From 1999 to 2010, Dr. Terry Schultz served in the Amazon jungle. He took trips to bring the Gospel to tribal villages deep in the rain forest. During that time, he sent letters home to family and friends. Known as the Jungle Journals, these highly popular entries about life and work in the Amazon inspired other Christians and brought new insights into tribal culture. Now for the first time, these journal entries will be published as a series of books, beginning in 2025.

Following are some excerpts to enjoy as a sneak peek!

As we lay there in the house-with-one-inch-gaps-in-the-walls-and-floorboards, it was “All You Can Eat, International Buffet Night” for the Amazon mosquitos.

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As we got ready to leave, the chief once again presented a gift, this time a huge, live rooster! I always try and grab these live animals with all the nonchalance of having handled them all my life, when in fact, I have no idea what I’m doing and expect to be bit, pecked, clawed or gouged at any moment, depending on the animal!

“We seem to be the forgotten ones. We don’t know very much about God. We know we have fallen. We want to rise again. But who will teach us? Will you come back?”

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“Before you came, we didn’t really know anything about having an eternal spirit, but now we are understanding...”

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Suddenly amidst all the singing and tambourines, the raised bamboo floor started to crack and cave in! Natives tumbled off the porch and into the mud! However, we just kept playing, as the fallen natives picked themselves up, climbed back up onto the platform, and continued listening!

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In tribal villages where the majority of natives converted to Christianity, the changes to community life have been astounding.  In Louis Terry, home of a Lutheran grade school and our future high school, virtually no one drinks masato, the fermented yucca root drink that enslaves most Shawi villages in alcoholism… 

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“When I get back to Viejo Limon Cocha,” Madani, the village leader, told me, “I will announce to the community, ‘bury me in the ground.’ I have no fear. My spirit will immediately be in heaven...”