Life Is a Jungle

The Rani Adventures #2

by Ron Snell

"Life is a Jungle" by Ron Snell is Book 2 of The Rani Adventures, also known as The Jungle Series. The second edition is 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches. The first edition was 4 1/4 inches by 7 inches. Type is bigger and easier to read in the second edition.Extremely popular with the Christian homeschool audience as well as people of all ages, The Rani Adventures depict what life was like for a young missionary kid growing up in the rain forests of Peru."My high school years were like a television series," Snell writes. "Hiking into the middle of the Amazon jungle to build an airstrip and nearly starving to death. Greeting the president of Peru as he stepped out of his chopper to visit our school. Spoon feeding water to feverish Machiguengas and helping bury the ones who died."I never thought it unusual to have a 16-foot anaconda slithering around in our science class. Or going barefoot to school, getting stuck in the middle of landslides or getting cheap thrills careening through the streets of Lima in taxis in the dead of night."What was I doing in Peru?"Well, that's a long story. A funny, sad, sometimes unbelievable story.It's what this book is about--a really crazy family that loved adventure, loved God and loved the Machiguengas."

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Biography, Christianity, Comedy, Memoir, Biography Memoir

270 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 1997

Reviews

[Sarah Grace Grzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are just amazing!!

[Jaeger Matthias · Rating 3 out of 5]

i lay huddled..............

[Lorinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Providing a humorous side to mission work is Ron Snell, who grew up in the Amazon jungle of Peru during the 1950s and 60s. Ron's parents worked as Bible translators (Summer Institute of Linguistics) with the Machiguenga Indians. The book trilogy, It's a Jungle Out There; Life is a Jungle; and Jungle Calls, contains stories that will bring tears to your eyes through laughter and touching stories.

Travel down a jungle river with Ron and his brother, Terry, as kids when they take a wild ride on a log, or when they camp out, and Terry gets bitten by a vampire bat. Cross the Andes with his family in an old car, on a one lane road, over a pass at 16,500 feet. Mourn with the family and Indians as sickness and death come to a village.

Later, follow 17-year-old Ron to Chicago to Moody Bible Institute and learn why that school banned snakes and blow darts from the dorms. (You can take the boy out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the boy.) Watch the power of prayer in action when Ron helps to blaze a trail through the jungle for two missionary women to make the first contact with a tribal group known for killing men and kidnapping women who came into their territory. A miracle happened.

When reading these books, do NOT skip the Acknowledgment pages, especially the one in the last book. The humor begins before page 1.

[Nat Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best missionary books out there

[Deb Richmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the humor and over-the-top storytelling. Can't wait to read the third book in this series.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part two of three in Ron Snell's memoirs about growing up as a missionary kid in the Peruvian rainforest. It starts when he is 12 and suffering through two years of furlough in a strange, foreign place called the United States. It ends with graduation from the little mission boarding school in Peru -- he and his older brother comprise two-thirds of the graduating class.
I'm glad that in this book Snell addresses some of the challenges his parents faced in learning the language of the Machiguenga people and then translating Scripture into their language.
For instance, Snell writes, how does one translate "And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus" to a people who have no government or governing rulers? How do you explain a census to a people who don't count beyond four? Or a tax to people who have no monetary system?
A friend of mine went through this process much more recently with a tribal people in Papua Indonesia. He told me about the challenge of translating the book of Acts, such as when Peter is thrown into prison. Prison? The tribe in question had no system of laws, no police, no jails. The simple word "prison" took many words in their language to explain.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Life is a Jungle," but I wish it had gone through another round of editing before being printed. The copy editor in me cringed every time the author wrote "it's" when he meant "its."

[Cerynn McCain · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in the series, Ron doesn't miss a beat. The kid living in Peru is a little older, and that just gives him more room to get into trouble. As a missionary in Peru, Ron Snell has loads of stories to tell, and each one holds their own sort of charm. I honestly don't remember if it is written well or not, because it is told as if the author is sitting in your house telling you the stories. I didn't care if it was written well, it was written entertainily (which is now officially a word in my head). From medical mishaps, to journeys through jungles, his childhood was so much more interesting than mine, and I love reading this book so I can live through him.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

More hilarity ensues in the jungles of Peru. I especially enjoy the grape jelly episode...

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

entertaining and imformative

[Joanna]

An interesting look at a missionary's life

[Doug Magnuson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading this one, too. He is a great story-teller.

[SpicySalsa00 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK!

Ron Snell is hilarious.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great read-aloud for all ages.

[Donna Dieckmann]

An amazing story of how ONE person changed the lives of so many!