The Voice That Led Them Out of the Jungle

Who Do You Trust?

I was recently reminded of an event I had read about awhile ago. It is truly a remarkable story.

On May 1, 2023, a small aircraft with seven passengers crashed in one of the most remote parts of the world: the Amazon rainforest. The Cessna was flying from one small village to a slightly larger one, hundreds of miles south of Bogota, Colombia.

A Hundred Miles Long

Evidently, the single-engine prop failed in midair, causing a forced meeting with the dense canopy of trees and the jungle’s unforgiving floor. All seven passengers were presumed dead. The odds of survival were minimal. The search area was a hundred miles long and twenty miles wide.

It took Colombian special forces more than two weeks, but they eventually located the crash site. When they did, they were saddened to find three of the seven passengers had perished upon impact but surprised to learn the other four—all children, all siblings ranging from ages thirteen years to eleven months—were nowhere to be found. Not on board and not around the crash site.

How Could They Still Be Alive?

Colombia stepped up the rescue efforts. The government dispatched 150 soldiers, 40 volunteers, and several rescue dogs. Tiny clues of hope were found: a baby bottle here, small footprints there, used diapers. The children had been raised near the jungle. The older ones knew which plants and bugs to avoid. Even so, they were just kids. How could they still be alive?

Days turned into weeks, and desperation grew. Rescuers dropped boxes of food, water, even whistles into the jungle, hoping these would help sustain the children. But day after day ended in despair. After more than a month of effort, the search crew began to wonder if the children were purposely dodging their help.

Turns out that was the case.

Come Out of Hiding

More than once, rescuers were within fifty feet of the kids. The children didn’t know if men had come to hurt or help, so they refused the ones who could save them.

The Columbians then came up with a plan.

What could convince the children to come out of hiding? The team got creative. They lowered speakers into the jungle and turned up the volume so that a message could be heard in over a mile in any direction. And then, this detail is key, they played an invitation recorded by the siblings’ beloved grandmother telling them to “stay in one place, the rescue team is here to help.”

On day number forty, all four children—emaciated, insect-bitten, weak, and most of all, afraid—were found. Their grandmother’s voice called them out of the shadows.

They just needed a voice they could trust.

In the work that I do with men, I see a similar resistance that men have towards Jesus. They fear what they might require of them or where He might lead them. I point out to them this great promise He has made to us: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17)

We are told in Joshua 21:45 that not one of God’s promises has ever failed. His voice can always be trusted.

 Richard E Simmons III is the founder and Executive Director of The Center for Executive Leadership and a best-selling author.