An Encounter with Paradise

I Chronicles 29:11

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, 

for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. 

Yours, O LORD, is the Kingdom; 

You are exalted as head over all.

Stalking forward, our necks craned to the canopy above, we scanned the lush green limbs for any trace of movement – a flicker of shadow or rustle of leaf. The cool jungle at 8,585 feet is layered in a reddish fuzzy moss, which sparkles with dew wherever rays of light glance through the thick foliage. Brilliant flowers are backlit by every shade of green – the trees woven together with vines and draped with mossy green beards, dripping from the last rainfall. Our movement was near-silent as we treaded upon spongy layers of decay, and each breath was partly held in anticipation of sighting our quarry – the remarkable Birds of Paradise.

Our weekend adventure venue was Kumul Lodge, a rustic mountaintop camp ~90 minutes West of Kudjip, and proud host to many of the famous Birds of Paradise. Ironically, most of the BOP’s with whom we became acquainted over the weekend were observed from the comfort of a viewing deck off the main lodge. This deck overlooks a mossy platform at the jungle edge, which is conveniently supplied with fresh fruit scraps twice a day. Don’t worry, we also enjoyed quite a number of stealthy hikes along the jungle paths surrounding Kumil Lodge! 

On this particular adventure, our 15 passenger van was crammed with 12 missionaries – Bill and Marsha McCoy, the Dooley’s (Scott, Gail, Allison, Emma, Olivia), Kevin and Leslie Kerrington, Judy Ralph, Rachel “Babe of Paradise” Henderson, and yours truly. I had the pleasure of navigating the highland roadways – dodging potholes, climbing switchback slopes, and (sorry Marsha!) roller-coasting a few rolling hills. :-)  The views heading into the mountains were breathtaking!


Our accommodations at Kumul Lodge were quaint and comfortable – little thatch cabins all connected with covered walkways, and of special note !Electric Blankets! on each bed to beat the crisp night chill – talk about cozy! When we weren’t bird watching or bird walking, there were a variety of games played in the main lodge – my favorite of course being charades by firelight. Rachel brought her travel guitar and led the group in worship on two occasions – a perfect complement to witnessing such majestic creation.

Psalm 95:1‑7

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

 

 Belford's Melidectes 

Papuan Lorikeet

Archbold's Bowerbird

Gerygone (left), Honeyeater (right)

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature‑ have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Regent Whistler (left), White-winged Robin (right)

 Brehm's Tiger-Parrot 

(male left, female right)

Ribbon-Tailed Astrapia 

(Female above, immature Male below)

Funny Story (pic below) - we saw one female Ribbon-tail chasing another, grab a hold of its tail by the beak, then suspend it for almost a full minute off the feeding ledge! Amazing!

 Island Thrush (Left), Blue-capped Ifrita (Right)

 Brown Sicklebill

Splendid Fruit Dove 

(sadly, found dead)

Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”