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Speedboat Untied

Andrew Large, Nicaragua

How would you like to take a camping trip that would last two weeks? How would you like that camping trip to be taken in a speedboat along the Amazon River? Some time ago, we purchased a used, 33-foot aluminum boat to visit a particular, small group of churches. It served for hauling materials and workers for the ministry center, as well as to visit area churches. On one record occasion, we even transported 80 children in it to camp. Yes, it even worked well for water skiing! One time, as we traveled at 35 mph up the Amazon, Dad Bond swayed gently in the hammock for eight hours, getting much-needed rest after having taught a whole week at the ministry center. Suffering on the mission field! Ha! When making these two-week trips, in the speedboat we had our double-bed mattress, a hammock, a little alcohol-burning stove, a thermal freezer box, a mosquito net, a shower stall, and a portable toilet, besides the literature, medicine, and food supplies for the trip.

For the first time on this particular trip, I was able to obtain a small anchor that proved to be a very important tool. In the town of Mayoruna, we tied the boat up on a tree trunk, and Diane stayed in the boat to guard it from being stolen, as the church was a long distance from the boat. We had a good service with the brethren, then at about 9:00 p.m., I went back down to the boat, and we turned off our flashlights and went to sleep in the mosquito net. The frogs were croaking, and soon we were snoring in a deep sleep.

Around 1:30 in the morning, I was awakened by the sound of the breeze lapping water on the side of the boat and bushes brushing against the side of the aluminum hull. I thought, That’s strange—there were no bushes beside us where we tied up. I looked out the front window of the boat and discovered that the rope was hanging straight down, and the tree trunk we had tied to previously was nowhere in sight, nor was the bank of the river. There were no city lights or house lights anywhere. It was a very dark night with no moon. With starlight, I could make out that we had floated downriver a long ways! I looked at my watch and figured we had floated for at least about three hours towards the Colombian border. I believe the gentle breeze was God’s protective measure, as it blew us to the side of the river near a small beach with brush. It was then I let out the little anchor that we used for the first time. I knew it would not be wise to attempt to pilot the boat back upriver at night.

We knew there was always a danger of bandits, as some boats had been held up in the past in that area. The thought came to us that perhaps bandits had untied us to get us downriver, away from the village, and then hold us up. We did not know who untied the boat—perhaps some drunkard or someone who resented the gospel messengers. But after we prayed a moment for God’s protection, we fell sound asleep again.

Early in the morning, we heard roosters crowing, and to our surprise the whoosh of a canoe paddle and voices who mentioned our names coming towards our boat. To our happy surprise, some dear brethren we had visited a couple of weeks earlier and with whom we had left Source of Light correspondence courses to study came up to us, greeted us, and asked if we had come to grade their last courses and give them the following ones. They presumed we had made that special trip just for them! And maybe that was God’s plan.

“But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” Genesis 50:20