My Amazing Life

At times I contemplate the many things I have been able to do in my life, the places I have traveled to, the people I have met, and I am amazed! I never imagined I would go the places I have or done the thing I have. My life is amazing!

I have been privileged to meet many people including Presidents, Governors, Athletes, Authors, and great men and women of God. I have also met people who will never be famous or well known, but are truly incredible people. People who impacted me and my life.Did I mention the astronaut? My life is amazing!

I have traveled to many countries and have seen much of my own country. I have seen places no other non-Indian has ever seen. I have been exposed to life at its finest and at its most primitive. It is easier to appreciate the first for having experienced the latter. I am glad I know how to appreciate a good meal, a luxurious room, a resort like environment. I also am thankful that I can be grateful for a dirt floor and a palm roof over my head. My life is amazing!

Just last week, my husband and I shared a car with two Iraqis from Baghdad. They were raised as Muslims and are now Christians. He has a christian Arabic language radio and TV ministry in the middle east, broad casted from Lebanon. He has started a church in the Dearborn region among Muslims here in America and they are sending Arab, ex-Muslims back to their own countries as missionaries. He and his wife were able to tell us first hand of the independent baptist church which was started in Baghdad. My life is amazing!

We spent the week in a lovely home of a wonderful christian, Egyptian family who immigrated here 25 years ago. They told us of the difficulties and dangers of living in Egypt as Christians. They have two lovely daughters who now are on staff at a large baptist church. We shared much and were truly brothers in Christ. My life is amazing!

We also met and enjoyed a meal with a young lady from Laos. Her father is a Buddhist priest! She was born in a Buddhist temple!!!! She and her husband are now missionaries in that communist country. We shared tips on home schooling! My life is amazing!

I also renewed friendships with people I have not seen for over twenty years as they have been serving in Albania. We enjoyed sharing jungle stories with a missionary who lived in the jungle of Zaire, Africa. They have many of the same insects and foods there that we had in the jungles of Venezuela. My life is amazing!

I know many people think that a life of full time Christian service is a boring life... NOT MINE!!!! My life is amazing!

Jungle Technology

I am stealing my daughter's post!

I am so busy right now I have no time to write, but my daughter wrote this a few days ago and I thought you would all enjoy it. I know some of you read her blog,Happy Wife, and have already seen it, but if not...enjoy!

I am in the high desert of California and we had a sand storm Sunday!!! Very different than the rain forest!



