Parrots

I truly love parrots. They are one of the Lord’s most amazing and truly delightful creatures. The jungle is absolutely full of them in many sizes and colors. There are the little ones that are more like parakeets which fly in large groups, almost never seem to rest, and whose mouths operate 24/7 with chirps and chatters that at times (only at times) borders on nuisance.

There are the green amazons which are the great talkers in the South American parrot world and whose voices sometimes sound like people in conversation as they fly overhead. There are the little chirpers mentioned above and the larger macaws that always fly in pairs and squaw incessantly as they pass over.

At Pueblo Libre there is a small flock of medium-sized green parrots that likes to stop by the stand of coconut trees next to the house we usually stay in. They chatter in constant conversation and play on the palm fronds, often hanging upside down. As I sit inside the house I listen to them, fascinated by the variety of sounds they emit, wondering how they can use that noisy voice to imitate human speech.

Then I step outside to get a look at them in all of their bright green splendor. They continue to chatter for a moment, then one or two of them notices me. There’s an escalation in the noise level and suddenly the whole bunch of them rises in flaps and yaks and swirls away from the palms, only to return when their human threat has gone.

How like people they are. People who carry on oblivious to the Lord’s listening ear, who enjoy the free play of worldly life. When the Master steps into view, either through the voice of His servants or the convicting truth of His word, those who desire to hide themselves raise the noise level to shut out the truth, or make haste to run for cover.

The parrots flee in ignorance. People flee from God in foolishness. They flee from the One who wants to bless them and give them more satisfaction than their present life can give. May the Lord help us to do neither, but rather wait on Him to see how He will touch and bless and change our lives for the better.

Ant Food

While in the Ashéninka village of Pueblo Libre I slept for a few nights in our well used Coleman tent that Quilmer and Jonathan had very thoughtfully put up for me while I was en route. They had arrived a week or so before. The tent is built for four people and I was only one person so there was more than ample space for me to fling my belongings about with reckless abandon.
On one of those nights I opened and ate a bag of “Torti Frits” corn ships (one of the local answers to taco flavored Fritos, but which pales in comparison). While studying I laid the bag of remaining crumbs aside and later went to sleep. About 12:40 AM I awakened and kept feeling little sensations of movement on the skin of my arms and my face. I slapped at them and found that I had a few ants on my person.
Turning on my light I found that I had more than a few visitors. In fact my whole pillow was covered with black ants which meant I was lying on my face in the middle of them. My sleeping bag under me was also quite populated and on the floor, streaming to and from my little corn chip bag were many dozens of the critters.
I jumped up and grabbed my repellent and started discouraging them as I also killed as many as I could with toilet paper in my hand. I thought I was managing until I decided to look under my pile of clothing. To my horror I found no less than a thousand of the six-legged beasts congregated for no apparent reason under my pants and underwear (on the tent floor, not on me) and that the whole convention had streamed in from a small hole in the floor. I quickly dispelled the mass of the Hymenopterans (Hymenopterids???) with repellent and they began to organize for a hasty retreat the way they had come in. In minutes the rascals had made their way back to wherever they came from ( at the time I was sure they had come from and returned to the underworld—at least they came from under the house.
I went back to sleep that morning keenly aware of the stragglers who couldn’t find the hole in the floor and who might just like to sink their little jaws into my skin. So much for peaceful sleep in the jungle!
It makes me think about how our enemy, the devil, can set loose his strategies upon us while we “sleep”. We think all is well while the armies of darkness are marching against us. We allow holes to form in our spiritual protection and in they come and are soon scurrying all over us with temptation and sin, and our spiritual condition sinks lower and lower. When finally we awaken we are shocked that so much has gone wrong.
Lord keep us spiritually awake so that we may truly rest in You!