Shortly the congregation began to arrive, crouched in dugout canoes, paddling in from huts along the river shore, for there are no roads or trails of any kind through the jungle. Some of the canoes were filled with whole families, and others had just one or two persons in them. Some were Christians who looked with eager anticipation for the mis sionary to come for a meeting, others heard the announce ments from the launch and just came to see what was going on. The hut was soon filled and we had the joy of speaking to them of our wonderful Lord and of what He had done for us. The meeting was such a treat for these folks that they seemed very loathe to leave, but at last their canoes slipped silently away into the night and we were left alone to spend the night on the launch. Monday, April 16th, 1951: We sfient the morning visiting some of the huts along the river where Christians lived, going in to them by canoe. We also saw the only industry of these people, a small place where they made hand-fashioned tiles; a little hut where sugar cane was made into syrup; and a spot where crude rubber was assembled for export as the Indians brought it in from the jungle by canoe. After a very interesting morning, we went on to the UFM station which is the home base of the launch, and from which this river work is carried on. This gave us another opportunity to meet the workers there and to have a fine evening of fellowship with them. Late in the evening we again boarded the launch and headed back to Belem, but this time the great river was anything but smooth. Waves sometimes reach the height of fifteen feet, which is really rough going for a small launch, and while they were not that high, still they were high enough to make the launch really pitch. Mr. McAllister was piloting the launch and told us there was no danger of capsizing unless we had to turn into the trough of the waves! Tuesday, April 17th, 1951: We arrived back at Belem at about 6 a.m., and after breakfast at Unevangelized Fields Mission home, we were off again to visit the early morning market. , What a sight met our eyes as we arrived at the dock
town called Icoroci, so we proceeded to their home, and from there started the busy round of seeing things of interest and taking care of necessary business matters. During the day, we had the joy of meeting Mr. ( ’47) and Mrs. Jim McNutt and Ed. Lawrence, Biola graduates working with the Un evangelized Fields Mission. Despite continued rain, we left at about 9 p.m. on the UFM launch for a four-day trip on the Amazon and tributaries, to see something of the life and work on the rivers. It was a real thrill to board this launch with Messrs. Sargentson, McAllister, Herroll, McNutt and Lawrence of the UFM, as well as Mrs. Altig and Mrs. Miller of the Brethren Mission, and to start out of the black dark ness of a rainy night up the Amazon River. Friday, April 13th, 1951: The launch was anchored in a narrow inlet from about midnight on so the men who were our pilots could get a bit of sleep, but by 4 a.m. they were up and we were moving up one of the southern branches of the river. The whole day was spent in travel, sometimes in places so wide that we could not see across the river, and sometimes in narrow channels where we were closed in by the steaming tropical jungle. At all times we could see signs of the life of the region, in the interesting native sail boats and canoes in the river, and also when we were close enough, we could, see the little huts of palm branches and thatch that were set in the edge of the jungles. The matted trees and vines of the jungle came right down to the water edge, and swarmd with bird life, even as the river swarmed with fish and por poises of all sizes. At about 10 p.m., after an interesting day of seeing the life of this great river and of fellowship with a fine group of workers, we anchored in the mouth of a narrow river that leads up to the little town of Breves, It was again shortly after 4 a.m. when we started moving up the tributary that would lead us to our destination, but this time we did not get very far, for after a few moments of travel, the launch was stuck fast on a mud bank. No amount of racing the motors would budge it, so everyone went overboard in the darkness and the muddy water, and after a lot of pushing we finally got the launch into deep water so we could proceed on our way. We were glad of the early morning dip and glad that we were up, for before long we were treated to the spectacle of a real tropical sunrise, made doubly beautiful as it was reflected in the still waters of that particular part of the river. By about 9 o’clock we were tied up at Breves, and visiting a real outpost of mis sionary testimony deep in the Amazon jungle. Here we found another Biola graduate, Miss Ivy Johnson (Miss. Med. ’48) who is carrying on a very fine work, especially among the children of this out-of-the-way place. This is a station and school of the Unevangelized Fields Mission, and they have about fifty Brazilian children receiving daily training in the gospel, as well as regular school work. We spent a very enjoyable day seeing this work, fellowshipping with the workers there, and also swimming in the Amazon River. We found that while the river looked very calm from the shore, when we were in it there was a terrific current that made swimming difficult. Still it was very enjoyable after the ex treme heat of the day. After supper and an enjoyable hour of fellowship with the missionaries, we were again on our way by launch to another station. Sunday, April 15th, 1951: Another interesting day on the launch viewing the native life along the river, which was much more abundant than on the previous days. Dr. Talbot ’’fell” into the river and was “ rescued” by Ed Miller, which gave them both a chance to cool off a little bit! About 5:30, we arrived at a little thatched hut on the edge of the river named “Villa Santa Ana,” and spent the next thirty minutes going up and down the river to neighboring huts announcing a meeting over the launch’s PA system, as well as playing Gospel Recordings records in Portuguese. We then fixed up an electric light in the hut, and put the PA system in it too, with the loud speakers outside, with the power supplied from the launch. JUNE, 1951 which was our destination. Saturday, April Hth, 1951:
River craft at Belem, Brazil
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