here, even though it is hot, as the rivers are all full of caripe, native fish about a foot long, with very sharp teeth with which they really bite! I spent the morning downtown in Cuidad Bolivar with Chuck Olvey, shopping for supplies to take with us on our trip into the jungle to look for unreached Indians. In the afternoon I worked with the Missionary Aviation Fel lowship fliers, carefully weighing every item we had, so as not to exceed the carrying capacity of the little four-seater Piper Clipper in which we are to fly tomorrow. Tuesday, April 3rd, 1951: Jim Truxton, MAF pilot, Chuck Olvey, of the Orinoco River Mission, and I got away to an early start this morning. We were out of the airport, had the MAF plane gassed up and loaded and were in the air by 8 A.M. It Was a wonderful ex perience to fly over the rivers and jungles of this great land, and to realize that we were looking down into areas unreached by the gospel. It was a beautiful day and a very comfortable trip, made more so by the careful and efficient manner in which the MAF fliers check and handle their equipment. Our destina tion was the little town of about 2,000 population called Cai cara, which is the last outpost of Venezuelan civilization, with nothing lying south between it and the Amazon but hundreds of miles of mountains and jungles, in which there are living unknown thousands of Indians who have never been reached with the gospel, and whose language no one knows. What a missionary field! Wednesday, April &th, 1951: Very hot, but dull and cloudy this morning. I hate to think what it will be when the sun comes out! In the afternoon it cleared a little and Chuck Olvey and I went along with an Indian in a canoe to visit a lovely lagoon opening off the Orinoco, surrounded by dense jungle, into which one of the tributaries of the Orinoco flows. As we paddled silently across the waters of the lagoon, we could see the noses and eyes of about twenty-five alligators whose bodies were resting just beneath the surface of the water. They watched us with an unblinking stare until we paddled too close to them. Then they would swim away, leaving a great V-shaped wake in the still waters. The waters teemed with tropical life, as did the jungle around us. Great water dogs, with heads like dogs, but bodies and flippers like seals, played in the water, swimming up to look at us, and then diving into the water to come up at a great distance away from us. Fish of various kinds broke water all over the lagoon, porpoises played around the canoe, and overhead and on the jungle banks there were brightly-colored parrots and countless other kinds of bird life. It was an attractive place, but the heat was so terrific we were glad to return to the little open rooms of the mission station. In the evening we attended the service for the 35 or 40 Christians who form the little church in this outpost. Among this group are Christian Indians who have moved in from the !*»>.
Friday, March 30th, 1951: Left Caracas by taxi to beat the 11 A.M. deadline for start ing down the hill, and then had to wait an hour and a half in some real tropical heat before we took off by a Venezuelan plane for Cuidad Bolivar. En route we stopped at Barcelona, where we were met by Lelia Bascom ’40, Mildred Livingstone, and Marion Alle- bach, of the Orinoco River Mission, who had come over from Puerta La Cruz to see us as we passed through. After a visit with them, we continued on to San Tome, where we were greeted by Marjorie Thompson ( ’40) and Ruth Battey, also of the Orinoco River Mission. Marjorie Thompson accom panied us on the plane to Cuidad Bolivar, where we were received by a wonderful group of Christians, singing songs of welcome. Then we were taken by Dr. Van V. Eddings ( ’13) and Mrs. Eddings to the compound of the Orinoco River Mission, where we were soon enjoying fellowship with Charles W. Olvey (’36 and ’37), Mary Olvey, and Florence Turner (’32). We also became acquainted with two of the very fine pilots of the Missionary Aviation Fellowship who are stationed here with their families, Jim and Betty Truxton and Hobey and Olive I.owrance, all of whom are doing a wonderful job of making surveys by air of unreached areas, as well as helping out with the missionary work in this city. After a blessed time of fellowship together around the dinner table, we discussed the opportunities and possibilities of work in this land today. Doors are open wide; there is little opposition to the gospel; and only lack of workers and funds holds back even greater results than are taking place here. Saturday, March 31st, 1951: After spending the morning seeing the sights of this inter esting city, we settled down in the afternoon to make plans to see and photograph as much as possible of the work here in Venezuela during the days our schedule will allow. We con cluded that to cover all the territory we would have to divide forces. Dr. Talbot and Dr. Eddings decided to take a trip by air to visit the other stations of the Orinoco Mission, espe cially the Bible Institute at Las Delicias under the supervision of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Tuggy. I (Mr. Davis) will go by the four-seater Piper Clipper, of the Missionary Aviation Fellow ship, with Jim Truxton and. Chuck Olvey, to Caicara, which is the Olveys’ station. There we will make arrangements for a trip to the Panara Indians, who live in the jungle between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers, and whose languge is un known, as the great majority of them have never had any contact with outside civilization and so far as can be discov ered no one has entered their territory. Slight contacts for the gospel have been made with some of the other Indian groups in this vast region, but the aerial surveys indicate hundreds of Indian “roundhouses” in areas that have never been reached, some of which would take two months to reach by jungle trail and dugout canoe. What a challenge for young folks to join the brave' few who are here now, seeking these lost ones for Christ! Sunday, April 1st, 1951: Sunday School at Capilla por La Guen Pastor (The Chapel of the Good Shepherd), with about 235 in attendance, followed by a service that jammed the Chapel. Dr. Talbot preached, with Dr. Eddings translating, and it was a joy to see the real appreciation of these fine Christians for our visit among them. We rushed home for a very quick dinner and then off to the airport to put Dr. Talbot and Dr. Eddings on the plane to start their trip visiting mission stations. In the evening I took the service in the Bethel Chapel, again with an over flow crowd, and after the service was hugged by assorted large and small ladies and gentlemen, who in this typical Venezuelan fashion showed their appreciation for the service! Monday, April 2nd, 1951: A quiet day. Dr. Talbot is visiting Cumana and Carupano up on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, seeing the work of the Orinoco River Mission stations in those places, and enjoying a good swim on the beach there. No chance to go swimming Page Eight
The Piper four-seater C lippe r in which Dr. Talbot and Mr. Davis flew thousands of miles over jungles and rivers. MAF pilots Jim Truxton and Hobey Lowrance are shown. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker