A fitting tribute to my tools

There are few places on Earth that will test the craftsmanship, quality and overall durability of your tools to a greater degree than a humid tropical jungle climate. You learn shockingly fast what lasts and what ends-up in the trash pit or burn barrel. While there is little personal gain one receives for praising inanimate objects, I have long felt indebted to my tried and true partners of primarily petroleum and metallic make-up whose assistance I have counted as invaluable during the last 18 months. And although I have not contacted the companies who manufacture the following items for the possibility of receiving a payment fitting for endorsing their products, I do not consider the following pro bono promotion to be a fruitless and frivolous endeavor. I’ve made an ascending list and description of what I have chosen as six of my most useful tools and a brief description of each.


#6 Nalgene water bottle. This guy has been everywhere with me because….well you can’t live very long without water -and as my primary source for the containment and consumption of H2O it was been tested and proven faithful. As a Christmas gift Charles bought me a splendid additional attachment: a coffee filter. You pour grounds in this micro-screen cap attachment, add boiling water, agitate for four minutes and enjoy. Nalgene, I tip my hat to you my faithful friend.

#5 Leatherman Skeletool. The contemporary pocket-knife of today is no longer a one blade, 4 inch stainless steel whittling instrument. Many have multiple functions and various gadgets; but most of which the owner quickly discovers to be superfluous. The skeletool is lightweight with a stainless steel serrated blade, an interchangeable flat-head/ philipps screw driver option and a set of pliers with plenty of torque. I use the Leatherman from everything from peeling an orange to clipping and splicing electrical wire. Skeletool, you are cutting edge; always there when needed.

#4 Petzl Tikka Headlamp. While not earning a bronze, silver or gold, this illuminator carries much more than a token blue ribbon. This tool has been imperative in every sense of the word out here. The hands-free lighting is found to be no more appreciated than when everything besides your light is pitch-black. And when you are filleting a seven-pound peacock bass @ 8 p.m, every bit of your right and left arms and hands is needed. Furthermore, this headlamp is an LED: exceptionally bright, peerlessly efficient and durable. To get an idea, with everyday use, the same three AAA batteries lasted from February to May! Petzl LED, The darkness that surrounds something I only know from afar.

#3 Olympus Stylus Digital Camera. If ever there existed a perpetual test to validate the claim of waterproof 10 ft, shockproof 5 ft, than we (Taylor and Charles also have similar models of the same camera) are ready to take a stand in defense of this claim. Any given boat trip we’ve been on involves nearly all our equipment either getting splashed, soaked or submerged. The most thrilling videos and pics such as climbing up steep rapids or screaming down a zip-line inevitably end with the camera getting both banged-around and submerged. A camera any less durable would have been long gone. Olympus, if I go down to the greatest depths or ascend to the lofty heights….you will not fail to yield tangible evidence to show everyone later. 

#2 Clark Jungle Hammock. When nighttime comes in the jungle, finding a comfortable place to lay your head is vitally important. And there’s no place you’d rather not be than on the ground. I could make a list of 1,000 dangers and nuisances from stinging red ants to relentless rain storms that make a hammock necessary. Furthermore, mosquitoes and various other nasty insects will find you if you lack a mosquito net. The Clark Jungle Hammock covers both those bases and so much more. It can be rolled up and conveniently stuffed into a built-in enclosure sack. The expedience of the hammock is important when you’re always moving from place to place as I have been. There is a custom-fit tarp that can be fastened and strung-up as to keep the user completely dry in the worst of downpours. My appreciation for this jungle hammock has only grown with time. Clark, you have been my evening place of repose; thanks to you, my sleep has been sweeter, deeper and a whole lot longer.

#1 Blackberry Pearl. You might be surprised by this choice… of maybe not. This handheld wonder takes first place in function and value- no contest. Only two months prior to arriving in Suriname, the primary cell service provider for the country had a number of cell phone towers constructed forever changing the dynamics of the Aukaan people. I have internet access, email, and even Skype. I use my phone everyday, have consistent contact with my family, friends and my team here in the country. Technology is no more appreciated than when you reside in a remote area. The Blackberry keeps me up on what’s going on in the world through the news, facebook etc. Honestly, having this phone has made being away for such a long period of time much less difficult. Blackberry Pearl, you’ve made the world a much smaller place and brought so much of it to me.

So perhaps this tool tribute post will give a bit of an idea which physical possessions are of the greatest value out here in the Amazon. The products mentioned have earned my wholehearted stamp of approval. If you decide to purchase any of the above be sure to reference me as honest, genuine freelance sales rep who would gladly appreciate any amount of a monetary payment for my sales work. 

Giving your all, using your gift

Most Christians you meet will often be quick to agree that God gives us gifts, talents and ability to further his Kingdom. Jesus emphasized on numerous occasions in the Gospels how “it’s to the Father’s Glory that you bear much fruit -fruit will last” (John 15) and described in a vivid and quite frankly fearful parable what will happen to us who “bury our talent” (Matt 25:25). Being in a foreign country among an impoverished people group you continually see basic human needs that remain unmet because there simply aren’t those with the money or ability to alleviate whatever suffering is present. While the causes of poverty usually involve multiple factors and the methods of ameliorating it are even more complex, being able to help with physical needs in whatever way possible goes far…and it points people to the hope that is Jesus.

Well, this last week I was privileged to see firsthand two men taking a portion of their vacation time, spending their own money and coming to the Suriname interior to use their gift to further our Lord’s Kingdom. Stephen Malone and Gary Poppe, dentists from Tennessee and Kansas, respectively, visited six villages in five days, instructed and assisted in pulling the teeth of numerous Aukaaners free of charge. For those of you who are not familiar with the Maroons of the interior, this might sound like a drastic or perhaps even extreme procedure. Pulling teeth? What about a good cleaning, a few fillings or even a root canal? I’ll be honest, what immediately came to mind as analogous to our present scenario would be a doctor coming to amputate the limbs of patients to prevent death from gangrene. In all actuality, the moderately morbid comparison is not too far-fetched. Of course, there’s a lot more functionality with a mouth devoid of a tooth or two than your body devoid of a right arm.

When one looks at the dental health of Aukaaners, they are without fluoridated water, regular dental check-ups, and critical oral hygiene habits. For most, their teeth are so decayed as to cause intense pain that cannot be alleviated until the bad tooth is extracted. For these people, the only solution they know of and hope to receive in order to find relief is for someone to pull the bad tooth/teeth.

What was awesome about Gary and Stephen coming here was that they didn’t pull most the teeth. They were here primarily for training two Aukaan Christian guys: Baa’ Henne and Baa’ Kenneth to do the procedure. Hene and Kenneth did an excellent job and have definitely earned the trust of their own people. Gary and Stephen used their gift, one that most of us (including Charles, Taylor and I) don’t possess, and as the circumstances demonstrated, was much needed and by the Aukaaners of Suriname. The one-week trip these men took had a huge impact that will resonate much longer than a few days in July.

Meeting the physical needs of people usually precedes their desire for Spiritual ones. When talking with people here, they often associate our ministry with the “teeth doctors” who came in such-and-such a year. I know people’s receptivity to the Gospel will increase as they see Love being the motivation behind the dental work. Praise God for men like Gary and Stephen who have vastly furthered the ministry in the interior by using their gift of dentistry to bear fruit –fruit that will last.