Comings, Goings, Mural, Travels

Since the last entry on the blog, we’ve seen some comings and goings here in Matthews Ridge, as well as other good things that have been happening here. On September 17, Micah Gillen and Blake Weigum left Matthews Ridge. These brothers from the Spokane, Washington area had been here in Ridge for roughly 6 weeks. On Friday they traveled over to Mabaruma, about 60 miles to the north of Matthews Ridge, to visit and help in that area before flying back to the United States. They were very helpful while here in Matthews Ridge, caring for many parts on the meetings and conducting quite a few Bible studies. We enjoyed having their company, and we’re sure they found their visit here to be an encouraging and eye-opening experience.

On September 16, Andrew Roybal arrived back in Matthews Ridge. He enjoyed the opportunity to visit family and friends, but he has said how glad he is to be back in Matthews Ridge.

Recently we were able to hang up a mural painting that Ellie Garner, a sister who visited Matthews Ridge this past December/January, had painted. As you can see from the picture included with this entry, the painting is a beautiful depiction of Paradise in a tropical area like Matthews Ridge. We’re very glad to have it displayed in the Kingdom Hall here, and many have commented on what a nice painting it is.

This past Wednesday, I had an opportunity to travel to Port Kaituma. I decided I would take a day-trip there and preach in that town since it is not covered by any congregation and it does not regularly get worked in the door-to-door ministry. The day went very well, as I was able to cover a good-sized area, and there met many receptive people. I was also able to make arrangements to make a start again of a group Bible-study we had been holding in that town. I talked to those that regularly attend to let them know that we will plan to come every week that it is possible from now on to have the study as we were doing before. I even got to pick up some needed supplies that we have not been able to get here in Matthews Ridge. The day was going along generally as planned, until I got a flat tire about 30 to 40 minutes drive out of Port Kaituma. I flagged down a 4-wheeler and asked the driver if he had an air pump. He did, and we were able to pump the tire up. However, after he left, I got on the bike to start it, and the tire again went completely flat. I had very few tools with me, and so I decided to hide the bike in the bush and try to catch a ride back to Matthews Ridge. I was able to get on a bush truck that was headed for a mining camp that was generally in the same direction as Matthews Ridge. I had to get off in a town called Falls Top, realizing that the bush truck would turn off towards the mining area soon after. A few hours later, a pick-up truck was passing by, so I stopped to see if they could carry me to Matthews Ridge. They weren’t planning to, but we went back and forth on how much they would charge to take a side trip there. We agreed on a price, and I finally got into Matthews Ridge at about 7:00pm. We took the back tire off the other motor bike on Thursday, and on Friday morning I got on a truck headed to Port Kaituma with the spare tire and some tools. The truck dropped me where I had stashed the bike, and after a bit I got the tire changed and was able to safely drive home.

Garrett and Andrew have been busy conducting the read and write class held weekly after the public talk and Watchtower consideration. They’ve been working hard at caring for this assignment that has both its challenges and joys.

Andrew and Garrett also had a good experience here in the last week starting a Bible study with one of the shop owners named Eddie. In the past this man, while always friendly, did not seem to show much interest in learning more about Jehovah and his Word. We stop at his shop often for a cold drink, and while doing this, Garrett and Andrew talked with him about whether he would be interesting in spending a few minutes each week learning from the Bible. He agreed, and on Thursday night, they went down after Eddie closed up the shop for the night, and had a first study with him. It always makes us very happy to see people begin to show an interest in learning the truth for the first time.

The pictures included with this entry are of Andrew and Garrett conducting the read and write class, of the Paradise mural Ellie painted, and of Micah and Blake with two of the Bible students, Beatrice and Victoria.

Departures, Painting, Georgetown

This past week or so, both the Conti family and the Caldwells returned to America from their visit to Matthews Ridge. Kyle and Rehanna Caldwell left Matthews Ridge on August 26th. And Dawn, Jessi, and Paige Conti left Matthews Ridge on September 1st. We were very happy that they were able to come to Guyana and to Matthews Ridge to help out. Their hard work and good company was very much appreciated.

The walls of the inside of the Kingdom Hall that we had begun painting have been finished with a first coat of paint. This past week Blake, Micah, Garrett, Dawn, Jessi, Paige, and Eugene completed the painting of the walls. The result looks very nice and really helps to lighten up the hall.

I spent this past week in Georgetown, as I was not feeling so well. I’m better now, and aside from dealing with that, it was a very nice week. I had opportunities to go out in field service a few times in the Diamond congregation, just a bit south of Georgetown. Working in the ministry there is a lot different than doing so in Matthews Ridge. This was a nice change of pace, and it was good to be able to get to know some of the friends in that area.

The pictures included with this entry are a group shot and the finished painting of the walls inside the Kingdom Hall.

