Jewel's Journal

(This was written by my daughter Jewel)

(You can see the river and rapids in the background of this photo)

I will never forget the excitement and fear I felt as I heard the rushing sound of the foaming water and the fear I saw on my brother’s face as he raced to rescue me from the clutches of the river.

One day my brother, Josh, and I decided to sneak off to the river and swim. We slowly and carefully grabbed our swim suites and quietly walked out the door feeling like we were secret agents in ‘Mission Impossible’ or James Bond jumping behind trees, running through the jungle and up and over fallen logs. We triumphantly jumped into the river splashing and screaming, happily ignoring the fact that we were disobeying our parents and enjoying our selves to the maximum.

After a few moments of playing in the river my brother and I got into an argument, so I decided to swim across the river and play on the other side. In my anger, I did not take into account that the river had risen the night before and was much stronger than usual. Even though I was an excellent swimmer, my 7 year old arms and legs were no match against the swollen river.

I was quickly swept down the river as I frantically tried to recall every thing my father had taught me to do in situations like this. Struggling to think clearly and stay calm, I laid on my back and tried to float to the bank. My anxiety only grew as I accepted the fact that I was not closing in on the river bank fast enough. With every second, I could hear the roar of the rapids getting louder and louder, reminding me of the sound of a hungry dragon’s stomach growling, ready to gobble me up for dinner.

I quickly looked to the side hoping to see someone who could help me and I saw my brother running and waving his arms at me. As I watched my brother, all I could think of was “AY! I am such an idiot! If I had just kept my mouth shut, I would not be in this situation.”

I began to pray, begging God to save me. As I once again turned my head to look at my brother, I saw his face go from terror to hope as he reached down and picked up a rope to throw at me. I quickly shot my hand out and caught it. My brother began to pull as hard as he could and after a few minutes I was safe on land, panting for breath. My brother and I stared at the watery grave that I had so narrowly escaped from. We understood without a shadow of a doubt and without even saying a word to each other that we could never speak of this adventure to our parents.

Jungle Mom adds: I found out about this experience almost 10 years after the fact . All I can say is, "God protects fools and children." 

(Climbing over the rapids during dry season. 
Josh and Jewel are in the middle. 

Josh is wearing a yellow life jacket and Jewel is wearing the pink life jacket.)