The latest from both ends

It has been a while since I reported on my condition, and I know a number have expressed a desire to know how things are going. So before I pass along the latest from Jonathan, I will share with you what has been happening with me.

As of my last report, I was supposed to go for another session of chemo using different drugs. The day before I was supposed to go, I decided I should read the sheets the doctor had given me about the drugs they were going to use. One of them had the statement that this drug is know to cause other types of cancer, if this concerns you, you should discuss it with your doctor. I figured the reason the doctor was using it was because he figured I’d be dead before enough time passed to allow other types of cancer to develop. That got me to thinking about the whole idea behind the chemo, namely to ‘give me a little more time’. The treatment held out no hope for a cure, eventually I would die. Maybe ten months, maybe two years, and there was a 50% chance that it would have no positive effect at all.

As opposed to many different alternative treatments which spoke of cures. I just felt that if I was going to pursue a course of treatment, I would rather choose one that held out hope. Another way to look at it was, what did I have to lose, if I chose chemo, I knew I was going to die. I was worried what the doctor would say when I told him I didn’t want to continue with the chemo at this point. I was very surprised when he told me, “I am your doctor, I am here to do whatever I can to help you.” So I made an appointment to see him in five weeks, at which point he will probably order another CT-scan to evaluate the cancer.

A few days ago I had an appointment with a doctor who does alternative treatments. He mentioned he was impressed with the things that we have been doing. He offered some additional supplements that he thought would be helpful. He made it a point a few times to tell me that my condition was reversible. That was quite a bit different view than my oncologist has. Other than considerable pain from my j-tube, I am doing quite well. I remarked to Terri that my biggest problems have been associated with things the doctors have done.

So my next mile stone will be my appointment on June 23rd. Now here’s the latest from Jonathan.

This past week here in Matthews Ridge was exciting, as we had some new publishers working with us in the ministry.

One of these was Eno David, one of the local Bible students. Eno has been studying and attending meetings for quite some time now, and has been doing well with his assignments on the Theocratic Ministry School. Eno went out for the first time in the ministry this past Saturday. He did some doors, leaving tracts with the residents, and also read some scriptures when others handled the door. Although he is soft-spoken, he showed much courage and enthusiasm right from the start. Eno will be announced as a new publisher when he turns in his field service report at the end of this month. We are happy to see his theocratic progress, and are glad to have his help in the ministry.

It was also very exciting to have the arrival of a couple from Canada doing need-greater work here in Guyana, Tyler and Cheri Ryder. Tyler and Cheri have been back and forth to Guyana over the last 5 years, and were most recently helping out in Moruca, which is also located in the north-west district of Guyana. The branch office asked them to move over here to Matthews Ridge, which they did on Monday. The past few days they have been settling in, getting to know the local publishers, and accompanying us on some of the Bible studies. We are very glad to have their help, and we are looking forward to working with them.

One of the doors Tyler and Cheri called at on Wednesday in the door-to-door ministry was the home of the pastor of the Church of Christ here in Matthews Ridge. This man usually is not especially friendly, and doesn’t usually talk with us when we work his street. However, this man has family who are Witnesses of Jehovah in Moruca, the area the Ryders came from. And so they gaffed with him for a bit about his family, and afterward were able to share some scriptures with him and also leave him some literature to read. And so we were happy to see this nice response that came from having some common ground.

The rainy season continues on here. And so there is no shortage of water. On the other hand, the roads can be muddy and hard to travel. But there’s always good and bad to every situation, and so right now we’re glad to have plenty of water.

The pictures included with this entry are of some brothers and sisters walking home after attending one of the meetings at the Kingdom Hall, and of one of the Bible student named Kearon and two of his boys.

CO visit

This past week in Matthews Ridge we had the visit of our circuit overseer, Br. Leon Stevens, and his wife, Eulita. We had a great time with them, getting to know them better and working with them in the ministry. Leon and Eulita stayed next door to Andrew and me, in the other apartment in the Kindom Hall. Andrew and I both were able to take Leon with us on some of our Bible studies, and Eulita accompanied some of the sisters on their studies.

