Patricia Jane Morgenroth 22/6/48-2/12/65

There had been a period of some apathy at Tambo. Many of the students were fretting about the rule. Some of the students and the staff had begun to actively pray for a move of the Lord.

Then one of the young men had suffered a severe hit in the groin with a baseball bat during a game. It left all the students a bit subdued as there were questions as to how bad the injury was and would it have long term affects.

Only a short while later,as the day was drawing toward supper time, the students were free for a while. Some of the boys were playing soccer on the field and others of us were just standing around talking and enjoying the cooling off of the day. My memory was it was fairly warm. It was the 1st of December, and we were all looking forward to the Christmas break. The year - 1965.

One of the staff members, Mr. Wiebe needed to get something done with a car battery. He was taking it on his motor scooter, placed between his feet.

As he was preparing to leave Patty Morgenroth asked to go with him and he agreed to take her. The next thing we heard was that they had had an accident. That Mr. Wiebe had swerved to miss a drunk man weaving around on a bicycle and the weight of the battery between his feet over balanced the scooter. Don Estani came and got Mr. Dave Lotz and they went and brought them back to the school. Patty was placed on a bed in the clinic and Mr Wiebe was put in another room. Mr. Wiebe seemed to be the more serious. His wife acting also as the school nurse, was attending to him.

The high school students all gathered outside to find out how Patty was. Mr. Lotz was in with Patty and it was found that she was not breathing. Mr. Lotz began to do artificial respiration immediately.

After a time Roy Barnhart asked to help and Mr. Lotz allowed him to take over. My memory is that Gloria Stairs and I helped him. Roy breathed their breath into Patty and Glory had to gently force it out and I was there to do anything that was needed -like give drinks of water and wiping the brow of the one giving the artificial respiration.

There were several teams and we traded off through the night. We even teased as we worked, about telling Patty when this was over how these guys kissed her all night. We never stopped or considered she was in serious trouble. Mrs. Wiebe was herself occupied with her husband so it was just us students in charge of Patty.

Several of the high school boys spent the night on the radio trying to rouse someone to get a message to the mission home in Cochabamba (where Patty's parents were) to have a plane dispatched to take Patty to hospital. There were no telephones and our only outside contacts were done with Ham radios. The school was a 7 or 8 hour road trip through a rain forest and over the Andes Mountains to Cochabamba - also the closest hospital. So, we needed to have a plane come to get Patty.

Then some of the other boys began asking around and found out there was apparently a Doctor down the road toward Santa Cruz. Though they were not licensed, they took the school truck to go out and find this doctor. Unfortunately they were unable to find him.

At about 4:00 AM, in extreme exhaustion, we got the news that someone had been roused in Cochabamba and contacted New Tribes Mission headquarters. Arrangements were made for a plane to come.

The school pista at that time was VERY rough, often the pasture for cattle. So the high school boys went up to clear debris off the strip, rocks, bushes, cows -
anything that appeared to be a danger for a plane landing.

My memory was that the plane arrived around 8 in the morning, and Patty was airlifted out, now on mechanical life support.

School for the high school students was suspended for the day. We who had been up all night, fell into bed in an exhausted sleep. I remember waking up in the early afternoon to hear that the Doctors at the hospital had spoken to Mr and Mrs. Morgenroth about Patty. They said no one seemed to know how long she had not been breathing when we found her and that even if they got her heart going there was a good chance Patty' mind would be gone from lack of oxygen. I am sure the decision the Morgenroth's had to make was the hardest one of their whole life. Patty was removed from life support on December 2, 1965 allowed to go home and meet her Lord.

This was a VERY hard and sobering truth for the Tambo community. It seemed impossible that one of our number, our fellow friend and peer, was not coming back. I know for me, the reality of death was re-enforced in my own life. My brother had been killed in 1961. But as I did not see his body, a part of me tried to believe he was just living somewhere else. But with Patty I KNEW she was gone.