I love technology. Love, love, love technology. Email is wonderful, so is blogging, the internet is my greatest resource for learning and shopping. Telephones are pretty great as well. Webcams, Blackberries, IPods and PalmPilots, they are all neat to me. I don't own all these things, but I love the way they enhance the world we live in. Did I forget to mention cel phones? I like those too! Perhaps I have such a deep appreciation for these gadgets since I remember a time when we didn't have them. While the rest of the world IMed, and talked on the phone, we were eating worms and trying to send smoke signals. The village of Chajurana actually got pretty "advanced" technology wise at the end of my parent's time there, but in the beginning....that's a different story.
The first time we stepped foot in Chajurana was for a two week visit (that is another post for another day) we had four hammocks (for six people),some grits, and packs of soup. There was a weight limit on the plane since no one had landed in that village for years and all we could take were hammocks, a small amount of food, and a few articles of clothing. We had a book a piece if I recall (my mom can't go anywhere without books) and I reread that book about fifteen times, or more, during our stay there. We took nothing that was even remotly technological. So there we were, in the middle of the Amazon surrounded by Indian children who had never seen white people, the plane flew off (Would he really be back in two weeks? What if he was kidding?) and we had no way of communicating with the outside world. Talk about being disconnected. We survived those two weeks, just barely and I will write about that another day, promise. We did however decided that next time, we would take a radio to the village. It gets mighty lonesome in a village of 500 people who don't speak your language. The next time we flew into the village it was for two months. That was the time there was a malaria epedemic, my mom hallucinated, we learned to eat roasted monkey, and Jayde (baby sister) learned to walk on a dirt floor. That is also another post, for another day. During that visit we had a radio. There was a "quirk" to this radio though. We could hear what people were saying, but we couldn't communicate to them. It helped a little though. Saturday mornings were my favorite. We would climb out of our hammocks (we each had our own finally!!) turn on the radio and listen to "Adventures in Odyssey" being broadcasted from HCJB in Quito, Ecudaor. God bless that ministry. It kept us sane. Thoughout our years in Chajurana technology advanced. My dad got his Ham radio license, a radio antenna, and could know communicate with the outside world. Every evening missionaries all over the jungle would gather round their radios and swap stories.
"How's everything in Parupa, Walt? Over."
"Great. Shwalkdjfljdlkje a snake, ate some dkjeiowajdkfj, built a house dkjfodifen duct tape, saved dfjkdhiue eeeooooweeeeee, and the kids caught a slkjfdooboo to keep as pet.Over."
(If you dont understand the above sentence, then you obviously haven't learned radio language.)
We loved those times around the radio, we felt connected and not so alone. Without communication it was very easy to get discouraged. We learned from some other missionaries that there was a way to use our radio to call the US. It's called a phone tap. Basically, from your ham radio you contact a ham radio buff in the US (one guy I remember was from Wisconsin) who has a machine where he can connect his radio to the telephone and you give him the number (hopefully teh static isn't too bad and he can get it down clearly, and hopefully someone is home to get answer the phone) We called family members a couple of times. I remember calling my Grandma and my Aunt Pam.
"Hi! We're calling from the jungle, on the radio, there's a guy in Wisconsin helping us.You have to say over when you're done talking. Over."
"YOU'RE IN WISCONSIN????" (She thought the louder she talked talked the better we could here her.)
"No. There is a guy in Wisconsin helping us...how are you? Remember to say over. Over."
"WHAT???"
"Say over.Over."
"WHO'S IN WISCONSIN???"
They never really got the whole "over" thing. But it was still fun. I always wondered if those guys who helped us with the phone ever realized how much it encouraged us.
Anyway...after our radio days came the email days. The email also came through the radio. I don't understand exactly how it worked, just that it was slow. Very slow. There was one channel that was the email channel to be shared among all the tribal missionaries. Now, we all know that missionaries are very godly, loving people, right? NOT WHEN IT COMES TO EMAIL. We would start checking email in the morning, the process is simple.
1. Boot up the one hundred year old computer.
2. Still booting up the computer...
3. Turn the radio to the correct station.
4. Listen to the very annoying beep beeping sound of someone else getting their email. (This step lasted three hours)
5. Wait at least two minutes after the other missionary gets off before jumping in to check yours. Jump in too soon and the channel crashes.
6. Mumble something under your breath as yet another missionary jumps in before you.
7. Listen to his annoying beep beeping sound for about two hours.
8. Jump in as soon as soon as he gets off, without waiting for the two minutes, because you're desperate for outside news.
9. Bang your head against the desk when you realize that you crashed the chanel from jumping in too soon. Jump and wave your arms in frustration as the Indians watch you.
10. Get on another chanel to plead with the MAF guy in charge of the chanel to run home and reset the chanel.
11. Wait two hours for him to do that.
12. Sit by the radio listening to the static till you hear that it's clear, and then check your email.
13. Wait three hours for your email to come home and then sit in dismay as you realize that it only took that long because someone tried to send you a picture of their new puppy. The pictured didn't come through, just a bunch of letters like this: ahdojfkjd{{dlkfjdofj[]]]. OR excitedly read the newsly, text only, emails that came from friends or family.
14. Go to bed.
15. Wake up and turn the radio on. It's email time!

See? Simple. And so worth it. Whenever I find myself complaining about my internet connection being slow here, I remember those 15 steps, it puts everything into prespective.

One Week, Three Mission Conferences, Two Coasts!!

This is how it is done:

Drive from NH to Boston on Friday night, stay at a Park, Sleep, and Fly hotel near Logan International Airport, catch shuttle at 5:00 am Saturday to fly to...Los Angeles.
First meeting at 4:00pm ( pacific time). At Lancaster Baptist Church - An Independent Baptist Church - Lancaster, California

Sunday; Teach 3 Sunday School classes, ( Clint teaches 3 others at the same time) then speak at the Spanish Morning service and show our DVD presentation in the evening service,

Monday:present in the school and college and church in the evening.

Tuesday: I speak at a ladie's tea on Tuesday afternoon, then we head to L.A. for a mid night flight back to Boston, via Chicago.

Arrive in Boston, drive to church for our Wednesday evening presentation at Temple Baptist Church .

Thursday: back to NH. for a conference at Bible Baptist Church

Friday :back to Mass;

Saturda: back to NH;

Sunday: back to Mass;

MONDAY... to bed!!!! ( NOTE to future missionaries...don't do this!!!!)

Jungle Mom meets "CHE" in Wal Mart

So I m walking around Wal Mart enjoying all the abundance of capitalism, when , lo and behold! A young latin man with a Che look alike hair cut and Che on his hat walks around the corner.

EXCUSE ME!!!!

So, of course, I had to engage him on conversation!

I asked if he spoke Spanish but he answered in Portuguese. We did manage to understand each other though. I asked if he realized how insulting it was to come to my country and wear a picture of a mass murderer who shot and killed young children with his own hand?!?!?!

He thought I was making it up. I know I could not wear a Bush T shirt in Caracas so why can he come here and wear CHE???

I don't have time for a lot of blogging but really, a communist at the capitalist icon of Wal Mart!!!
Talk about hypocritical!

Tabernacle Baptist Church

We are in the middle of a conference here at our sending church. Having a great time visiting with old friends and meeting new ones. I did meet the blogger who got our family started with blogging! MJ at Contagious Joy and am very excited to be able to attend her wedding in a few weeks. She will be marrying my daughter's brother in law.

