A great crowd gathers

To continue my story regarding the Mabaruma trip, Friday morning I went by the waterfront to see if there were any boats. A man approached me and asked if I was going to Kaituma. I told him I was, and he mentioned that they had one other passenger and would be leaving as soon as I was ready. I noticed a boat from Kaituma there and asked if that was the boat we would be taking. He said no it was a different boat. I went back to let the other two brothers know that there was a boat as soon as they were ready.

When they were ready we walked to the waterfront. I met the man with the boat from Kaituma, he said he had come to get me. I asked him where he had been yesterday. He said they had left at 6 AM. So whereas I had no boat Thursday, now I had two boatmen fighting over us. I decided I would go with the one from Kaituma since I normally rode with him. He said he was waiting for four other passengers, but after a bit he got a call saying they wouldn’t be traveling until tomorrow, so we got under way. There were only five passengers and we made the trip in an hour and a half, the fastest I had ever made the trip.

When we got to Kaituma, I went and let Monica know that we had arrived and would be having the study at 1 PM. Shortly thereafter I saw the bus from Matthew’s Ridge and spoke to the driver. I asked him when he was planning on leaving for the Ridge. He said he was leaving early, probably around 1 PM. I asked him if he could wait to leave until after two, but he said he wasn’t feeling good and wanted to get home. I gave him my cell number and asked him to give a call when he was ready to go. We then headed down to where the study was held. From there I went around to let the others know that we were there and the study would be at 1 PM. I told everyone that we would be starting promptly at 1 because I wanted the visiting brothers to be able to be there for as much of the study as possible.

At 1 PM Monica, Caroline, and Pamela were there and Sharon arrived about ten minutes later. I had one of the brothers, Jason Lampley, read the paragraphs, and I had the other, Kenneth Branch, read all the scriptures to save time. We were most of the way through the lesson when my phone rang and the driver said he was ready to leave. I asked him to come to where we were studying to pick the brothers up. Bro. Lampley was reading the last paragraph when the bus arrived. After the study, I did a little shopping and then headed out on my bike. The road was the driest I had seen it in a long time and I was able to reach Matthew’s Ridge well before dark.

When I got back, Stephan mentioned that he and Andrew had been talking and thought that since we had so many brothers there, maybe a couple could make a trip to Baramita. Bro. Smith had sent across some of the new tracts in Carib, and they thought it would be nice to get some help being able to read them. I told him that I had done enough traveling so I wasn’t interested, but had no problem if they wanted to go. So after the meeting on Saturday, Stephan and Andrew set out on Stephan’s bike (Andrew’s has a broken chain whose replacement is coming ‘just now’), their plan was to drive the road as far as it’s good and then walk.

They got back Sunday night and said the trip had been a great success, the trip had taken just over four hours each way. The brother taking the lead in Baramita had been reassigned and had left before his replacement had arrived, so Stephan gave the talk. There had not been time to work with a translator, so he gave the whole talk in English. Andrew spend a lot of time with a couple of sisters who are fluent with the Carib language. Before he left, one of the sisters suggested that he try reading some of the tract to ones there who only spoke Carib. The tract contained a number of questions, and after he would read one, the ones listening would start talking amongst themselves. They were amazed that they could understand what he was saying. The sister was so happy because before that everyone thought she was just saying what she knew the tract said in English, but here was a person who didn’t know the language, but he was able to speak it from reading what the tract said. As you may know, prior to this, Carib has only been a spoken language. The organization has devised a written form so that literature can be printed. Now however they are going to have to teach the people how to read in Carib.

Brother Branch gave the talk here and I did the Watchtower. We had 101 in attendance and they were all from Matthew’s Ridge, and still there were a number of ‘regulars’ who were missing. The next day, I commented to one of my studies on how many were at the meeting. He said to me, “More will come. Everyone who comes realizes it is the truth they are hearing and they then encourage others to come. I have two brothers that I keep telling they should come to the Kingdom Hall.” I mentioned to one of my studies who has never come yet that he should come to the hall and he said that he promised me he would come. He said he had never gone to any of the churches because he didn’t care for the attitude of those in charge of the various churches. He said his ‘wife’ had gone to one once, but afterward one of the women had made a sarcastic remark about her, so she never went again.

