Chapter 43: Visiting Some Villages in Morona with the Wilhelms
AS TOLD BY JOHN AGERSTEN
November 1973
At the beginning of November, Gro and I went on a five-day trip with Maino and Lewi to several villages up the Marañon River. Several groups of believers were there, and in some places, some of the believers had also been baptized. This time, we didn't drive all the way up to Borja but turned back from Saramiriza. We had been to Saramiriza a couple of times before, and some had accepted Jesus for salvation and wanted to be baptized. It was a fairly small village, but there were rumors that an oil company was planning to establish a base there. The houseboat "Alli Shungo" took us there and back safely, while also being a good place to sleep overnight during the journey. It was nice for the children to come along on trips whenever possible. That way, they got to know the work beyond Tigre Playa as well.
We prepare for the Wilhelms’ first trip to the Morona River
Back at home, we prepared the boat for a long journey up the Morona River. This time, Rudolf and Eva were to set off with their three youngest children, Ester, Reinhard, and Marianne. Their oldest, Sonja, was to stay behind to continue homeschooling with Maino. I would accompany them as a guide, both in navigating the river and in interacting with the local population, whom I was familiar with from previous visits. "Alli Shungo" was loaded with diesel, food supplies, and everything else we needed for a two-week absence. Bibles, the New Testament, Bible portions, and tracts with a clear message were part of the cargo on all our trips. We also carried medications for ourselves and for any sick individuals we might encounter along the way. It was challenging for the people in Morona to access medications. Many, especially children, had intestinal parasites and amoebas leading to malnutrition and anemia. Additionally, malaria and various infections were common illnesses in the area.
At the beginning of November, Gro and I went on a five-day trip with Maino and Lewi to several villages up the Marañon River. Several groups of believers were there, and in some places, some of the believers had also been baptized. This time, we didn't drive all the way up to Borja but turned back from Saramiriza. We had been to Saramiriza a couple of times before, and some had accepted Jesus for salvation and wanted to be baptized. It was a fairly small village, but there were rumors that an oil company was planning to establish a base there. The houseboat "Alli Shungo" took us there and back safely, while also being a good place to sleep overnight during the journey. It was nice for the children to come along on trips whenever possible. That way, they got to know the work beyond Tigre Playa as well.
We prepare for the Wilhelms’ first trip to the Morona River
Back at home, we prepared the boat for a long journey up the Morona River. This time, Rudolf and Eva were to set off with their three youngest children, Ester, Reinhard, and Marianne. Their oldest, Sonja, was to stay behind to continue homeschooling with Maino. I would accompany them as a guide, both in navigating the river and in interacting with the local population, whom I was familiar with from previous visits. "Alli Shungo" was loaded with diesel, food supplies, and everything else we needed for a two-week absence. Bibles, the New Testament, Bible portions, and tracts with a clear message were part of the cargo on all our trips. We also carried medications for ourselves and for any sick individuals we might encounter along the way. It was challenging for the people in Morona to access medications. Many, especially children, had intestinal parasites and amoebas leading to malnutrition and anemia. Additionally, malaria and various infections were common illnesses in the area.
The trip begins
On November 19th, we bid farewell to Gro, who stayed behind in Tigre Playa with Lewi, Maino, and Sonja. Gro had been homeschooling the girls since the fall of 1972. They were now in the 3rd grade. Gro had a lot of responsibilities with services, Sunday school, attending to all the sick who came seeking help, and on top of that, the girls' schooling. However, it wasn't the first time she stayed home alone. Over time, we acquired some local helpers for both the services and practical tasks on the mission compound.
The first part of the journey took us upstream on the Marañon River towards Puerto America, the first village as we turned into Morona. Here, we had some Christian friends, and we held our first service of this trip. Many people attended the service to listen to songs and a sermon, and the same was true in all the villages where we stopped during this journey.
Morona is a slow-flowing river with numerous bends. We observed on the compass that it almost made a full circle. The main direction is north, but often the compass points south, west, or east. This resulted in considerable distances between villages. Some villages consisted of just a few houses surrounded by banana and manioc fields. In other places, there lived a "patron" who owned some cows with accompanying pastures. Workers were needed, and they lived in huts scattered around the area. They had their own plots of land, usually along the river. I had visited most of these places before. Everywhere we were welcomed to hold services, often in the largest house in the area or at the school if there was one. The children quickly learned songs and choruses, while most adults were content listening to the lyrics and melodies.
On November 19th, we bid farewell to Gro, who stayed behind in Tigre Playa with Lewi, Maino, and Sonja. Gro had been homeschooling the girls since the fall of 1972. They were now in the 3rd grade. Gro had a lot of responsibilities with services, Sunday school, attending to all the sick who came seeking help, and on top of that, the girls' schooling. However, it wasn't the first time she stayed home alone. Over time, we acquired some local helpers for both the services and practical tasks on the mission compound.
