Well the end of the week is here. It really does fly by. Mostly because we work so hard non-stop all week. And, I don't know if the week here in Linden, Guyana could've ended much better. We had 4 baptisms today for a total of 6 for the week. Several others a very close to making that decision as well. We pray for all of those as the local church continues to do follow up studies in the near future.
Tonight, we had the best evening service so far, with 163 people attending. The singing was especially awesome. But at the end of the evening, it is sort of bitter sweet as we have to hug and say goodbye to all those we have grown so close to. But we are ready to all come home to our families!
We now take a little while to eat, pack and get a couple hours of sleep, as we will leave for the airport at 1:30 AM to start our journey home. If all goes well, we should be landing in Birmingham, sweet home Alabama, a little after 6:00 PM central time Saturday evening.
Please pray for our speedy and safe return home.
.......'til next time.
Michael B......out.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Thursday, July 4, 2013
A Terrific Thursday
As the title says, it was a great day. We are coming to that point in the week where we are winding down our studies, reaching lessons dealing with salvation. We held 16 studies today that culminated in the baptism of a young lady named Monica. Drew Spivey had studied with her and she decided that today she wanted to obey the gospel. There are several other individuals that are very close, and we hope they decide to make that decision soon. On our last day, tomorrow, we will conclude some lessons with people and follow up with others, to offer encouragement. It will be a tiring and emotional day for sure. Friday will conclude with the last evening session, which has grown greatly in attendance each night. We look forward to that night, but it is sad because we say goodbye to so many new and old friends here in Guyana,
This evening, we took a visit to the local hospital, where we handed out bags of fruit, and informational tracts about the church to the patients and nurses. Conducting several prayers with the patients and their families reminds us how this has become a part of the week we all really look forward too each year. It is truly meaningful for everyone involved.
After the hospital, we went to the church building to hold our evening services. Tonight we had 157 in attendance. We are about to run out of room! Back home we probably would be pushing the fire code limits. I doubt that is a real concern here in Guyana. Oh what a great problem. Oh yeah, we are so busy this time of the week, during service tonight, there were 3 of us conducting one on one bible studies with people who are interested finding out more about Christ. What a great day.
As I predicted yesterday, we were busy as can be today. Now as I wind down, reflect on the day and plan for tomorrow, I can only hope and pray that it will be as busy and as profitable as today. The fields are white and ready for harvest.
We are, however, oh so close to returning home to our loved ones. We miss them all so much. We know our work here is important, but when it is time to go home, I promise, we will be ready.
.....'til next time.
This evening, we took a visit to the local hospital, where we handed out bags of fruit, and informational tracts about the church to the patients and nurses. Conducting several prayers with the patients and their families reminds us how this has become a part of the week we all really look forward too each year. It is truly meaningful for everyone involved.
After the hospital, we went to the church building to hold our evening services. Tonight we had 157 in attendance. We are about to run out of room! Back home we probably would be pushing the fire code limits. I doubt that is a real concern here in Guyana. Oh what a great problem. Oh yeah, we are so busy this time of the week, during service tonight, there were 3 of us conducting one on one bible studies with people who are interested finding out more about Christ. What a great day.
As I predicted yesterday, we were busy as can be today. Now as I wind down, reflect on the day and plan for tomorrow, I can only hope and pray that it will be as busy and as profitable as today. The fields are white and ready for harvest.
We are, however, oh so close to returning home to our loved ones. We miss them all so much. We know our work here is important, but when it is time to go home, I promise, we will be ready.
.....'til next time.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Wednesday - Over The Hump
I must say, that today I felt a little bit down. I had some really good lessons planned with people and out of four, only one was home when I got there. So, I let myself get down and disappointed. But then I got to thinking. While these were my plans for today, they may not have been the Lord's. The lesson I did teach today was quite good, and I look forward to more of them. Tomorrow I will re-visit todays list and see what the schedule looks like at the end of the day.
As for the rest of the group, while a few were busy as they can be, others were like me, knocking on doors and the appointment not available. We still conducted 18 studies, and we will have more successful ones as the week goes on.
Tonight, on the other hand, was another huge success for our Gospel meeting. 124 people attended, up from 104 Tuesday night, and while the adults listened to a great message from Joel Abbott, the young children and teenagers were heavily involved in their classes.
