Live'n in the JUNGLE!

It was an awesome experience... where do I start? So, it all started with an email from London. A very good friend from London emailed me about an opportunity to join a mission team to take medicines to a remote tribe of mostly unreached people group in the jungle of Costa Rica. You know me, I am a sucker for adventure, I thought to myself, how cool is that?! I have never been into the jungle, nevertheless living in it for a week!

Boy, I didn't know I got myself into. I was surprised by many things: 1) The Love I received from the local people, 2) the bond and friendship/family I formed with various members of the team, 3) the beauty of Costa Rica, and 4) the absolute physical exhaustion that I had never encountered before this trek. Let me tell you, at the end of the week, I was very sad that I had to leave and also very sad that I didn't get to spend more quality time with people on our team.

So, here is a long journal that will document my trip, and unforgetable experience...

Day1: I flew into San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, and got to meet part of the team. Our team consisted of 9 people from the US and 13 from Costa Rica. There were 3 doctors and 4 nurses. Quite a perfect international team. Everyone on this team, as I came to find out, are all very adventurous, very flexible, great personality, lovers of Christ, and lovers of people.

Day 2: This is a travel day, starting at San Jose, after packing all of our gear and medicines atop a bus, we spend the next 8 hours driving down to the border of Panama. Then we cross the border into Panama on the Pacific ocean side at a general area called Punta Burica. Then after we reached the drop off point, we started a hike at about 3:30pm in the afternoon. We had to hike >11miles up the mountain, into the jungle, cross back over to Costa Rica, and to our camp. We didn't get there until about 10pm. We hiked about 4 hours in the dark jungle. Let me tell you, I was about to die of exhaustion and heat stroke. I had about a 40lb pack on and my hips were sore beyond belief and my leg muscles were all cramping with every step.

I think the fact that we all made it without any incidents was a miracle! There was another miracle: you see, most of us ran out of water about half way through the hike, I was the only one with some water, and I only had a 1.5 Liter camalpak in my backpack. We ended up all sucking from it for several hours. When I got to the camp and I pull out the water bladder, there was still water in there! I could've probably finished 1.5 liters within an hour in that heat and humidity, nevermind all 6-7 of us feeding on it! Thank you God!

When we got to camp, all the girls got to sleep in huts or tents, but 5 of us guys got Hennessey Hammocks, and we sat it up in a bunch of trees on the outter edge of the camp. It was so sweet, we woke up every morning with Howler Monkeys screaming and echoing in the jungle around us, and also paired green parrets over us... insects to put us to sleep... it was a sweet deal!

At the border of Costa Rica and Panama; drop off point, loading the truck to take our packs half way up the mountain.

As the sun sets over the jungle, we continued to hike up. Kevin, Brantley, local, Alex.

At the border again, 2 more hours to go to camp. Andres, Alex, Michi, Me, Ruben, Anna. The first meal we had at camp, prepared by the women of the Alto Guaymies Tribe.

Beautiful are the hands and feet of those who bring the Good News!

Part of our group: Linda, Kevin, Susan, Brantley, Evert, Deborah, Anna, Michi. The communal dinning hall.

Day 3 to 5: We ran a clinic for all those days and saw about 150 patients. Some of them had walked many miles from deep within the jungle to come to the village. We saw lots of infections, dehydration, chronic musculoskeletal issues, respiratory issues, and some burns and pulled some teeth. There were also drama and a service each night to enjoy with the locals. I had a lot of opportunities to do OMT (osteopathic manipulations) and Acupuncture, fixing things such as musculoskeletal issues, PMS, bowel issues, colds, sinusitis, back pain, leg pain... you name it. I brought about 500 needles and only had to use 150. I treated at least 20 patients with acupuncture and most with very good relief.

Marianne teaching the kids. My wonderful friend and translator, also a dentist, Susana... we were pulling some really infected and eroded teeth from our young friend Sergio. We improvised and used my leatherman tool for the job. Susana did an excellent job and was great with the kids!

Teaching kids how to brush their teeth. At the pharmacy window as Susana was preparing to give some antibiotic to the kid. I was just pretending to know something. My other wonderful friends and teammates Deborah, Susan, and Maria were our wonderful pharmacists who loved on their patients!

Picture of the dentist (Susana) and the helpers (Kevin and I) with our patient Sergio. The waiting line at the clinic.

Doctor Clint seeing patients with Andres translating. Maria at the pharmacy.

The communal kitchen and all the smoked pork... so delicious.

The honor dinner: the last night we were there, our hosts sat us in a circle and shared their hearts to us. They also spent all day making this meal that they served to us on banana leaves. We ate it with our hands in a group. It was awesome! I loved it: sharing a meal of love with family! The next picture is of 3 beautiful Costa Rica ladies on our team: Marianne, Jameled, and Susana.

Andres and Deborah and I... aren't we all giggly over this unique experience! I had seconds!

Michi and Me. Day 6: time to hike out, it is 6am.

Susana and Andres... as we hike out, of course we had to get lost from the rest of the group. However, there were some locals to the rescue! Yay, we were only 30min behind the rest of the group. But, the way I saw it was that none of the others had saw what we saw... more jungle!

On top of a 50 feet water tower. Having breakfast in Quepos... what a vacation!

The beach at Quepos, absolutely serene and beautiful. Howler monkeys at the Parque National de Manuel Antonio!

Kevin and I.

Hey Deb in the mini mouse poka dot top! and watch out, splash... Susan and Deb.

Aren't we adorable :) Well, can't beat a picture with 2 beautiful ladies... then there I was getting swollowed up by the ocean...

The beach at Quepos, what a relaxing day! I love the food, I love the people, I love the team, I love the beach, I love the jungle, I love the experience, and I have decided that I will return! Next time, I'm going to be fluent in Spanish!

Cambodia - Post-Trip Update

Jim Rip Sua! (Formal hello in Khmer) This is called the 'Sompiah,' with palms pressed together and say 'jim rip sua' as you greet another. So, hello :)

I want to begin by thanking God for His divine guidance and protection, and to you for your continuous support and prayers. I have now been back from Cambodia for 2 weeks, and I have just begun to unpack my thoughts. I’ve learned so much about the history of the country and its people during my short 17 day stay there.

Dr. Pat (Pediatrician) and his wife Kacie with 3 kids [Trent (6yo), Diana (4yo), Talia (2yo)] and I landed in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia 2 days after we left LAX. I love this family. They are so much fun.

Though my interests are in medicine and public health, I did not have any experience in their applications abroad. Since Dr. Pat has been doing this all over the world for the last 10 years, he decided to take me under his wings to show me how things work. I knew I have a lot to learn, so I have prepared myself to be as flexible as possible and to enjoy anything we get to be a part of. After we arrived at Phnom Penh, we spent about a week visiting churches, clinics, government agencies, and various NGOs to get feedbacks in how we can achieve our objective. Our goal was to set up a reproducible and sustainable ‘Community Health Program.’ This program would involve training Health-Promoters (HP) to become educators of health and hygiene in a pre-selected community. We would develop the HPs to grow in their skills of health and hygiene promotion and also in discipleship of their spiritual maturity. Their role is to make relationships in the community they serve and eventually transforming their health and hygiene standards and to help in the efforts of helping their community to know God better.

After meeting with various local resources, Dr. Pat and I developed a completed proposal for the Community Health Promotion Program. We also participated in a Health and Hygiene Seminar as teachers: Dr. Pat, Denise (dental hygienist), Hung (our wonderful God-sent translator), and I. I start the session by teaching topics of first-aid, followed by Denise’s oral-health lectures, and ended by Dr. Pat’s lessons on how to clean water, how to make oral rehydration solution, and diarrhea prevention/management. There were about 18 students in attendance from towns all over Cambodia. We have numerous question/answering sessions and breakout practical sessions built into the curriculum. At the end of the 3-day seminar, we invited them to stand in front of the class and teach all of us on any one topic of their choice, which many of them did with passion and zest. We felt that the students had a very good understanding of the material and are ready to teach. One of the most exciting and necessary part of the seminar is the topic of spiritual applications along with each health and hygiene topic. As we know, the most important reason that people seek healthcare, also often least addressed, is for emotional/spiritual assurance. So, as teachers, we offered tools by way of applicable Bible verses and simple visuals that the HPs could integrate into their health and hygiene education.

Some fun things we did were traveling to see different temples (Ankor Wat and Ta Prohm in Siem Reap), Toul Sleng Prison and the Killing Fields, Military AID/HIV Hospital, and friends in Battambang. Ankor Wat is the national symbol of Cambodian pride. It was built in the middle ages at the height of the Ankor Empire. It is also the 7th man-made wonders of the world and the largest religious structure on the planet.