It was so nice to hear about how the Stevens grew up, the assignments they’ve had thus far, and some of the good experiences they’ve had during these. Leon grew up in Georgetown, and Eulita grew up in Kwakwani, which is in the Berbice region in the east of Guyana. One thing that Leon encouraged us to continue doing, no matter what the situation is, is to express to Jehovah always our thoughts and concerns. He related to us how when he was growing up in Georgetown, there were so many brothers that, in the way of assignments, he had a Bible reading once every couple months. And so he prayed to Jehovah continually for more work. In time he was appointed as an elder, and he kept having more work to do. Time went by, and he was invited to apply to be a Special Pioneer. And then later on he and Eulita were asked to go into the traveling work, first temporarily, and eventually full-time. He said he has seen Jehovah answer so many prayers, including his prayers for more work. And so he encouraged us that, whatever our concern is, to be sure to put it in prayer to Jehovah, confident of His hearing ear.

We had our additional congregation meeting late on Thursday afternoon. It was well attended, as was the Sunday meeting, at which there was 95 in attendance. We were very appreciative of Br. Stevens fine counsel and advice, helping Andrew and I to see how we could better care for the group and carry out the ministry here in Matthews Ridge. To that end, Br. Stevens encouraged us never to neglect our personal study, but instead to apply Paul’s counsel to Timothy, to “ponder over these things; be absorbed in them”, and to “pay constant attention to yourself and to your teaching.” Monday had quite the rainy morning, but eventually the plane came from Georgetown, and the Stevens headed out to their next assignment.

The pictures included with this entry are of Leon and Eulita with Andrew and myself, and of Leon with one of the Bible students, Neil Gaskin.

Baramita SAD

This past week in Matthews Ridge was a busy one. Last Wednesday we had a nice congregation cleanup after morning service. The morning started out quite rainy. I was still going to try to make it out to Port Kaituma to conduct the group Watchtower study there if it wasn’t raining out that side. As I went to fill up the motorbike with gas, though, the shop owner told me that he had heard over the radio that it was raining in Kaituma too. And seeing that the road out Kaituma side isn’t very good, I decided it was better to hold off on trying to make the trip. In the afternoon the sun came out and, as was mentioned, we we’re able to clean the Kingdom Hall, as well as do some yard work. There was quite a good turn out for the cleanup, and we all had a good time working together.

The close of last week on into the weekend was even more busy and exciting as we prepared for and attended the Special Assembly Day in Baramita. We were able to hire two cruisers to take the group of 19 of us from Matthews Ridge to where the road to Baramita ends. A crew of workers has been working on extending the road toward Baramita, and much progress has been made. Last year we had to walk about 6-7 hours from where the truck dropped us off, which was at the start of the bush line. But this year, we took a cruiser on the big road as far as it has been extended so far. The road was quite muddy towards the end of where it finished, making for a very interesting ride. From where the cruisers dropped us all off, it took us less than 2 hours to walk across to Baramita.

We arrived in Baramita just before 2:00 in the afternoon. 12 of the women who went stayed in the school which was made available to them. Andrew and myself, as well as two other young men that went, stayed inside a small building owned by one of the brothers in Baramita. On Saturday we prepared for the assembly the next day, which draws a larger group than is usually present for congregation meetings there, by putting together expanded seating sections on the sides of the hall. We walked out to a brother’s house in the bush and carried back wooden planks and beams. These, together with some stumps, paulins (as they refer to tarpaulins here), and ropes, provided fine additional seating. This consisted of a grid of stumps with planks laid across, and a cover tied overheard. Later that day, one of the local brothers handed me a stack of papers and a small note with the words “Moro kuri’chakon oinyo’po asipya tiweiyepa ma” written on it. He said it was the theme of the assembly written in Carib, and the stack of papers was this theme printed out in large characters. He wanted me to arrange these large printed words together and affix them to a board fastened by the stage, as this would be the posted theme of the assembly program. Not being too familiar with Carib, this seemed a bit intimidating at first, but I ended up really enjoying this assignment.

