Final Thoughts Guyana 2016

Well, after several hours of delays, missed flights etc. we rented a van in Atlanta and drove back to the Birmingham airport. By the time most of us got home and in our own beds, it was probably close to 1:30 or 2:00 AM. That was about 26 hours since most of us had really slept. Even then it was only for about 1 1/2 hours. I really envy those who can sleep on a plane, or anywhere for that matter.

It was truly a great week of spreading the Word in Linden, Guyana. I would like to thank all those that made this effort possible, from the leadership and members of Hoover Church of Christ, to the local churches in Guyana at Burnham Drive and Amelia's Ward. But, a special thank you goes out to the following people who gave of their time and hearts to endure the many hours of work and travel to share the Gospel with those seeking the Truth: Glenn Till Jr. (From the USA......that's sort of inside for those of us on the trip), Joel and Che' Abbott, Wes Blankenship, Matt Trousdale, Alana Lamar, Tiffany Roberts, Paul and Tara Merryman, Kathleen Eiring, Mercedes Lawrence, Suzanne Clelland, and myself.

For the week, we conducted over 80 bible studies with over 90 people. For the evening spiritual maturity classes there were 871 people that attended. That is an average of 174 people per night.

So many hearts and souls were touched this week, including all of us who went. There was restoration to the church, and people reaching out to the church for prayers and encouragement.

At night our topics of study were based on ways of Pleasing God. A different message each night. The lesson I taught was Fearing God and Pleasing Him. Something I was reminded of while preparing for this lesson is that if the church truly walks in the fear of God, not only will it please Him, the church will grow, or multiply. Consider what Luke wrote in ACTS 9:31 " So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied."

Many seeds sown for the Kingdom this week. May God give the increase.

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

Early Morning Trip Home

Well here it is. Time to go home. It is 12:59 AM here in Linden, Guyana. We are loading the many suitcases in a van waiting to load ourselves into another one, for the 50 minute ride to Georgetown to board our plane. Needless to say, it is a slow move this morning. While some of us slept for a hour or so, others stayed awake. I haven't yet decided which was better.

It was definitely a great end to our week here in Guyana. With many more bible studies during the day, we finished with an attendance of 225 people tonight at the spiritual maturity classes. That sets an all time new record for people interested in sharing in the word of God, at least in our evening worship.

As we begin to travel back to the states in just a few minutes, please keep us in your prayers for safe travels. Your thoughts have been coveted all week.

.......'til next time

Thursday 6/30/2016

Just as I thought, this evenings trip to the local hospital was a very humbling experience. We are fortunate to have the medical facilities, and conditions, that we do in th USA. I am glad that we get to go and visit with the patients here. We pray with them and wish them well. And, they seem very grateful that we would spend our time with them. Thursday of this trip each year is always a great day.

After studying 18 lessons with 22 people today, we barely had time to rest up before we headed to the hospital and then to the nightly classes. There were 193 people in attendance tonight, that included many people from the neighboring area that normally don't attend church. The adult and children visitors really have enjoyed themselves this week.

With one more day of studying with people, I feel we are in store for a great evening of fellowship and worship Friday evening, before heading home EARLY Saturday morning. More on that later.

Continue to keep us in your thoughts as we labor in the vineyard.

.......'til next time

Wednesday Night Report

Wednesday has come and gone and we are faced with just two days left on the ground in Linden, Guyana. We were able to conduct 18 Bible studies today with 18 different people. They were all really good lessons. Of course, anytime you sit down and study the Word with someone, it is a good lesson.

Tonight, for the evening classes, there were 187 people in attendance. A great number on pace to break a record by Friday, of 217 set last year.

Tomorrow will be a good day for us. One we all look forward to. We always go on Thursady evening before our nightly classes, to visit every patient in the local hospital. We encourage them. We pray with them and we will leave them some fruit. For the children, we give lots of Beanie Babies. It is a very humbling experience for us.

I would like to post pictures, but for some reason my imaging host is not letting me upload to this blog. I have never had an issue with that before, and I am just technologically challenged to not figure it out.

Continue to pray for the work here with the local church. Two more long days of work then heading back to the States early Saturday morning.

......'til next time.

Tuesday Night Thoughts

They told us it is the rainy season right now here in Guyana. To tell the truth it is every year we come here at this time. But, this year it does seem to be overly, uh, wet. Yes raining a lot! But you know what? With the clouds coming and going, the breeze and the rain, we really have been cooler here than back home in Hoover, knock on wood. It has been fairly comfortable for just north of the equator in June/July.