Tabernacle is a special place for us, full of great memories. My husband's family were charter members of the church in its founding. He was called to preach here at the age of 10 and never faltered from that calling. He preached his first sermon here at that same age. It was the first church we attended as a married couple.

He is also a graduate of North Eastern Baptist Schools which began here at Tabernacle. It has since merged with Baptist Bible College East of Boston. During his senior year, we surrendered to full time missionary service to the country of Venezuela. Tabernacle also commissioned us to go there under their direction.

I also taught 3rd grade here at the Christian day school the first year of our marriage. Our now Assistant Pastor was once a member of the Junior Church program ran by my husband and myself!

Needless to say, lots of good memories and great times here!!

It has been rainy and cold...for us anyway. In the 50's!!! BBBRRRR!!!!

My daughters were introduced to pine needles, something they had never seen. Next week they will be introduced to raking the yard...he he he!!!! They also smelled their first skunk last night, I am sure that will stick in their memories!

So all is good, just very busy and no internet at the house where we are staying. The Lord blessed us with a house of our own to use for 6 weeks. This is wonderful and helps to stay on track with the home schooling of the girls.

One of my big surprises as I travel is to have people come up and greet me as Jungle Mom and tell my how they ran across my blog!!!! I never knew so many of our church people were reading my blog!

I did have another RLM (real life meeting) last Sunday as I met The Simple Scholar! So cool!

I should have more time next week to do a bit more blogging...don't forget to check in!!!

Thanks for adding your houses to my village, it was great fun to read all about your personalities!!

Jungle Stories

If you like jungle stories, you need to head over to my daughter at Happy Wife
and read her two latest posts about growing up in the jungle!

They will make you laugh!

Post One: Talent Show : Jungle Style ( She reveals all the family secrets!)

Post Two: Hammock

Paraguay

As many of you know, we will be moving to Paraguay next summer to continue our missionary service there. This month my Venezuelan Resident Visa expired. For the first time in over 20 years, I am no longer a resident of Venezuela. It is a rather strange sensation.

To prepare for our future in Paraguay, I have been reading and studying about that country. We will be visiting Paraguay next moth and I have a lot of questions! Mainly about the day to day life style, cost of living, what is available, what I should take from the states, and on and on...

The first place I go to learn about Paraguay is to my daughter's blog, since she lives in Asunción. Her blog, Happy Wife, is all about her life there with her young family, and some of her memories of growing up in the jungle of Venezuela. I also enjoy my son in law's web page where he updates us on all the ministry happenings. He also has included some Paraguayan history at his site.

My daughter told me about an online Paraguayan newspaper which I am reading each day just to familiarize myself with the country and what is going on politically there. It is weird to read of places and people and not know where they are!

My husband "googled" to try and find Paraguayan bloggers. He found only one and he and I both started reading Muna's blog. She is Paraguayan lawyer and lives in the states but blogs about Paraguay and takes great photos. I have enjoyed reading her blog for several months now.

The newest Paraguayan blog I have been reading is Brenda's. She is living in Asunción as well. She is involved in missions and writes some great pieces about life in Paraguay. I especially enjoy her posts about the Beauty Shop!

I also watched the movie, The Mission, which is based on a true event in Paraguay and had beautiful footage and amazing music! The Falls at Iguazu are so beautiful, but I don't think my daughter will be taking us there anytime soon.

I can't wait to move to Paraguay! So much to learn! So many new things and...my two grand daughters!!! God is good!

Personal Space

People, people, everywhere!!!

You are never really alone. Not in an indian village. There is no concept of "personal space". Actually, the Ye'kwana language does not even have a true translation for "privacy" or "being alone" as a positive thing. The translation is a negative, like "lonely". Something sad. Something to be avoided. Something dangerous, as being alone is an invitation to the evil spirits to come and attack you. Especially "Canaima"(the death angel) who flies around at night, looking for some poor soul who is alone. Canaima will set in and give that person a beating and death within 3 days. That is why no one would ever think of walking around the jungle alone, even to go down the path to the river alone is risky.

I share all of this, so that you can understand how different the culture is in regards to privacy. We had NO privacy. Our home was always open, and often full of people. We even had indians standing around looking in our windows most of the time. Especially at night. Our house had large windows to afford us with light and cross ventilation. But with our lights on at night, we were watched by the entire tribe. We were their entertainment, " Live, in Technicolor and Surround Sound". Even in the house, under the palm roof, with no inside ceilings, what was said in one room was heard through out the entire house.

Being very aware that our entire lives were under scrutiny, we had to discipline ourselves at every moment. Even when speaking English or Spanish, our body language, facial expressions, and reactions were all being watched. They wanted to see how a christian re-acted to things, we needed to show them patience, love, gentleness...self control. Christ in us.

My husband and I learned to not show our irritation with each other in public, and we were always "in public". If an issue came up that absolutely had to be "discussed" in private, that meant, going to the river, getting in a canoe, paddling for 10 to 15 minutes to get out of hearing range from the village, in order to have a private discussion.