The assembly’s stirring theme was “The Time Left Is Reduced”. The assembly was presented in the Carib language, although many portions of it were presented in English first, and then translated. The program was so upbuilding. The instruction given in the manner it was truly was an expression of Jehovah’s loving concern for people “of all…tongues”. On Monday morning 18 of us from Matthews Ridge, along with Leon and Eulita Stevens, the circuit overseer and his wife, made it across to Matthews Ridge in 3 plane shuttles. And so following that uplifting assembly program, we are looking forward to an exciting week of activity here in Ridge with the visit of the Stevens.

The pictures included with this week’s entry are of the assembly in progress, and of the group from Matthews Ridge at the assembly.

Personal Update

I have yet to receive an update from Jonathan and I know many regularly check for updates of the blog, so I have decided to post up the latest things with me, as well as a few things that I have heard from the Ridge. I expect soon to get another update from Jonathan and will post it up as soon as I can.

After much deliberation, I decided I would try the chemotherapy that the doctors were encouraging. The plan called for four treatments, one every other week. After the fourth treatment, they would do a new CT scan to evaluate the effect of the chemo. I had asked the doctor about doing some alternative treatments to try to assist the chemo, but his response was they didn’t recommend that as it just added more unknowns to the mix. After much study and prayer, I decided that I would do what I thought would be best for me. So I also have been taking a number of supplements to try to enhance my immune system.

Last Wednesday, I went in for my first treatment. The day before, I had gone for a new CT scan to provide a good baseline to compare with after the chemo. The doctor mentioned that my stomach has greatly shrunk, so the tumor was clearly visible, giving a good indication for future comparisons. I also had a mediport implanted to allow them to easily infuse the chemo treatments.

Wednesday’s treatment consisted of a two hour infusion of one drug and then they hooked up a small pump which would continue to infuse a small amount of a second drug over the next 46 hours. After which, a home health care worker would come to our house to disconnect the pump.
At first, everything seemed to be going well. I went home that evening and even ate supper. But then about 2:30 AM on Thursday, I woke up and vomited. I continued to vomit all day Thursday and on into Friday. They had given me a prescription for nausea, but it seemed to do no good. Finally, about noon on Friday, we were told to return to the hospital to allow them to evaluate my condition. Because I was so dehydrated from all the vomiting, they decided to readmit me, and I spent the next three days in the hospital. I think partly due to the fact that it was a weekend and not a lot happens on the weekend in a hospital.

One thing that concerned them was that some of my cardiac enzymes showed abnormalities, and they were concerned that I might have suffered a mild heart attack. Further tests indicated that that had not happened, but they discovered that my heart was not functioning completely normal. They seemed to think it may have been a reaction to one of the drugs that had been used for the chemo, so they were recommending that that drug be discontinued.

I spoke to the oncologist before leaving the hospital on Monday. He said that in view of what had happened, they were going to change the drugs they were using. The new regimen calls for a treatment once a week for two weeks, and then a week off, followed by another treatment. The new drugs will be infused over a five hour period, but there will be no pump to have to take home.

So now I am back home. I have been able to discontinue the anti-nausea medicine, and I haven’t vomited since coming home. However I have no real desire to eat anything, but I have been forcing myself to eat some, and it all stays down. Eating isn’t that critical since I also have a feeding tube through which I am able to get over 2000 calories a day. In fact, I have put on about 10-12 pounds from my lightest weight.

On another positive note, Sunday May 2nd, I had the privilege of giving the Public Talk at our Kingdom Hall. Another local brother had been scheduled to give the talk and he called me Friday evening to say he was thinking that if I would like to give the talk, he would be happy to let me. I had been thinking of speaking to the Talk Coordinator to see if there were any opening on the up coming schedule, but was concerned that I really couldn’t know how I would be feeling in the future. So when the brother offered me the chance now, while it was a little short notice, I felt confident that I was up to it. So I told him that if it was OK with the rest of the brothers, I would be happy to give the talk. I gave a new outline that I had given shortly before leaving Guyana, it was entitled, “Where can you turn in times of distress?”. I must say it had a little more meaning for me when I gave it this time.