The other thing that over time really struck me was that you didn't have to be a grown up to do grown up things. The high school student body all worked together for Patty that night. Everyone moved up to do something to help without being asked. None of us stood in line to be assigned. We each in our own way looked for the way we could help Patty and then went out and did it. Out of the fire, the students were tested and come out refined and stronger.

Patty's death brought all of us there face to face the reality of life and death.

Random memories

Just thinking of some of my favorite memories of Tambo. I remember getting up early in the mornings to study for tests - more the year I graduated if I am remembering correctly. Sometimes I would take my notes and walk up and down the roadway that lead into Tambo, which ran behind the dorms. But I found a place to study that I loved. Admittedly, I was scared every time I went there but I loved it. I would go up the road leading to the Pista, and breaking away onto the stoney ground above the river. I would walk over to the stones futherest from the roadway and sit down on the rocks. I carried a flashlight to guide my path and for studying my notes, once seated. I would arrive while it was still dark (Don't know how I ever got away with leaving the dorm so early in the morning - usually about 4:30 on test mornings) I would a be really scared of meeting up with a snake. Amazingly never thought about mountain cats. HA! Only worried about snake and scorpions. After a careful look around I would sit down and begin to study. But, the clear cool air, the velvety night, and brillient display of stars and then sky beginning to lighten up behind the mountians across the river, and finally the very rim of the sun rising above the hills, were a constant enticement away from the studying I was there to do. The studying must have worked some because I did graduate, but never since have I experienced such magical mornings. The Lord was good cuz if I had ever had any trouble no one knew where I was.

During those years at Tambo I often would leave the school grounds to sit up up in the tree house I'd found in the first year, or sitting on a tree limb or purched on the hillside up behind the dorms to have may quiet time. One of the major hurtles of my life after leaving Tambo was being in a lifestyle that did not offer an outdoor getaway for having devotions. For awhile it seemed I could not feel the presence of the Lord til I looked at the real issue which was missing this great outdoor life I'd been able to enjoy during my Tambo years.

Another major issue was the daily chapel hour before breakfast. I'm having a blank moment here. It was before breakfast wasn't it? If anyone reads this and they find errors please let me know. But, having a dad who was quite a dynamic speaker I found it initially hard to listen to the speakers who gave the devotion and chapel messages. It seems all of them just talked quietly, like a teaching session and the sermons felt like ithey weren't that important. But I came to understand I was defrauding the Lord if I just switched off and began to be attentive (most of the time). I'm sure I learned a lot of things about the Lord and my Christian walk there but it's funny the things that have shaped my way of living my life.

I cannot throw trash on the ground, as I walk or drive in a car or visit a picnic sight. One day one of the teachers spoke on the subject of defacing desks and the landscape with our trash. Then we had to walk the whole school property and clean it. I will admit, I now will throw things like apple cores or banana peels out the window but I cannot throw even a gum paper wrapper out and I want to yell at people I see carelessly trashing the landscape.

I remember Mr. Medgzar (sp) talking about honesty, even to taking of paper clips from a work place (I'm not as honest in this regard as I could be, but always I hear his message in my mind.) He also spoke passionately of how the Lord miraculiously healed Charlotte of a severe overbite - and since I thought she was one of the most beautiful girls I knew, this deeply pleased me - that the Lord heard the deep cry of her father's heart and brought her such evident healing.

I've talked much about the spiritual aspect of my time at Tambo. I Praise the Lord that in His plan I got to go there. I know many of the teachers felt I was a rebel - and I would be lying to say ther was NO rebellion in me but one of the things that happened to me was there was the peer pressure of the other students who did not accept ungodly behaviour or talk. I came to Tambo at 15, from a place where the other young people I knew in the church and at school had become increasing careless in their lives, and I, in an efforto be accepted at school began to talk and act in a way that made me ashamed but I wanted to be accepted so badly I ignored my heart. So my 'friends' and I encouraged each other in our very ungodly talk and actions. When I went to Tambo I quickly found out my talk shocked the other girls at school so I withdrew inside myself for awhile but slowly what I was seeing and hearing at Tambo birthed a deepening desire inmy heart to love and serve the Lord . I came to repentance, and found a renewed life in the Lord. People who remember me may find that somewhat hard to believe, but I tell you assuredly, it was because the Lord lead me to Tambo, and because of the encouragement and teaching there that I developed a deep love for the Lord.