Arakaka, Painting

This past week we had a real nice time traveling to one of the towns neighboring Matthews Ridge, which is named Arakaka. You may have heard this town mentioned on the blog before. In many ways it is quite similar to Matthews Ridge, with a bit smaller population. Matthews Ridge is the closest group to this town, and so we try to get out there to preach when we can. Having so many visiting Matthews Ridge this month provided a nice opportunity to go out and work the Arakaka area in door-to-door preaching. There were 12 of us in all who went. 10 made the trip in a pick-up truck, and the other 2 followed on motorbikes. It’s about a 50 minute drive or so from Matthews Ridge to Arakaka. Since we’re still in the end of rainy season here, the regular rains have kept the dust on the roads down, meaning you arrive in Arakaka a lot cleaner than you would if you made the trip in dry season, driving into a dust-cloud the whole way.

As I was beginning the meeting for field service, I was surprised to see the cruiser we had hired to carry us to Arakaka pull up, it being about 15 minutes earlier than I had asked him to come. (for the interior of Guyana, arriving 15 minutes early is quite an anomaly) I went over to talk to the driver, whose name is Moses. He said to me: ‘We have to lef. Dem boys takin de bridge out at 9:00, and nobody gettin tru till it finish.’ Apparently, it was this particular morning that a crew of workers were planning to take apart and rebuild a log bridge on a stretch of the road that leads to Arakaka. And so after a short meeting for field service, we piled into the truck and jumped on the motorbikes. There was only one board lying across the bed of the cruiser, and at least 3 rows of 3 people each had to fit in there. So we looked around the Kingdom Hall quickly to find a couple more planks we could lay across the bed of the truck as 6 additional seats. I quickly found a nice fat plank about the right length, but it was hard to find a good thick second plank. We were running low on time, so I put on a smaller plank I found that was the right length. I’m wondering if the 3 that got relegated to that undersized seating would rather have sit on the floor of the truck bed, though, because after a number of good bumps in the road it snapped in half.

We reached up to the bridge right at 9:00, just as they were about to start dismantling it. We got through, though, and got into Arakaka at about 9:20. We went to the police outpost and told them we were Jehovah’s Witnesses from Matthews Ridge, and we had come to preach throughout the town. They had no reservations about our plans, and told us to park the two motorbikes in their yard right up against the police station. We split into 3 groups of 4 persons each, and went into different parts of the town. We were imagining our visit to Arakaka might also provide a nice opportunity to make some phone calls, as there is no phone reception in Matthews Ridge, and making the trek out to a hill that does get service near Ridge can be difficult. And so after we were finished preaching in the immediate town area, we went over to the call spot in Arakaka. There are apparently only 2 or 3 spots in Arakaka that get phone reception. And by “spots”, I literally mean spots of about 1 foot in diameter signaled by a dirt patch worn in the grass by those standing in that “call spot”. We all tried unsuccessfully to get calls through at these fabled call spots.

We finished working the immediate town area of Arakaka in a couple of hours, and then started heading back towards Matthews Ridge at about 12:00. Over the next 4.5 hours, we worked many houses alongside the road leading back to Matthews Ridge, as well as witnessing to some who were working dredges for mining gold. We were relieved to see that the road workers had just finished building the new bridge as we traveled back to Matthews Ridge. So many we met in Arakaka, and alongside the road leading to it, voiced their desire to have someone come to study the Bible with them along with their families. We told them we would try to come back as soon as possible. We are sincerely hoping we can work to further develop that interest, but balance is certainly needed so as not to neglect the work in Matthews Ridge itself.

Also this past week, we started painting the interior of the Kingdom Hall in Matthews Ridge and making improvements to the sound system. All those who have come to visit Matthews Ridge were able to help with this work, and it has gone well. So far, we’ve gotten two of the walls painted, built a sound cabinet into the wall in the rear of the auditorium, and routed the wiring from the front of the hall under the floor and up into this new sound box. Over the next few weeks we’re hoping to paint the other two walls and the ceiling of the hall, as well as to hang a large mural painting of the paradise that was painted by Ellie Garner, a sister from America who visited Matthews Ridge at the turn of this past year.

The pictures included with this entry are of the service group getting organized in Arakaka by the cruiser and police station, of painting the inside of the Kingdom Hall, and of Kyle working on the sound cabinet.

Matthews Ridge

This past week has been exciting, as there are many new faces here in Matthews Ridge. A number have come to visit to help out in the ministry and in the congregation. Kyle and Reanna Caldwell are a young couple from Framingham, Massachusetts. Dawn Conti and her two daughters, Jessi and Paige, are from Jamestown, New York. Garrett Wilson is a young brother from Woonsocket, Rhode Island. There are also two young brothers from Washington state, Micah Gillen and Blake Weigum, who have been here for about a month, and are planning to stay here in Matthews Ridge until the middle of September. They’ve been holding down the fort here for the last couple weeks. The rest of us just got into Matthews Ridge in the past week or so and are settling in. We’ve been having a nice time going out in the ministry together and enjoying one another’s association.

