Today, a quarter-century later, she still is there, flying into the dense South American rain forest for several months at a time. Her twin-engine cargo plane is indispensable to her missionary work, she says. Most tribes in the remote headwaters of the Amazon are unreachable by foot. Some parts seem as remote as the moon. Even by plane, it's tricky to reach the area.
Landing strips are muddy patches of land hidden among the trees.
The patches are no longer than the 350-foot width of the shuttle runway at Kennedy Space Center. No lights to show a landing strip or even a river, no navigation aides to guide you, no one to hear your plea for help. Mostly, she brings herself. She teaches natives how to plant and harvest, convinces the witch doctor to allow the ill to take medicine and answers questions about religion. She shepherds the sick to medical clinics hundreds of miles away.