Treacherous Voyage
Chapter 1

Copyright© 2015 by maypop

Thirteen year old Jim woke up before the alarm went off at 2:00 a.m. The morning of July 15 1930. Jim did his Bible reading. Something Jim gladly did was study his Bible. His dad had taught him to read his Bible through every year since he was seven. It became a challenge for Jim. He looked forward to find something new each time he read it.

"I read my bible today, dad," Jim said excitedly.

"Very good, Son, I'm so proud of you. That will come in handy when we get to Peru," Jim's dad said.

The people of Peru spoke Spanish, so the missionary family had to learn to speak Spanish. Jim asked, "Dad, can we speak Spanish today?" "Yes, Son, that would be fantastic. It will help us to be more fluent when we get there" replied his dad.

At 5:00 a.m. Jim Fargo sat at the campfire listening to the sounds of the Okenofenokee Swamp. He loved the sounds of nature. Everything always seemed to be in its place. How could anyone believe in evolution when listening to all the things God made? He gave each living thing its own spot in the mathematical structure forces of the universe. Pear trees don't produce peaches. Plum trees don't produce apples. And, if there was a time when it happened, what stopped it? How come there was no evidence of even that one time?

Rusty was a carpenter before he surrendered to be a missionary. Jim helped his daddy do odd carpentry jobs to help on their way across country to raise money for the mission. Jim had become a very good carpenter.

Jim was also a very good mechanic because he spent time with his grandparents and learned all about mechanics from his grandfather. One of Jim's grandfather's hobbies was fixing engines. Jim's grandparents, Justin and Wanda Fargo, let them use their motor home. It broke down once and Jim fixed it for his father knew nothing about engines.

"Son, check the outboard motor and make sure it is ready" said Rusty.

"I checked everything before we left home, but I will check it again." said Jim.

As they were preparing things, Rusty said, "Son, make sure we take the row boat, tackle box, rods and reels, and big fishing net when we go. We also need the hatchet and pup tent. Grandpa is going to give us a couple hundred feet of nylon rope. I don't know what we will use it for, but he says it will come in handy. We can carry almost all of our furniture and personal belongings because Grandpa's company, Fargo Air Freight System, will use his company plane to fly us. It is a Faulker F Seven Tri-engine prop plane. It is for cargo, but it has seats for four besides the pilot. We will be hauling all the lumber for our house on the plane with us," said Rusty.

"Why do we have the generator to take with us?" asked Jim.

"It will give us light in our new house and also run the appliances. Grandpa's plane can fly us and our whole house in one trip." Rusty explained to his son.

"Daddy, can we go hunting?" Jim asked excitedly.

"Sure, Son, we can go hunting. We can take the shotgun and rifle. We might better take a couple cases of shells for each. We will take some tranquilizer darts for the rifle to stun small animals and fowl to catch. I don't know if we can buy those there or not." Rusty answered.

They pushed the row boat off the trailer into the water. Rusty wound the rope around the starter pulley. He gave the rope a yank and the outboard motor came to life. It was not a large motor, but it would push the row boat at a nice speed. They headed out into the swamp and found a nice spot in the shadows of the trees in the bush areas of the swamp to fish.

"This is a good spot to fish. We can cast close to those bushes hanging over the water along the bank," explained Rusty.

Jim shut down the engine and Rusty eased the truck hub they use for an anchor into the water. He let it down until it struck bottom and pulled the rope up until it was tight and then tied it off.

Anxious to fish, Jim cast out toward the bank with his reel. He was reeling it in and suddenly got a bite that almost took the reel out of his hand! "I got one!" he shouted as he stood up in the boat to start reeling it in.

"Sit down, Son, before you fall out of the boat," his daddy said, reaching out to grab him by the belt and pulling him back down on the seat.

"Boy, he is a big one, Daddy! I can hardly reel him in," Jimmy exclaimed as he started him reeling him in fast.

"Slow down, Son. Don't reel so fast. You will break the line or lose him. Hold him until he stops putting up such a fight. Don't jerk, but pull back on the reel. As you let it back down, reel in." said his daddy as he taught his son.

Following his daddy's instructions, Jim slowly brought his fish up to the boat. Rusty grabbed the net and leaned over the side to catch the fish for his son with the net. As he leaned over, he leaned a little too far. Suddenly, out of the boat he fell head first into the water! That was the very thing a few minutes ago he had warned his son about. The water was only about four feet deep. Rusty got his balance and managed to get the fish into the boat.

Jim could not help himself. He burst out laughing as his daddy crawled back into the boat! "Sit down before you fall out of the boat!" he howled.

"As I told you before, I will say it again. Don't do as I do, do as I say, for I am a sinner, too," his daddy laughed along with him.

Jim hated to leave the swamp for he could stay there all the time. He had been there many times with his dad and grandfather, so it brought great memories.

Before Rusty surrendered to be a missionary, they lived in Waycross, Georgia, right next to the Okenofenokee swamp. Several times a month, Jim got to go to the swamp with either his dad or grandpa. They left the swamp about noon because they were leaving the next day for Peru.

When they got back to his grandpa's, Rusty told his daddy they needed to go over to load the plane with all the personals.

"We cannot do that," said his daddy.

"What is wrong? Is there something wrong?" said Rusty.

"Yes, there is. I already loaded the plane. The men and I even loaded several fifty pound bags of bird food, laying mash, bird seed, and dog food. All we need now is to put the boat into the plane," said his daddy. They were putting the boat in the plane and that is when they saw the forty horse outboard motor grandpa had put on the plane.

"That thing must weigh two hundred pounds. What are we going with that? It won't fit the boat," Rusty asked.

The pilot that is taking you said there is a twenty four foot boat at the town you are going to that has no motor. Maybe you can buy it and use it for the ministry," grandpa said.

"That might work," said Rusty.

"Daddy how will we move that motor on to the boat when we get there?" Jim asked.

"We will just have to work together. You and I can move it with a little work," Rusty answered

They all sat around the table that night for the last supper for a long time. Rusty said the blessings. They talked about the things they would do first when they got to Peru.

"Grandpa! Will you come visit us?" Jim asked.

"Yes Grandma and I will come on Christmas.

They finished eating and turned in for the next day was going to be a long one.

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