Frankly, not many things are worth that effort!!! By the time you get done paddling, you don't have the energy to argue. Or it no longer seems important enough, you may even forget what had annoyed you to begin with, or, you find yourself alone and don't want to waste that precious privacy in anger!!!

I think every married couple ought to buy a couple of rowing machines and make a rule that before responding to one another in anger, you both have to row for 15 minutes!!!!

It's Good to be Home

I have been up since 3 a.m. for my early flight. I am now back in sunny Florida, but not for long. Next weekend, Clint is speaking in Connecticut. From there, on to N.H. and, oh! yeah! Los Angeles, California, back to New England, down to Florida and flying out to Paraguay for Thanksgiving.

Furlough is not a vacation. It is very tiring bit also very rewarding to be able to share with the people who have been so committed to us for all these years. The church we just visited in Texas has been a partner in our ministry, both financial and in prayers, for about 24 years. It was great to be able to share video footage and to report on our ministries in Venezuela as well as inform them of the upcoming ministry planned for Paraguay.

My back has handled the trip well, which is an answer to prayer. I now have two days to do all the laundry and pack us all up for our trip up north. Clint and the girls will be leaving on Thursday. They are going on the Amtrak auto train which is a bit easier on Clint and faster. I will be joining them on Monday via plane.

So...we are busy!! I hope to get back to regular blogging in a few days.

Busy

I am very busy here in Dallas.

They are treating us like royalty!

Lots of fun and good fellowship.

This is where I am at!

Good News

I don't know when I will be able to post all the details, but, we heard yesterday that our final legal problem in Venezuela has been resolved! We were reluctant to believe it and had to confirm all the facts, because this has been an ongoing battle for over 20 months. But...it is true and has been confirmed by the the US authorities!

This problem involved our plane and the Venezuelan government. We were charged illegal fines of up to $120,000 US. And at another point, $87,000 US. All of this became so difficult and hostile that the US State department became involved.

All charges are cleared!!!!

All fines are canceled!!!!

I have often asked for prayer for this matter and was not able to discuss it with you all in detail, but prayer has made a difference! In spite of the desires of some cabinet level ministers of the Venezuelan government, God has allowed for this to be worked out in our favor!!! Amen!!!

Dengue, death from a mosquito bite

I have decided to share this although I am still profoundly sad. It seems to highlight the post I did yesterday and I hope it will give a more human face to the life and death situation of the indian. I hope you will see them as they are, real people, not just a statistic, or something to be used in a political power play.Leaving them in their"pristine condition" and patting ourselves on the back for doing something lofty, means leaving them to die unnecessarily.

I have just received a call from an indian friend. She was calling from Ciudad Bolivar. Her uncle, my friend, Jorge Cortez, died in the hospital there last Saturday. They had tried to get him medical attention, but since there are no longer any mission planes in the area, the trip by canoe took too long. Jorge had lost too much blood and they could not help him as they were not able to do a transfusion at the hospital there in Ciudad Bolivar, at least not for an indian.

I am so sad and also a bit angry. We lost no one to dengue in all our years there, we fumigated, provided mosquito nets, IV fluids, and quick evacuations by plane when needed, and now they allow this to happen...

I know that all is in God's hands. God will give the family grace to handle the loss of their provider. Jorge was the best hunter in the village and one of the few who still hunted often with blow gun and bow and arrow. He was a very smart man. He spoke his language, Ye'kwana , as well as Sanema, Spanish and even picked up some English. He leaves behind 10 children and several grand children.

I trust we will see Jorge in heaven. He did make a profession of faith, but often struggled with the Christian life. Each time he faltered, he would show great remorse and regret. God alone looks upon the heart. I can not judge.

Jorge had a great sense of humor. He and I had a running game of trying to throw water on each other during Carneval season. He usually won, being much faster and nimbler, and would douse me with water each year. But one year, I tricked him. He was in charge of turning on the village generator. I managed to get a spare key and hid inside the generator shack with a bucket of water, waiting. I had allowed myself to be locked in as it was a pad lock. I knew he would be down at dusk to start up the generator and seeing the pad lock still on the door, would not expect anyone to be inside. Sure enough, he unlocked the door and I met him with a bucket full of water. . . he left running away saying he had seen a spirit.

He told that story over and over again! Always with a laugh. He loved to wear funny hats and strange clothing and especially enjoyed playing the part of "dumb" indian around people who did not realize he spoke Spanish.

Jorge ,wearing a wig and getting folks to laugh at his antics.

I hope and pray that our service in Chajurana made a difference in his life. I pray his children will walk in the steps of the Lord and grow in grace. I especially pray for his mother, Petra, as she faces yet again, the death of one of her children.

John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Upon a life I did not live,
upon a death I did not die;
anothers life, anothers death,
I stake my whole eternity.
-Horatius Bonar

Critters!

Insects: In ,on, and under the skin!

