[ About an hour outside of Sucúa, across a rickety suspension bridge up in the jungle, lives a family with such a foul reputation, even their own people call their village, ‘a den of thieves’.  This family has been at odds with just about everybody for years, and they despise gringos – especially christian gringos! So much so, that whenever we had to pass by there, we readied ourselves for the usual barrage of curses, fruit, and even stones.  I’ve come face to face with the devil a few times in my life and the lil’ ole grandma of this family looked just like him!

Well here’s where it gets crazier. A few weeks ago, I received a request to speak with this family – an invitation into their inner sanctum! Was it just a trap, could anything good come out of this?! 

When I pulled up, (with a truckload of Shuar friends of course), the entire family was there waiting, not with stones and curses this time, but with a great anticipation to hear more about God’s love for them. The highlight of the night was getting to pray a salvation prayer with the lil’ ole grandma – God loves to make good out of bad! ]   *excerpt from our latest newsletter – Nov. 2017

We know from the Bible, and often from our life experiences, that God does delight in making good out of bad. I’ve found this to be consistently true within my own family. Just when a dire situation seems to have no possible benefit, somehow God provides a glimmer of hope or an outright miraculous turn for the better. This rings true time and time again down here in the jungles of Ecuador also. However, most of us have been conditioned for instant results, so the process can sometimes test our faith.

So what do bullets and a den of thieves have to do with all this? There’s always more to the story – so here we go!

I first met the family mentioned above about six years ago when we were just ‘getting our feet wet’ in the Amazon River Basin.  They were cussin’ us out, accusing us of cutting heads, all the while, pelting us with fruit and stones. The Shuar have gotten away from the practice of shrinkin’ heads a generation ago, but that doesn’t mean we can wander into the jungle like we’re out for a picnic! This happened nearly every time we had to pass by their little village on the way to a much friendlier village, but all that took a drastic turn one day – thanks to a bullet!

Earlier this year, one of our Hope House girls told me a story of how her uncle shot a guy who was stealing from their village, which happens to be about a full day’s journey deeper into the jungle by bus and canoe. When she mentioned the victim’s last name, I asked her if she knew if he was part of the notorious family from the ‘den of thieves’. Yes – he’s the 25 yr. old son of the chief, great grandson of the ‘lil ole grandma. Shortly after this, we were gathered with our Shuar leadership team and their families at our Jungle Training Camp outside Sucua. About a hundred familiar faces attended the annual retreat which consisted of informative workshops, fellowship, & a whole lot of laughs. I noticed a new face in the mix, a young man who looked  a little rough on the outside but had a sweet spirit about him. His name was Daniel and God was doing a miracle in his life – thanks to a life changing bullet! 

Yep, you can’t script it – God really does have a way of making good out of the impossible! From throwing rocks at us, to getting shot, then ending up at our very own camp for training Shuar to reach their own with God’s message of eternal hope. Daniel could have died a hundred times, lost without hope, but God had a plan for him all along. There’s of course much more to the story, like how he just happened to meet Felipe, a young Pastor from our team, while recuperating from the bullet wound. They had a lot in common. Felipe came from a long line of witch doctors and even tried to blow-up the STL truck of fellow missionaries, Joil & Leah Marbut. Now, God is using Felipe to help guide Daniel through his near death experience, and spiritual birth. The family has asked if I could return to speak with them again. The dad has made it clear that he wants salvation for every one of his family members – and he’s got his own little ‘notebook of life’ to keep track as each one turns to the Lord. Say a pray for them (and me) as I’ll be heading to their village this coming Sunday, December 3rd at 4PM. 

• The above pic was taken last month when I had the privilege of baptizing Daniel (black vest), his dad (blue shirt), and several family members. 
• My family may find it ironic that this guy’s name is Daniel. A bullet (actually 4) took our brother Daniel  from us in ’82. He was 28, the father of 2, an all around great guy. And like the story above, God took a very horrible act of death and turned it into eternal life. Our brother miraculously lived 36 hours, just enough time for my Mom to get from NY to FL, to hold his hand and to pray with him as he made peace with God with his last breath. I live with the understanding that I will see my brother again.        
• This post is dedicated w/ much love to Neil, Kara, & Mary