It Never Rains in the Amazon Jungle

    One of my life’s goals was to visit to the Amazon Jungle. I have watched many National Geographic TV specials on the Amazon and wanted to witness its beauty first hand. About ten years ago I decide to take my dream trip to the Amazon. I first started looking for jungle lodges in Brazil. I wanted to find the most remote and biodiverse region available.   I settled on a lodge in Peru that was 90 miles from the nearest city by boat, and that nearest city could only be accessed by air.  I stayed at the Tahuayo Lodge that is adjacent to the 800,000 acre Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Communal Reserve. 

The area was an absolute paradise for nature lovers. The reserve supports 14 species of primates and over 500 species of birds!  It was truly amazing to experience the jungle first hand. I learned so many things that you could never learn from just watching a TV show on the jungle. The primary rain forest trees were almost one hundred feet in height, or as tall as a 10 story building! Only a small amount of light was able to filter through the trees and down to the ground. 

Because of the low light, my photography was limited to several hours before and after the noon time, when the sun was almost directly overhead.  It was not uncommon to hear a group of monkeys coming toward you, hear them directly overhead, and then hear them moving off into the distance, without ever catching a glimpse of them. The thick jungle forest also acted like a great insulator. With Peru located near the equator the days at the lodge were in the mid 90’s but entering the forest was just like walking into an air conditioned room. The temperature under the jungle canopy was 10-15 degrees cooler than in the open areas exposed to the sun! I had the most amazing jungle experience when it started to rain. I was in one of the thick jungle areas. I started to feel a light mist falling through the jungle canopy. After walking for half an hour we arrive at an open area, with no trees overhead, and was shocked to see that it was raining heavily! There was no rain reaching the jungle floor because it was being almost totally absorbed by the jungle canopy!  I was told that the “jungle mist” would continue for several days after a hard rain. 

     Just as the thick jungle canopy provides protection from the heavy rain, so does living in the “kingdom of God” provide a shield for us. In several New Testament scriptures Jesus admonishes us to “seek ye first the kingdom of God”. In the “Lords Prayer” where Jesus gives us an example on how to pray, the first request we are to make is “thy kingdom come”. In Romans 14:17, Paul provides a description for the “kingdom of God”. Paul says: “the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost”. In plain English, Paul is saying that the “kingdom of God” is not about getting to eat what we want or do the things we want, but that the “kingdom of God” is about having a peace and joy on our heart!   So, even thought we might not have all the physical things we want in life, and we may be going through tribulations, we can still have the peace and joy that is promised to those who are in his kingdom!

The Brave Tamandua

     I stayed at the Chan Chich Lodge in Belize, several years ago. I liked the lodge because it had numerous marked jungle trails that I could hike on at my leisure, without a guide. One afternoon I was quietly walking alone on the Loggers Trail when I spotted a movement in the trees. As I got closer I saw that it was a small Tamandua, a member of the anteater family. It was busy scurrying around, hunting for ants and termites under the bark of a dead tree.

The Tamandua have prehensile tails, like monkeys, which allows them to use their tail for holding on. Lucky for me they have poor eyesight and I was able to observe it for quite some time without being spotted. After taking numerous photographs I finally decided to see what it would do if it saw me. I expected it to quickly retreat into the jungle maze. I made a big movement which it quickly noticed. Although it was only about the size of a medium size house cat, the Tamandua immediately took up a defensive posture and started hissing at me.

 It grasped the tree with its tail and hind feet and began waving its forearms and long claws at me, as if ready to fight! I snapped a few more photographs and then slowly backed away, letting it feel that it had scared me off. I admired its bravery, standing up to something much larger than itself. I don’t think that I would have been as brave as the Tamandua if I was suddenly faced with something much larger than me, such as an elephant.

     The brave actions of the little Tamandua in the jungle started me thinking about our human reaction to facing the “giants” of our lives. I do think it is our human nature to be afraid, when faced with something that could do us harm, but God tells us many times, not to be afraid. Just because we are Christians, does not mean that we will not face any evil or threatening situations in our lives; but, God has promised that he will be with us, and will never forsake us. In Deuteronomy 20, God instructs his people: “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee”. Fear does not come from God, as II Timothy, chapter one, points out: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. The phrase “fear not” appears over 60 time in the Bible! So, the next time you face one of the “giants” in your life, just remember that “God is with you” and be brave as the little Tamandua in the tree!