Model airplanes and parties

Herb's memories of model airplanes called to mind an incident that happen later. If anyone reads this memory that remembers it differently I will be glad to have any input. The high school boys were living then in the second dormitory to go up because of space issues. It was mostly a shell with a roof at that point. The girls were now in the farther dorm that the guys had been in the year before.

The high school boys were out at the edge of the soccer field flying their model airplane. It was going sweetly. Bonnie Ziegler and I were standing looking on, as I was trying to get the attention of one of the high school guys when we noticed a little tin holding the fuel needs to run the model airplane. Wow, I thought, that would get some much desired attention. We walked up behind the guys and just reached down and picked it up. They didn't even notice. Then we quietly left with our treasure, snuck into the boys dorm - a huge NO NO and went into the room we hoped belonged to Roger Brown and put the tin on his bed.

Well, not 15 minutes later a huge cry went up. The guys were out for blood, wilding accusing everyone. They were so mad, they ran into the girls dorm to do a room to room search, and ended up forcing open one of the doors held against them - 2 rather shaken girls - not guilty of taking the fuel tin - were furious.

The whole episode was only about 1/2 hour from start to finish but ended up in the boys having to apologize to the girls and give them a party. I do not remember if Bonnie Ziegler and my part in this episode was ever discovered. Oh, and I didn't succeed in getting any attention. HA!

Model Airplanes -Herb Winstanley

Subject: Model Airplanes



A popular hobby at Tambo was building and flying model airplanes. Some guys had ready-made planes, others built them from kits, and some (I remember Alan Foster particularly) built them from blocks of Bolivian grown balsa wood. Usually they were powered by small gasoline motors, and flew around in circles on the end of a pair of control lines. Somebody even had a helicopter, but I don’t think it flew very successfully. Of course there was the occasional plane that would nose-dive into the soccer field, only to be diligently repaired to fly again.

A plane of particular interest was a glider built by Paul Gess, which was designed for free flight. After starting the .049 engine, Paul would release it with a careful throw into the air. From that point it was on its own, and would gain altitude in wide circles. We all kept our eyes glued to it as it rose ever higher, till all we could see was a small speck. Eventually the motor ran out of fuel, after which the plane would circle slowly down. We kept it carefully in sight while running through the bush to wherever it chose to land, hopefully not too far away. It was important to fly this plane only when there was little or no wind.

One day Paul launched this flyer into the motionless air, and we all expected another routine flight. However, at a certain elevation the plane began to fly in a straight line toward the south, across the highway and toward the mountains. We ran after it, but soon lost sight of it and had to give up. On a Saturday, Alan Foster and I (grade nine at the time – 1961/62) decided to go on a rescue mission. The weather had changed to the cold misty drizzle we all remember enduring from time to time at Tambo. However, undeterred, we crossed the highway and climbed up to “the scar”, continuing to the mountain top. We really thought we would find that small plane among the vast expanse of cacti and other thorn bearing trees and bushes. (I can’t remember any naturally occurring thornless plant at Tambo.) From the top of the mountain we saw another valley and more mountains beyond, but no sign of the intrepid flyer. Forced to accept defeat we returned home, cold and wet, but glad to have made the attempt.

