Ilho de Papagaio

That means Parrot Island. I have mentioned a couple of times, we have a NICS missionary here from Peru. There are only a few times in life where you get the opportunity to see the Amazon - especially in a unique way. At the beginning of the week I had to figure something out for John. We went to the Docas (an old port in the city that has been turned into a tourist attraction) to find something we could do to show John the Amazon. We were scheduled to leave this morning at 3 a.m. to get to the island where the parrots sleep at night.

3 a.m. comes early, but not for the Taxi driver who took us to the meeting point. This guy was crazy! He picks us up and we work out a deal to get us to the hotel where the bus would pick us up to take us to the boat dock. Pretty much, we thought we were going to die. If the car had wings, we could have just flown to the island. 120 km/h through red lights, across pedestrian crosswalks, in between cars, this man had no concern for life's well-being at all. The end of the Taxi ride came to a screeching stop in front of the hotel - skid marks and all! Thank the good Lord that the bus driver to the dock had more sense!

When we arrived we found out that we were the only 2 people going on the trip, and there was actually a guy who could speak English to show us what was going on ( I will share more about this guy in future posts- there is definitely a future relationship to be built there). When we arrived at the island, we had to wait a few minutes before the action began.

All of the parrots in the region sleep on this one island. Cicero (our guide) was telling us that the island was safe for the birds, because no boas (snakes) were on the island. The first documented occurrence about the parrots on the island was written by the Portuguese 400 years ago. As the sun comes up, these birds take flight into an orchestra of sound and movement - flying around and singing in an ocean of birds in the sky. It was actually quite phenomenal. The birds can live, in the wild, up to 35 or so years. In captivity, up to 80 plus years. In all of the commotion of the morning, "married birds" as they were defined, are able to recognize their mate's call. When they meet up in the wave of birds, they fly off together to go accomplish the tasks for the day. I found it quite interesting. In all of the commotion of life, they recognize their mate and fly off together. These parrots "stay married" till death do them part. They go out each morning to fulfill the duties of that day, together. They have each other for protection. They share the challenges of the day. They stick close together - no matter what happens.

It is interesting when God ordains these types of relationships in animals for us to learn from. No matter what, these birds stick together until death... no matter what. I thought about the significance of that in my own marriage. A lot of times, we wake up and head our separate ways - to get what we have to get done for that day. We reunite at the end of the day, to get ready to do it again the next. I wander how many more marriages would last, would stand strong, would stick together, no matter what, if in our daily lives we walked (instead of flew) together. Culture says it can't be done, I understand. But what if, what if we did walk together with our spouses each and every day, what if we were always there for one another, what if we were always there to protect, care for, and keep the other, what if we walked daily with our spouses? After all, the relationship of a husband and wife is supposed to reflect that of Christ and His church. Are we not supposed to walk daily with Christ? Does Christ not walk daily with us, to love and protect us, to be there for us when we fall, to encourage and guide us?

Ephesians 5:25-30 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansingher by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body."

Wow! How amazing it is to see that relationship portrayed in parrots! How amazing it is to stand back and look at our relationships with our spouses through the lens of Scripture! How amazing it is when Scripture is confirmed through God's creation!

Thought I would share some photos of the experience.