In a Bamboo House on Stilts

All my adult life, owing to my line of work, I've had to travel to some pretty isolated spots in the world. About nineteen years ago, my Higher Power caught up with me, and unexpectedly I found myself in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. When I'd reached the ripe old age of six months in the program, I was asked to go on assignment to the "Green Hell," the Amazon jungles of Bolivia. Unsure of myself, and feeling sort of wobbly about my fledgling sobriety, I asked my sponsor, Jim, for advice. "What should I do?" He assured me that if I was doing the will of my Higher Power and if, through prayer and meditation, I were to stay in contact with him and with my sponsor, God wouldn't let me get into a situation where I couldn't remain sober. He would always be there to lend me a hand and to give me strength when I felt I was growing weak. Jim pointed out that the name of the game was "trust." "Are you ready to turn your will and your life over to the Higher Power?" he asked. His final words of advice were, "Remember, Dan, easy does it." But as I made arrangements to head for South America, I thought, "What if Jim is wrong?"