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.
