Jungle Ice Cream. A Memorable Scream for Ice Cream.

 

Imagine being in a jungle. It is hot and humid. You are sweaty. To tell you the truth, ice cream isn’t even on your mind. Then someone asks, “What do you remember about going to the city?”

 

I've spent time in 3 or 4 villages in the Amazon Basin in Brazil, near the equator. The villages were all along the Negro River, a major tributary to the Amazon River. The people living along the river are referred to as 'River People.' Life is made up of houses on stilts, canoes and paddles, families and village members inking out a living from the river and the jungle around them.

 

Many ‘river people’ are Christian. But there are many villages that have little or no religion. For medical attention villagers go to Manaus. They buy whatever they need and sell whatever they can make or trade. Obviously, the influence of Manaus, and the growing wealth of Brazil is impacting the ‘river people’ and the indigenous. Their villages generate electricity a few hours each day so they can watch soccer, and other entertainment and keep up with news on satellite TV. They have cellphones, even if cell coverage is limited. Many teens have cell phones that provide endless hours of gaming and make nice photos.

 

A couple of us were talking to some kids on my second visit to the region and someone asked one boy, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Given their access to media, some responded they wanted to be entertainers, sing all over the world and make lots of money. Others simply wanted to go to Manaus to work and make lots of money. Some of the younger children simply wanted things, jewelry, clothing, and motor cycles and cars. Never mind that there are no roads in the jungle, only the river.

 

The surprise that day was this small boy wanted to eat something he had eaten on one of his trips to Manaus, but couldn't remember what it was called. We played 20 questions. You know, what color was it? Was it a meat or a plant? Was it hot or cold? Bing! It was cold and white. Finally we guessed. It was ice cream. It was a memorable scream for ice cream. You know the old line, “I scream; you scream; we all scream for ice cream.” I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist this childhood chant.

After talking about this experience with my travel-friend Steve, another American, and how we take some of the things we have for granted, we got to wondering. I thought the idea was mine, but Steve, my travel mentor believes he put it into words before me. “Why don't we go to a village and make some homemade ice cream for kids” we said! The idea was electric. We decided the next time we went to Amazon we were going to do this.

Well, planning for and preparing to make homemade ice cream in the jungle was a beginning point for our next trip. First, we needed to consider the ice cream maker or “freezer.” It needed to be the old fashioned hand cranked kind, because we couldn’t count on having electricity. Also, one freezer would only make about a gallon of the pearly stuff. We might need more than one freezer. We would need rock salt. And what about milk? Then we thought, could you even get these things in Manaus? What about eggs and cream? We needed to consider keeping these items refrigerated. We needed a recipe that was fool-proof in the hands of a couple of guys who seemed to be in-charge, me and Steve.

Once I got home, I asked my wife about ice cream recipes and she came up with the one we regularly use at home. It did not require eggs or whipping cream, but it did require canned evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla pudding mix. It was a tasty recipe from my experience, and not hard to freeze, even though I had always used an electric freezer when I made it.

We decided to remove as many obstacles out of the equation as possible. We would need only two things on the river: whole milk and ice. We would take everything we needed with us. That included (for each freezer):

 

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz. can)

1 can sweetened condensed milk, i.e. Eagle Brand (12 oz. can)
1 large package vanilla instant pudding mix (i.e. a 5.9 oz. package)
Vanilla extract to taste (at least one tablespoon).
Whole milk (to fill freezer). A typical freezer will make about a gallon of ice cream.

Additional items we thought we needed:

Whisk.
Spatula.
Rock salt (1 box per freezer). Rock Salt typically comes in 4 lb. boxes.
15 lb. of ice per freezer and an igloo to keep it.
Long-handled, sturdy spoon for dipping ice cream.
Chocolate syrup and nuts as optional toppings. Hershey’s Chocolate comes in 12 oz. cans.
Small cups and plastic spoons.

 

The photos included are of our team making ice cream and the children eating it. Sure, some of the river people have had ice cream in Manaus. But none had ever had it in the jungle, miles up the river from the city.  And then there were some who had never had ice cream at all.

 

What was the motivation behind this crazy plan? Simply put, it was to make a memory, to do something that would be significant for someone that they might long remember. These are things that aren’t easily done. In doing it you say, not in words, but with your action, “You matter.” “We love you.”

 

The thing that jumps out now to me, I don’t say “You matter” enough.

 
Scripture has many examples that say, “You matter.” Here are a few:

Scripture

Matthew 26.6-13 – When Jesus was in Bethany, a woman came, broke open a container of expensive perfume and put it on him. Some complained that it was a waste. Jesus told them, “She has done a beautiful thing. Whenever the Good News is told, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Acts 3.11-12 – When the beggar (who could not walk who used to sit at the gate near the temple was healed) clung to Peter and John, all the people around them were astounded. Peter and John explained to them, “We didn’t heal this man. This man was healed by God in the name of Jesus.”

Acts 11.23 - When Barnabas arrived at Antioch and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with a firm resolve of the heart. Together, Paul and Barnabas spent a year with the Church at Antioch.

Acts 14.21-22 – After helping people in Lystra, Iconium and Antioch become believers, Paul made efforts to strengthen their faith by encouraging them to continue in the faith, telling them, “You will have many problems on our way into the kingdom of God.””

Romans 12.10 – Outdo one another in showing honor.