We will be extra busy tomorrow. We will leave early, go to the market to buy a bunch of fresh fruit that will be put together in bags with tracts, and then we will pass those out at the local hospital tomorrow night before our meeting. So, not much stopping tomorrow. Once we wake up, we will be running until we hit the pillow around 11:00 PM. It is a day, however, that we look forward to each year.
.....'til next time.
As for the rest of the group, while a few were busy as they can be, others were like me, knocking on doors and the appointment not available. We still conducted 18 studies, and we will have more successful ones as the week goes on.
Tonight, on the other hand, was another huge success for our Gospel meeting. 124 people attended, up from 104 Tuesday night, and while the adults listened to a great message from Joel Abbott, the young children and teenagers were heavily involved in their classes.
We will be extra busy tomorrow. We will leave early, go to the market to buy a bunch of fresh fruit that will be put together in bags with tracts, and then we will pass those out at the local hospital tomorrow night before our meeting. So, not much stopping tomorrow. Once we wake up, we will be running until we hit the pillow around 11:00 PM. It is a day, however, that we look forward to each year.
.....'til next time.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Tuesday Evening Post
As I expected, we had another good day today. We studied with 22 people, some new and some continuing studies. By this time of the week we are all getting our schedules full of appointments for studies, really wondering how we are going to fit them all in, and that is a good problem to have. I personally am looking forward to tomorrow. I started off a little slow, but have really "filled" my calendar for the next couple of days.
Tonights classes went great as well. We had 104 in attendance, up from 89 last night. I expect even more tomorrow night. The adults seem to be getting a lot out of their classes, and I know the children are enjoying theirs.
As we reach the mid-week point tomorrow, the mission trip will only speed up from there. Getting over that hill, so to speak. And it will be over and we will be home before you know it, having sown many seeds for the kingdom. But in the time we have left, we have a lot of work to get done. Please continue to remember all of us in your thoughts and prayers, and, especially the ones we are studying with.
.....'til next time.
Tonights classes went great as well. We had 104 in attendance, up from 89 last night. I expect even more tomorrow night. The adults seem to be getting a lot out of their classes, and I know the children are enjoying theirs.
As we reach the mid-week point tomorrow, the mission trip will only speed up from there. Getting over that hill, so to speak. And it will be over and we will be home before you know it, having sown many seeds for the kingdom. But in the time we have left, we have a lot of work to get done. Please continue to remember all of us in your thoughts and prayers, and, especially the ones we are studying with.
.....'til next time.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Monday- Mission Possible
The week started off good on Sunday, got better on Monday. After breakfast we traveled to the Burnahm Drive Church where we would be working this week. We met with the local members who are going to help navigate for us this week, sang a few songs, then held a quick devo. Being the first day of the campaign, we divided into teams, received our marching orders and headed out. We were to conduct Bible studies, some pre-arranged, and then door knock (or cold call as I like to say) up until 2:00 PM when we would head in for lunch.
Over the course of 4.5 hours, our group studied the Bible with 20 people, culminating in the baptism of one sweet lady named Waveny. Joel and Che' Abbott had studied with her a couple of years ago, and got word she would like to study some more now. After they studied today, she decided to immediately obey the gospel. That alone, will make this effort worth while. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds.
Tonight we conducted maturity classes for all ages and had 89 in attendance. Not too bad for our first night. As the week goes on, and the word gets out, I expect more people to come to the evening services.
As it approaches 10:30 PM local time, I find myself about to drift off, feeling good about our start, but looking forward to rest these feet and eyes, for a few hours before we do it all again.
.....'til next time.
Over the course of 4.5 hours, our group studied the Bible with 20 people, culminating in the baptism of one sweet lady named Waveny. Joel and Che' Abbott had studied with her a couple of years ago, and got word she would like to study some more now. After they studied today, she decided to immediately obey the gospel. That alone, will make this effort worth while. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds.
Tonight we conducted maturity classes for all ages and had 89 in attendance. Not too bad for our first night. As the week goes on, and the word gets out, I expect more people to come to the evening services.
As it approaches 10:30 PM local time, I find myself about to drift off, feeling good about our start, but looking forward to rest these feet and eyes, for a few hours before we do it all again.
.....'til next time.
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