Linden on Sunday

Again today (Sunday, February 28, 2016), it was my good pleasure to worship with the Amelia’s Ward Church of Christ in Linden, Guyana. During Bible class, I taught a lesson about the Ascension of Jesus Christ; though a cardinal doctrine of New Testament Christianity, only three verses of Scripture portray the actual event. Other verses directly or indirectly refer to it. Nevertheless, the Ascension qualifies our Lord to be our Mediator, our Intercessor and our Advocate. At the evening worship assembly, I preached about “Foul Language.”

A curious thing happened following morning worship and prior to the evening assembly. After a.m. worship, members volunteered to personally contribute funds for the funeral of sister in Christ who just died, since the remaining family members are unable to take care of it. Members will also fix a meal for a wake. Interestingly, several male members agreed to and did build her casket this afternoon. If that wasn’t an oddity enough, the coffin is about four feet tall, built to fit the deceased! Building the casket was an effort to be frugal in view of the fact that church members assumed the entire cost of the funeral through the donation of money and items. Of course, leave it up to brothers in Christ to add a little levity to the otherwise sad event.

 

 

Seminar at Underneeming, Guyana, South America

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Twice within one week I spoke for the Blueberry Hill Church of Christ, howbeit, those two occasions were at separate congregations hours apart from each other. My alarm sounded at 2 a.m. on Saturday, February 27. It was time to rise, dress, eat and begin the journey to the next in a series of nationwide seminars across Guyana, South America. Brother Nigel Milo and I left Linden in his automobile and drove to Georgetown. There, we crossed the Demerara River Harbor Bridge, a concoction of metal plates welded together and resting on anchored barges. After intercepting and adding to our happy band, we three proceeded to road’s end at Parika on the banks of the mighty Essequibo River. Unlike on past occasions when we rode speedboats to cross the 20 miles or so to the other side, this time we boarded a car ferry. The innermost seating area resembled the interior of a jetliner. An hour later, we disembarked at Supenaam, whereupon we hired a taxi to take us to the Blueberry Hill Church of Christ in Underneeming. Some of the most interesting and many odd-sounding village names dot all over Guyana.

The meetinghouse complex is commodious and clean; it is apparent that the brethren meeting here take good care of their facilities. The second floor is populated with a couple of beds on which two out of three of us rested briefly from our long, early morning trip. Refreshments, too, were awaiting us upon our arrival. The annex is a fenced, brightly colored pavilion, which I’m sure serves the double purpose of classroom and fellowship meal hall.

All morning and all afternoon, brother Wilbur Vyphuis and I presented lessons about and encouraging evangelism, which we have been teaching at each seminar site throughout the country. Brother Nigel Milo concluded the sessions with a narrated PowerPoint presentation to acquaint brethren with the church meeting throughout the nation; he also charged brethren present to arise to the occasion of evangelizing Guyana, beginning where they live and worship.

Several congregations from the region were present; about 85 persons participated in the seminar. The brethren concurred that such a seminar was needed, and another congregation in the area volunteered to host the program next year. Every seminar so far has concluded with another church taking responsibility for hosting a seminar next year.

We hope that all who attend these programs leave having been edified greatly. I know they enjoy fellowshipping with each other and eating together; brethren everywhere certainly like eating. Probably, we three presenters are as much or more edified than any of those who attend the seminars. May God be glorified and praised.

Brother Barrington

Wednesday afternoon, February 24^th, I teamed up with brother Sheldon who preaches for the Blueberry Hill Church of Christ on the west bank of the Demerara River in Linden, Guyana, South America. That evening, I assembled with the congregation there and presented a Bible lesson.

While walking about in the neighborhoods surrounding the meetinghouse, we briefly visited brother Barrington. He is a man who is 80-years-old with some health challenges. One of the first members to arrive later for Wednesday evening Bible class, there he was walking carefully on the broken roadway. Using a cane for each hand, he managed to negotiate a difficult, uneven and rocky path from his humble home just to get to a car path. Then, upon his arrival, he had to climb a staircase to the second floor of the old frame building in which the local church meets.