It often seemed that while living in the jungle, one was at war with the entire animal kingdom. Fighting off "critters" would become a full time, never ending battle. No matter what you were doing or planned to do, the insects and other critters had to be taken into consideration. They devoured food,destroyed clothing, swam in your water supply, infected children...

All our dry foods had to be kept in large coolers (such as Igloos) with airtight seals. We ordered dry goods only once every three months and if not completely airtight, it would all be ruined in a matter of days. Not to mention the four footed furry vermin!!! or the bats...or snakes...

By far, the most dangerous animal in the jungle is the mosquito. The mosquito carries the dreaded malaria as well as yellow fever, and dengue. Any of these can, and do, kill humans on a regular basis. You begin to be aware of the mosquitoes living habits. You plan to not be out from under screens and nets between 5 -7 a.m.and 5-7 p.m. as this is when the mosquito is out and eating. You sleep under the mosquito net, not only to fight the annoying buzz of the mosquito, but also other flying insects... and bats...rats...snakes...

Another most annoying bug is the nigua. The nigua is everywhere. Due to the dirt floors and the constant contact one has with the dirt and with others who also happen to have niguas, you can never truly avoid this bug. Some refer to it as a burrowing tic, but it is rightly, a sand flea. It is almost impossible to see with the naked eye, but it makes itself known!!!

The nigua will burrow into any exposed skin, most commonly the toes, but also the hands and in small children who play on the floor, I have seen them on the babies bottoms. They must be removed. This is best done with a small thorn from a bush the indians use for this very purpose. I used a needle so that it could be disinfected. Another way to prevent them, is to step in kerosene daily. During dry season, I would keep a shallow pan near the door for this purpose. We also would wash our chancletas (flip flops) in kerosene. Kerosene has no lead so was safe to use in this way.

An indian boy was brought to us once who had both feet so infected by niguas, he could not walk. We had to clean and remove infectious tissue for several days. The Sanema of a certain village were so inundated with niguas, that every member of the village could show you scarred and missing digits from their feet, caused by niguas.

Another common problem was scabies. Yuck!!! So many babies with scabies. I concocted a body shampoo, of sorts, for my family to use regularly in order to not be infected. Part of this shampoo was a dog shampoo. Sounds gross, I know, but ever so much better than scabies. I would say that we saw patients with scabies at least once a week. It is difficult to treat because it also infects clothing and bedding. And since several people share the same hammock...

With the dampness of the rain forest climate, fungal problems were also a concern. You had to stay dry! If you sweated, or were rained on, you had to change to dry clothing quickly or you would end up with rashes and other issues. Closed in shoes were not a good choice for daily use. I have seen a lot of newbys come into the jungle wearing leather military type boots or rubber mud boots, HA!! You knew they would be by asking for medical attention soon. Sandals and plastic flip flops are a much better choice as they can be treated and dried quickly. I have seen some severe cases of athletes foot! Many fungi respond well to being treated with white gas. We had to constantly come up with economical, yet safe, treatments for common problems.

The constant rain caused a lot of difficulties with clothing. Very hard to get the clothes dry. Many a time, I have had to re-wash all the clothing as it began to mildew while on the clothes line. We often would have everything in the house drying and yet, it would remain wet and begin to smell. When we arrived in town, our clothes smelled rank and mildewy. Eventually, we would keep city clothes in town and jungle clothes in the jungle. I was so happy when Febreeze became available in Venezuela!!!

Parasites were another problem. Dysentery type illnesses were common and we would have to de-worm the entire village every so many months. Since they share a common eating and drinking gourd, when one was ill, all were ill. When ever we ate with the people, we would suffer for a few days with stomach ailments, but we seemed to slowly grow more resistant to the bugs and were able to eat with less problems each year.

Culturally, the Ye'kwanas share gourds and when offered a drink or food it is very rude to deny it. It is the worse possible insult to not take part in the meals. A girl would serve you a large pot of yucuta, made from casava, and you were required to eat or drink it all. You could swallow it and spit it out, but you had to finish the pot. Vomitting it up was NOT rude and much preferred to returning it unfinished. In the common round house, you had to be careful where you stepped as much vomitting is normal. All of this makes a wonderful breeding ground for more parasites!!!

The other problem that was a daily battle was the head lice, as everyone is infected. In the evening, the indian family will sit around and de -louse one another. I am sure you have seen the pictures where they appear to be eating the lice. Actually, they are only using their teeth to kill the lice. If they only remove them and toss them to the ground, they will be back. It is a sign of affection to de-louse someone.I remember my youngest daughter would play at de-lousing her dolls. The indians thought that was so sweet, what a good little mommy she would be!!! We used the same dog shampoo, weekly, in order to not get the lice.

On occasion, it was inevitable and one of the children would end up with lice. The quickest way to get rid of the problem is to cover the head in cooking oil, pop on a plastic shower cap for 24 hours, and then, shampoo out. The oil will smother the lice and even penetrate the nits and end the problem with one treatment.