If this trend continues we may have worked ourselves out of a home. When the Kingdom Hall was built, it was built with free span trusses for the first forty feet to allow for future expansion. Currently our living quarters occupy sixteen feet of that space. We could dismantle our ‘house’ and have the additional space for the hall. Before we take that step, we can add additional benches and just tighten things up a bit in the hall. We will wait and see how the attendance goes.

I haven’t taken many pictures recently so I thought I’d include a couple of the families from the Kingdom Hall for those of you have been following the blog since the early days. I have included pictures of the Smith family and the Fazaralli family.

Mabaruma

While I was out for the convention in Trinidad, I was talking to the brother who is the chairman of the National Building Committee here in Guyana. He mentioned that it had been brought to their attention that the Kingdom Hall in Mabaruma had an issue with part of the building starting to settle. He said that they needed someone to be able to make an inspection and recommendation as to course of action. He said that they were having a hard time with the expense of flying someone out from ‘town, and asked if I might be able to travel down and have a look.

I had been trying to decide how I might best do that with my schedule. I had mentioned to everyone after our family Watchtower study last week that I had thought the best way might be for me to go down on a Tuesday, and try to get back Thursday, as that would mean missing only three of my studies. Stephan mentioned that there were a couple of brothers from ‘town who were planning a short trip to the northwest. They were flying into Mabaruma, and then wanted to come up to the Ridge before flying back to ‘town. He suggested that I might schedule the trip to be able to travel with them to Kaituma and help them get transportation to Matthew’s Ridge.

That settled things, so Tuesday I drove my bike to Kaituma and went straight to the waterfront to check on boats. As soon as I got there I was told there was a boat leaving immediately for Kumaka. I went to Terry’s shop and asked if he would take my bike to his house for me. He said that would work good since he hadn’t driven his bike to work that morning. I left the bike and walked back to the waterfront to get the boat. I learned it was waiting on one other passenger, but we were under way in about fifteen minutes.

The other passenger was a young lady who was very pregnant. She was sat next to me so I asked her when the baby was due, and she said, “Three days ago.” I smiled and told her it was a Guyanese baby and it was coming ‘just now’. She said she didn’t want it to come just now, but right now. I told her I would just as soon she wait until we reached Kumaka. The boat ride was a little rough and I was worried it might shake something loose, but we arrived without incident.

When I arrived in Kumaka, I learned that a large group from the Kingdom Hall had left the day before for an overnight preaching trip to Shell Beach, but they would be back later in the afternoon. I couldn’t do much with the project involving the Kingdom Hall since everyone from there had gone so it was all locked up. Later in the afternoon, Compton’s wife, Mary, came and told me she had just spoken to the boatman who was supposed to be picking them up, and he said he wasn’t going to go until the next day. So the group had to spend another night at Shell Beach.

Wednesday they arrived back mid-morning. In the afternoon I was able to go to the Kingdom Hall to check things out for the brother. I learned that the brothers who were visiting had been asked to do some parts on the meeting Thursday so they wouldn’t be leaving until Friday. I considered staying another day, but was concerned that if I did, there was a chance there would be no boats going and then I wouldn’t be back to help with the meeting. I also learned that there was a new flight service in Mabaruma that sometimes flew to ‘town via Kaituma and the cost to Kaituma was the same as boat fare, but it took about fifteen minutes instead of two hours. I looked into when I arrived and was told they wouldn’t know until Wednesday afternoon. I checked back and was told that Thursday flight was coming across from Kaituma, so would be flying directly back to ‘town.

Today (Thursday) I got up early and got everything ready to go and went to see if there were any boats. I found one person who said he might be going and he took my phone number. But as the morning wore on, there was no sign of any boats getting ready to go, and then it got to be past the time that any boats coming down from Kaituma would have arrived, so I am still stuck in Kumaka. The nice part was I got to go to the meeting and see many of the friends. Hopefully tomorrow there will be a boat. The fact that there will now be three of us increases the chances. On the negative side, Saturday is a big boat day, so some may just decide to wait another day.

