Comings and Goings

This was a week of comings and goings. Stephan finally made it back from Lethem. He says he’s happy to be back but I fear he is getting ‘itchy feet’. While he was away, he attended a Circuit Assembly in Brazil, which is just across the river from Lethem. He met a brother who had spent a number of years on a witness boat on the Amazon River. I think that planted a seed that may be hard to resist. Only time will tell.

This week Jonathan Brewster left to return to the states. He had originally planned on staying for one month because that was all he could afford, but by the time he got ready to leave the states, ‘somehow’ things worked out to where he had additional funds. Once he got here and saw what things were like, he changed his ticket and stayed almost three months.

We have a new student on the Ministry School, Eno David. When he first started coming to the meetings he was super shy. It took him a long time to get up the courage to comment at a meeting. For a time, he would have an answer prepared, but he couldn’t bring himself to raise his hand. Now he is even commenting on auxiliary questions. It’s a good thing we have the microphone because he still speaks very soft. Another obstacle was having suitable clothes for being on the school. Andrew somehow was able to come up with some that would fit him. It was timely for him to be joining the school since there will be a set of meetings while Stephan, Terri, and I are at the International Convention in Trinidad that may have Andrew here by himself. We are hoping a young brother from Mabaruma, Alex, will come to help.

The internet café continues to be closed. I was told today that the young man who had been running it is coming back from ‘town Monday coming. I had earlier been told he was coming Monday past, and had seen no sign of activity there. So we are having to drive out to where we get cell signal.

I think we are going to be getting a ceiling in the Kingdom Hall soon. It will keep it much cooler during the meeting since it will block the heat radiating from the sun on the metal roof. I had put one up in our living quarters shortly after we got here and it made a real noticeable difference. It will also help to lessen the sound of the rain on the roof which can be almost deafening.

A man who has recently started coming to the meetings approached me after the meeting Sunday and offered to buy some ceiling fans to help with the heat. I mentioned I would be concerned that it would just be blowing more heat down, which he agreed. I told him we were hoping to get plywood for the ceiling, and were saving for it. He said he would be willing to make up any short-fall we might have. He told Terri today that he was going to stop by to pick up the funds as he was going to Kaituma Friday to see about the plywood.

We recently received a shipment of literature including new songbooks. Unfortunately they greatly reduced our order. We had ordered 15 small songbooks and 30 large ones. We received the 15 small ones, but the 30 was reduced to 3. Probably they were able to check the number of publishers and see it was 13 and felt we had very much over-ordered. I think they have no way of knowing that our Sunday meeting attendance is between 70 and 80. We may have to scramble now to have enough songbooks for the first of the year.

For this week’s pictures I have one of Eno with his new clothes and I also have one of me at a house in the ministry. I can’t imagine how hot it must get inside. Years ago there were many company buildings with metal roofs and sides. When the companies left, the metal sheets were ‘appropriated’ by the locals. There is one property here that has a fence around it constructed entirely of metal sheets. But as you can see, there are no windows in the house. I suppose it would be great for sleeping in except once the sun comes up, you would bake.

Nothing new

I will start by apologizing for the delay in the last posting. I had planned on going to the internet café Thursday evening and sending it out, but when I got there it was closed. It remained closed all day Friday. Saturday afternoon I saw the young man that operates it and asked about it. He said they had been having problems with the generator but assured me it would be opened around 6:30, but when I went by later it was still closed. So I got up early Sunday morning and drove out to where we get phone signal and sent everything out over my Blackberry. I had come to use the internet café since it was a little cheaper, saved driving an hour on my bike, and now gas is $6 US/gal. (so stop your whining). I saw the internet café opened once earlier this week, but not the last few days, so tomorrow I will drive out again to send and receive emails.

There is not much new to report on this week. I am continuing the project under the house (still no gold), and finished the new benches. Thursday is my work day, so I should be able to get them sealed for this weekend’s meeting. I learned today that Stephan is still in Lethem. He had said he planned to get back to the Ridge tomorrow, but it seems the bus didn’t run today. I guess things are pretty well the same throughout the country. He said he’s hoping to make it back Saturday. I hope so since he is scheduled to give Sunday’s talk, but I will probably have something ready just in case.