The first part of the journey took us upstream on the Marañon River towards Puerto America, the first village as we turned into Morona. Here, we had some Christian friends, and we held our first service of this trip. Many people attended the service to listen to songs and a sermon, and the same was true in all the villages where we stopped during this journey.
Morona is a slow-flowing river with numerous bends. We observed on the compass that it almost made a full circle. The main direction is north, but often the compass points south, west, or east. This resulted in considerable distances between villages. Some villages consisted of just a few houses surrounded by banana and manioc fields. In other places, there lived a "patron" who owned some cows with accompanying pastures. Workers were needed, and they lived in huts scattered around the area. They had their own plots of land, usually along the river. I had visited most of these places before. Everywhere we were welcomed to hold services, often in the largest house in the area or at the school if there was one. The children quickly learned songs and choruses, while most adults were content listening to the lyrics and melodies.
We start the return journey
After 9 days of traveling and visiting many villages, we arrived at a village called San Juan, located a few hours' journey from the border with Ecuador. After a good evening service on the day we arrived, we turned around the next morning and headed downstream with the current. We visited most of the villages that we hadn't stopped at on the way up. Due to the current, the journey down the river was much faster.
On the journey back, we ventured into the tributary Siquanga, where on a previous trip, I had visited some people from the Chapra tribe who lived there. There were no professing Christians in Siquanga, but they had a school teacher who spoke Spanish. He had attended summer courses for teachers at the Wycliffe organization’s base, Yarina Cocha. He invited us to have a service in the schoolhouse. When we visited people before the service, we felt a dark spiritual atmosphere. The Chapra and Achuar people were previously known and feared as "headhunters," meaning they were often at war and shrunk the heads of some of their victims. During the walk to the hut, we became physically ill, with nausea and headaches. We returned to the boat and had a prayer session together. We prayed for strength to bring the liberating message of salvation in Christ Jesus. Nearly everyone in the village attended the meeting. The teacher translated our testimonies.
As I spoke, a little girl about 6-8 years old came forward and stood right in front of me. She yelled and screamed in her language, with foam around her mouth. It was unsettling to witness and hear. She did not pay attention to the teacher trying to calm her down. I began to pray, and after a while, she became silent and stepped back. We felt a powerful presence of God in the midst of this hostile atmosphere. When I invited those who wanted to accept and believe in Jesus, some came forward for prayer. The teacher was one of them.
We had visited Chapra natives in the tributary Pushaga on the way upstream. Now, the next stop was at the Chapra chief Tariri in Shoroya Cocha. Tariri was a Christian, as was most of his family. His son Tsirimpo had received teachings in the gospel when he attended a course for health workers in Yarina Cocha. He held regular services in their village. We taught from the Word of God, and several sought salvation and prayer in Shoroya as well.
Engine failure as we run out of diesel!
The last part of the journey down Morona took an unexpected turn. There was still a long way to go before reaching the mouth where the Morona meets the Marañon when the engine started to falter. After a while, it stopped completely and was impossible to restart. We drifted downstream with the current. I checked the diesel tanks and found them completely empty. It turned out that a valve to one of the three tanks had somehow been closed, likely after our last trip to the villages in Marañon. This meant that when I refueled before the journey, one tank remained empty! Although I was sure that all the tanks were filled up! The river swiftly carried us downstream with the current. Now the challenge was to keep the boat away from sandbanks and steer clear of trees hanging over the river in all the bends.
Sunstroke
We did our best using a large oar typically used in river canoes. Additionally, we used the gangplank as an oar. We tried our hardest to stay in the middle of the river, avoiding shallow areas and the logs on the riverbanks. The sun was scorching, and it was very hot. After a few hours of hard work, I developed a terrible headache and started vomiting. I began sweating profusely. We pulled over to the riverbank to rest and hydrate. As I lay on the bench in the boat, a small stream of sweat dripped onto the floor. I needed to cool down, quickly. I grabbed a rope tied to the back of the boat and jumped into the river. I submerged my head underwater for the first few minutes. Eva handed me a large sun hat. I wore it while holding onto the rope. After a while, I started feeling better. I climbed back into the boat. It felt good to have dry clothes, more water, and some food. I had likely experienced what is called "sunstroke." Rudolf and Eva were also very tired, but at least they didn't have the same ordeal I did. It was a scare for all of us.
After 9 days of traveling and visiting many villages, we arrived at a village called San Juan, located a few hours' journey from the border with Ecuador. After a good evening service on the day we arrived, we turned around the next morning and headed downstream with the current. We visited most of the villages that we hadn't stopped at on the way up. Due to the current, the journey down the river was much faster.
