OVERFLOW

By sunrise we were well on our way to our primary destination, a small village tucked along an offshoot of the Ucayali River. These muddy waterways are crucial arteries for transportation – there are no roads from village to village. As a westerner from a country where automobiles are a part of everyday life it made me ask questions like, “What about medical emergencies?”, “How do you get groceries?”, “What if your village doesn’t have a school?”.

On the upper deck behind a common area used for meeting and eating was a small kitchen and storage space. Three local women could be found in this area all day, everyday, working tirelessly to keep us all fed. How they did it is beyond my comprehension. The kitchen itself couldn’t have measured much more than 8×10 and with three bodies in motion with sharp knives and hot pots it seemed even smaller.

With the boat nosed up to the shore and secured with a heavy steel cable, I joined the Captain and a couple of camp leaders to scout conditions in the village. We could have done the scouting by canoe. Ankle and knee deep water lay throughout much of the village. This regular occurrence found nearly every structure built on stilts, some with worryingly high water lines. With no rain in the immediate forecast we hoped it would recede.

Standing outside her home, a local woman showed me her catch of river fish. She had butterflied them and laid them to dry in her dugout canoe. Given the humidity I could scarcely imagine anything ever drying, but the sun is hot for certain. As I understand it, local people eat fish 3 to 4 times a week or more with dried fish being a traditional staple. In the background you may notice an elevated water storage tank that is meant to use gravity to provide water to the village. Neither the water system nor the electrical wires were operational during my time in the village.

When morning sessions of ministry training and small groups were complete, a few hours were spent in team building and good old fashioned fun. Along the way, local kids were invited to join in the games and encouraged to come along to a special program later in the week. A reasonably dry field lay inland, perhaps 2 city blocks from the boat. Getting there and back was slow going, slippery and featured more than a few wipeouts.

A light rain did little to deter the games, though eventually we did break for a short-term heavy downfall. I was impressed with the upbeat attitudes of these young men and women. Everyone participated. Shouts of encouragement and lots of laughter filled the field from end to end.

In this relay game, one player ran with a small bucket of water halfway across the course. A teammate met them there, took the bucket, ran to the finish line, and poured the water into a larger empty bucket. The first team to fill their large bucket won the game. This camper was more than a little enthusiastic with his pouring. In the end however, he splashed more water out of his bucket than he actually poured in. The winner came to a full stop and gently poured the water until his bucket overflowed. There’s a lesson in there I think.

Giant beachball + muddy field + energized teens = absolute mayhem. These teens definitely took volleyball to the next level and had a blast doing so.

It’s not everyday you see a crowd of 50 teens stream through your village! This kind gentleman was content to sit in his doorway and watch each day as we came and went. If you look closely you can see high water marks that are higher than the threshold of his entry door!

Small group times were a vital part of Boat Camp. They created a space for deeper connections, reflection and growth. This fueled authentic interactions and mentorship while guiding ministry training from theory to practice.

Each camper made a simple paper tool to help them share the Gospel with children in nearby villages at an upcoming community event. With hand drawn pictures and accompanying verses they brought their own personalities to the process.

There are significant challenges to reaching unreached peoples in the jungles of the Amazon River Basin. Among them, staying alive! Campers got a taste of some practical survival training during Boat Camp with lessons in finding and purifying water, working with a machete, building a fire and much more. Thankfully no one lost any fingers.

We docked at several villages to invite local children to an upcoming community program. The crew also traded diesel fuel and gasoline for fresh fruit and produce. At one such stop I tried “masato” – it’s in the plastic jug this local woman is brining my way. It’s traditionally made by boiling yuca, which is then chewed by indigenous women and spat into a communal vat, then left for several days for fermentation. Salivary enzymes are said to break down the yuca starches into fermentable sugars which makes for a sour, slightly musty drink. 10/10 would recommend.

It was a thrill to see the campers reach out to local kids and invite them to come along to their community outreach program. Not only were they making the invitations, they were running the entire program top to bottom. From the message to music, small groups and games, they were living out the lessons of the week.

Though a puppet did make a brief appearance, the campers didn’t hide behind the curtains. They put themselves out there, and their joy in the Lord front and center. It felt natural and honest and fun. There was real enthusiasm and authentic heart.

In pairs, the campers gathered small groups of children together to share the Gospel. They used scripture, their artwork and their own words to express their faith and answer questions.

Following the small group time, the kids gathered together for a prayer and to sing along with some worship songs. The campers had been using a battery powered speaker to play the music but it didn’t quite make it to the end. The campers didn’t skip a beat, they just sang louder. I was so proud of them in that moment.

It seems to me that just as the community outreach program ended, the rain began to fall. As we headed downriver, the outer passageways of the boat were awash with rain water. I’d estimate that visibility was less than a half a mile. By the time sunset approached, the storms had moved on, and you could see them near the horizon. It was remarkable to see where the cloud wall formed a line of rain.

During one excursions into the village a number of us stopped to speak with a local woman and her family, who were seated on their covered porch during a heavy rain. She was fashioning bracelets and necklaces from beads, seeds and even crocodile teeth. As I understand it, selling these handmade creations is a primary source of income. Her husband, had suffered from lack of medical care following a snake bite. The venom had left him partially blind and with reduced use of his left hand. She was now the breadwinner. I gladly overpaid for everything I purchased from her and we prayed for her, her husband and children.

The last full day of Boat Camp was hot, humid and the perfect time for a dip in the river. With leaders standing by, and life jackets on hand, jumping from the back of the boat has become tradition. There’s just something about taking that leap, about letting go and plunging in. It seemed to me that even the leisure activities held purpose and meaning.

Following an evening closing program, was a time of spontaneous worship and praise. The sound system was turned up to 11 as laughter and singing and dancing filled the space. It. Was. Incredible. As a native English speaker I could not understand the words being sung, but my heart was filled by the passion in their voices. As tears streamed down my face, I worshiped that night like I had not worshiped in a long time. I’m so very thankful for that gift the Lord gave me through Boat Camp.

This well seasoned Pilot was just one of an incredible crew. It was not difficult to see how they all worked together, helped one another and served others. From my perspective, God took their labor and transformed it for His glory. “For from him and through him and to him are all things.” Romans 11:36

This photo is chocked full of joy and hope, enthusiasm and praise. I can’t imagine all the Lord will accomplish through this gathering. Pray with me that the experience of Boat Camp will produce fruit in their lives and make an impact among unreached peoples for the glory of God.