I had mentioned last week that I was going to inquire into the quality of that large eddo I had pictured. I asked at this week’s study but was informed that Evelyn’s sister had taken it, so they didn’t know how it turned out. I think I heard that they were going out to their farm in the back-dam, so I might not see them at the meeting this weekend, so it may be a bit longer before I can report on that.

The cat has learned to open the screen door to let himself in and out of the house. I told Terri that we now have to teach him to close it behind him. He has been getting beat up at night, which is why we were keeping him in the house at night. A few days ago he went out in the morning and didn’t come back in the evening. There was no sign of him the next morning and we thought he might have been finished. But that evening we were sitting in the house when the door opened up and in walked the cat. He had been worked over a bit, but wasn’t as bad as we had feared he might be. We are thinking we might try to perform a little surgery on him to enhance his chances of surviving here.

I had someone pick up some wire mesh for me in Kaituma and built a small enclosure (4’ x 2’) for the chick so that it doesn’t have to be kept in a box in the house while we are out on studies. We are waiting to see whether it is a he or she. I asked Terri if it turns out to be a he, how big we should let it grow before we eat it. For some reason, she said that there is no way she could eat it.

For this week’s pictures I’ve included one taken in the Kingdom Hall before a meeting as well as one of three of our young publishers. From left to right it’s Danika, Latisha, and Sonia.

From Gary Fischer

OUR TIME IN GUYANA

We would like to share with you our experience in Guyana. We have recently had the last of our children move out, and wanting to do something exciting in Jehovah's service, we wasted no time selling the nest and flying to Guyana. The branch suggested that we serve in Matthew's Ridge while the Newtons were away. We were quite excited about our trip to Guyana, but, as we came close to our departure date we really started to wonder if we knew what we were getting into. Would it be too hot? Would we get malaria? Would our insides be devoured by loathsome parasites? We prayed for courage and followed the example of others who trusted in Jehovah. And we all know that if you come up with a feasable plan and put your trust in Jehovah, things will work out. We arrived with certain expectations; we expected it to be quite warm and we weren't disappointed. We expected a small village in the middle of the jungle like the Ridge to be a quiet place, but the day we arrived, it was anything but that. Marion said, "If this is how it is going to be, I can't stay here". Well, things didn't change much but we survived the first week. After the second week we felt that we could at least tough it out for the three and a half months until the Newtons returned. After the second month we were really starting to enjoy our ministry but weren't sure if we could handle a place like Matthew's Ridge on a permanant basis. Then we went to the convention which always gives you a boost, but this was the best one ever. Many of the local brothers and sisters approached us and would say, "We really appreciate you coming to Guyana and helping us out". That meant so much to us, and when we returned to Matthew's Ridge, we were having the time of our life.
So, what made it such a good experience? Well, on arriving we were handed 15 Bible studies to handle between the two of us. At first that seemed daunting to suddenly have that many studies not knowing really anything about them. We soon got into the routine and really enjoyed what became the main part of our service. It was really rewarding to see how the truth changes lives and in one case, a new baby girl was born because her mother learned about God's view of abortion. Many in these parts never went to school and can't read. Some of the Amerindians hardly know even spoken English. Others did go to school and learned to read, but the English they speak can be very different from the written English. So, comprehension usually comes with at least some difficulty. We needed to learn to adjust our teaching methods to suit each student. It was truly rewarding to see their faces light up as they learned about the Kingdom hope.
By the time the Newtons returned we handed back about 22 studies. Leaving Matthew's Ridge was hard. People kept saying "When are you coming back? You have to come back!" Well, we feel very positive about returning to Guyana, it was the best experience we have ever had. Proverbs 10:22 says, "The blessing of Jehovah, that is what makes rich". Those words are so true! All the comforts and conveniences that we have in North America mean little in comparison to the blessings we experienced in Guyana.

Just another story

I realize before I do anything else, I need to clarify the one picture from last week. I had said it was a picture of the group here and you may have been trying to figure out who everyone was. Obviously Terri and I are seated in the front, and then from left to right in the back is Andrew and Jonathan with one of their studies, Eno. He comes here for his study and then they do something together like watch a movie or play some games. He is continuing to make fine progress, commenting on his own at the meetings. Terri was holding the cat, but it was past the chick’s bedtime, so it’s not in the picture.

