Another week has come and gone. Not a lot new has happened. Today Stephan gave the last Public Talk we will hear him give before we leave. Next Sunday we will be in Barimita, the following Sunday the Circuit Overseer will be here, the following week I will give the talk, and that will be our last Sunday here. So I mentioned to Stephan that today was the first of the ‘lasts’.With our time rapidly running out, I am having to figure out which projects I need to really focus on, and which ones will have to wait until we get back. I had really hoped to get some paint on the railings, but wanted to be sure that they were good and dry before I put paint on them. It seems that the rains may have returned early, since we have not had two dry days in a row for some time now. It could make for a wet walk to Barimita, but on the bright side, the sun shouldn’t be too hot during the walk.I never cease to be amazed at responses I get while trying to teach some of the students here. Between the complete different mindset, and the miscommunication that still happens, I get some pretty amazing responses to what I think are obvious leading questions. One week I was discussing the gift of the ransom with my study Michael. I was trying to make the point that all gifts are not equal. So I asked him which he would appreciate more, someone giving him a papaya, or a chainsaw. He said, “A papaya.”. I thought he hadn't understood, so I said, “Which would make you happier, if someone just picked a papaya off a tree and gave it to you, or if someone when out and bought a new chainsaw and gave that to you?” He thought a minute and said, “I would say the papaya.” I was blown away, but then asked. “Why would you say that?” He said, “Well, a papaya can keep you alive, but you never know when a chainsaw will just mash up, and be no good.”Another time when I was trying to help a student appreciate that we should listen to Jehovah, since he is the one who gave us life, I asked her, “If someone were to give you a brand new generator, and then he were to tell you you needed to use a certain lube oil in it, would you use that lube oil?” She said “No.” I thought she somehow hadn’t been listening close enough, so I basically repeated the question, and she thought and then said again, “No.” I was so taken aback that I didn’t ask her why. Later I thought about it and decided that here most call two-cycle oil that you mix with gas, lube oil, whereas they call four-cycle oi,l sump oil. So she was thinking that even if she were to be told to put two-cycle oil in a generator motor, she would know better. At least that’s the only possible explanation I have been able to come up with.Last year before we had left Guyana, we learned that Guyana had been invited to send a number of delegates to an International Convention in Trinidad. Terri has always expressed a desire to attend an International Convention, but I have always said that the $3-5,000 cost for a few weeks at an International Convention would support us for 6-8 months in Guyana, and I couldn’t justify the expense for the time and benefits received. However, the expense to attend the convention is Trinidad was estimated at about $400/person. Since we were planning on being in Guyana when the delegates were chosen, we submitted our applications before we left. I just got a letter last week informing us we have been selected as delegates to attend the convention. Needless to say we are quite excited about that. One reason the cost is so much less, besides the fact that it’s not that far to travel, is that rather than staying in a hotel, we will be staying with a local family while we are there. We very much prefer that as it gives us that much more opportunity to meet the local friend there. The convention is scheduled for early December.I hadn’t taken any pictures of note this week, so I had to go back and pick one from a few weeks ago. This is a picture of Vidya standing next to that big old tree that had been chopped down with an ax. Granted, Vidya isn’t very tall, but it still helps you to appreciate how massive the tree was. It is a little depressing, but we know that nothing man can do to this earth, can not be undone by means of the Kingdom. That is one thing that motivates us to continue speaking to others about the good news of the Kingdom.
