Extremes

I'm always amazed at the extremes one can observe in the jungle. I can go from extremely dry to extremely wet in moments; from extremely hot to extremely cold. The jungle can seem extremely peaceful, but on closer examination one can see the extreme violence carried out between species, and often feel the aggressive attacks of insect life on the skin.
I was sitting in my hut by the Río Negro enjoying the beautiful night air and the brilliant stars. Yet at the same time I could see the faint flashes of light over the treeline on a distance horizon; it appeared a storm was brewing. I had just bathed in the river, but was a bit annoyed that the river was so shallow that it was hard to get my head under the water to rinse off my shampoo. When I stretched out on the sandy bottom I came up again each time with just that, a sandy bottom!!
I went to my bed, hurrying to gather all the stuff I would want in my tent so as not to have to step out of it again--there are too many cockroaches in that hut at night! After some reading and praying I was off to sleep, exhausted from the day's long teaching sessions. At 4:00 AM that distant brewing became a localized torrent of rain, amazing slams and rumbles of thunder, and dazzlingly bright flashes of lightning. I arose rapidly to cover my tent as the thatched roof was leaking onto it and splashing in my face. Then I dragged the tent appropriately to keep the puddles forming alongside it from wetting the floor of the tent. Thus secure that I would remain high and dry I stretched out again to listen to the crashing and grinding of the thunder, and the hard but muffled sound of the torrent as it beat upon the thatch.
When daylight came there were shouts of excitement and urgency as it was discovered that the river was on the rise. My first thought, "It was so shallow last night."  Several individuals came running to attend to their canoes lest the current take them away. The Río Negro rises fast and allows little time to rescue a canoe. By the time I made my way to the riverbank, slipping down the muddy path in my flip-flop sandals and stepping on the hem of my rain poncho, the river was an angry mess with rapidly flowing current and tangled masses of limbs, fragments of organic matter, and whole trees uprooted and swept away by the force of millions of gallons of chocolate-brown water.

I was amazed. "This is extreme," I said to myself and lifted my Nikon to take some photos. There was Santiago hunkered down inside of his bouncing and swaying canoe, bailing water and watching the level of the river. As Santiago moved the rope of his canoe to a higher tree, he related to me of how in the previous week's record river crest his elderly uncle had been swept away by the current while trying to untie his submerged canoe rope. A pile of fast-moving debris took him as his wife looked on. Santiago told it in a very manner-of-fact way and then never mentioned it again.
I stood looking into the swirling muck and watched as several massive trees came cruising by and painfully visualized this tragic incident as it might have unfolded. It's easy to feel that life is cheap in the third world, and indeed so it is often treated. We read the Pucallpa papers and see accidents and crimes that seem so senseless. Why didn't they do this or do that in order to be safer? Didn't anyone ever tell them it would turn out that way? Where was his mother? Why was he out that late?  and the list of questions goes on.
I can't raise the value of life in the jungle, in Pucallpa, or anywhere else on this planet. However I can pray that people lift their eyes to the One who gives life and takes it away, and cling to them as their hope. I can't stop the swirling rivers of life from snatching away the elderly uncles, the small children, or the nursing mothers. I can cry to the Lord to hold them safely in His hand and to help them to see that life is precious enough to "be careful" and that we are of value to our Creator.
Oh Lord help the hurting souls of men like my dear brother Santiago as they take it on the chin again and again. Increase their faith and help them to be convinced of Your sovereignty. In the strong name of Jesus, who IS the life (John 14:6).
Photos: my peaceful hut; the rising waters of the Río Negro