So many bugs...

My husband became infected with onchocerciasis. This is from the bites of the black fly and can lead to blindness. It also caused some severe itching which he suffered with for years, until finally able to kill the disease completely. The parasite, once in the blood stream, can live for 10-15 years. It causes raised bumps under the skin which are colonies of eggs. Very difficult to treat. There is a large portion of the Sanema tribe of Venezuela who are going blind as I write this, entire villages infected and not receiving treatment. It will eventually cause lesions upon the eye itself and is painful. You can even see the larvae crawling along the inner eye, just under the sclera.

I could go on and on...

We saw some insects that made me think of aliens. I am sure there are a few undiscovered bugs we saw. But the other bug that was a problem was the army ant.

Now, this is no ordinary ant! These ants would come out of the jungle, swathing through everything. The largest group I saw were about 4 feet across and walked through the village for an entire day. They eat everything in their path and you can not stop them. Not by water, fire, nothing. You must get out of their way and remove anything organic you do not want to be eaten. The indians tell stories of babies being eaten while asleep, as these ants would march by.

These ants will cross creeks and rivers by making boats of large leaves. Very freaky!!! You can hear them coming in the distance as they eat. Chomp! Chomp! We had to cancel classes a few times while we waited for them to walk through our class room. My kids loved that, as we had no snow days, so they loved Ant Days! There is even a hot sauce the indians make from ants which my husband eats and enjoys. But, my daughter prefers termites! Easily accessible at night while attracted to the inside light, all one must do is scrape them off the window screen and pop them in the mouth. Our screens became the fast food joint for many children!!

And of course, the infamous 24 ant. Yes, it exists. It is a large, black ant measuring a good 2 inches or so. It not only bites with pincers but stings with its wasp like tail. It feels as if it tears skin away while biting and does cause slight bleeding. The toxin it injects with its stinger is like liquid fire and quickly causes the entire muscle area where bitten to burn for several hours, thus ,called the 24 ant. It wont kill you, but for 24 hours you will wish it had! And yes, I am speaking from experience! (And my children had better not tell any more details about it!!!!)

Although controversial, we treated many snake bites and 24 bites with electrical shock. We had a small ammo box which was converted to a kit. Inside was a small magnito attached to a handle outside which could be cranked to produce a small, high voltage low amperage shock, similar to a taser. Leads were attached on either side of the bite. This only works on certain toxins and must not be used except on extremities. If applied quickly, it greatly reduces the swelling involved in most bites and we have seen it used this way several times. It changes the molecular structure of the toxin.


I haven't even mentioned spiders...


I remember reading the Apostle Paul's book of Romans while dealing with a bad case of niguas and seeing it in a whole new light.


Romans 12:1

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

At times, I felt as if my body was a living sacrifice! Being consumed daily by the critters!

Roaches and chagas deserve a post of their own!

Sunday Funny

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Missionary Mother's Dilema

This was written by a missionary wife who served among the indians of Venezuela. She had been asked to write this poem to put into a missionary cookbook. Unfortunately, Pam Griffis died suddenly while in the jungle before the book was published. Her poem is the opening of the cookbook entitled,"Serving With Love".

This is my favorite cookbook of all times, partly because it has cool recipes for things one does not have access to in the jungle, using things available in Venezuela. I also like this poem because it is a window into the day of an average missionary wife. In many ways it is much like any mother's day and yet different.

Missionary Mother's Dilema

by Pam Griffis

The very first thing in the morning
I plan my schedule for the day.
I think I've got it all worked out,
In my neatly organized way.

Devotions first;Then Aerobics! (Of course!)
"Breakfast?", Did my hubby say?
Quickly fed and swiftly dressed,
I send the little ones out to play.

"Oh, I forgot today is wash day!"
As the generator starts to run.
I rush to gather the dirty clothes
I must hurry and get them done.

Above the din of the washer,
Shouts the voice of my 4 yr. old son.
"Mom, J.J. has to go potty!"
"And he broke my favorite gun!"

I settle the fight and dry the tears,
The clothes are finally hung out.
As I sit to type the culture file,
There is yet another shout!

"Hun, Awelalu brought sweet potatoes!"
I try to hide a frowny pout.
I really enjoy my chat with her,
Knowing that is what it is all about!

Lunch time comes all to soon.
"Where's desert?", the clan wants to know.
I could pull my hair out one by one,
But I don't want my feelings to show.

Dishes to wash, then rest time;
I am feeling pretty low.
I sit down to study language,
And a windy rain starts to blow.

I run to rescue the clothes off the line,
The kids wake up from their nap,
"Did you bake cookies yet?, they ask me,
As they climb up on my lap.

An hour later, the cookies baked,
Clothes folded and put away.
A sigh of relief and a "Thank you, Lord,"
Is all I am able to say.

When supper is over, baths and dishes done,
And our family pauses to pray.
When my little ones say, "Thank you for Mom,"
My frustrations fade quickly away.

