Riding horses through the mosquito infested, South American jungle, missionary *Duncan Haliburton and his wife, *Erica, traveled toward the next village on their itinerary. It would be an initial extended visit to the village; they hoped following visits would become regular occurrences. With them traveled *Benitez, their new guide. They knew nothing about him, other than that he claimed to be a native of the village.
"I shall take you there for free," he offered, "It is time for me to visit my family."
In his late twenties, median built, handsome, and well spoken, Benitez exuded a confidence that engendered trust in the Haliburtons. He took charge of making complete preparations for the trip. Since the village was inaccessible to motorized vehicles, he assisted them in the purchase of three excellent riding horses and six sturdy packhorses.
"The packhorses must be strong because you have many supplies and expensive equipment," he noted.
He was right about the equipment. Among other things, the horses carried a petrol operated generator, several twelve volt auto batteries, three battery chargers, numerous five gallon cans of petrol, boxes of canned and packages foods, two battery operated water evaporators to provide the missionaries with a pure drinking water, a generator operated audio-visual system, two generator operated film projectors for screening films on a closed-circuit television unit, Bibles, literature, children's books, and numerous gifts for the village elders and their families.
The trip began; as he rode with the Halburtons, their trust seemed well placed. It was evident Benitez was an able guide. After a few hours they arrived at a clearing, through which a stream flowed.
Benitez said, "The village is two hours more. We must stop here to water the horses."
The trio dismounted. "Water your horses, first," Benitez instructed, "I must go among the trees."
The missionaries understood; however, Duncan wondered why Benitez took his horse with him among the trees. Erica also was puzzled.
"That seems strange, Duncan; he took his horse."
Duncan was about to respond when several men, brandishing machetes, stepped into the clearing. Among them was Benitez on his horse. "These are my banditos. We are taking all you have," he informed the dumb-founded missionaries.
The Haliburtons stared slack jawed. Benitez motioned to his bandits, instructing them to take the horses. Pushing the missionaries aside, they obeyed.
"Now we must kill you. If you stay alive, you will tell others what we have done,” Benitez said.
Then a look of absolute astonishment froze his features and those of his bandits. Gaping slack jawed at Duncan and Erica, the outlaws seemed utterly terrified, but the missionaries could see no reason for their terror. Their puzzlement increased when Benitez jumped from his mount and fled with his companions, leaving the horses and goods behind. Regaining their composure, the missionaries remounted and resumed their journey, leading the packhorses.
Some two weeks later, Benitez, appearing still frightened, came to their hut.
"Thank you for not telling the elders that I tried to kill you, he haltingly told them, "They would behead me. I am very sorry, yet, tell me one thing.”
"What is that," Duncan asked.
"I wish to know who all those people were standing around you."
"There were no people around us, Benitez; we were alone."
"No! No! You were not alone; there were many other people with large machetes in their hands! They were all dressed in white clothes that shined! They stood all around you; that is why we ran away!"
"God sent His angels to protect us, Benitez. He made you see them so you would not kill us, but we saw no one," Erica answered, "Now you must ask God to forgive you for all the wrong things you have done. You must trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, and serve Him."
"Yes, yes, that is what I must do!"
Benitez did receive Jesus Christ as his savior. He faithfully assisted the Haliburtons in their ministry, and became a fervent witness for Jesus Christ and a Christian leader in his village.
