Visitors

Our visitors have arrived! They made the whole trip without any major glitches. I had spoken to the agent here in Matthew’s Ridge a week ago, letting him know that the sisters were coming, and asking him to make the reservations. I told him that they each would have about seventy five pounds of excess cargo (you are allowed twenty five pounds free) so he needed to let the air service know so that they would possible reduce the number of passenger tickets they would sell to allow for the additional cargo. He said I could pay for the tickets the Tuesday before they came.

When I went by to pay for the tickets, he told me he was going to call and pass the information along (meaning nothing had been done about making the reservations yet). Then yesterday I stopped by and he told me that the plane was booked full, so the excess luggage might not be able to come until the next flight (which was exactly why I had made a point to reserve the seats and weight early). But when the plane came this morning, they were the only passengers on the plane, so there was no problem with fitting all their luggage.

It’s always nice to get visitors, since they always bring some goodies with them, like pepperoni, dark chocolate, and other things that are hard to come by here. Also they brought some additional funds for me with them. It will be a test of their Christian personality to be sharing an 8’ X 8’ room for two months. But one of the first orders of business for them was to hang hammocks under the building next to Terri’s.

Yesterday I went to Kaituma. On the way there I got a flat tire on the front of my bike. I opened up the tire and took the tube out to find the leak. It was right by the valve stem, which are very difficult leaks to fix. I cut a hole in a patch and fitted it over the valve stem. I had some difficulty getting the valve stem back into the rim. I ended up using a valve stem tool to reach through and line it up. I closed up the tire and inflated the tube partially a couple of time without the valve core in to let the tube seat itself. I then looked for the valve stem tool to put the core back in the valve stem, and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I thought maybe I had kicked it while I was working on the wheel, but could not find it. The only thing I could think of was that it had fallen inside the tire and I had closed it up with the tool inside. I ended up opening the tire again, and sure enough, there was the tool. It reminded me of how they say surgeons have to be careful to account for all the sponges and other things they use before closing up a patient.

I was a little nervous as to whether the patch would hold to get me to Kaituma, but I had no further problem. However, I was determined to try to get a new tube to install before heading back. I was able to get one and, after letting everyone know that I had reached and we would have the study at 1 PM, I replaced the patched tube with a new one. There was no school yesterday, so we had a number of children join the group. Sharon’s cousin, Naomi, was there for the third week in a row. Sharon’s man, Terry, came and sat in for the last twenty minutes or so, taking a turn reading, and commenting as well.

Our Sunday meeting was rather light this last week, we had ‘only’ 76 at the meeting. But on a positive note, we had two new ‘big’ people come for the first time. One was a woman that Mary and Eugene have been studying with for a couple of months. After the meeting, Terri was talking to her, saying how nice it was for her to have come. She told Terri that she was going to be coming regularly. The other one was a woman who is good friends with one of my studies. At the study this week I mentioned how nice it was to see her at the meeting. My study told me that the woman told her how much she enjoyed the meeting, and she was planning on also coming regularly.

I ordered wood this week to use for temporary seating for the Memorial. I ordered it in such a fashion that if it ends up that we have to move out of our living space to enlarge the Kingdom Hall, the wood can be used in building a new house. I have also spoken to an official here, asking what would be needed to put up another building on the property, and he mentioned that an application would have to be submitted, so I asked him to get an application for me.

My reminder about everyone’s obligation to email us yielded two emails this week. So, “Thank you”, to both of you, and “What’s the matter?”, to the rest of you.

This week’s pictures are of our visitors. One shows them upon arrival at the airstrip. I took one of the group hug upon their arrival, but chose not to use it as no faces were visible, so it could have been anybody. The other shows the girls already settled into their places alongside Terri.

Making the tent pins wider

As I mentioned last week I had made two more benches for the Kingdom Hall. Sunday we had 93 at the meeting and it felt nicely filled. But there were a number of regulars missing, so we could just as easily have had 103. I felt that we still needed more seating so I rearranged the benches, moving the front ones about six inches ahead, and moved the back one’s about four inches back, and then tightened up the rows by three inches and made room for an additional bench in each of the three lines of benches. We had the wood needed, so today I made three more. That brings the total to twenty five benches. If we put five on a bench, we could fit 125 people. When it starts to feel crowded now, the only recourse will be to enlarge the Kingdom Hall.

Sister Garner left us Tuesday. We have brought the mural from where she was staying to the Kingdom Hall, but I will not put it up until I have completed the frame. I would have worked on it today, but the additional benches took priority.

Late this morning Sister Hosea (Doris) stopped by and asked me if I would say a few words at a funeral today. It was a young girl that Doris had helped raise. Her mother Claudette had been coming pretty regular last year, but this year has been in the back dam most of the time. It was an older sister of Danika, but not much older, she was seventeen. Doris said she thought it would be best if I spoke at the burial ground, so I had to be ready for that in the afternoon. It ended up being almost five thirty by the time they went. There were quite a number of people who went, more than the previous one I had attended. They was quite a bit of wailing going on, everyone was very quite while I spoke. Hopefully it was a good witness. I even noticed a couple of the police where there.

