Full day on various jungle rivers

Today started with a special honor they killed a cow for us to have a feast tonight- it was also part of an indigenous celebration.  We got to have awesome coffee cooked in a big cauldron and served in red melting plastic cups - and it was perfect.  We interacted with members of our traveling group and some of the villagers from Raiti.

Cool bug I saw after my bio break ...pretty much right in the middle of the village, this was my bush!

Little girl I stealth gave a gift to, very sweet- naturally with daughters I have a soft spot!

After some time in Raiti we moved to our first remote village.  Today was incredible but exhausting, wet, and muddy.  We traveled to three different villages up and down miles and miles of jungle rivers.  In the first village we gave out Albenezol to kill the various parasites the people deal with.  

Walking into the first village.

Cool outdoor stove:

Before the medicine was given out the officials who were with us instructed the villagers the guidelines for the medicine, i.e. for 2yrs old and up 2 tablets and 1yr olds get 1 tablet.

We also gave out bracelets to all the little kids.  We personally tied them on the kids which was such a warm, hands-on ministry expression.  My friend and guide Martin also brought various dolls from the US and I got to selectively give them out.

Here is our friend Eric tying on a bracelet- every kid and some adults got one.

Here are a couple of kids who got the little plush toys- I had no idea how valuable the toys we brought really were, but the kids were very happy as were the moms.

My gosh just look at that smile, I am tearing up as I type this in my hammock.

(speaking of that - this is me in my hammock with the mosquito net over me.  I am tied to a couple of metal poles outside their little clinic, I love this and I am rockin' to my new Francesca Battistelli album as I write this)

You cannot imagine how grateful the kids were for everything.  I found one little girl who had a lazy eye and sought her out for a doll, she was happy and shy.  As difficult as this trip is beyond anything I can convey truly -it is so sweet.

Saying goodbye to the first village.

On to the next village, bad selfie:

The next village was very remote and it was super risky getting there.  As usual we had to get out a few times to mud-hike/mud-climb through the jungle to lighten the boat to go through rocky, treacherous rapids.  At one point I was really mad because we were too packed into one boat and it was a more narrow boat.  We also had an inexperienced captain and it kept almost tipping over.. but God was with us clearly and helped us. 

Still, I fell four times today in spite of being careful.  I also put my left hand into some fire ants which hurt- I mean this is beyond mud, beyond wild, totally native jungle outside the areas where people clear for homes.

We arrived at the second village and I got to give out Dum Dum suckers to the little kids who swarmed us on the shore, so sweet - tearing up again.. God bless my wife for buying them she just gave the biggest hug to so many kids.  I gave one to the moms too and I was touched later as I saw a baby eating two at once- the mom had given hers to her baby.

Some of the team also gave bracelets: Eric, Ashley, Martin, and Andy.

After our gift-giving mobbing on the rocky little beach it started raining again and we  went up the bank to their surprisingly well built church, more and more people gathered including many, many kids.

Martin gave everyone instructions about the medicine.  We then unpackaged the medicine and started handing it out.  After we gave medicine I didn't know what to do so I thought love was something I could give and I just went through all of those rows and said Hola¡ to each of them with a smile and shook their little hands.  When the kids saw what I was doing in front of them they started anticipating me coming to them and they liked the little bit of love and attention.  What precious faces and hands, sweet little one on one connections.

After this I didn't know what to do so I asked Martin if I could speak- he encouraged it and translated to me.  I said I had two daughters at home myself and I was very happy to meet all of them.   I told them I knew Jesus, like them, and that I was glad to meet them in their church.  I told them I would remember them for a lot of time and I started choking up (secretly) so I stopped there..

I was thanking God for the experience on the way back to the boat and thought of my own daughters.

In this village last year a little boy named Kevin was picked up to have cleft palate surgery and they did his lip but not palate  so we picked him, his mom, and sister up at the village.  He will have his second surgery to fix his palate.  They are here:

After this village we just dropped Martin off for a minute to run medicine up.  That was our final village.

Our crew getting ready to head back:

Guy ferrying leaves for his roof and bananas.  His homemade raft is made from chopped banana tree stalks lashed together- neat looking setup, friendly guy too.

Very pretty stand of bamboo:

After this we hiked overland through treacherous mud for more than thirty minutes.  The guides had us do this because the rapids were too crazy with so many people in the boat.  In the hike-climb I became exhausted near the end.  We didn't have much food and water throughout the day and this was just completely taxing.

After this we met the boat and finished the journey to our base in Raiti.

I was totally soaked, stinking, muddy, dehydrated, and exhausted when I got back- I struggled to make the walk in.  I changed into the sports shorts and clean white T-shirt my amazing wife packed for me and I felt a lot better.  My friend Martin got a real Coke for me from who knows where and our friend Eric brought it to me.

I have a Nicaraguan mother who keeps getting worried about me and she helped me recuperate with a cot in their maternity clinic and clean sheets to rest on- she was so insistent I would have upset her if I didn't take her up on it and she called me, "Meijo" which is "my son" so what else could I do.

Later she also brought hot coffee, and food.  I power napped for a half hour and prayed a little and felt a world better.

Now here I am blogging - good night y'all from the jungle.