Another Reason for “Camping Out”

By “Awake!” correspondent in Ecuador

IN MANY lands, booming sales of camping equipment and vehicles attest to the popularity of “camping out.” Many a city dweller has discovered that a camping trip brings temporary relief from the pressures of urban living and builds appreciation for the beauties of creation. At the same time, most persons would agree that such an outing usually renews appreciation for the comforts of home. For that and other reasons, not many people have ever considered “camping out” as a permanent way of life.

We know of seven young people, however, who have been “camping out” for over a year in an isolated region of the Andes mountains here in southern Ecuador. Moreover, they plan to continue on indefinitely. Their presence in this area seldom visited by tourists has attracted considerable attention. Our own curiosity aroused, we decide to pay them a visit.

It is daybreak when we arrive at their campsite, near the town of Cariamanga. At the foot of towering El Ahuaca peak, we find a motor home and a camper, along with a small Land Rover and a motorcycle. All are parked in a grassy meadow near a stream. As the sun rises over brush-covered mountains, banishing a lingering mist with its welcome warmth, we notice a stirring in the camper, followed by a clattering of utensils in the kitchen of the motor home. Soon the come-and-get-it aromas of breakfast reach us, mingling pleasantly with the fragrance of still-damp grass and eucalyptus trees. Certain that the young folks are up and about, we approach and make known our presence.

An Unusual Trip Begins

We are greeted by Carlos and his wife Cecilia, who introduce us to Rigoberto and Santiago, fellow Ecuadorians, and to Mark, Gerd and Kemp, from the Galápagos Islands, Germany and the United States respectively. Almost immediately we are attracted by the evident spirit of friendliness among the members of this international group. Also, we are impressed by the businesslike way in which they set their camp in order and prepare to depart for the day’s activities. Noting our interest in their planned excursion, they invite us to accompany them. We accept and soon are bouncing along in the rear seat of the Land Rover, furthering our acquaintance with these new friends and appreciatively taking in the changing panorama of rugged mountain scenery as we head for our as yet unknown destination.

We have not traveled far when the jeep unexpectedly pulls over to the side of the road and stops. Carlos hops out and asks if we would like to accompany him for a little while. Curious, we agree and follow as he starts up the hillside along a trail barely visible from the road. We find ourselves approaching a small adobe farmhouse. The householder quiets his barking dogs and greets us politely with an inquisitive look. His intelligent eyes light up with interest as he grasps the purpose of our visit. Carlos offers to study the Bible with him and his family, free of cost and in his own home. The farmer is surprised and pleased. He holds a Bible in his hands for the first time in his life, and contemplates our offer. After a few more words it is agreed that Carlos will return within a few days for the first Bible study. We say good-bye and retrace our steps to the waiting jeep.

Why Such a Journey?

Upon returning to the jeep, we comment that this is surely one of the most unusual camping trips we have ever been on. Our friends smilingly agree that not many persons would think of using campers and motor homes for this purpose. They had come here to work, instead of vacation, to find people instead of get away from them. So, this is how they spend their time all day, every day.

Mark, who had been driving, explains more fully: “As Jehovah’s Witnesses, living here in Ecuador, we are interested in reaching people in all parts of the country with the Bible’s urgent message, ‘the good news of the kingdom.’ Up until just a little over a year ago this southern region of the province of Loja, covering an area of approximately one hundred and twenty square miles (311 square kilometers), with over a hundred thousand inhabitants, had been an untouched territory as far as our preaching activities are concerned. We had heard of the successful use of motor homes by groups of Witnesses in Peru, preaching in similarly isolated areas of their mountain territory, and decided that similar use of such equipment could be made here.”

“Our goal,” he continued, “was not primarily to accomplish the distribution of Bible literature . . . but, rather, to establish regular home Bible studies and eventually organize congregations . . . That is why we camp, more or less permanently, near a given town for several months before moving on, using that camp as a base from which we travel regularly to other villages throughout the area, conducting Bible studies with as many as one hundred persons during the three weeks it takes us to complete our scheduled circuit. At the larger meetings conducted in towns, on an average, around fifty persons are presently attending.”

“Who provides the equipment, and how are expenses met?” we wanted to know.

Privately donated funds have covered most of the expenses, we are told, including the initial purchase of the camper and motor home, which were designed and built here in Ecuador with this unique purpose in mind. Five of the seven making up the traveling group of full-time preachers are enrolled by the Ecuadorian branch office of the Watch Tower Society as “special pioneers,” who receive a small monthly allowance for living expenses.

“Roughing It”​—For a Good Reason

Thinking of the extra work involved in cooking and housekeeping, we wonder about Cecilia. She assures us that everyone has assigned duties, including a cook day each week, and adds that she has never been burdened with more than her share of the housework. Her husband points out that she has been an incentive for many women to accept Bible studies and attend meetings.

Everyone in the group has been “roughing it” for a good reason​—so as to aid others spiritually. In order to continue in this work, there have been things to learn. For instance, some members of the group literally learned to cook during their first weeks together, while the rest good-naturedly endured the results and offered encouragement. Other skills had to be acquired. Gerd rode a horse for the first time in his life. Others learned to drive a car or ride a motorcycle. Everybody learned a lot about automotive mechanics.