I had told the group in Kaituma that rather than having someone drive down Wednesday, if it was acceptable to them, we would just plan on having a study when I passed through on my way back to the Ridge. Their response was that if it was convenient for me, then it was fine with them. So hopefully tomorrow I will have two more brothers with me for the group study. That is assuming it doesn’t work out like it did when we came through on our way back from ‘town after Trinidad.

I had what I thought was a positive experience on a study this week. I am studying with a man who had asked me the first time I met him (he had been studying with someone else a bit before) when he could get baptized. I explained to him that we don’t baptize just anyone, but they needed to meet certain requirements, and I outlined a few. I didn’t bring it up again, and neither did he. Well, this week we finished the Bible Teach book. I reminded him of our earlier conversation, and asked him what he now thought about baptism. He said he thought he needed a little more ‘teaching’ before he would be ready. In a way it made me feel good to see that he appreciated the seriousness of that step. Now I just have to make sure he gets the needed ‘teaching’. He had mentioned at a previous study that while he was with the Church of Christ, he for about six months would walk three hours each way every week to hold services in a backdam. So I know he is one who is willing to work.

This week’s pictures are from my trip to Mabaruma. On Wednesday, four of us went out to Wauna on bikes to conduct some studies. As we were driving down one of the roads, we came upon a big correal (the dugout canoes they make) being dragged to the water somewhere. I had Kenneth Branch, one of the visiting brothers, stand next to it for perspective. The other picture is of the waterfront in Kumaka. Since we were last there, the bank has sunk and the river has moved about thirty feet farther. Everyone along the riverfront is being forced to move out so they can undertake a stabilization project. That included a shop that was completely rebuilt less than two years ago. The building on the right was Brother Baxter’s lumber mill. The river used to be right behind it.

The latest from the Ridge

Eugene is auxiliary pioneering this month (he has set a goal of at least 50 hours in the ministry). It has been nice to see him coming out on days when no one meets to preach and just going out on his own, his zeal and boldness are inspiring. Last month his wife Mary auxiliary pioneered and she put in 70 hours, which is the requirement to regular pioneer. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was ‘testing the waters’.

Yesterday (Wednesday) while I was in Kaituma for the study, I learned there had been a death on Monday in Matthew’s Ridge. I learned that it was the daughter of a man that has been studying with various ones here for some time, Watson. I had studied with him and then when I went back to the states last time, I gave the study to Andrew. Rather than switch him again when I returned, I just let Andrew continue the study. The ones in Kaituma said that the funeral was Wednesday. We laughed about how I had to go to Kaituma to learn what was happening in Matthew’s Ridge. I felt bad that I hadn’t known about it to offer my sympathies to Watson.

This morning, I was in that area and I asked someone about the funeral. I learned that it had not been held yet. They said they were waiting for her daughter to arrive from the states. Shortly after that, I saw Watson and I expressed my sorrow over his loss. He mentioned he was having a very hard time of it because the family was all divided over how things should be handled. He told me that the funeral was today at 1 PM.,so all of us from the Kingdom Hall went. Terri is studying with one of his daughters-in-law. Shortly after we arrived, Mary also came. She studies with Watson’s ‘wife’.

Once the service started, the woman who was leading the service thanked various ones from coming, including some who had journeyed up from Kaituma, and she also mentioned, “those from the Kingdom Hall.”. At one point in the service she invited any who wanted to share a few thoughts, which a few did. Then she asked if there were any others, and after a long pause, she asked if any from the Kingdom Hall cared to share a few thoughts. So I walked to the front and acknowledged that I didn’t personally know the woman, but rather I was there to offer comfort to Watson.

I mentioned that at a time like this, the best source of comfort was God’s Word. I then picked up her bible and shared 1 Thess. 4:13, focusing on both that we need not sorrow over much, as well as the fact that it likened death to sleep. I then shared Ecc. 9:5 to emphasize the condition of the dead. And finally I shared Jesus’ promise at John 5:28,29. Afterwards, Terri mentioned she liked the way I used the woman’s own bible, and she commented that I was the only one who had actually read from the bible. Hopefully a good witness was given.

I recently received word from the Fischers in Canada that they are ready to return to Guyana. They are only waiting on word from the branch as to where they would like them to go, so they can make the appropriate final preparations. So when I was in Kaituma Wednesday, I called the branch and passed that information on to the Branch Coordinator. Hopefully that will get a quick response and they can get back to work, and hopefully here in Matthew’s Ridge. I got the circuit Overseer to include a recommendation that the Fischers be directed to return to Matthew’s Ridge in his report to the branch.