Tomorrow will surely be better,
And if not, God planned it that way.
He knows what I need for my growing.
I am only to "rest" and obey.

"Pam wrote this poem for our cookbook. She is now in the presence of the Lord. We will miss her so much, but her love and service for the Lord will forever be an example to us."

One recipe I used in the early years was the following;

Baby Wipes

2C. hot water
1-2 T. baby shampoo
2T. baby oil
1 roll paper towels

Remove cardboard from inside paper towels and cut entire roll in half. Mix water, shampoo, and oil and pour over paper towels. Store in an airtight container.

My Two Brothers-in-law!!!

And in our family...
we have two...

It's Agustin!!





And ED!!!
Aren't we lucky!!!

No Surprise Here!

I have received several phone calls and emails today from people who have heard that Chavez is threatening to take over private schools. This is not news. He has been threatening this for over a year and of course he will! He must do it! He will have to control the minds of the children and I have no doubts he will do so.He is requiring all schools to use the Bolivarian texts...of course.

Castro did it, why wouldn't Chavez?

What impresses me is that people outside of Venezuela seem surprised by this. Only one Venezuelan blogger I saw even posted about this. There is a short article in some papers, but we are all expecting this and more!

Read more here. I did have to laugh at some of the comments!

Update: Some have asked how this differs from the public education in the US.The difference is you have a choice. You can send your children to a private school which are not required to use State curriculum which is being written by the president who wants to remain in office for life. You can home school. This is what is being denied the parents of Venezuela. They are not to have any choice as to what texts or schooling their children will use.

From El Universal

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Monday said "the red Constitution (the way he calls his proposed modifications to the Venezuelan Constitution) does acknowledge private schools, but private schools have to respect the red Constitution and abide by the Bolivarian education system."

Chávez claimed he would take over private schools that "do not follow the Bolivarian education system." If any private school fail to meet such system, "then, such school will have to be closed down, taken over, and nationalized, and we shall take care of students," Chávez warned.

He rejected the fact that in the past some Venezuelan governments considered privatizing schools "as a plan of the imperialism to prevent people from accessing education."

His comments came during the opening ceremony of a Bolivarian school in eastern Anzoátegui state.

"We have to continue deepening the system of Bolivarian schools," Chávez said.

Happy Birthday!

Want to wish the cutest grand baby in the world a
Happy Birthday?
Head over to Happy Wife! and leave a birthday greeting!

Beds

Since everyone seemed to enjoy the post I did about floors, I have decided to continue on in that same style, this time, I will write of our bed situation in answer to a question left by Liz.

For several months we all slept in hammocks as we had no floors or real furniture at all. It is very difficult to have furniture on dirt floors. Especially dirt floors in the jungle. There is so much humidity that anything left on the floor will quickly rot and mildew. Cement floors only helped to slow the process down slightly! I use to say that if I sat still too long, I would grow mold on myself!

As a home school science project, I had the children make a hand made barometer. The plan was to record the atmospheric pressure for several days. The problem was that once we made the barometer, the children quickly lost interest with the recording part. Due to the high humidity, the thing hit 100% immediately and never changed!!!

So hammocks were the only option left for sleeping. We all love hammocks so it wasn't a problem. For a short while we did set up small tents in the house and the children slept on foam mattresses inside the tents. I thought it would be safer, more protection from malaria. But it was too hot!! And the foam started rotting!!! The indians knew what they were doing by using hammocks.

One interesting thing about sleeping in hammocks in an indian style house , is that you rock each other to sleep! The poles used in construction are all attached to one another, so if you move in your hammock it causes the pole to move. Every time anyone moves, the entire house shakes.

After we poured the cement floor in our room, we decided to build a frame and fly out a water bed mattress. A regular double mattress was too wide to fit in the Cessna, so that meant a water bed.We had the frame built and set up as we waited for the mattress to be flown on. For one reason or another, it took nearly three months to get the mattress out to the jungle after we had the frame up.

We still did not have a water pump or water barrels at this time. That meant we had to fill the crazy queen size mattress up, bucket by bucket! Hundreds of trips down to the creek , then back up to the house with the water!! It took a lot of buckets!!!

We never needed a heater on the water bed, which is a good thing, since we only had the generator on a couple of hours a day and did not even have a generator for several years. We used a thick mattress pad and that was all we needed since it was always so hot in the jungle.

The chief of the village thought our water bed was amazing! He would come up to the house and walk into our room just to push on the bed and watch the waves! Anytime someone visited from another village, we knew the chief would bring them up to the house to see our bed. We tried to get him to lie down on it once,but he said if he wanted to sleep on water, he would go take a nap in his canoe!

After we had our bed, the children started asking for beds. My husband had lumbered some wood in the jungle using an attachment to a chain saw called an Alaskan Saw Mill. He made each child a small bed and we bought the foam mattresses again.

They were all excited to sleep in their little beds up in the loft. They quickly tired of their new beds though. They said they were boring!