Other members of the church around the world not nearly as mature in age and often with less physical challenges do not put forth as much effort that they might assemble with brothers and sisters in Christ. Other members who have motorized transportation in which to ride can’t seem to bring themselves to services. Other members whose destination is more convenient, maybe ground level or with handicap access, fail to congregate with fellow Christians. Other members who enjoy air conditioned halls and comfortable seating, instead of unscreened, open window casings and benches, cannot find their way to the assemblies.

Brother Barrington was an encouragement to me, and I hope that he likewise encouraged the other members of the church with whom he gathered, and perhaps he even caused some of his neighbors to pause a little as they saw him amble by their homes. Just maybe brother Barrington, though you are unlikely to ever meet him, can encourage you as well (Hebrews 10:25).

Wednesday in Linden

Blueberry Hill in Linden

Wednesday, February 24, 2016 in Linden, Guyana, South America was good to me as I awoke on my 26^th day since I left the USA; Lord willing, I have 13 additional days in Guyana before I return to my homeland. Sister Jasmine Milo was experimenting in the kitchen again with a new Internet recipe that she wanted to try out on me – essentially a bacon-wrapped egg baked in a muffin pan. It was pretty good actually!

I fired up my mobile office for a couple of hours before I was called away to go along with brethren into the local (spiritual) fields – which the church does consistently Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. No one was home at our first stop – a Bible study on which I had gone twice before. Our second stop was to show a sister in Christ who lost her mother the day before that her brothers and sisters in Christ care. Her mother was another of those mysterious instances where surgery is deemed successful, but the patient dies! Next, we divided the team in two to attend two home Bible studies simultaneously; I went with half the group to a study on which I had also been previously.

Upon returning to the home of brother and sister Milo, I resorted to my makeshift office atop my bed. I managed to find a workaround to publish the February issue of Gospel Gazette Online to the Internet without the benefit of FTP Internet capabilities; evidently the local ISP blocks the use of FTP. Late, but nevertheless, the February edition of GGO is available for use from around the world. This morning and this afternoon I also made some preliminary preparation for publishing my newsletter upon returning to the States.

Sheldon in Linden

About 4:30 p.m., I was turned over to the custody of brother Sheldon who preaches for the Blueberry Hill Church of Christ in Linden on the other side of the river. We walked through his neighborhoods for an hour and a half before Wednesday evening Bible class. Eventually, 21 persons were present; evidently, we sing them in, which seems to be a common practice in Guyana. I taught my lesson, “Pain and Suffering.”

Afterward, I took a taxi back across the single-lane former railway bridge to the Amelia’s Ward district. Once there, I caught up with the Amelia’s Ward Church of Christ which had crammed about 40 of its people into a member’s home. Finally, we made our way back to the Milo home, whereupon I had leftover lasagna from lunch, which sister Jasmine had made especially for me. I followed that with a round of leftover chocolate cobbler and strawberry ice cream. Not long thereafter, I retired to my quarters to bathe, brush my teeth and ready myself for bedtime. It was another good day among Christian friends.

Industry, Guyana, South America

Industry, Guyana Church of Christ

Industry Church of Christ building

Industry Church of Christ building

Wilbur Vyphuis

The Industry Church of Christ hosted today’s seminar, and about 75 Christians from several Georgetown area congregations attended the all-day program. It was very hot, but we were thankful for the many fans that moved air about. Altogether, brother Wilbur Vyphuis and I presented five lessons on evangelism. Everyone seemed to be encouraged and appeared to appreciate the material offered. Throughout the country in these seminars this year, we have been calling upon Guyanese brethren to help shoulder the responsibility to evangelize this nation, and the response has been favorable everywhere we have gone so far. Brethren have acknowledged that now is the time for Guyanese congregations to work toward two long-term goals: becoming self-supporting and saturating their respective communities with the Gospel of Christ. In both instances, achievement of these goals would represent transition from American money and American missionaries to Guyanese money and Guyanese laborers in the vineyard of our Lord. Already, one or more churches are self-supporting, and brethren are cooperating and at their own expense (i.e., individual Christians are saving money and paying their own way) to travel hundreds of miles each way in some instances to encourage and assist sister congregations in remote places, as well as near places, too. The future is bright for the Lord’s church in Guyana, especially now as Guyanese Christians arise to the occasion of nationwide Christian service.