Andrew had been planning on returning to the states in a few months for about six weeks. He told me he was thinking of going out in mid-April so he would be back before we go out. I mentioned that that would most likely mean that he would miss the next visit of the Circuit Overseer, (he had missed this last one due to meeting his father in Barbados, which had been set up before we knew of the dates for the visit) because he usually comes here after the Special assembly Day in Barimita, and that is scheduled for May 9th. We then got looking at the calendar, and between the Memorial and the two SAD programs, it seemed that if he was going, he would have to go soon. So now he will be leaving us on the 25th of this month.

On a nice note, there is a new air service that has started flights into Matthew’s Ridge. They will be scheduling flights on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Up until now, there has only been one flight service and they were charging $21,500GD each way. The new service will offer flights to ‘town for $12,000GD. As a result of the competition, the other service has lowered their rate to $14,000GD. Presently you can fly to ‘town for $6,000GD from Kaituma.

For this week’s pictures I’ve included one which shows road service here in the northwest. I took this picture on my way to Kaituma. Apparently, this tractor had engine trouble on the road, and they cut some trees to make this stand and then pulled the engine and took it for repairs. The other is showing how some things are the same everywhere. Here you see a bike group on the way to a meeting for service. (not really)

New Record

We set a new attendance record Sunday, we had 103! A group came up from Kaituma to hear the Circuit Overseer. Afterwards, we talked about some of the regulars who weren’t here. We could have easily had 110 if they had been here. It was nice to see such a large group, but it was almost out of hand. Stephan was kept busy trying to keep some of the children under control. We were disappointed that the Kaituma group left right after the meeting. I think the next time they come, I will ask some of the friends here to ‘walk with some food’ and then after the meeting we will have something for everyone to eat so there can be more of an interchange with the ones who come up.

A couple of weeks ago, I was on a study with a couple and the man is crippled. Some say it’s the result of obeea, which is what they call spiritism here. I think it’s more like he has MS or something. After the study, he asked me if I could get him some ‘zinc’. He said his roof is starting to leak bad. It is a leaf roof and it had been on since before he became crippled. I told him I didn’t have any zinc, but I said I would talk to David about repairing the roof. I saw David the next day at the meeting and mentioned it to him. He said he would go by the house on Monday and look at it. I checked with him a few days later and he said that the roof could be repaired by just adding some new leaf at the ridge. He said there were plenty of the leaves growing in the swamp near the house.

That week was the visit of the Circuit Overseer, so we were busy with service. We decided we would plan on doing it the following Thursday. So today, Stephan, Andrew, Eugene, and I met David at the house at 9 AM. First we went into the swamp and cut down several trees and cut the leaves off and dragged them to the house. Then we made a ladder out of a couple of small trees, and then handed the leaves up to David who placed them. He then placed a few V-shaped pieces to hold them in place, and the job was done. We were back home about 10:30 and when I walked in the house, Terri said, “What happened?” She was very surprised to learn that we were finished. She asked if the couple was grateful for the work, and I said, “They are Amerindians, you couldn’t tell” (Amerindians tend to be very unexpressive)

I had mentioned in the last post that I had heard the internet café was closing. That was indeed the case. It has not generated enough income to keep it open. I learned that the service was costing $1,250US/mo. There is no way it can produce anywhere near that amount a month here. But a few days later I was walking by it and I saw the door was open. I looked inside and the man who was running it was there. I asked him what was happening, and he said they had been given a two week extension, so I will be able to send this out from there today and hopefully next week as well.

There is nothing outstanding on the schedule now for some time. I think the next ‘big event’ will be when we are scheduled to have some visitors arrive who will be staying with us for two months. They are scheduled to arrive the end of February. Also the sister we had met in Trinidad from Terri’s old congregation on Long Island has been in contact with us and has expressed her interest in coming to Guyana as well. I am not sure if she will be coming here to the Ridge, or just somewhere in Guyana.

This week’s pictures are of the group that came up from Kaituma, and David and Eugene working on the roof.