Already we have noticed that the roads are mostly narrow, unpaved and not always well maintained. We are told that Rigoberto, an experienced mechanic, is constantly kept busy repairing one or the other of the cars​—in addition to spending over 150 hours each month in the Kingdom-preaching work.

At times, bad road conditions have been a source of real danger. Why, the jeep once overturned on a narrow, slanting stretch of road, leaving Rigoberto dangling from his fastened seat belt! A large rock that projected through the window opening held the car fast and kept it from rolling over the bank and tumbling into a gorge over a hundred meters (328 feet) below!

Their Efforts Are Rewarded

Some interested Bible students live in areas accessible only on foot or by horseback. But efforts to contact them can prove to be very rewarding.

To reach one group of such persons requires a three-hour trip by jeep or trail bike, followed by a two- to five-hour hike, depending on the condition of the hiker and the trail. Add to all of that a river crossing. We ask Mark to tell us about one of his trips in to visit this family.

“When we started off,” said he, “the roads were a mess . . . Finally, the jeep could take no more and we parked it at a nearby home and started out on foot. We hiked about five kilometers (c. 3 miles) down to the river, talking about the Bible to whomever we met along the way. After lunch at a small store by the riverside, we waded across and began what we thought would be a four-hour hike up to this interested family. It began to rain and we all got wet to the skin. Adding to this, nightfall came before we arrived at our destination. It was pitch-dark. If it had not been for the native Witness who was guiding us, we surely would have gotten lost. You could not see your hand in front of your face. . . .

“By the time we arrived, everyone was in bed, but I shall never forget the hospitality of this humble family. The mother got up and fixed us supper and we were invited to stay the night, although really there was hardly any room in this small house. Two of us bedded down on the floor with our wet clothes on and I spotted a dry place up in the attic where the corn was stored. The next day was spent studying the Bible with this eager family, as well as witnessing to the nearby homes. We decided to spend the night there before starting the trip back the next day.”

That return trip had its problems too. But the effort was worth it because this isolated family appreciated Bible truth. In time, they were visited by two nuns and two catechists, who had come there to “straighten out” this “erring” family. Mark relates what happened: “A young man of the family showed them from the Catholic Bible that the use of images was wrong. Then the nun said that the Church did not now encourage the use of images and that only the very ignorant Catholics used them. On hearing this, another person who was listening objected. He had been accompanying the two nuns and just the day before he had heard her say to another family that it was quite all right to use them. He was surprised and disgusted at this type of double standard presented by the nun. They left shortly and no further effort was made to ‘help’ this family that was ‘straying from the flock.’”

This isolated family is now spending time preaching to their neighbors about what they have learned. Recently, all three who were studying attended a large assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city of Cuenca where they were baptized in symbol of their dedication to Jehovah God. One of them, seventeen-year-old Santiago, now is part of this traveling group of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Incidentally, a local priest recently gathered 120 persons to hear him “expose” the Witnesses. This isolated family attended and used the Catholic Bible to expose the error of using religious images. When the discussion turned to religious titles, the priest said that he did not object to the Witnesses calling him “Mister” instead of “Father.” Asked if he would say the same thing to all present, the priest was speechless and said that he really had called the meeting to warn the people against the Evangelists and not Jehovah’s Witnesses. This caused an uproar, as many of his followers had heard him say bad things against us. After this meeting, a number of this family’s neighbors formerly opposed to the Witnesses began showing interest in Bible truth. One neighbor had said that he would take the family’s Bible, cook it up with a batch of hominy, and make the Witnesses eat it. After this community meeting with the priest, however, this man apologized and began studying the Bible.

As our interesting visit with these young Christians continues, we accompany our hosts on various house-to-house visits. Most of the people we meet are alert, friendly, literate and interested in knowing more about the Bible. One elderly man commented that he had waited a lifetime for someone to come and help him to understand the Bible. Before we realize it, hours have passed. It is late afternoon and time to return to the motor home for supper.

Our Intriguing Visit Ends

While Kemp competently prepares the meal, a guitar is strummed in the background. We hear how Santiago once rescued Rigoberto and his baggage from a swollen river after he tried to cross without assistance and was swept under by the swift current. And what about the time of that strong earth tremor? One of the Witnesses decided to wait in the jeep while the other two made their way up to a nearby house. Suddenly, there were frantic movements inside the jeep. Their waiting companion was desperately trying to get out, while the jeep rocked violently from side to side. “An earthquake!” he thought. When he finally got outside, there was his “earthquake”​—a huge hog scratching its side on the rear bumper of the jeep!

After our meal, we help with the dishes, then reluctantly take our leave, but not without some reflections on the past. The enthusiasm of our new friends and their willingness to put up with inconveniences, even hardships, for the sake of their preaching work remind us of the early Christians. They also worked hard and apparently were interested in anything that might contribute to the rapid dissemination of the good news. Thus they were early users of the codex, which rapidly replaced bulky scrolls as a means of transmitting the written message of the Scriptures. And so here, in our times, we see how the camper has been adapted in much the same spirit to meet the needs of modern-day preachers of the good news.