GREAT ADVENTURE BEGINS
73 Will Fly From Harlingen To New Homes in Paraguay
By BERNARD MURPHY
Post Staff Correspondent
HARLINGEN – For 73 men, women and children camped in a former restaurant and building project near here, Sunday marked the beginning of a great new adventure.
A chartered airliner was to arrive in the United States from Paraguay to take them on the first stage of a journey of thousand[s] of miles to the jungle area of Puerto Olympian of the Paraguay River close to the southern border of Brazil.
The airplane with its human cargo of emigrants was scheduled to take off from here for Paraguay early Tuesday.
THERE, ON A 249,000-acre tract which can only be reached by river or air because there are no roads, they plan to build a settlement and mission.
Most of the pioneers – 24 of them are Houstonians – have been waiting in camp here since mid-May to start the journey they first decided last December to make.
Trim Mrs. Wyvonne Wood, wife of Jack Wood, a Houston missionary, spoke of the coming departure excitedly.
“It’s a wonderful relief to know that at last we are on our way, “ she said. “It’s been a long wait. Since our furniture and household goods went by sea from Houston a few weeks ago we having been living rough, even our beds have gone and it’s been a strain living perpetually as though you were moving house at a time.
“WE HAVE JUST heard that the Paraguay river has dropped to only four feet in depth due to lack of rain and it will probably be late January before our goods arrive at our jungle home – so we’ll have to rough it some more, but no one is downhearted.”
Brother James A. Saint John, leader of the expedition said four more persons have joined the group since the Houston Post first reported the plan to build a jungle mission settlement.
“We’ve had our letters from all over Texas, from California, Missouri and Ohio from people wanting to join us,” he said.
“But they had different reasons for going. Most of them wanted to go because they were discontented with life here. But we are going because we believe that in building a self-supporting mission, we are fulfilling God’s will.”
A COWBOY FROM Woodsboro – Gail Borden – who shares our views has joined us with his wife, Mosollo, and his daughters, Gaylean 8, and Cheryl, 7 – so now we are 73 instead of 69. And while we’ve been waiting for transport, there have been additions to the dog population. In addition to the five ranch dogs, we will take five new leopard puppies with us in the plane,” Saint John said.
Saint John, a preacher and rancher from Bloomington, near Victoria, was formerly a preacher in Houston. He said that the plane taking the party to Paraguay was to have arrived Saturday.
“JIM EOBERTS, a New Orleans rancher now with the Pan-Western Development Co. of Paraguay, who is making the land available to us, has arranged for a Constellation airliner to pick us up, but it will not arrive until Sunday,” Saint John said. “There will be room for everyone, including the dogs.
“We are also planning to fly in other planes from Asuncion (capital of Paraguay) to our camp instead of making the 425 mile journey by river boat.”
Borden said that he read about the group in the Post. “I’ve been a cowboy and I’ve worked in the oil fields,” he said, “but I felt that I was called to do something else. I’d known Brother Saint John before, so when I read about the trip I decided to go with them.”
THERE ARE NOW 32 adults, 30 children ages two to 12, and 11 babies in the party.
Each member of the group has a different skill, and Saint John said they hope to establish an entirely self-sufficient community in the jungle.
During their wait in Texas, the travelers have been living a communal life, eating in the communal dining hall and joining together for daily prayers.
Jos Place 