 

A New Week

Nigel Milo

Yesterday, Sunday, February 21, I worshipped with the Amelia’s Ward Church of Christ in Linden, Guyana, South America. It was my privilege during morning Bible class to present a biblical lesson about “The Ministry of Angels.” During evening worship, I acquainted the congregation with my recent travels in four Asian countries. No, I was not attempting to raise mission money from the church, but I familiarized Christians with similar evangelistic efforts on the other side of the world to the labors being put forth throughout Guyana in parts of January, February and March this year. When I talk to brethren in Asia about Guyana, they want to come and see for themselves the land and the people about whom I speak so highly. Likewise, I hope to engender a sense of community among Guyanese brethren for a part of the brotherhood far offshore to them.

Brother Nigel Milo is an exemplary evangelist largely without peers anywhere on earth. I am fortunate to sit at his feet and work alongside of him in field work, though he is decades my junior. Sunday morning was an opportunity for me to seek my own edification as he proclaimed the Gospel to the Amelia’s Ward congregation. In addition, I am learning better as he permits me to accompany him on local Bible studies in people’s homes. Today (Monday), brother Nigel conducted two such studies, and I tagged along. Also today, I finally completed the February edition of Gospel Gazette Online, though I may not be able to publish it from here; I may need to wait until I return to the USA on March 8.

Tomorrow, we launch out to a suburb of Georgetown for another seminar. Later in the week and for the next two weeks, we have additional seminars in which brother Milo, brother Wilbur Vyphuis and I will encourage and edify preachers and members of numerous congregations in Guyana. It has been and continues to be a gratifying experience to serve our Lord in this way here in this nation. My frequent prayer daily is that God will be glorified and that souls will be edified.

Canal #1

Youth Hostel

Friday evenings February 12 and 19, brother Nigel Milo and I presented lessons at a local youth hostel for young people who have come in from the bush to finish their public education. Each year I have about two opportunities to teach at the boarding house for these youth.

Canal #1

February 12, I showed a PowerPoint presentation, “The Church in Prophecy,” and the following week, I presented the PowerPoint, “Understanding the Covenants.” The former date, I also showed Asian and Guyanese culture via a PowerPoint presentation; the latter date, brother Nigel acquainted those present with the cultural variables within Guyana, relating some observations from our series of seminars in hinterland areas (e.g., Lethem, Mabaruma, Port Kaituma, Paramakatoi).

Louis Rushmore at Canal #1

Saturday, February 20, 2016, Nigel and I joined up with brother Wilbur Vyphuis at the Canal #1 Church of Christ’s meetinghouse on the far side of the Demerara River. About 40 men, women and children took time out of their weekend to feast on spiritual lessons presented as part of the nationwide seminar that we are conducting. The program ran from about 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

I am seldom happier than when teaching or preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today was a happy day in that regard.

Cloud Hopping & Dancing in the Sky

Early Sunday morning on Valentine’s Day (February 14), brother Nigel Milo, brother Wilbur Vyphuis and I checked in at the “Ogle International Airport” for our flight to Paramakatoi, an Amerindian village of 3,000 cradled atop a mountain jungle near the border of Guyana with Brazil. That’s when we discovered that though our tickets were the first three purchased for this flight, only one of the tickets was placed on the flight manifest. Hence, the airline sold more tickets than there were seats on the plane.

Therefore, the airline pushed back our ETD by two hours and upgraded the flight to a bigger plane – holding seven passengers and one pilot! Did I sit at the window on the right or on the left side of the plane? Both! I had a coworker on my left, but I was virtually at both windows at the same time. The little Japanese automobile in which we rode to the airstrip was wider than our aircraft! In addition, the cute, pintsized airplane may have been as old or older than me. We noted the numerous missing rivets, the shriveled weather stripping on the doors and windows that let in wind and rain upon us, as well as comparable worn components throughout the interior. Nevertheless, the transport got us to Paramakatoi and later in the week lifted us out of that remote site to the mountain way station of Mahdia.

Virtually every landing strip throughout Guyana is populated with animals of various kinds, people and vehicles. It seems to me that catastrophe is looming and just waiting for a time and a place to occur. There had been two horses on or near the runway at Lethem. The night before our departure from Paramakatoi, I counted five horses on the airstrip there; immediately before a plane touched down on Wednesday, a woman sauntered across the landing field apparently without a care in the world. Sheep were grazing at the airport at Mahdia.