Once again, I want to express my gratitude for all the expressions of concern and support we have received from all over, along with all the prayers I know are being offered. I recently received an email from a sister in Germany who has been keeping up with the blog. It truly is a blessing to be a part of a world-wide brotherhood, and it clearly demonstrates Jehovah’s love and support for his people.

Here’s a few things I can share from Matthew’s Ridge. A nice group went across to Baramita for the Special Assembly Day program. This time in only involved about an hour and a half walk, due to the continued work on the road. This week the circuit Overseer is at Matthew’s Ridge. I am sure that will be a real blessing for everyone, and he will be able to offer much encouragement and direction to the brothers serving there.

I continue to get phone calls from a study, Ivon, from Matthew’s Ridge. She and her man, Kiron, continue to make wonderful progress. She mentioned they have started a program of reading a chapter from the bible together each day. Kiron had been studying with Andrew twice a week, but recently Andrew told him that he already knew so much (he had been raised as a witness) that there was no need to study twice a week, so it was reduced to a weekly study.

I would ask that while I appreciate all the prayers that are being offered for me, you continue to have the work and the people at Matthew’s Ridge the main focus of your prayers.

Assembly Preparations

This past week I was talking to two of the local baptized publishers here in Matthews Ridge named Doris and Stephanie while in field service. They told me that last weekend when we all stayed over in Port Kaituma on our way to the assembly in Mabaruma, they spent the afternoon preaching there. They said they placed all the magazines they had with them. They said they spoke to many who showed an interest. I found it encouraging to know that even en route to the assembly, they were in that frame of mind and conscious of the opportunity to preach in that area that does not get worked door-to-door routinely.

One woman here in Matthews Ridge who is a Bible student named Claudia made some comments this past week that I thought really meant a lot. She was telling me during our Bible study about some of the difficulties she has faced in her life. She went on to say that as she has drawn closer to Jehovah, she has learned to rely on Him to deal with these same difficulties that she even still faces, instead of herself. She said there have been many times when she wasn’t sure how her family was going to have enough to eat, but she did what she could to provide by growing some food in a little farm she has, and she has learned to trust in Jehovah. Claudia has been regular at the meetings and continues to do very well with her study.

On Wednesday, Andrew and one of the Bible students here, Eno, went across to Baramita to make arrangements for a group from Matthews Ridge to come for the Special Assembly Day that is to be held there on May 9. It is helpful to actually walk across to Baramita to do this because there is no phone or internet in Baramita. The only means of communication is by radio, which I attempted to use at one of the shops to let the brothers know to look out for Andrew and Eno. This was my first experience trying to communicate through this means, and I quickly learned just how confusing it can be. Although communicating through this means is possible, actually walking across and talking to the brothers in person cuts down on confusion. It also provides a nice opportunity for an interchange of encouragement and to let each other know of the progress being made in the different areas. Although the Special Assembly Day program was just held in Mabaruma as was mentioned, the assembly in Baramita is translated into the local Amerindian language, Carib. There are a number of individuals here in Ridge who understand Carib better than English, and so this is of great benefit to them. Additionally, attending the assembly in Baramita provides an opportunity to attend to those who may not be up to paying for the more extensive transportation needed to get to Mabaruma. And so Andrew and Eno made it to Baramita and back safely, and were able to make rooming and other necessary arrangements. And so we’re looking forward with anticipation to attending the assembly next week.

The pictures included with this weeks entry are of Andrew and Eno as they departed on their journey to Baramita on Wednesday, and of some local children with a small animal hunted for bush meat here called “Akuru”(that’s my closest approximation of what it’s actually called).