
The people and the necessities are the same there as they are here. God is there, just as He is here.
It’s really just a blink of an eye from New Smyrna Beach to Parinari.
