Giant trees, Shell, Banos, and Volcan Tungurahua.

Me and the big tree.

 On Thursday morning we left Misahualli, but not before we went to see "The Big Tree". Not too far down the road from our hostal is a giant rain forest tree--so giant, in fact, that you could easily drive a car through it. Once we heard about this tree, we knew we had to go. So, we got a jungle taxi (meaning a pick-up truck, and everybody rides on the edge of the bed) and made the short hike to see this tree. While it didn't change my world, it was definitely worth the trip. :)

Missionary plane taking off from the airstrip.

After that we were on the road again, this time to make a stop at a little jungle town called Shell about two and a half hours from Misahualli. This town wouldn't be significant except for the fact that it played a huge role in the story of five missionaries who were killed trying to bring the Gospel to the Huaorani tribe in Ecuador. Long story short, five men (all married, some with children) felt that God was leading them to contact an extremely violent tribe called the Huaorani living not too far from Shell. The Huaorani were famous for spearing themselves into extinction and for still living as though it were the Stone Age. At first the jungle pilot, Nate Saint, found a way to lower baskets full of gifts to the Huaorani from his plane. This continued for awhile until the men finally went to meet the people of this tribe in person. When they did, however, they were all speared to death. Later on their wives and children returned to this very tribe, showed them forgiveness, and shared the Gospel with them. It's an amazing story. 

The Saint house.

Nate, the pilot, lived in Shell with his wife and children as a missionary pilot bringing supplies to missionaries deeper in the jungle and transporting indigenous people who needed medical attention. We visited his house, the hangar for the plane, and the very same airstrip he used. The woman who showed us around works with the Huaorani and lives among them for most of the year, although she and her family are based out of Shell. In fact, her husband is currently at a conference in the States with Mincaye, the tribal leader (this will mean a lot to you, Mom!). It was incredible to be standing in the very same place where so much of this story took place. It's an experience I will never forget. 

One of the baskets used to give gifts from the plane.

To bring you up to date about the Huaorani, many have received the Gospel and are empowering themselves to take charge of their own affairs, including medical care, education, government, and spiritual matters. However, there is a tribe called the Taenomenane (or something like that) that broke off from the Huaorani people and is still living in darkness. They remain uncontacted and are still spearing--in fact, they killed at least 18 people (not counting children) about a month or so ago. I read it in the Ecuadorian news. The Huaorani are trying very hard to reach their people, but it's a challenging and dangerous process.

After Shell we stopped at "Bridal Veil Falls" to ride a gondola across the ravine and get a close look at a pretty big waterfall. This gave us an even more gorgeous view of the Andes mountains, as if that were possible.

This is what it looks like around that waterfall. Incredible.

After the waterfall we ate lunch in a resort town called Baños in the mountains. Lunch was a typical Ecuadorian almuerzo of cow foot soup, rice, chicken, salad, and beans (although it wasn't safe to eat that salad). After that we had some dessert empanadas, which were amazing! I had banana, and it was so, so good.

Finally, we were back on the bus with Quito as our next stop. On the way we saw Volcan Tungurahua, another active volcano not far from Cotopaxi. It was actually sort of erupting! It was spewing lots of smoke and ash and we could see it very clearly. Apparently it's been doing that off and on for a few years now, which means it may erupt sooner rather than later. That's something I never dreamed I'd see! It was a great way to wind down the trip.

Tungurahua!

Overall, I liked this second jungle trip even more than the first one. Sure, I got eaten alive by those nasty jungle gnats (they're way worse than mosquitoes) and it was hot and humid as always. But this time I knew even more about the ministry and the people, and that made me enjoy it so much more. The jungle really does feel like a totally new country apart from Ecuador--the landscape, food, clothing, and housing are markedly different. Poverty is much more obvious there, and there is a lot of it. Living in such an isolated, challenging area would be pretty tough, but it would also be incredibly worth it. I'm so happy we went back :)