I know of two more studies that were started this week. Stephan had a man ask him for a bible while he was in the ministry and he said he would get one to him. He mentioned it to me as the man was older (37) and he thought I might be able to start a study when I delivered the bible. I took it and had a nice discussion with the man. He mentioned he had been reading the magazines for a number of years and when ones used to come across from Baramita, he used to enjoy talking with them. I offered him a study and he accepted. I went Sunday and we had our first study.

Yesterday we were out in service and we called at a house where the man had been seriously wounded in a domestic disturbance and had to be flown into ‘town.' Soon after everyone was saying he had died. As we were walking to the house, I asked Eugene if he had heard any more about the man. He said he had heard that he was coming back soon. When we reached the house, the man was there. Eugene knew him well, so was asking him how he was feeling, and how things were going. The man said that he was determined to turn his life around, and felt that he needed to, “be right with the Lord.” Eugene offered to study the bible with him so he could learn a different way to live and he said he wanted that. Arrangements were made for him to go back the next day. I saw Eugene afterwards and asked him how it had gone and he said it had went well. So the work continues to move ahead.

I have been thinking recently about how at one point I had wanted better transportation to reach other areas. It has occurred to me that things continue to open up right here in Matthew’s Ridge, and these are ones who can easily attend meetings if the progress to that point, whereas if we were to be spending time in more remote locations, those people would be hard pressed to attend meetings even if they really wanted to. So when the time comes that the number of studies that are being conducted starts to noticeably drop, I might once again think of the need to be reaching out to other areas, and then I am sure that the means to do so will come available.

Next week we will be welcoming a couple of visitors. Aletha Walters who spent six weeks with us last year, and since has joined the ranks of the regular pioneers, and another sister from our old congregation, Justina Baker, who is also a regular pioneer. I have already told a few I have spoken to in the ministry that they are coming, and I would have them follow up on interest shown.

I suppose it’s about time for my yearly reminder to those of you who regularly read this blog. I write this, rather than try to send individual emails to all the ones I know. So when you are reading it, think of it as an email that I had sent you. With that thought in mind, it’s only fair that you send me an email in return. Now I don’t expect an email from all of you each week you read this. But with the exception of a few faithful friends, I have to say there are many out there whom I haven’t heard from since we arrived here five months ago. If you treat all who email you that same way, it’s a wonder you get any emails.

This week’s pictures show a girly gathering that Terri had. From left to right it’s Latesha, Coretta, Colleen, Okell, Sonia, Hosell. Don’t quote me on some of the spellings. The other was a picture at the burial ground.

That's done

One of my studies this week shared with me a point he had learned from considering the day’s text from Examining the Scriptures Dailey. It made me feel good for a couple of reasons. 1.) He was making it a point to consider the text and comment each day. 2.) He was able to read something and discern how this was different from what he had formerly believed.

I went to Kaituma for the study this week. With all the dry weather we had been having the trip was very easy. The biggest problem was the dust when you would meet another vehicle. I was happy to see two new ones at the study. One was a brother of Caroline, and the other a cousin of Sharon’s. It was encouraging to see the attendance there showing a little increase.

Sister Garner is leaving us this coming Tuesday. When she had come, she said she intended to stay for ten months, but she has mentioned that her foot has started bothering her and she wants to get that taken care of. She had been in an automobile accident about a year ago and her foot had been badly injured. A couple of pins had been inserted to allow it to heal properly and they are3 starting to pain her, so she wants them removed. She had mentioned them to a doctor ln ‘town while she was there and mentioned she might be looking to get them removed while here in Guyana. He was from the states and told her that he would not advise having something like that done here. We will have to wait to see whether she returns once the operation is performed and the foot has healed.

She is a professional artist and has taken it upon herself to do a mural for the Kingdom Hall before she leaves. It will be a tropical scene depicting Jehovah’s New World. I am going to make a frame for it out of what else, but purpleheart. I am also working on a small table for the sisters to use when giving their talks on the Theocratic Ministry School. We have one but it is so low that it does not work well for them to put their bibles and their notes on. That too will be purpleheart.

I have completed the project of digging out beneath the Kingdom Hall. I did not find any gold, but I was able to completely fill in a swampy area on the west side of the property. I calculated that I moved about one hundred tons of material. One day soon we will have a work day to wash the mud from all the wood under the hall. When the hall is being built it was very muddy so all the material that had been used had a coating of mud. It hasn’t been of concern, but if we are going to hold the Memorial there, it will need to look more presentable. Then I will have to figure out what we will do for seating for the Memorial. We will carry all the benches down, but will need about the same amout of temporary seating as well. I have about six weeks to figure it out and set it up as the Memorial falls on March 30th this year.

