Jungle....the very word brings to mind vivid pictures of lush topography, dangerous animals, and fierce tribes....and I got to see all of these today. All in one day. This day has been one of the greatest days of my life. There is no conceivable way that this last 24 hour period could have been more filled with epic and fantabulous moments. The only way it could have been better is if it had never ended....
Today I got to fly into the jungle. Today I got to FLY into the JUNGLE...wow
So here's how it all went down...
We started the day off with a nice breakfast of eggs, biscuits, pineapple slices, and this very tasty blackberry juice....these people sure know how to make their juice... We then drove the 15 or so minutes to the Regional airport in Shell, which although no commercial jet ever takes off from here daily, this airport is the third busiest airport in the entire country of Ecuador. Next to Guayaquil and Quito, which both have over a million people...so thats quite the accomplishment. We then proceeded to tour the hangar and the base of operations there which is called "Alas de Secoro" which is Spanish for Wings of Help. ADS currently has five airplanes in operation. Most of them are Cessna 206's and they also have a Cessna 182 and another one whose name escapes me, but its like a six-seater, single prop.
We got to see all the maintenance operations and how they organize the parts and keep the records accurate. We then went across the street to the Nate Saint House.
This is the original house built by Nate Saint himself in the 1950's It is set for renovation in the next month, so we will be some of the last people to see this historic landmark in its original form. We toured around in the house and even got my picture taken in the famous radio room where Nate would call back to while in the air over the jungle.
After touring the place, we went and got lunch then we came back and all 11 of us loaded into two Cessna 206's and we took off for the jungle. They even let me fly the way there in the right front seat! I was so stoked. I have loved the views of East Texas during my training, but I apologize to you Texans, nothing compared to the view of the entire jungle laid out in front of you with the rivers all snaking around through them, and the mist capping all the mountains around us...I will remember that sight for as long as I live.
We passed through a little IFR {basically stuck in the middle of a cloud and flying by instruments only} during the flight, which made for a little turbulence, but it was so cool to be going thrugh complete whiteness and not being able to see anything…then going in and out of the clouds at 140 knots was really sweet. It was amazing to see just how many airstrips there are in the area. Brian told me there are over 200 airstrips in Ecuador. {And Ecuador is only the size of Colorado} It is because it takes so long to walk or travel down the river, that each village wants their own airstrip, so they build one. We finally landed on a strip next to a little village called Tiweno. The landing was unforgettable. My dad would have probably died. He could barely take landing on an asphalt runway, but this was a grass and mud runway. {more mud than anything else.} I think we bounced at least 3 times before our pilot could get his wheels to stay onto the ground, and we were really jerking around. But Brian told me that this strip was one of the smoother ones….lol
I enjoyed every minute of it.
And as we taxied to as stop, the whole village cam running out to greet us…it was such an amazing sight. Come to find out that this was the famous Waudoni tribe of South America. If you have ever read about the life of Nate Saint, you will know of the Waudoni tribe. This was the very same tribe that 50 years ago were some of the fiercest killers in the jungle, and were the very same ones that killed the four missionaries, Nate Saint, Jim Eliot, Peter Fleming, and Ed McCully in 1955. I even got to meet one of the Waudoni tribal members who had killed these men. His name is Dewy. I even shook his hand.
Then he prayed over us....
A man that had been so lost that all he knew was hatred and murder, was changed by the witness of four men on the banks of the river. He was changed, and he heart to God, and then proceeded to bring the rest of the tribe to the saving faith of Christ.
That is the power of the Gospel. That is the power of four men who didn't let their fears stop them from following God's call. That is the God that I serve. My God is MIGHTY to save. And that is the kind of legacy that I want to leave....To live my life, sold out for Christ. To lay it all down in sacrifice to the one who sacrificed it all for me. And I shook Dewy's hand....
The Indians then led us into their village. They painted our faces, they showed us their church, and they let us even use their spears. I got to throw their famous 6 foot long spear that they have used to hunt for centuries. The same kind that Dewy used 55 years ago that changed the course of history for the Waudoni tribe. Some of our group even bought some miniature ones. Then we all joined in on a little tribal dance that was alot of fun. We then started a blow gun competition for who could hit the hanging lime first with the 7 foot long blow-dart tube. It was really cool.
Then we wrapped the day up with a little soccer match with the little kids in the pouring rain....it was a great day. One of the best of my whole life...Thank you God. You are awesome...
God is Good.....
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