They said it was hard to go to sleep in a bed that did not move! My son even said it was "freaky" to sleep in a bed! He felt like a dead person!!! We always laid the dead out on a board for viewing before burial. He said lying on his back in bed gave him the creeps!!

Needless to say, shortly there after, they were all back in their hammocks, happily swinging away as they rocked themselves to sleep.

When my son was checking out colleges to decide where he would attend, he inspected each dorm room to see if there was a possibility to hang a hammock. Unfortunately he did not find American construction of buildings to be very hammock friendly.

Every few days, all pillows had to be taken out and put in the sun on the clothes line to "dry". This was the only way to keep them from mildewing. Even so, we changed pillows every few months.

We also slept under mosquito nets. We all had several bouts of malaria and dengue, except Jackie, who for some strange reason seems to be immune to malaria.

We combated malaria at all times. Sometimes we won, sometimes we lost! We fumigated regularly, kept sick people under mosquito nets, and treated those with malaria. Our village had the lowest rate of malaria in the entire river region. We also had the lowest infant mortality rate as malaria claims the lives of so many infants.

We did lose a few children and elderly to malaria. Usually when they came from hunting trips or travel and were already in an advanced stage by the time they reached us for help. It is very difficult to watch a baby's life slip away from a disease which is preventable.

We learned of the Neem Tree of India, which is a natural mosquito repelant. The leaves may also be used to prepare a tea which helps to kill the malaria parasite in the blood stream. When we began to see the resistant strain of malaria in our region, we were able to use this tea along with the drugs to help the patients get well. We imported several trees and were able to plant a few in the village. This is the only medication now available to them for malaria treatment as the government is not supplying them with medications nor helping with the fumigation.

I miss my water bed! I miss hearing my children sing themselves to sleep as they swing in their hammocks.

I do not miss the malaria or mildew!

The Twi-light Zone!

The following is a translation done by Little Venice of an interview given by Chavez' former Foreign Affairs Vice- Minister of North America. I know many people often laugh off the Bolivarian Revolutionaries and tend to think of them as silly fools who can cause no real harm! Think again! Many of them are quite evil and propagate evil thoughts and attitudes. The problem is that there are many of the young of Venezuela who have heard this rhetoric for years in the school system and the state controlled TV and believe this nonsense. (I apologize for some of the crude language but that is how these people choose to speak!)

Who Are The Terrorists? -Mari Pili Hernadez

"Is a man that commits suicide with a bomb attached to his body, having seen his country invaded, devastated, destroyed, under the premise of a "preventive war",because supposedly in said nation there were to be found nuclear weapons that were never found, while the UN's Security Council remains absolutely silent in the face of so much atrocity, a terrorist?

He that's seen his entire family die while at a family gathering, happily celebrating a relative's wedding when the invading army's airplane bombed the dwelling hosting the party, only to later simply state that it was a mistake, given that they'd thought that an Al Qaida member was hiding there, if he later went to place an explosive that somehow harmed that unruly army that mistakes a bride for Osama Bin Laden, is he a terrorist?

He that, not having sophisticated weapons with which to defend himself, nor smart missiles, nor rifles with telescopic scopes, nor submarines, nor aircraft carriers, decides to enter a shopping center and attack anyone who looks like a family member of those that took his own from him, is he a terrorist?

The man that had no possibilty of responding to the bombings that night after night submerge his country in misery, in pain, in hunger, in death, in indignity, when he decides to use his own body as a lethal weapon against the imperialist agressor that's been assassinating his people for decades, is he a terrorist?

He that plans "attempts" against installations in which nationals of the country that has been massacring entire populations for years simply because these peoples don't want to give away their energy resources have interests( likely meaning investements), is he a terrorist?

He that proffers threats, insults, abuses and all manner of offensive words against the President of the country that's subjected them to desolation, hunger, or violence, is he a terrorist?

He that hates with all his might the nationals of a country that s--t on his sacred texts, rape his women, torture those detained in their illegal jails, and,as if that wasn't enough, photograph themselves commiting these barbarous acts and publish their "pranks", intending to let the world know that they can do anything, that they're above all human beings, above anything that can be considered human, is
he a terrorist?

He that attempts to cause harm to the nationals of a country that illegally kidnaps one of his relatives, and more that 500 people, keeps them prisoner in an inhumane jail in an also-occupied territory of a Carribean country, without minimal legal assistance, totally denied communication, without a judicial order, not respecting even their most basic human rights, all this happening for all the world to see, while the cynical perpetrators of this action parade around the salons of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, attempting to accuse nations that irk them that supposedly they are the ones violating human rights? (sic, as far as possible), is he a terrorist?

A multimillionaire Muslim who,seeing his compatriots suffer so many humilitaions, so much pain, so much bitterness, so much indignity, tires of the war being suffered only on one side and decides to organize the most sophisticated operation known in history ( ! )so that the assassins of his people learn that the death of innocents is always indignating, is he a terrorist?"