After letting Andrew go to Kaituma last week, I decided I was sufficiently healed to go again (I didn’t decide for sure until Wednesday morning when I was able to comfortably put my foot into a long boot). The trip there was thankfully uneventful, it didn’t rain until just as I was getting to Kaituma. I went by most of the ones who come to the study to let them know I had arrived, and then went and visited a couple we had studied with a number of years ago.

When I got to where we have the study I was happy to see Monica there waiting. She was the only one I hadn’t alerted since her shop is in the other direction and I didn’t feel like driving through the rain to go there. I asked her if someone had gotten in touch with her to let her know I was there, or if she just came expecting someone would be there. She smiled and said the man she is with had called her to tell her he saw me pass by on my bike on the way in. She said he told her he had seen one of the young brothers pass by. We both laughed and I told her to be sure to thank him for me.

The lesson we had done was dealing with imitating Jesus’ faith and courage. We were reminded how Jesus was strengthened by his knowledge of the scriptures. So I asked the group how knowledge of the scriptures can help us. Sharon commented on how once you learn what the bible says, you know it’s the truth, and you just have to speak up when someone says something that teaches otherwise. It was nice to hear her express her conviction.

It had rained quite a bit while I was in Kaituma, so I had to drive slow on the road. I was about half an hour ahead of where I had been the last time I went, so I was happier about that. There is a very bad spot in the road just before you reach Fallstop. I had made it through on my way out, but coming back, I got in a deep hole and stalled the bike and kind of went over. The rut was so deep you couldn’t fall over too far though. I got myself righted and started the bike, but it didn’t want to come out of the hole. I was pushing and revving the engine, when the chain made an ugly sound as they say here, and it became clear that the engine was no longer connected to the rear wheel.

I tried to push and pull it out, but was not able. I waited for a bit and a vehicle came through and stopped and a man helped me get the bike out of the hole. While we were dragging it, the back tire was just slipping. We got it somewhat out of the mud and I told them I could manage from there. I thought the chain had probably come off the sprocket (there is a chain case which covers it so you can’t see it). When I took the chain case off, I discovered that the chain had broken. I was almost to Fallstop and it was getting dark, so I pushed the bike to a shop where I could see. I had no repair links with me, so I could only hope a vehicle would pass by on the way to the Ridge and give me a ride so I could get repair parts and come back for the bike.

It kept getting later and still no vehicles were passing so I went to the government office of mining that is there and asked if they had a place I could stay the night. They said they had a spare room that I could stay in and gave me a set of clean sheets for the bed. Early in the morning a four-wheeler stopped by the shop and I asked the two men riding it if they were going to Matthew’s Ridge. They said they were passing through the Ridge on their way to the back-dam. At first they said they didn’t have room, but as they were getting ready to leave they motioned me over and told me to climb on, and gave me a ride back to Matthew’s Ridge.

Everyone at the house was happy to see me in one piece as they had been concerned when I didn’t come home Wednesday night. I gathered up what I needed to fix the bike and then kept watch for a vehicle heading for Kaituma. After a bit a cruiser was passing so I waved it down and asked if it were going to Kaituma, which it were, so I asked if they could give me a drop to Fallstop, to which he said that would be no problem. I was able to repair the chain and head for home. Before I made it back, the luggage rack on the back broke and my box for carrying supplies fell backwards causing the rear fender to rub on the tire at any sizable bump, so I had to drive back subspeed. All in all, just another story.

On a more positive note, I will share some highlights from our service report for October. Our Sunday meeting attendance average for the month was 80! I am in the process of making a couple of more benches (if you build them, they will come). Our publishers averaged 25.2 hours and 3.3 bible studies. The total number of studies reported was 77. Between Terri and I, we reported 34 studies.

For this week’s pictures, I have one I took of Michael and Evelyn after our studies on Monday. He is holding the largest eddo I have ever seen. I commented that and he said it was the largest one he had ever seen as well. I’m going to have to ask them how it tasted seeing as it was so large. The other one is Terri with the latest up-grade to our house. Now she has an actual oven to bake in.

The family grows

Last week on my way to Kaituma I ‘fell down’ on my bike. I was going along fine on dry road when I ran into a heavy shower. Just about that time I crested a hill and was going down the other side. Between the wet road, the added speed of down hill, and some deep ruts I went down. My leg under the bike got scraped up pretty bad, and the one on top of the bike got burned on the exhaust pipe. So the rest of the ride to Kaituma wasn’t so nice between the wet road and the injuries.