Rainy season is nearing its end, but it certainly isn’t over yet, as we’ve had some great rain storms. We had an earthquake here a few nights ago as well. I woke up to everything shaking, but there was no apparent damage. Others said they woke up and realized it was an earthquake too, whereas some said they took it for nothing more than someone just jumping around. Why you would get up in the middle of the night and start jumping up and down I don’t know, but the point being the quake wasn’t anything too extreme. It’s been hot hot here the last few days as well. And so as you can see, we get quite the variety of weather conditions in the interior of Guyana.

The pictures included with this week’s entry are of the visiting brothers and sisters in front of the Kingdom Hall, and of some working in field service.

Jim Newton

It is heart-wrenching to report that on Monday, August 9th, our dear brother Jim Newton lost his battle with cancer and fell asleep in death. What a fine person and a faithful brother Jim was. His love of the truth and his self-sacrificing spirit endeared him to us, and no doubt to his God Jehovah. One would have a hard time finding a more determined and hard-working individual as Jim was. I remember with admiration the way in which Jim would spend long days in the ministry, and not long after returning home, he would be digging or drilling, making repairs to the Kingdom Hall. Jim had a sense of humor and a genuineness that made him an approachable shepherd and a trusted friend. No doubt all of us who knew Jim appreciated what a big heart he had. Jim touched many people’s lives, caring for their needs in such a loving way. Jim never drew attention to himself, but always focused on the work that needed to be done and on the needs of others. Jim died at home at about 9:00pm with his family by his side. We are all deeply saddened and will dearly miss our good friend Jim Newton, but have the confidence that he will be remembered for his faith and fine works. A memorial talk is scheduled for 2:00pm on Saturday, August 14th at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Conewango, New York.

District Convention

“Congregate the people,” Jehovah instructed his ancient people Israel, “the men and the women and the little ones…in order that they may listen and in order that they may learn.” Just as the assemblies of God’s ancient people provided much-needed spiritual instruction and upbuilding association, so too today, the annual assemblies and conventions of God’s people are a source of great joy. The 2010 District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses, carrying the theme “Remain Close to Jehovah”, was held this past weekend, August 6-8, here in Georgetown, Guyana. 4,000 individuals were on hand for this exciting event! There were so many stirring talks and demonstrations, and to gather together and enjoy the association was outstanding. There were 51 persons baptized on Saturday, including one of the publishers from Matthews Ridge, Shaneiza Waldren. No doubt a fine witness was given throughout the city as Jehovah’s clean people streamed to the convention site at National Park each day. Even the prime minister of Guyana was in attendance with his entourage to benefit and witness first hand the unity of God’s people.

Prior to the convention, many had the privilege of helping to clean and prepare the site for the convention. Food and litter from a previous event that was held at the park was removed, the entire site was swept, the stage was modified, and additional furnishings were constructed to ready the park for the convention. This setup provided a good witness as people observed the cleanliness and orderliness of God’s people, and it was so upbuilding to work along with the brothers and sisters there and enjoy their association!

The pictures included with this entry are of the cleaning and setup for the convention, the crowd at lunch break, and of Shaneiza getting baptized.

River Preaching

For quite sometime we have been wanting to go and preach in an area called Falls Top, this is where half the community is on the river. We stopped in Falls Top as it is on the way to Port Kiatuma, We were going to do the Watchtower study in Port Kiatuma. Anyhow we stopped and talked to this guy who owns a shop, we had talked before of how he would one day be willing to take us to preach on the river. It turned out that on this specific day he was able to and willing to take us. Which is really interesting since we had for some reason brought along with us plenty of extra magazines. We talked to many and it took us around 4 or 5 hours to get it all covered. We could of easily stayed longer but we had to make some visits short so we could cover all. It was plenty of excitement since most are Amerindian and understand Carib which is the very language that the "You can be God's Friend" brochure was just translated. How good it was to read to them in there own language, many were so grateful we even got a watermelon at one house. The people were what made the whole trip worth it. We hope to eventually return and take some Bibles to a few who could read well and really wanted to learn of Jehovah. Some had never really even heard anything about the bible before. I spent a few minutes explaining who Jehovah is and why we are imperfect, even having to explain who Adam and Eve are and the Garden of Eden at one house. They listen so attentively it is amazing!

Aside from the preaching was the wonders of Jehovah's creation, we saw an iguana swimming in the river. Many tropical birds and even a small black and white spotted snake. Well that’s all for now, we encourage you to keep up the good work!