Help Us Return! Guyana 2007

2006-12-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

One of the characteristics of a good teacher is following up on students to make sure the lessons they have learned stick with them. That is our goal, Mindy and me, when we return to Tuschen, Guyana, around July of 2007. God willing we can get the support that we need from our brothers and sisters in Christ to make this trip happen. We need to return to help enhance the faith of our young and responsive brothers and sisters living there. Mindy and I met many young and old alike in Guyana in 2005. There were a lot of baptisms for the Lord but there were those that did not make the commitment in their life to follow God's commandment of being baptized. However, that is not our main goal, for the Bible tells us to spread the gospel and if they hear the word and believe then being baptized will follow. Along with following up on the young congregation there to see how they are doing we would like to leave them with deeper understanding of the Bible and with new members of God's Kingdom. That is our goal. If you can help us make Guyana 2007 possible with your much appreciated contributions please email us at kum2jason@hotmail.com and I will get back to you with the information that you request. Thank you so very much! God Bless You!

Crusade for Christ, Guyana October 2005

2006-03-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

This is the Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Timehri. This is the only way in or out. Besides the small plane, a short walk in the heat, and the lack of luggage, the airport was a pleasant experience. It was nice to be on solid ground after our 16 hour flight. Our luggage had missed our flight, but the employees were very helpful in getting them to us quicker and more intact than in the States.

Few people own personal vehicles, so the primary mode of transportation are these buses. They have fifteen seats, but that doesn't mean they won't fit twenty. Talk about sardines in a can! :-D
The people are very friendly and easy to talk to, if you can understand them. It takes a little while to get used to the accent. We had our Guyanese friends with us to make sure we got to the right place.
The lady in the picture is Margaret and the man is Mindy's dad, Dan, preacher at Westside Church of Christ in Georgia, U.S.

The dominant religion in Guyana is Hindu. This is one of the many Hindu temples in the area.

This is where the congregation of Stewartville meets and our home for the duration of the "Crusade for Christ". The extension on the right side is the two level apartment. The top is a bedroom in which we slept and the bottom is for Bible study classes which doubles as a second bedroom for visitors. Attached to the bottom level is the restroom facilities and the baptistry. The congregation of Westside helped purchase the building.

This is the wonderful family of Stewartville. They made it possible for us to do God's work and not have to worry about the small stuff. Without them our trip would not have been a success! From left to right their names are: Margaret (Basil's wife), Mindy, Jason, Rishma (Randy's wife), Basil (preacher of Stewartville, pronounced Bah-seal), Randy (Basil's son) and Joshua (Randy's son we called Joshy).

This is the reason we go to Guyana. To reach out to the precious souls and bring them to Christ. You are looking at the lot that Westside bought for the congregation in Tuschen, Guyana. Throughout the Crusade, which lasted a week, brothers and sisters in Christ held classes and Bible studies during the day. Others went out amongst the neighborhood to invite the hospitable and loving people of Tuschen to services that were held each night of the Crusade. Since then, a temporary wood structure has been built on the lot where the newly formed congregation holds their worship services.

Jason and Dan were taught by a local how to make the cinder blocks used to construct the homes and buildings. The local man was very happy to show his trade to them--and get a break! We would like to help make the blocks for the permanent building in Tuschen. However, we have not received the necessary funds to make this possible.

This is one of the houses built from blocks like the ones shown above. This is a typical home in Guyana, but you will also find many poorer homes built of wood.

Showing off their beautiful artwork are some of the children from our daily Bible School class. The kids in Tuschen were very responsive, smart, and well-behaved as far as kids go. They were very sweet and loved their teachers.

Here is Mindy leading a Ladies' Bible class during the day while Jason was out studying with Romona at her home. Romona was baptized two days before this picture was taken. She was so excited about her new life that she taught her brother and influenced him to put on Christ in baptism. A few days later her mother also made the decision to be born again.

This is a picture of Dan preaching during one of the nightly services that were held. We were having electrical problems, so at times it was very dark and the skeeters came out. The speakers had a microphone that was hooked up to a loudspeaker, so the message could be heard throughout the whole neighborhood.

This is the baptistry we had to work with. It was basically a fifty gallon barrel and a wooden staircase in the front yard of a newly baptized young woman's home. We hope to build a nice baptistry in the permanent church building in Tuschen, if the funds come through. On the right is Jason performing his first baptism. The young lady he baptized is Ramona.

Above are some of the people God added to His church during the Crusade in Tuschen. We feel so blessed to have been able to make the trip. It was a great experience, helping us to mature spiritually while making lifelong friends. It's so wonderful to know that no matter where you are, you're at home in God's church. We are looking forward to returning in 2006, Lord willing.

If you are interested in learning more about the Crusades for Christ and how you can be a part, please email us at kum2jason@hotmail.com or aahmesnefertari@hotmail.com. We are members of the Tooele Church of Christ in Utah. We invite you to visit the preceding Tooele CofC link. If you ever find yourself in Utah we would love to see you at worship services. Thank you for checking out our blog, and we hope it will edify you as much as it has us! God bless you!

Jason and Mindy