As I was continuing on, I started questioning in my mind why we continue to make the effort to go a hold the study in Kaituma. When I reached, I stopped by Caroline’s shop to let her know that I had made it in, and then I went on to Sharon’s to let her know as well as try and clean up a little. When I expect the road to be nasty I usually wear short pants. Otherwise the legs of my pants get all dirty from mud splashing up off the front wheel. With shorts, I can easily wash my legs off. I had a pair of pants with zip-on legs, but I must have left them behind in the states.

Sharon immediately saw my injuries and while I was trying to wash off a bit, she came out with some gauze and peroxide and antibiotic ointment and told me that I needed to get the wounds as clean as possible and then put some ointment on them. While I was tending to my wounds, she washed my sandals for me. I decided it would not be a good idea to try and put long pants over the wounds since I didn’t have anything to dress them with. I started to put my sandals on and she called out to me from the upstairs that I should come and eat some food and by the time I finished, my sandals would be dry. Her concern and hospitality made me feel bad that I had questioned why we continue to go to Kaituma. It reminded me of Paul’s words at Php.4:17.

While I was in Kaituma, I was able to locate a wheelbarrow which I was able to purchase and get taken to Matthew’s Ridge, so the project under the house continues to move along nicely.

Andrew returned from ‘town Friday afternoon. He had planned on coming Monday, but when he got to the airport, he was informed he would not be allowed to fly into the interior since his visa had expired. He explained that he had applied for an extension, even showed them a copy of the letter, but they said they could not allow him to fly. He contacted the branch and Bro. Hinds made some calls and was told that if they could get a letter from the Office of Homeland Affairs acknowledging receipt of the application, they would let him fly. That was going to take a few days, so Andrew went with Stephan and Roland to visit Lethem and returned Thursday afternoon. Friday all the seats into Matthew’s Ridge were booked, so he had to fly into Kaituma. They almost weren’t going to let him go even though he had the letter they had requested, but at the last minute they relented and he was able to travel.

Last week Jennifer stopped by on her way home from school with a baby chick that someone had given her. She told Terri that she had brought it for her. Terri told her that she didn’t really have a place to keep it and that Jennifer should just take it home with her as they had a number of hens, some with broods of chicks. Jennifer told her that since this one was so much smaller than the ones at her house, the other ones would just peck it to death. Terri couldn’t accept that so now we have another member in the family. It is amazing the way maternal instincts seem to over-ride normal thinking. Terri is usually very fastidious when to comes to keeping the house clean. But now we have a small chick roaming around in the house (actually more like following you around and getting under foot) and doing what chicks do whenever they feel the urge. But Terri just matter-of-factly wipes up the spot with a bleach rag.

Wednesday when we were out preaching, Adolphus stopped me and asked me what I knew about the teaching of ‘generational curse’. I told him I wasn’t familiar with that and asked what it was. He said it was based on Ex. 20:5 where Jehovah had said he would bring punishment for the error of fathers upon their sons to the third and fourth generation. I shared what the bible said plainly at Eze. 18:20. He then mentioned how that when Achan had sinned, the whole family was punished. I reasoned with him on how Achan had hidden the articles under his tent, something that it would be difficult to do without the family have knowledge. He smiled and said, “So they would have shared responsibility.” He mentioned he had been asked to preach on the subject in his church, and he knew that we studied the bible carefully, so he wanted to check with me before he gave a teaching that was wrong.

Before it gets too old, the other two ‘Baramita moments’; Jonathan was just amazed to see 525 people come walking out of the bush to come to an assembly. You have to understand there is really no village per say at Baramita, everyone just lives in the bush. There are in fact no roads other than the one in from Matthew’s Ridge, there are just a network of footpaths leading off in different directions. Stephan’s came one afternoon when he happened along just after there had been some kind of difference between a few in the group. He mentioned he heard Evelyn tell all involved that everyone had come to learn from the bible, and that it would not be proper for them to be fighting amongst themselves, they all needed to get along together, that was what the bible taught. Evelyn is an older woman who hasn’t been studying too long and who has a hard time with the English language, having always spoken Carib.

This week’s pictures are of the newest addition to the family (they were sharing dinner, we weren’t trying to feed the chick to the cat), and a group picture just so all the folks back home can see their member. I look a little strange, but I was concentrating on no blinking when the first flash was followed by the second, of course some would probably say I look strange anyways.