Journey into the Jungle

A couple weeks back, I (Ian) had the privilege to travel with the NILI students toward and into the Amazonian Jungle in the east of Ecuador.  We spent about 5 days outside of Quito, mostly in the cities of Riobamba and Shell (you can click on the names of the towns to view them on Google Maps).  This is one of two major travel times scheduled for the NILIs each semester.  The other trip is one to the Galapagos Islands at the very end of the semester--a trip Hillary and I will not be participating in this semester.

The trip to the Oriente (as "the East" is called in Spanish) was full of fun, adventures, challenges, and spiritually significant moments.  I thought I'd share some video clips that highlight our time.  I've also loaded an online picture album that you can link to by clicking on the picture to the left of this paragraph.  Hope you all enjoy!









When we first arrived in Riobamba, we sat down to a nice meal of chancho (pig).  A meal consists of some ladies--who have been gnawing on the pig during the afternoon--ripping a hunk (in our case, a leg) off of an entire fried pig and serving it to you with toasted corn and a kind of salad.  Kyle, one of our NILI volunteer staff, told me that if I would take my video camera around to the ladies selling the chancho, they would all greet me with beautiful greetings and vie for my business.  It wasn't so....

Around 6am on the first full day we spent in Riobamba, our group left to visit the nearby mammoth (relatively inactive) volcano called Chimborazo.  At 20,564ft. above sea-level and very close to the equator, the summit of Chimborazo is the point on earth furthest from the earth's center.  Though our group certainly did not summit this behemoth, one of the highlights of the NILI experience is a hike up Chimborazo to about 16-17,000ft.  Enjoy this brief clip of our students climbing Chimborazo...

...and here's another brief clip of some wild alpacas we saw on the faldas (skirts) of Chimborazo....

Later during the afternoon of that same day, our group drove about an hour outside of Riobamba in order to get a good look at the often-active volcano called Tungarahua.  I'd love to share that beautiful view with you....

After leaving the city of Riobamba on Sunday afternoon, following services at one of the Nazarene churches in the city, our group traveled about 1.5 hours to the east to the town of Shell.  (For those who are familiar with the story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and the other three missionaries martyred in the 1950s by Waorani natives, Shell is the town their missionary work was based out of.)  

The highlight of our time in Shell was certainly our brief visit to meet members of the indigenous tribe known as the Waorani in the jungle--a trip we made by half-hour flights in very small (6-seater) planes.  This is a little longer video segment highlighting what it took to get there....

...oh, and landing was no small task either....

Though our visit with a few members of the Waorani lasted only about an hour, they greeted us as brothers and sisters in Christ.  The first members of this tribe to be converted experienced their conversions under the ministry of the widows and families of the martyred missionaries from the 1950s.  The entire tribe has been converted since.  The older man in the blue basketball shorts is Dewi, one of the men who participated in the raiding party that killed the missionaries in the '50s.  He is now one of the first men to live to be a grandparent in this previously war-ravaged tribe.  The members of the tribe performed (and invited us into) a traditional dance... which we only found out afterward was actually a marriage ritual.... :-)

We shared a brief but special moment with the Waorani when we sang a fimiliar hymn in the three languages represented in the small Waorani church that day--English, Spanish, & Waorani....

And finally, just to remind you that we currently live in a country with many volcanoes, here's a shot of some channels carved by lava flowing down the side of the volcano Tungurahau.  They were formed just a couple weeks before we arrived.  (You'll see one on the other side of the guard-rail at the very beginning of this shot, and one later in the shot.)

Well, there's a taste of our trip to El Oriente.  It was certainly one of the fun highlights of the time here so far.  We're hoping and expecting that Hillary will be able to join me on the trip next semester when we take the next group of NILIs.  Continue to keep the next semester of NILI in your prayers, as we're hoping to have more students apply for the program very soon.

We love you all and covet your prayers!  We hope to share in an upcoming blog about some of the great ministries we've been able to participate in over the past couple of weeks.  Until then, enjoy these videos and our interview with Engage Magazine HERE.