Spiritual ground taken

In the mid-1960’s, a young man was living a life of rebellion against his parents and the Lord, in Chicago, if I am remembering the story correctly. At some point, he connected with young minister called Bill Gothard. This lad was the son of missionaries in Bolivia. His heart had become sick of the life that separated him from his family and the Lord he’d turned his back on. Bill Gothard had just recently begun a ministry among the teens on the streets of Chicago – beginning to share the message of God’s love for these hurting teens. His teaching was to gave them direction and skills / guidelines for making choices that would bring healing and stability into their often shattered lives, after they turned their lives over to the Lord. Bill Gothard would later organize his teaching into a syllabus and begin to give seminars called “Basic Youth Conflicts”

In dealing with the young man from Bolivia, Bill recommended that he return to Bolivia and be reconciled with his father and submit to him.. As part of that reconciliation that young man became a student at Tambo. He had a fine intellect and I was honored to know him. He had a questing mind and wanted to understand the doctrines of the Christian faith. I hope that he did find the peace and assurance in the Lord he was seeking.

As a result of that meeting in Chicago, Bill Gothard came to Tambo and gave the High School students that foundational teaching that we would later take to several generations of men and women in America. Yes, I have heard that later Satan came in to try and destroy that ministry. My prayer is that it did not destroy the man, and for me, I know it did not dim the truth that I felt Mr. Gothard seeded into my own life.

His teaching deeply affected and influenced my own life, and walk with the Lord. A major teaching he shared was that of honoring our parents. He taught us they had been given their authority over their children by God. I know many people bulked at this teaching, including my own parents. Bill Gothard taught that even though sometimes parents were wrong, we must respect them. This was especially true in big issues, he taught, in choice of who we would marry. I believe Mr. Gothard was correct in this, that in our submission to our parents’ guidance, even to listen if they felt we were making wrong choice, that God would accomplish a greater good in our lives. That if our parents were wrong and this was God’s partner for us, He would work the details out. And, in that work, bring great good to all, perhaps even winning of the hearts of parents to Christ who didn’t believe.

Bill Gothard also spoke of being a rather poor student in high school. He studied hard but without the reward of good grades. After a life changing encounter with the Lord he started to memorize whole passages of Scripture. One of the things he began to notice was his grades started to go up. He was not studying more, but he told us he believed that in memorization of the Word of God, his mind was sharpened. Shortly after he left I began to memorize Matthew 5,6 & 7 and then went on to memorize the Book of James. I chose these a passages because of my own struggle to understand them. During that period of intense memorization, my grade did in fact go from B’s up to A’s and even some A+.

At that time in my life I was pretty much a loner at Tambo with no real friends. It was easy to spend the time alone, up on the hillside behind the dorms. Another favorite spot was up among the rocks above the River, just below the Pista. Even now, when I remember, my heart leaps for joy.

But, suddenly I found myself with more friends, girls who seemed to enjoy being with me and I began to take more pleasure in this new socializing experience and less time in memorization. That became my loss. I am not saying those friendships were wrong. I loved those friends, but I could have been friends and carried on memorizing the Word, but I allowed that discipline to drop out of my life. I did find out however, that memorizing the Word did sharpen my mind and strengthen my spirit. I wish I had remained diligent, and was more diligent today in ‘hiding the Word of God in my heart”

Another thing that Mr Gothard spoke of that really affected me was the dangers of reading horoscopes, checking out our star signs and reading the newspapers with their ‘predications’ for our sign, playing games like the Ouija board or other things like dangling a ring on a string over our wrist to determine number of children we would have and other silly games kids play in this vain. He spoke very strongly about it leading us to seek esoteric knowledge outside of Christ, and more, being molding in our thoughts and character by what those prediction and star signs ascribed to us.

I don’t remember Mr. Gothard making this connection, but I’ve come to believe it is also an entry into our lives of some of Satan’s nastier traps.

I for one continue to praise the Lord that one man listened to the Lord, and was willing to take the time to go to a Missionary school in the heart of Bolivia and teach a handful of students what the Lord was laying on his heart.

