This thrill's for "Will"

We've been thinking a lot about our cousin, young Will Bumpus, who departed this life suddenly and unexpectedly last Sunday. The day before I had received word that my Uncle Delwin had passed away, so back to back days with the loss of significant persons in our lives was stunning or shocking, to say the least. We are enjoying very much our experience in Ecuador, but suddenly we also wanted to be back in the States where we could share this time with our girls and these dear relatives in their time of loss and grief.

We received word of Will's passing on Sunday evening, upon our arrival for 4 days in the jungle region of Ecuador. A missionary friend called MB with a message from Mindy about the tragedy. After the initial shock and disbelief soaked in, we began the journey of grieving while also desiring to fully engage in our learning experiences here. It became sort of a split experience for us. I found myself thinking of how I could honor Will in and during my experience in the jungle.

I began praying that I'd not only see with my eyes the wonders of God's creation in this beautiful place, but that I'd be "seeing" for Will, as though he was here with us. Thankfully, he is in an even more beautiful setting than we are. Given how God has blessed this country with great natural beauty, the thought of the beauty of Will being in the very Presence of God took on new meaning for me. I thought of the Psalmist's words..."how lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord" and "You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains filled with game". Will is now in a most beautiful "place" with a Most Lovely Creator whose beauty is beyond words.

On the day we flew by Cessna deeper into the jungle, probably 2 days walk from "civilization" there was, in my mind, someone sharing the seat with me, gazing at the rainforest canopy below. I was imagining the excitement that Will would be experiencing in taking this journey with us. He loved adventure, and was so full of life that I knew he'd be excited to climb aboard for this jungle flight. When we were with him, he and I loved to tussle, to wrestle a bit, so I imagined him hitting me on the shoulder as he looked out the window, saying "hey, Mike, take a look at that!"

As I gazed at the rainforest canopy beneath us, I thought it looked like a giant green carpet with a deep thickness. Or, maybe it was more like flying above a sea of broccoli crowns. I wondered how Will would describe it. Whatever words he used, there would be exuberance in his voice. He might have been a little disappointed that his cell phone wouldn't work well out there in the jungle, but he would have soon forgotten about that when he stepped into a dugout canoe with some of the Huorani villagers as river guides. Will would have soaked up that river ride, literally and figuratively!

Thus went our experiences of the week, seeking to welcome the memory of Will's personality into the activities of our day. Whether swimming at a jungle waterfall, or watching a villager carefully craft a clay vessel by hand in her hut, I tried to mentally picture Will experiencing this with us. I think he would have said something like, "This is so cool!" I probably can't rehearse his lingo accurately, but what I am sure of is the sheer energy and love of life that he would have brought to this new place and these experiences.

And so he continues to do so today, in an even better place that is beyond his comprehension in both beauty and "coolness". For this prospect, we are most thankful. But speaking of "beyond comprehension", those words accurately describe our thoughts and feelings at the thought of Will not being part of our lives here any longer...."beyond comprehension". We grieve for our cousins, his immediate family who are also dear friends to us....Lisa, Benjamin, Scott, Mary Lynn, Lynne and Kevin, Nathan and Emma...and other family members and friends who keenly feel the absence of Will from their lives. We grieve also for Greg and the Bumpus clan as they grieve their loss.

So, our adventures in Ecuador hopefully will continue on, but now in a new way....when we see or experience something thrilling, we'll be thinking, "This thrill is for Will" as well as for us.