One hour of sleep. The streets leading to the river (our highway for the next 8 hours) strewn with trash and littered with the inebriated -Both recyclable (recyclinglives.org). An unsightly short brisk walk led to the view above, the Rio Coco. 

The journey that would ensue is a way of life for many and one that would change my life forever. 

I shared my life's victories and defeats with this gentleman. 

He's been a role model in the faith, like a spiritual uncle. He's lived an extraordinary life. He survived the Contra War only to start a church, school, orphanage, and feeding center. In essence, Earl Bowie is using his time, talents, and treasure to meet the spiritual, mental, and physical needs of his  community. I could go on about his impact, but I will save that for another post. 

 -Back to the river. 

What we saw and experienced goes far beyond allegory. 

We stopped near the above shores to pick up a river guide for the journey ahead.  Little did I know at the time how important this would be...

I was told that the guide was necessary to help us navigate up the river and through the rapids.

Rapids?

The rumble in the background is coming from the rocks hitting the bottom of the boat.  The river was lower than usual this year.

We were trusting this guy to guide us through the rapids by waving his hands and pointing. That's it.  Oh yeah, it was against the current and at full speed!

Nicaraguan GPS!!!

We did this for nearly 5 hours.  We seemed to head full speed towards boulders, shallow streams and narrow passages.  We sailed "by faith not by sight!"  We were in the waving, pointing hand of this unassuming, small framed man who was holding on by a simple rope at the bow of our boat.

Or, were we in larger hands?

The dangers of this expedition became more and more apparent minute to minute, shore to shore.  We saw and learned that many of the locals float down these treacherous waters on planks tied together, entire families aboard, partially submerged -on trips to get food and vital supplies.

This makes my memories of the "difficulty" of going for groceries in the city seem trivial.  And, they were just that.  Trivial.  I had nothing to complain about then or now.  Especially in light of what these individuals faced routinely and what we would soon face.

The same rafts above would take this same path in order to buy food and supplies for the family.  Just like going to the store.  But unlike our family trips to the local market, death was a not so uncommon reality.

As we approached the rapids, we learned of a Pastor who lost 2 of his daughters earlier this year while traveling on these very same rapids.  Even the youngest of those who live on the river pay a high cost. Life on the Rio Coco could prove perilous for anyone. Minutes after hearing this tragic story, we were told that some of us would have to exit the boat in order to continue.  The item pictured above greeted us as we stepped off the boat. 

It was yet another reminder of the tragedies that flow along these banks. Or, pehaps it was something more...