It is starting to look like the Fischers may not be back in Guyana so soon. Gary had mentioned that he thinks it best that they schedule their time for being back in Canada for the warmer months since work is more available then as well as the fact that the cold weather takes a toll on their health. Therefore, rather than coming for just a few months and going back, they may wait to come until the fall and then stay for a longer period of time. Stephan had suggested that they should just plan on coming for fourteen or fifteen months, thereby putting them on the schedule they desired. We have however learned that Jonathan Brewster is planning on staying at least through Convention time (early August) so he will be here until we return. I may try to see if I can find a couple who would be available to come stay while we are out to help share the load. But then again, maybe by the time we leave, we will have had to demolish our living quarters to make room for all attending the meetings. As an indication of that possibility, last month set a new record for bible studies being conducted, eighty eight. Another outstanding figure from last’s month’s service report was the average time the publishers reported preaching, thirty three and a third hours!

This week’s pictures show the results of my labors under the Kingdom Hall. In the one you can see the area that was filled beside the Hall and the other one somewhat shows the underneath. The lighting wasn’t the best. I should have taken it earlier in the day when it wasn’t so contrasty, but I was busy working on two new benches, which have been completed, thank you.

When a person here is getting ready to leave, they say, “I’m going.” In Carib, that’s, “Ou sopa.”

The mail gets through

I usually read last week’s entry before writing a new one. In doing so, I realized I need to clarify something in last week’s entry. The two pictures I included were pictures of families from the Kingdom Hall in Mabaruma. Hopefully you were able to figure it out, either by recognizing them, or by my reference to the fact that I had included them for those who had been following the blog since the early days (when we were in Mabaruma).

We once again have a working Post Office here in Matthew’s Ridge. They have moved it from its old location down into a building right on the main road which will make checking for mail much more convenient. I asked the man who is here setting things up and training the girl who will be operating it what the hours were going to be. When he told me, I said I hoped that they would be kept for a change. He asked me what I meant by that and I said that since I had been living here, you never knew when the Post Office was going to be open, you just had to watch to see when it was open. He seemed very surprised and told me that that wasn’t right. I agreed, but told him that is the way it has always been. He told me that if that should happen, I should let him know.

Among the many letters there for us was one for Jonathan Brewster. Jonathan has been gone for about a month and a half. The letter had been posted from the states October 6th and had been stamped as arriving here on October 26th. Since Jonathan has already bought his ticket to return in the middle of March, we will just hold on to it and he will have mail waiting when he arrives. Andrew recently let us know he too has purchased his ticket to return and he will be traveling back with Jonathan.

I have decided to get more serious about trying to learn Carib. I was one a study last Friday with a girl whose first language is Carib. I was asking her some auxiliary questions and she just sat there looking at me. I realized it wasn’t a matter of her not knowing the answer, but rather a matter of her not understanding the question. I think that many times I would ask a “yes” or “no” question and she would answer based on the inflection in my voice. Since I have a number of studies with ones who speak Carib, I will ask them for new words and when I can speak a word to one of my other studies and have them understand it, I will know I am saying it right. I picked up a small notebook to carry with me to use as a dictionary. Andrew had brought a sheet he had made when he was in Baramita showing how the various letters are pronounced, so I may try to use that when I write the Carib words. It will be interesting to see how close I get them.

This last Sunday’s attendance was 91, so whether there will be a need to expand the hall remains to be seen. Our average attendance for the Sunday meeting in December was 94, 14 more than the previous high of 80 in October. We have ordered some more wood for some additional benches which will be the next step.

We recently learned the dates for the upcoming District convention. It is August 6th thru the 8th. Some of the friends are already talking about their desire to attend. Eugene has mentioned how he has yet to attend a District Convention and he is determined to start saving for it now. He mentioned to Mary that even if they find themselves short on funds, they cannot take from the money being set aside for that purpose. Eno approached me Sunday and asked me to hold some money for him for the convention. He figures it is safer for me to hold it for him than for him to just try to put it aside himself.

Now that the rainy season has past (December-January) we have started getting a little rain. Some say it’s just rain from the moon (rain associated with either the new or full moon), but it is certainly needed. However, it has been coming in an unusual manner for Guyana. Usually it either pours or the sun shines, but the last few days have been misty and drizzly. As an indication as to how dry it has been, the last couple of days I have seen a regular car drive to the Ridge from Kaituma. I have never seen one on the streets here before.

I still have no new pictures to share so I am going back through my older ones to find something worthwhile to share. I decided to share a couple of more from our roofing project. Sometimes it is a good distance from where the trees grow which supplies the leaves and where the house is. David demonstrated how they braid (plait) a bundle of leaves together to make them easier to carry. Easy enough that even a white boy can do it.