Fast Friday

Like I said a couple of times before, Friday would get here fast and the week would be over. Well here it is, and we are all trying to pack and get ready to head to the airport at 1:00 AM Saturday.

It has been an absolutely great week. Lots of studies, including today, and 6 baptisms. Three of the baptisms happened today. It was great that all of these individuals decided to put on Christ. The seeds were sown, and God is giving the increase. In the coming days and weeks, the local church at Burnham Drive will follow up on the many studies that were started with people here. We pray that God will continue to give the increase.

Tonight we set a record with 217 people attending services. It was an awesome evening that was successful due to so many peoples hard work and dedication. Thanks to all that made this mission effort possible.

I say it every year, but as much as we will miss everyone down here in Guyana, we are all ready to get to our homes and see our families. So, in about 2 hours from the time that I write this, we will start the long journey home. We should be back in Birmingham by 10:00 PM local time. I will try to check in as we travel through Miami and/or Atlanta, but if not......

'til next time.

Our Group Friday Morning

Our Group with our Local "Guides"

Kimberly, Myself and Brea, my Helpers

Joel and Onika

Che, Onika, Joel and Ann

Christian and Althia

Christian, Althia, Kalissa, and Corey James

A Tired Thursday, But a Good Tired

We knew it would be a long day, and we weren't disappointed. After all the rain yesterday, today came the heat. We were definitely reminded that we are close to the equator here, very hot today. As everyone is feeling great, we still have to reach back and grab that extra energy this time of the week. We probably are relying on adrenaline more than not at this point, but we will preserver nonetheless. We held 23 studies with 17 people today. Somewhat fewer than the last few days, but by this time of the week, we are down to some serious salvation studies. And, we are taking our time.

The best news of the day, is that a new sister in Christ was added to the church. Ms. Yvonne Marshall was baptized into Christ. Glenn Till and Quincy Collins had been studying with her when she chose to make that decision. Praise God. There are several more people that are very close to making that decision as well. Pray that God will continue to give the increase.

Tonight we all ran by the hospital and visited, and prayed with patients. We were able to give them fruit baskets and some information about the church. This is always one of my favorite times of the week.

At class tonight, you could definitely tell it wasn't raining, as 184 people attended. If we surpass 200 Friday night, we will set a new record. We are blessed to be a part of this great community revival.

By this time Friday night, we will be packing and grabbing an hour or two of sleep before heading to the airport to come home. Continue to keep,us in your prayers.

'til next time..........

Glenn and Ms. Yvonne Marhall

Quincy, Yvonne, Glenn and Pauline

Over The Hump

The climb up the hill for the first part of the week is over. It wasn't a long climb because the week is going by so fast. It will even go by faster the next two days, and before we know it, we will be making the 2:00 AM drive to the airport in Georgetown to catch our flight back to the States Saturday morning.

Today started off great. A man name Patrick that Glenn and Quincy studied with, decided to obey the Gospel. He has an interesting story in that he has been a Rasta for some time, and after a recent accident where he wa badly injured, he started questioning the truth. He was seeking, and the right teachers came along to show him the good news. Thank God.

The rest of the day went like the others so far, good studies with great people. Today we held 26 lessons with 27 people, with more lined up for tomorrow and beyond.

All day we got to experience what I think of when I think of the tropics, wet, rainy, humid conditions.  It rained more today than I can remember the last seven years I have been here. Most of us stayed soaked, but feeling good about sharing the Word. As the night classes rolled around, only 120 people were in attendance. I am blaming that on the weather. A lot of people walk here, and don't drive, so the rain will keep folks in doors. Hopefully, with better weather, we will have more people come to services tomorrow night.

Thursday will be a busy day for sure. We will go to the market early in the morning to buy fruit and juice that we will take to the hospital to give to the patients and hospital staff, tomorrow night for encouragement. There is a planned road closing at the only bridge crossing the river tomorrow, so,we will have to take boats back and forth across the river to go to and from the area of town we are working. It should be an interesting day. Looking forward to it, for sure.

'til next time........

Glenn About to Baptize Patrick Peeres

Pauline, Her Uncle Patrick, Glenn, and Quincy 

A Few Pics FromTuesday

A Couple of new Friends

Bread Fruit 

House not Quite Finished

 

Konesha, a Young Lady I Have Been Studying With

Some of the Terrain Here

Darryl Powell, I Mean Wes Blankenship Bringing the Message Tuesday Night

Christian CovingtonTeaching the Teen Boys

Kendyl, Alana and Emily Teaching the two to fives

A House Finished, but so is The Car

What Shall Separate us From the Love of Christ?

The answer is, nothing. That is the theme for this weeks nightly lessons held for the adults at  Burnham Drive. What things in your life could separate you from the love of Christ? Christ's love for us will always be there. It may be better to ask, what will separate us, from OUR love for Christ? The way we live, worldly possessions, friends, social media, our jobs, even family, can get in the way of our love for Christ if we are not careful. We need to be ever diligent against the stumbling blocks that Satan throws in front of us. There may be times we get discouraged when doors are shut, and people choose not to be receptive to the Word, but we cannot let that frustration sour our attitude form sharing the love of Christ with others. This week, most of the people we meet are very receptive. There will be some, however, that basically shut the door on you. Jesus says to go and spread the Word, to share the Good News, not, go and MAKE people accept the Word. That is their own decision. So far this week, we are doing great work here. Today we held 27 studies, with 25 different people. All willing, and open to receive Gods message.