Algebra, tests, teachers

In the years I was at Tambo, 1964 to 1967 we had unique teachers. I am mathematically challenged (need walls to my mind to keep facts inside) but the best classes for me was when Mr. Dave Lotz taught Algebra II. I loved the class and was able to understand the work. But best I loved his tests. He gave us the final exam, on a Friday, to be handed in I think by Saturday Morning but am not remembering for sure. He trusted the students, which I believe made everyone of us do the work without any thought of cheating. The test was hard, challenging all we had learned but not over long. I seem to remember only 5 problems.

On the Saturday Morning, fellow student Charlotte Metzgar and I were up at dawn. Charlotte had really struggled, but finally finished, as I had. But, we both were a bit wound up over the test. We dressed, leaving everyone sleeping, and went out in the hills on the other side of the main road. I had personally never explored in this area before, in all my wanderings. It was wonderful, the cool morning air and lovely crisp sun beginning a wonderful day. We went up and up the hillside til we heard the rising bell ring out and knew we had to be back at school in a half hour. On the way back at a run, where we could, we rounded a corner and there across the pathway was the largest spider web I had ever seen. I ran into it and did not break it. It had the toughness that reminded me of the web in the cave holding Frodo in. And BIG black spiders! My memory was they were not tarantulas. What a breath stopping fright.

We were allowed a great deal of freedom in the years I was at Tambo. There were hills all around, and a great river running below the school.

I remember one day coming down the hill up behind the dorms, going up to the Pista, and found a group of students all standing looking up the hill, a few hundred feet from where I had been. I asked what they were looking at to be told they had just seen a mountain lion. Boo Hoo, I did not see it then or ever.

Anna Foster and I often took off on Sundays and wandered the hills. There were all kinds of fossils to be found and what we really were amazed at was the present of sea fossils up at 6,000' above sea level. I can remember carrying fossils back to the school but as I have none, I obviously never kept any.

When my mom and dad visited for school events I can remember my dad often being busy and Mom and I would go out and wander in the hills and along side the river. I remember the year I graduated we waded into the river in our tennis shoes (not deep, but very rocky on the bottom and with a fairly strong current) and holding hands to keep up from slipping and falling in we walked up the river. This is a favorite memory. I thought my mom was so cool and determined that if I ever had children I would try to keep doing fun things with them. Mom was 53 that year I think. Of course, I am now 60 and know 53 is still young.

Coming to Tambo

January 1964 - Mom and Dad (Fred and Grace Borden) had come to Cochabamba Bolivia with Wycliffe Bible Translators to take over the running of the Printshop being set up by Dick James (Inventor of the Slinky toy). We'd been in the country for a little over a month and it was determined by my folks that I would attend Tambo, a New Tribes Mission School, but open to children of other missions. It was in the wilds of Bolivia. A seven hour bus trip (bus company then called Galgo) on the road between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz.

Cochabamba was at 8,000' above sea level and I was just beginning to be able to move about with out being totally exausted by it. We got on a bus, quite a few of us going to Tambo to begin the second half of the school year, on the evening bus. I was told we would get to the school around 2 AM. As we drove the road on this, my first trip to Tambo, in the dark I had no idea of what the road and land was like except for occasional glimpses of the road ahead and time when the lights as we rounded corners either lighted up cliffs or empty space beyond the road. But, I was to scared about going to a boarding school and not knowing anyone.

When the bus pulled off the road and drove into a place where under the dim light of the moon I could see only the edge of a soccer field and a huddle of adobe buildings. We stumbled off the bus, gathering our stuff and having to wait for the bus driver to take the suitcases and packages stored under the bus. Some staff members came out to gather the arriving students and take them to their various dorms. I became aware there was consternation about where to put me. I found out that at the school they thought Galilee was a guy and had reserved a bed for me in the boys annex. So there was a mad scramble to find a bed for me. All I wanted to do was stretch out and SLEEP.

Finally tucked away, and in my pj's, and on the edge of sleep I heard the most fightful sound I'd ever heard. I sat bold upright in my bed and whispered in a terrified voice "What's wrong with the sick cow?" Every girl in the room burst into laughter. "That is a donkey."

And so began my boarding school career.