Jason & Josh are two independent missionaries that have a focus on the “un-evangelized.” In early May, the two of them set out on what was supposed to be a 30 day trip that included a trek through the jungle to a river which would lead to an area of “un-evangelized” peoples. They had a satellite tracker that they could send out messages to friends who were following their progress (in the US). Five days into the trip, they were having difficulty making it through the jungle and sent out a message requesting prayer. On day 6, their track on the satellite showed some funny paths (like they were going in circles), and they lost communications sometime near that point. This wasn’t their first trip into the jungle, and their team back in the US wasn’t too concerned as they are both skilled survivalists. About day 30 after they started their trip, we received a call from their team in the US to see if we could locate them. The guys eventually made it to the river and built a raft, but progress was slow. They were hoping to reach a ranger station within 8 days of being on the river. By day 40, they ran out of food, and were still weeks away from any chance of contact. We found them on day 45 and dropped supplies, and picked them up on day 46 and brought them to Cashibo. By that point, they were on their 3rd raft (one broke, one was washed away), and they were pretty weak.
The search route was based on their actual track and projected route (information that was 40 days old). Praise God it all worked as planned!