On the journey back, we ventured into the tributary Siquanga, where on a previous trip, I had visited some people from the Chapra tribe who lived there. There were no professing Christians in Siquanga, but they had a school teacher who spoke Spanish. He had attended summer courses for teachers at the Wycliffe organization’s base, Yarina Cocha. He invited us to have a service in the schoolhouse. When we visited people before the service, we felt a dark spiritual atmosphere. The Chapra and Achuar people were previously known and feared as "headhunters," meaning they were often at war and shrunk the heads of some of their victims. During the walk to the hut, we became physically ill, with nausea and headaches. We returned to the boat and had a prayer session together. We prayed for strength to bring the liberating message of salvation in Christ Jesus. Nearly everyone in the village attended the meeting. The teacher translated our testimonies.
As I spoke, a little girl about 6-8 years old came forward and stood right in front of me. She yelled and screamed in her language, with foam around her mouth. It was unsettling to witness and hear. She did not pay attention to the teacher trying to calm her down. I began to pray, and after a while, she became silent and stepped back. We felt a powerful presence of God in the midst of this hostile atmosphere. When I invited those who wanted to accept and believe in Jesus, some came forward for prayer. The teacher was one of them.
We had visited Chapra natives in the tributary Pushaga on the way upstream. Now, the next stop was at the Chapra chief Tariri in Shoroya Cocha. Tariri was a Christian, as was most of his family. His son Tsirimpo had received teachings in the gospel when he attended a course for health workers in Yarina Cocha. He held regular services in their village. We taught from the Word of God, and several sought salvation and prayer in Shoroya as well.
Engine failure as we run out of diesel!
The last part of the journey down Morona took an unexpected turn. There was still a long way to go before reaching the mouth where the Morona meets the Marañon when the engine started to falter. After a while, it stopped completely and was impossible to restart. We drifted downstream with the current. I checked the diesel tanks and found them completely empty. It turned out that a valve to one of the three tanks had somehow been closed, likely after our last trip to the villages in Marañon. This meant that when I refueled before the journey, one tank remained empty! Although I was sure that all the tanks were filled up! The river swiftly carried us downstream with the current. Now the challenge was to keep the boat away from sandbanks and steer clear of trees hanging over the river in all the bends.
Sunstroke
We did our best using a large oar typically used in river canoes. Additionally, we used the gangplank as an oar. We tried our hardest to stay in the middle of the river, avoiding shallow areas and the logs on the riverbanks. The sun was scorching, and it was very hot. After a few hours of hard work, I developed a terrible headache and started vomiting. I began sweating profusely. We pulled over to the riverbank to rest and hydrate. As I lay on the bench in the boat, a small stream of sweat dripped onto the floor. I needed to cool down, quickly. I grabbed a rope tied to the back of the boat and jumped into the river. I submerged my head underwater for the first few minutes. Eva handed me a large sun hat. I wore it while holding onto the rope. After a while, I started feeling better. I climbed back into the boat. It felt good to have dry clothes, more water, and some food. I had likely experienced what is called "sunstroke." Rudolf and Eva were also very tired, but at least they didn't have the same ordeal I did. It was a scare for all of us.
We make it home
We had to continue, and further down the river, there was a boat that could tow us to Puerto America. There, we borrowed two barrels of diesel which we filled into the tanks. Then, we set course towards Marañon and drove the last couple of hours down to Tigre Playa. Gro and the children were waiting for us by the riverbank. They had heard the boat long before we rounded the final bend. We were glad to see that they were all well too. During most of the years we lived in the area, we had no radio communication, and no way to contact each other when we were traveling. Gro arranged a pleasant welcome evening for all of us. We also expressed our gratitude to our Heavenly Father who, despite the challenges, had kept both those of us on the journey and those at home safe.
This incident taught us to double-check that all valves are open when refueling so we wouldn't be "tricked" into thinking we had filled the tanks with diesel. We were thankful that everything turned out okay, for the help we received from the owner of the boat that towed us, and for friends who lent us fuel in Puerto America.
We had to continue, and further down the river, there was a boat that could tow us to Puerto America. There, we borrowed two barrels of diesel which we filled into the tanks. Then, we set course towards Marañon and drove the last couple of hours down to Tigre Playa. Gro and the children were waiting for us by the riverbank. They had heard the boat long before we rounded the final bend. We were glad to see that they were all well too. During most of the years we lived in the area, we had no radio communication, and no way to contact each other when we were traveling. Gro arranged a pleasant welcome evening for all of us. We also expressed our gratitude to our Heavenly Father who, despite the challenges, had kept both those of us on the journey and those at home safe.
This incident taught us to double-check that all valves are open when refueling so we wouldn't be "tricked" into thinking we had filled the tanks with diesel. We were thankful that everything turned out okay, for the help we received from the owner of the boat that towed us, and for friends who lent us fuel in Puerto America.