Despite the rain, we had good turnouts tonight. There were 146 people in attendance for our ongoing nightly spiritual maturity classes. I hope that trend continues. We had great one on one bible studies today as well. Our group conducted 17 studies with 22 people. We have continued studies lined up for tomorrow and hopefully beyond. Unfortunately the week will end way too fast, but the local church will definitely follow up with all those where the seeds were sown.

As you continue to pray for our effort here in Guyana, pray for those affected by the terrorist actions in Turkey. This radical ideology has got to be defeated. Hopefully, the love of Christ will prevail in these people's lives  before it is too late for them.

.......'til next time

Guyana Reflections

The following is from Tiffany Roberts. It is a report and reflection on the ladies day that the local churches had here in Guyana this past Saturday. Since we arrived Friday night, the ladies traveling with us from Hoover were able to attend and participate. Thank you Tiffany!

On our first full day in Guyana, we began with a Ladies' Day at the Burnham Drive church of Christ. There were between 150 and 200 ladies in attendance. The lessons were edifying, and the singing was fantastic. The topic for our ladies day was "Beauty Shop," stemming from I Peter 3:3-4 which states:

"Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear. But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."

We were able to hear four lessons from members of the church in Guyana. Singing was abundant and the church members made delicious lunches for everyone in attendance. Our own members helped when possible and were able to deliver gifts to all of those in attendance, for which they were very grateful. The Hoover members who have previously been to Guyana were greeted by old friends, and those of us who are new were welcomed with hugs and smiles. It was a great start to kick off our week!

- Tiffany

Monday Night in Guyana

Our first full day of door knocking, bible studies and evening classes has come and gone. It seems like we just rolled out of bed, and we are about to wind things down for the day again. It was a good first day, even though many of the studies that were already scheduled were either no shows, or didn't have the time today. While some were rescheduled, we set up new studies with individuals seeking the Word. In all today we had 12 studies with 18 people. I expect that number to grow each day as we go through the week.

As for the evening spiritual maturity classes, we had 120 in attendance. Not too bad for day one, especially since it has been raining like crazy here, and a lot of people do not have personal transportation, so they have to walk. I do expect, if history is any indication, that the attendance will increase throughout the week as word spreads the community.

We are really looking forward to the rest of the week, and we ask for prayers for open hearts and minds for the people that are seeking the Truth.

........'til next

Great Day of Worship

Today was a great day for worship and fellowship with the Burnham Drive and Amelia's Ward congregations here in Linden, Guyana. Some of our group from Hoover went to Amelia's Ward where Joel lead Bible Study followed by Wes presenting the sermon. Of course, all of this followed much singing. Myself and Glenn lead Bible study and worship at Burnham Drive, and I tell you, after 8 years of me coming here, it is always great to come back and connect with our extended church family. I have watched some of these people go from kids to young adults and I am encouraged at how faithful they remain to the body of Christ.

We are all looking forward to a great week door knocking during the day and leading maturity classes at night. I am a little more excited this year, because it is the fist time I have ever had the privilege to go on a mission trip with my wife Suzanne, AND my daughter Mercedes, at the same time. As a bonus, Suzanne's sister, Kathleen, came along this time too. So a lot of my direct family is with me, along with my church family. Even though I have a little more responsibility with more family members to look out for and return home safely with, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

Well, maybe I better wait until the end of the week before I decide that. 😄

.......'til next time

Fifty Not So Nifty?

Guyana 2016!!

Thankfully, all 13 of us made it safely to Linden, Guyana. We finally got in bed after midnight (for old folk like me, that's waaaay past my bedtime), and slowly made our way up to breakfast this morning.

I may be weird, but I cannot sleep on an airplane (I envy that super power some people harness). So after almost 24 hours of being awake and travel, my body hurts. My eyes hurts. My mood hurts. Did I say my body hurts? Turning 50 a few months back was great and I am blessed, but watching the younger people this morning get up and seemingly move about with such ease left me jealous and determined. I will not let them see me struggle at all. I will be an inspiration for the younger folks, that maturing in years is easy and painless. Boy is the joke on them.......I don't know, maybe that is mean. Maybe I should caution them to take care of themselves and pace themselves. We'll see how the week goes. 😇
Please pray for us this week as we are here to sow the seeds of God's Word, that He will give the increase. Pray also for all of those here in Linden, Guyana, that they be receptive to the Gospel. I plan to post a daily update on our effort and hope to show a few pictures or short videos as bandwidth allows. Thank you so much for your continued thoughts.


.....'til next time