Jungle Camp

BY CORAL MEARS, '63

As the M.A.F. pilot maneuvered the little plane over and between the high peaks of Chiapas, Mexico, I really felt that I was in the hands of God. When we reached Jungle Camp, I was met by the staff and ushered to what was to be my home for the next six weeks- a little mud hut with grass roof. I fell on my knees on the mud floor to thank the Lord for the dedicated Missionary Aviation Fellowship pilots who risk their lives daily to fly missionaries into remote areas. I thanked the Lord too that I was to have three months training to 'prepare me to live in a primitive Indian tribe as a literacy teacher.

My roommate at "Main Base" was Vida Chenoweth, author and C(oncert marimbist. Vida has been guest soloist with Symphony Orchestras all over the world but now she has dedicated her life, too, to getting the Holy Scriptures translated into the language of primitive tribes.

Our classes at Jungle Camp consisted of swimming , canoeing, mechanics, carpentry, Tzeltal (the Indian language of the surrounding area), and clinic.

In clinic class, our instructor, Dr. Bob Crawford taught us in simple language how to sew up lacerations, do skin grafts, give injections, give intervenous and subcutaneous feedings, pull teeth, and treat various diseases. He insisted that we will have to do these things in our tribes or let the people suffer or die as they have in the past. We practiced giving vitamin shots to each other, and then, after watching Dr. Bob treat a number of the Indians that came in for help,

Chopping down a huge balsa tree to build a raft. "Don't tip while you zip (my jungle hammock).

we began giving injections and treating them too.

Our canoeing class was climaxed by an overnight canoe trip. We paddled downstream for three and one-half hours in the big dugout canoes. The trip downriver was more thrilling than a roller-coaster ride as we went through twenty-seven rapids. The canoe I was in capsized twice and I had to put into practice what I had learned in swimming class-letting the swift current carry me feet first (while I sculled with my hands to keep my head above water) down to calmer waters where I could swim to safety.

When we reached our destination, we had

About The Author

To prepare for her mission as a literacy teacher in one of the remote Indian tribes in Guatemala, Coral Mears underwent a three-month survival training pro-

gram in Wycliffe's jungle camp in Southern Mexico. Here she lzarned to cut her own paths through forests, l,nd food and water, prepare her own shelter. The rigorous program included a 26-hour solitary hike through the jungle. She left on a moment's notice-with only a

machete. She became an expert swimmer and canoeist

and learned to build a jungle hut of leaves, vines and mud.

In Guatemala she will teach the natives to read and

write in their own language. She will have to learn to speak both Spanish and the Indian tongue fluently, not only for discourse with the natives but for the preparation of a primer and other teaching aids. She and one other white woman will live with the tribe, ob-

serving and absorbing the natives' customs, folklore and culture, in order to win their confidence.

She will receive no salary, not even living expenses.

She will rely on "one of the promises of the Lord-that he will take care of me." And if, as it is said, the Lord helps those who help themselves, Coral Mears should qualify. She had to support herself and, in part, her teen-age son who was graduated from high school the year she received her degree at Westhampton.

Now, with no further domestic responsibilities, she is lulWing a burning desire, a compulsion to be a

missionary.

a hearty meal of macaroni cooked in river water, and then we crawled into our jungle hammocks for a night's rest. Jungle hammocks are quite comfortable as they protect one from mosquitoes and gentle rains. However, the rain this night was far from gentle and soon I found myself sleeping in a pool of water!

Our return trip took us five hours as we had to pull the 500-pound canoes up over each of the rapids. We arrived home black and blue from being dashed against rocks, but we were thrilled over the experience.

Another high spot of our stay at Main Base was our trip to Naja to visit the Lacandon Indians who spear fish, live in stick houses, and worship man-made gods by burning incense in god-pots inside their god houses. The men wear their hair long and unkempt, giving them a "caveman" appear-

Giving an injection to a Tzeltal girl. Our clinic at AB. is in background.

ance. Their clothing is a garment that looks like a filthy white nightgown.

It took us two days to hike to their village. After we visited the Lacandon Indians, we hiked several more hours to a Tzeltal Indian village where we attended church. Our mission, the Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc., has already translated the Bible into this language and what a contrast we saw between the two tribes-the one whose members worshipped idols and the other where praises were sung to the one true God.

