The long awaited sea

I was just experimenting with how much time it takes to uplift picture. Only a couple of minutes tonight. This was taken as close to the sea as you could get without getting wet. It is maybe 100 yards to the edge of the water after the sandbar.

It took about 45 minutes of brisk walking over flat trails and over the tops of about 25 piles of dirt dredged out of the channel in the center of the picture.

Election day has come and gone and tomorrow or Thursday we should hear the result. At that point we might hear something if there is going to be disruptions. So far so quiet:) Thanks for your prayers. Our roads and towns are almost like ghost towns. The streets are empty. Some shops closed for 2 weeks because of anticipated post election violence. We'll keep you posted. Joe Joe

honey in the belly of the lions

He has done it again. God. After heavily armed bandits with AK 47 assault rifles hold up 2 local banks and get away with millions, God has done it again! In the most unprecedented way, the Guyanese police and army went after these guys with a vengeance it seemed.

After 4 days of pursuit through the very snake infested Canje swamps of the interior all the robbers were shot and killed including some with a criminal record an arm long. Several bags of money were recovered as well but not all of it.

Terri has described the feeling of the locals as “feeling the same as if terrorists were in the country.” So where is the honey from the belly of the lion?

One of our national pastors had begun a friendship with one of the managers of one bank whom he had led to Christ a short time before. The man has since been out to the pastor’s church with another employee and his wife as well. He is now affectionately considered the Bank’s Pastor. After this robbery by the "lions" the pastor was called on to lead the staff in prayer and sharing the Word. Psalm 23 comes alive at a time like this.

I praise God for the pastor and his fellow workers that Terri and I are working ‘behind the scenes’ with. Please keep Guyana in your prayers as elections are coming on Monday, the 28th.

We serve an awesome God with thanksgiving.

It's 2 bank robberies simultaneously!

Well, it is getting late and I am getting tired (its almost 9pm and you would understand if you were over 50 and living at the equator) but I just have to share this.

On Friday morning at about 11:30am in the town of Rose Hall 2 banks were robbed simultaneously by a total of 15 heavily armed bandits (actually they each only had 2 arms but several guns). I was at church with about 6 other youths/men helping to build a basketball court about a mile away. Word on the street got to us as we were trying to buy "form lumber" for the concrete pad so we all left the church and went to a home of one of the guys whose dad was home and who is a member of the Guyana Defence Force (the Army) to wait it out. Br. Mike our pastor and another believer had just been at the bank and left before this whole thing happened. Everyone in the villages were really frightened. The bandits got away with a good amount of money and only wounded one person. But they created chaos and fear by the way they were shooting up the area with AK 47 Assault Rifles. This was Friday as I said.

Today Monday, Terri and I went back in to Rose Hall where the robberies had taken place to just visit around. I realized that God was leading us to spread comfort and peace through the Lord Jesus Christ to several of the vendors that Terri normally deals with at the market as well as several others that we met along the way. As they shared their stories (some were right on the street in front of the banks almost) we were touched by the terror they had dealt with. 2 or 3 young people who sold "ginnup," a small fruit) at the road side stated that they wanted to recive Christ as their Savior. A Hindu lady is becoming more open and several others are opening too. Praise God for His care for us.

This was certainly not our normal day off but what a treasure it has become--sharing God's peace in the midst of trouble--that's real peace. God wanted us to be there with the vendors to share God's Peace that is available in the midst of terror. "He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord that He is my refuge and shelter, my God in whom I trust. " There is no better place to be.

We ended our day by taking an hour's walk to the Atlantic Ocean with our Muslim neighbors.
Thank you for all you do to keep us here to train the nationals to Carry the Banner of Christ.

The wedding house is not over yet!

The Wedding did take place and we did see some people that we have not seen for a long time. But weddings are so different here that it sometimes is difficult to predict what will happen. Loud music, good food (Seven Curry served on a lily pad and mango chutney for dessert--tastes like apple pie :] Attending has helped our relationship in the community I think.