Small planes like the ones on which we ride over jungles in Guyana are especially subject to turbulence. Air pockets drop flying machine and all, and if it weren’t for the seatbelts, we all would be bounced off of the ceiling. Hopping clouds and dancing through the sky, passengers routinely traverse a country lacking in land transportation arteries besides logging roads, except for along the coastline. Still, not all of the flying results in the adrenaline rush comparable to amusement park rides, skydiving and bungee jumping.

We found the worship of the Paramakatoi Church of Christ in progress upon our arrival; brethren had been worshipping already for two hours and lingered awaiting us. However, brother Nigel was called upon to deliver the morning sermon. Sunday afternoon through Wednesday morning, we preached a combined 17 lessons.

The three of us were settled into the village guesthouse. The amenities are comparable to going to camp in some places in the USA. Electric is only available from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. There are toilets, but buckets of water must be used to flush them. Consequently, bathing is limited to dumping cold water over oneself, lathering up and attempting to rinse the soap off. An alternative is to moisten a cloth and wipe oneself down. Later, we acquired a lighter and were able to heat water on a stove attached to a propane tank to mix with cold water.

The building has no closure from the outside to the inside at the eaves, and the windows cannot be completely closed. The bedroom walls rise about three quarter high to the rafters. The beds are hard with a thin mattress atop rough wood. Each bed is equipped with its own mosquito net to tuck around the four mattress corners.

With no storm brewing, yet the wind was brisk and cool. Each night it rained, and rain showers accented each day, too. The dampness was the most severe that I have ever experienced; everything was wet from our clothes to the bedding. Our bodies were clammy and sticky, not from perspiration but from the extremely high humidity.

There was no mirror in the government lodging, but brother Milo showed me how to use the camera on my phone, which I used to comb my hair. However, I opted not to try to shave while holding my phone in one hand and trying to shave my face between occasions of dipping my razor in a pan of water. I last shaved on Saturday night and may wait until the coming Saturday morning to decide whether to shave or leave the beard growth for now.

We could hardly have been more pleased with the turn out and participation by our dear brethren of the Paramakatoi Church of Christ. Attendances ranged from 50 to 60 for worship, seminar sessions and Gospel meetings; on Monday and Tuesday, assemblies went from 9 a.m. up to 9 p.m. with breaks for lunch and supper. Wednesday morning before we boarded our return flight, brethren assembled for their midweek service at 6:30 a.m. before going out of the village to work their farms; they do the same on Friday mornings, too. About 50 were present Wednesday a.m.

Brethren were appreciative of our efforts, and several requested prayers. We primarily work with brethren to acquaint them more fully with the Word of God and to equip them to shoulder the responsibility to evangelize their own communities. This year, our theme concerned evangelism and changing the mindset among Guyanese Christians to be less dependent upon American support and to accept personal responsibility for reaching the lost in their country. Many congregations have existed for several decades now, and they need to transition from dependency and helplessness to independence and to participate in the evangelization of Guyana. We stressed internal and spiritual growth as a precursor to physical or numerical growth. We noted the necessary cooperation of Christian homes with congregations to bring along youth to the Christian faith and to equip them for Christian service.

On another note, my severe sunburn is healing. However, I am peeling like a snake!

Though we flew directly from Ogle to Paramakatoi, flights from Paramakatoi do not fly directly back to Ogle on the coast. Passengers and their luggage are dropped at a hangar at another jungle mountain airfield so that cargo can be shuttled to various mining camps or villages. Later, then, the fleet of small planes return to retrieve their passengers and to take them to Ogle. We were fortunate on Wednesday that there was not much cargo to ferry to many places, and so, Nigel, Wilbur and I were able to return to our point of origin near Georgetown by midafternoon.

Various errands, though, made us run late getting back to Linden before the start of Bible class at 5:30 p.m. Bible class was followed by a couple hours of singing and prayers. Even after the services concluded, members lingered for an hour or more. The Amelia’s Ward Church of Christ is one of the finest specimens of a Christian congregation anywhere on planet earth.

Finally, I had an opportunity to clean up and ready myself for bed. Before turning in, though, I was anxious to review the photographs that I had taken and compose this blog entry.

