Colombian Christian Mission

COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
San José del Guaviare in Colombia, South America
Volume 4, Issue 8 August, 1976

(PHOTO)

Flaminio "saddles up" for a bit of clowning.

PACKING AGAIN!

Whew, I finally got unpacked again. Our "home" here at Villavicencio consists of a 16' by 12' living, dining, and bedroom area and our 9' by 6' kitchen. Into this small space we have squeezed our double bed complete with mosquito net, a borrowed baby bed for Wendy, a stand for towels and sheets, six barrels, a borrowed refrigerator, our huge chest of drawers, a long table, a card table, four card table chairs, two lawn chairs, one rocking chair, one trunk, one bookcase, three wooden crates, and a guitar. Dale's radio gear is piled on the long table. The books and misc. items are piled on the chest of drawers. Dale strung up a clothes bar from the ceiling. I confiscated the bookcase to use in the kitchen. We plan to use a dresser drawer for the baby when it arrives. The bathroom we use is the one for the church. There is a sink outside the kitchen where I can get water. I cook outside too. The shower facilities are about a half block away. To get to the street we have to go about a block. We live in the very back of the church lot.
Well, I'm unpacked now, but in another month or two, I'll be packing up again. J.A.M.


FOUR DAY TROPICAL CRUISE

It was a sad and melancholy moment. Jeanie, Wendy, and I made our last trip to the Jobo Church of Christ. I preached from II Corinthians 11:1-15. I used the opportunity to plead for continued faithfulness and unity. There was a good crowd, over 50 in all. Afterwards, we passed out a picture of the three of us, for a remembrance. we said our good-byes to all of our moist-eyed brethren. It was quite a moving experience for all concerned.
We left San Jose on the following Monday on a DC-3. The valiant old warrior seemed to groan as it rumbled down the runway and shouldered its burden of humanity. In the crowded plane our leaving seemed an insignificant event. Once in Villavicencio we caught a taxi to the Christian church. The rest of the day we tried to get settled in the storage room behind the church building. It isn't Conrad Hilton's idea of temporary accommodation, but it is sufficient.
I left immediately for San Jose to accompany the household goods upriver. After one night in San Jose, we (me and nine other Colombians) loaded six barrels of clothing, books, dishes, etc., into the dugout canoe. Then the Jobo delegation to Explosivo '76 piled in. We pushed off about mid-day for the two day trip upriver. I took advantage of the timing to work the field day contest on amateur radio. We set up a vertical antenna and my ham radio in the canoe. We helped pass the time by talking to radio hams in the U.S.
We reached Puerto Rico after two full days. There we had some trouble getting a truck but we were soon ready to roll. The roads hadn't improved any since my last trip. About an hour out of Puerto Rico we came to a rather dilapidated wooden bridge. As the heavy truck eased across the bridge, we felt a shudder. Then came the unmistakable crack as the timbers began to give way. The driver hit the gas and we barely made it to the other side as the bridge arched downward towards the river below. We all uttered a prayer of Thanksgiving. But, unfortunately, our trip had only begun. About an hour further down the road the truck lurched violently to one side as it sunk up to its axles in a mud hole. We worked for three hours but were not able to free the truck. So we settled down for a short night's sleep. The next morning we unloaded the truck and managed to get a tractor to pull us our. For six more hours we rumbled down the road, finally arriving at Villavicencio.
We are now settled into our cramped but adequate living quarters here. It is a real joy to be able to continue working for the Lord while we wait for the birth of our next child and work on our exit and re-entry papers.