The Difficult Road

The road to Yurimaguas is difficult. This is true in the figurative sense but I was intending the literal. It used to take eight hours or more from Tarapoto and the nearest working airport but since they paved the road it only takes three. Yet it is not a fun three hours. Tarapoto is in the high jungle located in the foothills of the Andes and Yurimaguas is in the jungle jungle, so the first hour and half of the drive is up over a mountain. To describe the road is difficult but it is basically left followed by right followed by hairpin repeat forever. You know it is bad when the locals get sick on the road, which is very common. It probably didn’t help that I had a big lunch before leaving Tarapoto. We were not supposed to have lunch in Tarapoto but our plan was delayed due to heavy rains… it is the rainy season. So there I was sloshing back and forth in the back seat with two other people, window down, hot, getting sicker with every curve. I thought it was all over and I was going to loose my lunch when a lady in the car said something in Spanish that must have meant “pull over quick.” And off she dashed into the forest. Man was I relieved to get out of that car and stand up for a while. As I was looking into the deep forest I noticed a humongous ant crawling on a leave. It was bigger than my thumb and much bigger than any other ant I had ever seen. Joseph Tice was traveling with me. The former farm director spent two and a half years in Yurimaguas and grew up in Panama, so I asked him about the ant. He said “I am not sure, I think it is a 24-hour fever ant, but I have never seen one that small.” That small? We asked that taxi driver and sure enough it was a baby 24-hour fever ant. They are aggressive and if they bite you, you get excruciating pain for 15 minutes followed by a fever for 24 hours. Bienvenido a la selva. Welcome to the jungle.

It was so good to return to Yurimaguas. It was great to see Susan and her five children. It was great to see the Hogar and the staff that serve the women and children there tirelessly. But I had traveled to go to the farm with Joe and learn from him. The farm exists to serve the Shawi. Assisting them with ag development and spiritual development. There is a conference center to train Shawi pastors and to disciple men. There is a kitchen to cook meals for the conferences and there is even a house for the men to stay in while at the farm.

The main reason I went was to learn about the ag development program from Joe, who had returned for a visit. It is difficult to grow things in the jungle. The soil is pour. The heat is relentless. The rain is unstoppable. And the pests are more unstoppable. Vampire bats love to attack goats. Flesh eating maggots are tough on cows. Leaf cutter ants can strip a tree bare in a couple of days. A flock of parrots can destroy your corn crop. Neighbors help themselves to the fish pond. This is definitely not Indiana.

I learned so much in my three days with Joe. He is a wealth of information. Somehow despite the difficulties he was able to have successes at the farm. Introducing cover crops and composting and improving pasture.

As usual I am in over my head. But that is not always a bad place to be. I know how to ask the dumb questions, how to seek advice from experts, and when to admit I am wrong.

But this whole post is simply a reflection of our spiritual journeys. The road we walk often seems impossible and just when we think we can’t take it anymore; God gives us what we need. Sometimes it seems there is danger around every corner, something is always out to get us, we are in over our heads. But that is when we grow because then we are willing to seek help, to find a mentor, to turn our cares over to God.

May the Lord keep you humble as you walk your dangerous roads.

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. –James 4:6

                                                                                                            ~Josh