On the way back from Mahdia to Ogle, competing with the roar of turboprop engines between which the fuselage hung, 6,000 feet above the rainforest canopy, I hollered into Nigel’s ear, “Ah! This is the life!”

Another Long Day

Friday, February 12, 2016 was another long day. Every good day is a long day; this was a good day. This morning in Linden, Guyana, brother Nigel Milo and I visited a lady who is permitting members of the church to teach her God’s way each week. Brother Milo thoroughly and expertly hosted today’s study on the lady’s steps to her humble home. The methodology and lesson context that he devised is beyond compare and worthy of widespread notice and imitation. Therefore, I encouraged him to combine his well-organized outline and narration into written paragraphs for potential publication in either book form or lesson format. He could have pressured her to be baptized today, but he (and I) prefer conversions based on informed conviction as opposed to getting someone wet and boasting of one more added to the number, who in all likelihood would soon fall away if ever darkening the door of the meetinghouse. Sometime, some methodologies ought to be inspected not by how many baptisms they produce but by the retention rate among those baptism.

We also gathered supplies for the Ladies’ Inspiration Day hosted by the Amelia’s Ward Church of Christ, which is to occur on Saturday. In 2014, Bonnie was the principle speaker, and 300+ women attended in the old cramped building, predating the new, expansive meetinghouse in which this program will transpire.

We had to have refilled nine big jugs of water and secure food for the event. In both the Bible study and lugging the filled water bottles, I merely tagged along. My wrists and back prevent me presently from heavy lifting. It seems that I may have arrived, at least for now, at demonstrating the lyrics of one old country song: “I am too heavy for light work, and too light for heavy work.” Carpal tunnel and arthritis pains disturbed and prematurely cut short my night’s sleep.

One of our daytime destinations was the local pharmacy. Because of the increasing frequency of pain, I have been popping OTC pain pills like candy. Hence, I was running short. In addition, I was a late night snack for one or more bugs of some sort, leaving welts on my body. Only having two Benadryl caplets with me, I needed to acquire some more for that malady. It was also imperative that I buy some more antibacterial medicated cream to prevent the badly sunburnt left side of my face from becoming infected; I hope that it also promotes speedy healing. I have never burned so badly before, but two and a half hours in a boat on rivers between Mabaruma and Port Kaituma this past week cooked me. I also bought some sunscreen.

Late afternoon and early evening, I presented two PowerPoint presentations to a large contingent of boys and girls in a youth hostel for high school students who normally live in the bush. The first was “The Church in Prophecy,” and the second was about culture in the various countries to which I go for our Lord.

Still later, I spoke to a young married couples class about marriage. In addition, I helped ever so little with some of the Ladies’ Inspiration Day preparation. Throughout the day, I also worked on the next edition of Gospel Gazette Online. Tomorrow promises to be filled as I may address the men who accompany women for their event. Early Sunday morning, two Guyanese brethren and I fly to Paramakatoi where we will conduct the seminar and a Gospel meeting for a few days. Two weeks down, three weeks to go before returning to the USA. Until next time, May God richly bless you and me as well.

Region 1, Guyana, South America

Brother Nigel Milo and I left his home in Linden around 4:30 a.m. on Monday, February 8, 2016. We were on our way to Georgetown, the capital city, to pick up our co-speaker, brother Wilbur Vyphuis. After locating him, we three continued to the little “international” airport at Ogle. Within the hour after arriving, checking in and going through immigration, we were airborne, headed for Region 1. In particular, we were going to Mabaruma for our next seminar in the Annual Nationwide Guyana Seminar; each year, brother Nigel and I with the addition of a second Guyanese brother in Christ travel throughout Guyana in four to five weeks to encourage and edify fellow Christians.

Our “airliner” was full – seven passengers and a pilot! It wasn’t as wide as the car in which we rode to the airport. From Ogle, we flew over the Atlantic Ocean northward along the coast, before angling landward over jungles to Mabaruma on the border with Venezuela. We touched down around 8 a.m. After getting settled into the guesthouse, we walked literally through a hillside, fenced in cow pasture for the most direct route to the meetinghouse. The seminar began not long after we arrived and lasted until about 4 p.m., with a break for lunch on the premises in the middle of the day. A small group from four local congregations came together for the day’s activities, and they welcomed us and expressed appreciation for our encouragement of them.