Tonight we had a great crowd at the evening classes. We had 150 people in attendance compared to 97 last night. That is a huge increase, and an encouragement to see that kind of interest and involvement from the community.

As I write this, at 10:24 PM local time, the preacher, Nigel Milo is taking a lady to the river to be baptized. Praise the Lord. No matter what hour of the day it is, when someone makes that decision to put on Christ in baptism, it is indeed a wonderful occasion. What great way to end the day!

'til next time......

Only Four More Days?

It is certainly hard to believe that we only have four days left here in Guyana. We definitely hit the ground running. Everyone is working very hard reaching out to the local community to spread the word of God. Today we studied with 22 people, conducting 24 lessons, and we have more already scheduled for tomorrow and beyond.

Tonight, the first set of maturity classes was held at the church building, and 97 people were in attendance. I know that by Friday night, if history proves true here, that number will most certainly double. That will be a great ending to a great week.

Being such a long day, we had our quick round table discussion of the day's events, a quick snack, then those of us who lean more toward the senior side of things quickly prepped for bed. Of course we will also be the ones up and ready to go, with both eyes open. Oh to be able to hang out and laugh with friends late into the evening again. Eh, not really. Sleep here we come.

' til next time.......

Joel Teaching a Bible Class at the new Amelia's Ward Church Building

Joel Teaching 

Most of our Group From Hoover Along With our Hosts Nigel, Jasmine and Zabby Milo

Sunday June 28th

Today was a day that was full of great worship and fellowship. It was the first meeting ever at the new church building at Amelia's Ward, and it was a fantastic service. Over 170 people attended worship there and were able to listen to two men from Hoover, Joel Abbott and Wes Blankenship bring the Bible Study and Sermon for today. I was told they did an outstanding job and encouraged everyone there.

The reason I say, I was told is, Glenn Till and myself, along with Suzanne, went to the Burnham Drive church and worshiped with them. I was blessed to be able to lead the Sunday School Bible study, and Glenn brought the message of the hour. There were 51 people in attendance. We actually started at the Amelia's Ward congregation at 8:30 then went to Burnham Drive to finish there about 2:00 PM. That's 5.5 solid hours of wonderful singing, praise and worship. Probably the most I have done in one stretch in a long time, but it was great (Chuck don't get any ideas). We arrived back to the house in time to eat a wonderful lunch that the rest of the group was so gracious to leave for us. A quick nap ensued, then it was off to evening worship.

As usual we all gather at night to eat a quick meal (actually) a snack, and reflect on the day's events and what tomorrow holds for us. Monday we will hit the ground running for sure, we will knock many doors, touch many hearts, and we will be encouraged by the community that we will immerse ourselves in. I promise, it will be Friday before we know it, and we will be packing to head back home. We all look forward to a great week and we ask for,your continued prayers and support.

'til next time......

Day One, a Day Early

We tried a little something different this year. We came to Guyana a day earlier than we normally have in the past. First let me say, that we all got here safe and sound, and healthy, but as usual, tired from travel. But let me tell you what that early arriving time meant. It meant having today to rest a little bit more, and put the finishing touches on our lessons we will teach at church Sunday morning. Normally we would arrive at about 11:30 on Saturday night, after having travelled all day. We then would try to grab some sleep and get up a few hours later to eat breakfast then go to church, not having much time to catch our breath. I vote for the one day early method on traveling for this mission effort.

I must admit, the guys had a little more time to rest today, as the ladies attended a ladies day at the Burnham Drive congregation from 10:00 until 3:00. They had to prepare and give presentations to almost 200 ladies from around the surrounding area. Slightly more tired, but extremely blessed they are from having participated.

It wasn't all rest for us guys. The Amelia's Ward congregation has recently built a new church and we were recruited to spread piles of sand around to fill in the low spots in the lot around the building. I'm not surprising anyone by saying, that after a while, wet sand is just plain heavy. Fortunately there were 6 of us guys able to share time shoveling. More importantly, Glenn and Quincy were able to go conduct a Bible study, and share Gods word, the main reason we are here.

This "day early" gave us all time to reflect, fellowship, prepare and rest up for the upcoming week of service to the Lord here in Linden, Guyana, that will go by like a flash of lightning. I can't wait to see what tomorrow may bring.

'til next time......

A Year Gone Bye

I said it in my last post, that a year would go by before you know it and the Guyana 2015 will be here. Well, here it is, the night before we leave for Guyana. I suspect everyone is mostly packed and lessons are mostly prepared. No matter to what level of preparedness, this mission effort will be a success. There have been challenges and excitement the last 7 years that I have gone on this trip, but they have all been successful. No doubt, it being God's will, this will be a great trip and the seeds of the Kingdom will be sown, and many souls will be touched. Please pray for our safety, and that God will give the increase.

'til next time.......