Now if we can only get them to pull the plug on the loud music--day 3. At least I think they will pull the plug on the music around 11pm, I am guessing.

This is only one of several things going on here. Terri is singing in the Crusade Choir for the 7th, 8th, and 9th night this week and helping with refreshments for 2 VBS. Joe is helping build a small basketball court at Tain Church. Last week he helped repair a foot bridge leading to the church building over the large storm drain. And then there is discipleship and counseling opportunities a plenty.

Pray for our sanity, sleep, safety, and sensitivity to opportunities--the 4 S's!

More wedding house

The big news here is the noise—actually its loud music—a wall of large 15” speakers—about 16 in total. Our house actually vibrates with the sound. This is going to be happening for about 36 to 48 hours. Even though the it is a wedding according to Hindu tradition the music is popular music here in Guyana. There are noise nescience laws on the books but police are reluctant to enforce them. Well, I have survived 2 hours thus far!

Actually we are hoping to meet some more of our neighbors through this so come back on Sunday or Monday and we will fill you in.

This is a cultural experience, enjoy it. I am swaying to the music at times. Otherwise I could consider it some type of torture to break me down in some way………I choose to be cool. It is part and parcel to another culture. By the way the ear plugs do help a little!

the Wedding House

“The Wedding House”

It is 6:30 pm Friday night. Hindu drummers accompany a processional to the Hindu Temple and then to the house. The participants dance around to these drum solos for about 3 hours. Its 9:30—gotta get a good night of sleep for what is to come.
Now Saturday morning has arrived—a good night’s sleep. There is a beach ball on a 15 foot tall bamboo pole symbolizing their Hindu wedding that was put up last night. They will leave it up for years. Recently today several ladies donned saris and daubed mud on themselves for some reason—beauty perhaps—nay.

You know, we do things so differently in the States. Here the female members of the extended family come over days earlier to “pick rice”. That is where you buy cheaper rice that might have pieces that are not editable and then they sit around a table and pick out the bad pieces while they talk—sort of like a quilting bee. Then today there is more food preparation time under the carport by 15 or so ladies and guys as they cook the food over outside pots with a wood fire. They use something like a large wok about 2 feet in diameter—very labor intensive. Seven Curry is the favorite for “wedding houses.”

This is their solution to catering. Some people here do cater events but it usually consists of a Styrofoam box with vegetable fried rice (chicken or beef too, if they are not Hindu), some roti perhaps and a small paper sack of sweet bread with the consistency of dough—called sweet meat.

Focus and breeze

As I sit at the keyboard, sweating without moving, I pray for focus and for breeze. Some countries are more hospitable than others to work in.

Now, the kids outside are focused. They are trying to catch a tilapia (fish) in the drainage ditch in front of our house. They are focused and jumping up and down at the same time. I was hoping to catch that fish on my day off but it looks like they might get there first. Kids love it here although they have so little compared to cutting edge countries but then again they are not comparing.

One very young little kid a while back was nearly waist deep enjoying a relaxing bath in the middle of a large mud puddle in the road. Now that same road is as hard as concrete.

Some people here have to go to their neighbor's house to get a shower but that gives them an opportunity to visit too. So it's cool.

Right now, the ABC that we work under is having 3 evangelistic crusades at night and 3 Vacation Bible Schools with a team from PA. Terri sings regularly in the Crusade Choir and I sing "one and far" (not very often) with our church crusade choir. Several people may have trusted Christ to save them. This is the easy part. Now pray that follow-up will take place in each of the churches.

We are focused and working hard at creating effective discipleship here inspite of the heat. Pray that we will learn what God wants us too so that the Guyanese can realistically reach their own country by applying Biblical discipleship.

The next big distraction that we know of is a "Wedding House" two houses away--nearly 24 hour a day house rocking music for 2 days! We will get a chance to meet some more neighbors if we can stay awake long enough after the loss of sleep.

Until then.