That evening, we navigated in the dark on what passes for roads in the environs of Mabaruma to Mabaruma Settlement. There, a few preachers, including our team of three, encouraged one another and talked about evangelizing the area as well as the nation of Guyana. We made our way back to the hotel around 9 p.m. and sought supper from the establishment’s cook.

Tuesday was an equally long, tiresome day. After breakfast, we tagged along with the preacher for the Mabaruma Church of Christ (not to be confused with Mabaruma Settlement Church of Christ or other local congregations) as he secured fuel for his boat. He opted to take us through a series of inland waterways that would lead us to our next venue for the seminars. About two and a half hours after disembarking from Mabaruma, we arrived at the river port of Port Kaituma. It was a fairly relaxing journey, though I sunburned my neck, face and arms; it’s hot down here in the sunshine!

Some of the worst roads in the country string together homes and businesses in Port Kaituma; it is difficult even to walk on such rough, rutted and rocky surfaces. After checking into our “hotel,” we walked to the home of the preacher for the Turu Mission Church of Christ for lunch, and we returned later that night for supper as well. Afterward, we stumbled along and walked to the meetinghouse of the Estate Church of Christ. The number in attendance was small and dominated by sisters in Christ.

Finally, we walked back to our hotel around 10:30 p.m. I appropriated an outside light bulb for my bathroom since the light socket was empty. Of course, it mattered little for most of the day whether I had light bulbs since there was no electric until after dark. This is a malaria prone area, and I used the mosquito netting over the bed in both Mabaruma and Port Kaituma. I have been taking malaria medicine since before my arrival, and I will continue to take it all the time I am in Guyana and one month after I return to the USA. The lodging at both Mabaruma and Port Kaituma was good enough to facilitate the reason for which I came to Guyana; being overseas in most of the countries to which I travel makes me appreciate and long for my home country and the amenities afforded me. Yet, serving our Lord whereby our God is glorified and our brethren are edified is significantly more important than any inconveniences that I may encounter.

Preachers for Mabaruma & Port Kaituma with their wives

Wednesday, the three of us along with others took a boat to the site of the Turu Mission Church of Christ; it can only be approached from the river. Two congregations convened there for the day-long seminar. Brother Wilbur and I were the speakers throughout the morning as well as the afternoon hours, and then we hosted a panel discussion to provide biblical answers to religious questions.

After returning to Port Kaituma, we got in a taxi and headed off to the location of the Jonestown massacre. Bonnie and I visited it in 2014 and had our picture made in front of the archway sign at the entrance to the former compound. This year, the sign has fallen, and from the road only a doorpost is visible amidst the dense brush that has reclaimed the sect’s former town.

The roads in Guyana at places are the worst that I have personally observed in my foreign travels, and the cratered dirt roads in Port Kaituma rank among the worst of the worst. Traveling the five miles or so to and from Jonestown is a little less torturous to the human body than it is to the vehicles that traverse those “highways.”

Thursday, we traveled by small plane once more, this time back to Ogle on the coast just south of Georgetown. Unbeknown to us, lifting off from Port Kaituma, our single-engine aircraft flew to Mabaruma, from which we had come two days earlier by boat. Whereas it took us two and a half hours to make the trip by boat, in only about 15 minutes we made the trip by air to drop off and pick up other passengers. Finally, we headed toward the airfield from which the trek into Region 1 had begun days earlier.

I have traveled to these venues in Guyana often enough that even my feeble memory recognizes and cherishes brethren throughout the regions of Guyana. Hardly half way through the series of nationwide seminars, I am already looking forward to future opportunities to return and be with my Guyanese Christian friends. I love Guyana, largely because I dearly love brethren here.

Upcoming, Sunday morning, we launch out by air over the jungle to the distant Amerindian village of Paramakatoi. In 2014, Bonnie and I so thoroughly enjoyed our time spent in that mountain community (6,000 feet above sea level). Odd emotions visit me as I return to the sites throughout the world where we labored together in the Gospel; everywhere I go, brethren fondly remember Bonnie and offer their sympathy. Until next entry, I press on, Lord willing. Thank you, those of you who make my efforts possible, for sending me abroad with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please approach God in prayer on my behalf, as well as on behalf of dear brethren and non-Christians with whom I may come in contact.