The next day we began our journey home, hiking the entire twenty-five miles of muddy jungle trail in one day. I, for one, asked the Lord for strength and He supplied it.

The second six weeks of our training was spent at Advance Base in dense virgin jungle. To reach A.B., we hiked ten hours over a hot, hot trail. At noon we reached a river and sat down in the cool water, clothes and all, to eat our lunch.

When we reached our destination I spent a half hour just looking at the beauty and listening to the enchanting sounds of the jungle. Orchids grew in clumps and philodendron climbed nearly every tall tree. Vines of all sizes hung everywhere.

The first week at A.B. was physically the hardest of my life. My partner, Jaci Bernhardt, and I had to build our champa (hut) in eight days. We had only a machete as a tool and we had to tie the framework together with vines. The thatch also had to be tied on with vines. But we finished our home and all our furniture in the allotted time. We made our beds, table, and shelves with cane poles and our stove with poles and mud. Several weeks later we were baking cakes, pies, and yeast rolls in a skillet with hot coals in the cover!

Our swimming and canoeing classes continued, as well as classes in food preservation and survival. We had to wear machetes, canteens, and survival kits at all times, so when a surprise survival hike was sprung on us, we were ready.

We girls were taken on a trip of several hours duration into the jungle and were spread out 100 feet apart so that each of us had to spend twenty-six hours alone and without food. As I had been taught, I quickly built a little shelter and gathered enough firewood to last all night. I built my bed in the shelter by placing cane poles across two logs to keep me off the ground. I found a little stream and tried to catch minnows, but they proved to be too fast for me! I did find a few plants that I knew were safe to eat, so the day wasn't too unbearable. When darkness came, I lit my campfire to keep away any animals that might be nosing around. I had learned, though, that most snakes and an;mals do not molest man unless provoked, so I calmly went to bed, putting myself entirely in the Lord's hands and spent a peaceful night. The next afternoon, when we arrived back at A.B., we let out some very unlady-like whoops!

We made two village visits while at A.B. On the first visit Jaci and I were taken by

With some of my Tzeltal Indian friends.

Dori.a Plascita, an Indian woman, to spend the night in her home in La Trinidad. What an experience! We were served supper consisting of tortillas ( a flat pancake made of corn), beans, and coffee. We had a difficult time eating the beans with no utensils.

We had been forewarned that the Indians all live in a one-room hut and that we would all sleep in the same room, so when darkness came and Dori.a Plascita gave us a thin straw mat to place on the mud floor, we were prepared for almost anything except the dozen or so rats which were playing tag in the hut. We decided we would ask the Lord for pro-

Jaci and I climb on the raft we built to get ready to pole our way downriver to civilization. tection and have faith He would care for us. J aci announced that she was going to mix faith with works as she placed her machete beside the mat! The domestic animals, which wandered in and out of the hut, insisted on keeping us awake. The dogs barked every hour on the hour while the burro let out with his hideous "hee-haws" at ten, two, and four o'clock I I must admit that it was a sleepless night climaxed by a huge rat land in~ on top of me! I then added an amendment to my prayer asking that the Lord not only protect us from the rats, but also to keep them off our mat. The Lord obliged!

The next morning Dona Plascita let us help her make tortillas for our breakfast. As we headed homeward, we both decided that the night wasn't so bad after all 1

Our second visit was a three-day trip to Agua Escondida, an Indian village near some Mayan ruins. Five of us set out with one horse, one mule. and one pack animal, and, because we had no guide, we had to inquire our way of Indians we met on the jungle trail. It was a very realistic experience as we had to bargain with the Indians (in our limited Tzeltal) for food and lodging.

We were slowed by rain and we reache<l Las Tascitas at seven o'clock. There is no twilight in the jungle so it was just about dark. We asked for lodging and were given a hut to sleep in. We bought tortillas and bananas from the Indians, and after supper we were swamped by people coming in for medicine. We gave injections and medicines until 10: 30. No one could possibly come into one of those tribes and see the poverty and illness and not want to dedicate their life to helping the Indians .

( Continued on page 39)