Ta Prohm, the temple depicted to the left, is a temple where trees grew out of the structures… also a temple filmed in Tomb-Raiders the movie… it is where God’s creations overcame the man-made building designed for spiritual oppression. It is a simple, yet powerful, display of God’s glory. All creation testifies to the knowledge of our Heavenly King. Simply awesome!!!
Along the way, we tasted many good Cambodia dishes and got to mingle with the locals. I have promised myself to eating at least one Khmer dish every day, and fell in love with the noodle-soup breakfast. And for me, one of the most exciting parts is to learn some language! I was able to greet, order my food, and count my numbers…

Here is a fast list of my first impressions: crazy traffic of cars/motorcycles/people going in all directions; beautiful smiles that stretches from ear to ear; rural feeling everywhere I go, even in many part of the capital; public sanitation is a literal disaster; not much of a public health infrastructure; air pollution is at least 10x worst than L.A.; overwhelming poverty; delicious foods; mosquitoes everywhere; and most of all, the pure hearts of youth who love our Father.

Few weeks in Cambodia...

To fellow beloved, I want to tell you about my trip to Cambodia in a few days. Please pray for the team of physicians and I as we work to set up some health programs there. The trip comprises many different facets for caring of the people in need.

Purpose: About 75% of Cambodia is considered rural and medically under-served. There are many villages there without the care of a doctor. I was invited to go on this trip with a pediatrician who has worked to improve quality of child care in orphanages around the world. Our objectives are several: teaching of health aids to take care of villagers, set up an evaluation process that is to be carried out in times to come as way of quality assessment of our program, evaluation of orphanages, and talking with the embassy regarding international adoption issues.

Preparation: I had a lot of experience setting up assessments and analyzing data from studies, however, I haven't had a lot of experience helping to set up health promotion programs on the ground. So, I have been personally doing some reading regarding to information and history of the country and its people, plus additional reading about 'community health program' and other written wisdom of working in countries where there are not many doctors. I have also asked many of you as prayer and support partners. I don't know how many of you have committed to praying, but I know that you guys have already covered more than 90% of the funds needed for me to go. Our F'ather is great! I trust Him greatly and I also trust you guys and appreciate you guys for the prayer coverage. I know that prayers are the most important tool we have in the caring for His beloved.

Follow up: So, I will be keeping a journal with me. I don't expect to have any sort of connection to you for the next month. I may possibly be traveling from site to site and will not have a way to be connected to you. So, as soon as I return, I will try to post some pictures and some results of the trip. For those of you that supported me through this trip, I believe that you are there with me. I also believe that you will see your offerings multiply in unexpected ways. I appreciate your partnership.

What I need you to do: Pray earnestly for my team and I... for unity, for flexibility to learn and to move as He directs, and for effective witness. I will be connecting with you when I can. Blessings!!!

(*) Bruchko: Walking the trail of Saymaydodji-ibateradacura, Bari

While reading this book, I have quickly become endeared to the life of Bruce Olson and the Bari people. Amazement, laughter, tears, sadness, triumph, unbelief, and awe, were some of the feeling that journeyed me through this book. I loved this book, and I have a lot to share, so this is going to be long post.

Bruce, called ‘Bruchko’ by the Bari people (aka Motilones = “Short hair,” named by the Spanish invaders), has chronicled his life of 40 years as a messenger of God to the Motilones in this autobiography. His journey started with an inspiration of God to go minister specifically to the Motilones when he was 19. He decided to follow that inspiration and forsake all that is comfortable in the US. Motilones has been a Stone Age appearing people, who hunt with spears and arrows, who defended their territory fiercely and killed many outsiders and other Indians and each other, and who, upon seeing Bruce for the first time, attempted to kill him and shot him with an arrow. He was captured.

Under captivity, Bruce gained strength from God and sought wisdom in how to show the Bari people who Jesus is. Little did he know, there was an ancient Motilone Legend which said, “A tall prophet with yellow hair will come to us carrying banana stalks. Knowledge of life and God will come out of those stalks, and God will show us the way back to Him.” One day, as the Motilones were shaving the banana stalks, Bruce had noticed a revelation from the Lord: as the roots of these stalks were split, the layers within spills open as pages of a book like opening the Bible, the Word of God. So, excited with the new inspiration, Bruce told of God incarnate in human flesh, who came to live amongst us, and we can know Him if we follow in His steps to walk His trail. The name of Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior was: “Saymaydodji-ibateradacura = God incarnate in human flesh.”

Bobarishora, aka Bobby, was the first of the Motilones to become a follower of Saymaydodji-ibateradacura, and in time he became Bruce’s bestfriend and ‘pact brother.’ He said to Bruce before being killed by outside intruders for following Jesus, “He [Jesus] is God, yet we can know Him by walking in His steps.” “Bruchko, I want Christ to be foremost for me. I want to yield all to Jesus.”

I hope you didn’t missed what I have just said! It is amazing. After the Motilones started following the steps of Jesus, they started changing. They became a group of people who have given up their violent ways, even up to the point of giving up their lives in the name of Christ.

