Author: Adventures

If you were to ask an American the first word that pops in their head when they hear “Thanksgiving,” most would say turkey, football, food coma, etc. I am in the category that would think first of the delicious food available to us all year long that is somehow extra exciting the fourth week of November. This week in the jungle has felt a lot like Thanksgiving. As I’ve mentioned before, we live on a farm in a wooden shelter at the top of a hill. Our view is the Amazon River and our backyard is the Amazon jungle. We cook own meals of oatmeal, eggs, rice, and canned...

I will start by emphasizing the true wondrous properties of peanut butter that I never encountered prior to Peru. I’ve always liked peanut butter, but after a month in the jungle, I can confirm peanut butter is a nectar from the heavens. I believe that the Peruvians feel this way too, because here a humble jar of PB costs as much as a herd of cows or a prosthetic limb or an island. We tend to categorize most things we see here by “American big” or “Peruvian big,” with “Peruvian big” being the much larger, more menacing version. For example: Teammate...

It’s been four years since I last talked to God. It’s been four years since I last had a relationship with God. So if you told me last year that I would be spending my 21st birthday in the Amazon rainforest with 13 people I don’t know, doing ministry work, I would have laughed in your face. I spent four years filling my body with cheap, materialistic imitations. Trading a healthy body and mind for meaningless affection and a meaningless high I was a slave to the pleasures of instant gratification. Always chasing the easiest physical, mental, and emotional way to feel...

Welcome to our team! Disclaimer: All profiles were written by other members of the team collectively and no one was harmed in the making of this post.   Sara Shoup (The Cow Whisperer) If you had to swim in any food what would it be? “Tomato soup. Soup is really comforting to me so I imagine it would be comforting to swim in. Also, swimming in it eliminates the need for a bowl or spoon. #lessdishes.” This is Sara, one of our fearless leaders. She is 24 years old and she comes from a family of pig farmers in Ohio. She’s best known for making up conversations between the...

Living on a farm in the middle of the Peruvian rainforest has its perks. I have never seen stars so incredibly vibrant; looking at them every night leaves me breathless and thankful that God gives us light even when it’s dark. The sunsets are blended shades of soft orange, pink, and violet, and Michelangelo’s got nothin’ on the artistry of the clouds we behold every evening. It’s beautiful to learn about and observe the wonders of this temporary home. I spend many moments in awe of this jungle, but don’t get me wrong; though I’m on a solid Dora the...

This week I’ve been reminded of a song I sang at the camp I worked at last summer. The lyrics are: “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty,There’s nothing my God cannot do!The mountains are his,The rivers are his,The stars are his handiwork too. My God is so big,So strong, and so mighty,There’s nothing my God cannot do!” Since being in Peru, I’ve seen mountains, rivers, and the most incredible stars. Living in the Amazon has been a daily reminder of how magnificent God is. Seeing and hearing a new creature everyday allows me a larger glimpse at how big...