Through the guidance of Bruce, the Motilones gained ways of sustaining themselves. They set up co-ops to raise crop and cattle as a way to make sure all their members have food. They even started to supply food to the neighboring tribes and foreigners, because of their love for God. They started also forming missionary teams to go to other tribes to share with them the love of God. They formed clinics, schools, language programs, and also sent many Motilones to universities. With Bruces support, many Motilones became trained at large Colombian university and graduating as physicians, lawyers, teachers, etc… And to Bruce’s surprise, all of these students came back into the jungle to serve their own people. None of them stayed to enjoy the new way of life.

With these advances, they were able to work with the government to protect their own land, even got to be invited to the United Nations and offices of presidents for dialogues. The Motilones moved from being a Stone Age people group to being able to work with and survive in the 21st century without changing their cultures and traditions. When they are back into the jungle, they still wear loin cloths and sleep in hammocks in communal longhouses. In his own words, Abaydora, a Motilones Chieftain, “At our weakest time, God brought us salvation. We met Jesus in the mountains. We were in anger, but with Him we found love.”

Bruce never tried to convert them, but always discerned to share God’s love with them, and have always allowed them to make their own decisions. Motilones has learned to pray to Jesus when they need to make a decision. Saymaydodji-ibateradacura had became central to their lives even without Bruce around.

Also chronicled in this book was Bruce’s journey of becoming a person that God used to change an entire nation, through a self sacrificial life. It also talked about being captured and tortured by guerillas to denounce his faith and his adopted family, the Bari (Motilones). He also shared his pain of losing two of his beloved, his pact brother Bobby, and his fiancé, Gloria. There are pains in life that we cannot ever understand. There are pains in life we have to live with and constantly asking for God’s grace and love to help us through.

Bruce is loved by the Bari people. He is Bari. This love, even to an outsider like me, made my heart and eyes so warm and moist. I wanted to be there. I wanted to feel the warm embrace. I want to know of that genuine and pure love. I wanted to be loved and to belong.

“Yado [Bruce Olson], wherever you die, I will recover your body and take you back to the jungle. Then we will wrap you in a hammock and lift you into the jungle canopy, so that you can travel beyond the horizon as one of us.” – Araybachira.

The following are excerpts in Bruce’s own words on being a missionary:
“The purpose of entering the mission field is to share the redemptive works of Christ. It starts when the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of the person who is going to share the gospel. Then the compassion for the people should help that person share His message in a way that does not strip the people of their autonomy and self sufficiency and turn them into beggars who depend on benevolent organizations to survive. Many people hear the word missionary and equate the term with someone who is trying to destroy native culture, but that is the last thing I want to do. What I have tried to do is to give the Motilones tools so they can forge their own future and help them discover that Jesus is not a God who has come to take away their traditions and culture, but a Savior who walked and still walks with them on the trail of life. He is a redeemer who will be with them as they journey beyond the horizon.”

“I too am a weaver. My “art,” has been to live among the Indians [the proper term for addressing the Bari people] so that together we could weave a tapestry that is pleasing to God. It has produced a colorful, rich work filled with history, warm relationships, and takes of lives opening up to the Savior. It too is a story of love.”

““I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings.” (Phil 3:10). It’s an experience that allows us to know Christ intimately. It is terrible to suffer, and I certainly would not seek it out. But when it comes, I trust in God’s sovereignty. He does not toy with our lives. I have learned not to judge Him. We tend to accuse Him when awful things happen. But we are His creations, fully dependent on Him. It is not our place to judge. This, I think, is one of the great discoveries I have made during my life with the Motilones.”

I loved this book. I have learned so much on how to walk in the foot steps of Jesus through seeing how genuine the Motilones are. Jesus’ transforming love is REAL! I think we have a lot to learn from the Motilones. I also have a lot to learn from Bruce, to love a people to the point of death in absolute obedience and reverence for our Lord Jesus. I have to learn that to love someone is to completely give them over to God for Him to lead and guide them. Love makes us give sacrificially for other's advancement not our own. Love is to relinguish our control and just let Jesus in. Soak us in your love and grace, burn us up in your holy fire of the Spirit, guide our steps and our lips to bring glory to You no matter what our circumstances may be.

“I walk on the trail of life experiences to the horizons. No evil spirit can threaten me or take me from the security I know in Jesus. I am suspended in Jesus through my expression of faith.” --- Song of the Motilones.


Bruce Olson talking with another Bari

Hunters

Fishing and hunting

Singing in hammock; basket weaving