2023 July Trip Report

Dearest Ministry Friends of Guyana,

This is unlike any update I have ever written. Your prayers were needed more than any other year and this is our 15th summer trip. I will explain later why we needed your intercession. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for lifting us up while we served. I will start with II Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

There was spiritual warfare going on before, during and after the trip and GOD REIGNED AND CONTINUES TO REIGN!!!!! HE had a great harvest that HE wanted us to bring in and here are the wonderful results that the evil one was trying to thwart. Our guess is that among these numbers, there must be some great Christian leader or leaders who will grow and serve and help the Gospel go out to Guyana and beyond.

114 Inmates accepted Christ

91 Inmates were baptized

2 children accepted Christ

AMAZING STORIES OF GOD’S VICTORIES

I will start with the airplane ride where one of our members had a divine appointment that lasted from wheels up in Charlotte until wheels down in Miami. It was amazing to hear of the open and easy conversation that resulted in motherly advise concerning marriage, spiritual conversation and much more. It was evident that God assigned the seats.

Our four days in the prison were amazing. We rented chairs to put in a caged courtyard and rented huge tarps to cover them to keep out rain and sun. It worked great and we even had a breeze some of the time. The prison has gotten stricter about the amount of time visitors can be there so we tried to make every minute count. We had wonderful music by Megan that moved their hearts. Chad did a wonderful job of being very “real” with them about the dark things he had walked through and how God had brought him out of that very hard place and made him free to live his life to the fullest again, being able to serve. Kristi shared some encouragement God had put on her heart, encouraging them that they didn’t have to live in loneliness but could look to God to direct them into a fulfilling life even though they are behind bars. Jai did a fantastic short sermon around the colors of the beads on their bracelets we gave them. Jai made their need for a Savior very clear because of the separation because of sin. He explained how they can accept Jesus and know they have a new life, forgiven and clean. Jai is powerful in the Scripture he uses and the way he delivers his message simply. He gave them a change to pray as ask Jesus to become their Savior.

Our time of foot washing and conversation with them is always so special as they want to have someone who will listen and encourage and pray for them. We discussed Jai’s message with them and asked if they had questions. Many said they prayed with Jai and we rejoiced with their decision and then went over the beads one more time so they can know them well enough to share with others. If they had questions, we had that conversation and many were then ready to pray with us right there after we washed their feet.

The baptisms are always a highlight as the kiddie pool sloshes water and the team cheers, celebrating their decision and new life in Christ.

Two team members had their feet washed by prisoners and one even had a blessing prayed over them by a prisoner.

One of the memories locked in my memory bank is when I looked over and a group of inmates had gathered chairs around Chad, gleaning all they could from his wisdom concerning their addictions and how to handle life when they get out, making sure they don’t go back to their old ways.

We are thankful to have a close relationship with the head of this largest prison in Guyana, Sr. Superintendent Deoraj Gyandat. He is so supportive of our coming and thankful for the message we bring and the encouragement we share. He sat for an interview with two of our team members who have podcasts. You will be able to find this conversation on Chad’s THE RABBIT HOLE SHOW and Kristi’s REAL DEEP STUFF.

Next I will report on the two girls’ homes. When we first got to Hauriruni, the girls were distant and stand-offish. But after a pizza lunch, a few action songs, and a short encouraging word, they opened up and we had a blast with them playing games outside. We had potato sack races, three legged races, hula hoop games and competition and painted a lot of fingernails. It was a wonderful day and we will continue work there because of some specific needs we saw.

Mahaica Girls’ Home is where our team went weekly before Covid and then were not allowed back until now. Thankfully, we now have permission to start the weekly ministry again. There are 40 girls 8-17. Like Hauraruni, it took them time to warm up to us but at the end, they didn’t want us to leave. One team member felt that one girl needed a very personal touch and asked her to dance with her. It thrilled my heart to see them ballroom dancing and doing spins. The girl was grinning from ear to ear and so was our team member.

Five of the girls have babies there with them. The mothers range in age from eleven to seventeen. Can you imagine what kind of life these girls have experienced? Please pray for them. Three of them had nursing babies and two had toddlers. Our Bible story was about how Jesus calmed the storm when the disciples were so scared on the violent sea. Our lesson was that we will have storms in our lives but Jesus is always able to get us through. We had each girl write on a slip of paper their trouble or fear and come put it at the foot of a cross, symbolizing giving Jesus their troubles, casting their cares on Him. They seemed to take that activity very seriously. We even did that as a team because we too have cares to cast at His feet. Then the papers were destroyed as they were needs they only wanted Jesus to know.

The last day, we got to do ministry at a church where about 250 children came and felt God’s love as we had songs, story, foot washing (new footwear) and conversations. Many of the children were very young and many of the older children were helpers from the church. We had two children accept Christ as Savior. So grateful for new, young believers. One was a 13 year old girl from Trinidad visiting her cousins. God planned that visit to correspond to our ministry at the church. GOD KNEW!!!

Going over all that happened last week, no wonder the evil one was trying so hard to keep the work from happening. Here are some of the ways he tried. There were more.

BEFORE

-Shortly before the trip, we had 5 team members who had to drop out for medical reasons, one being a broken shoulder.

-One member had flu then 12 days of hiccups then Covid. Got totally well in plenty of time to go.

-One member had to have a heart catheterization that showed it was fine to travel, no stent needed.

-One team member had 2 family deaths shortly before the trip.

-Several members had very stressful issues they had to leave behind and trust God to take care of them as they focused on the work at hand.

DURING

-Our ministry van that we usually use to transport our team had mechanical problems and we would not have been able to travel in it. It carried our luggage from the airport to the hotel but wouldn’t go in reverse. It sat at the hotel for the week and will now be repaired. Praise God, Jai had decided ahead of time to rent a larger van with good air-conditioning so we weren’t left with finding transportation each day.

-After two days of ministering, one team member came down with the flu and had to miss three days of serving

-Another team member missed Tuesday and was able to go back for the rest but not at 100%

-Another team member missed 2 days

-Another team member missed 1 day

-On Monday night, one team member found out that there was a family issue that needed attention and tried to get a flight to go home. There was no flight on Tuesday so scheduled a Wednesday 7:00 am leaving the hotel at 4:00 am. Found out during the night the flight had been postponed until Wednesday afternoon. Long story short, when the member got to the airport that is 1 1/2 hour away, the flight was postponed until the next day and decided to return to our team and give up trying to go home.

AFTER

-When we got home,

5 team members tested positive for Covid—I, Beth, am among that number thus why the report is delayed

4 had the flu

1 had congestion

1 was well

5 Guyanese team members all had some level of illness

This has NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE…… Without your prayer covering, we wonder how much worse things would have been.

The team unity was fantastic and our sharing of testimonies at team time were such an encouragement. The deep conversations drew us so very close. Each of our Guyanese and US team members feel like family forever.

I want to close with two verses that sum up the way we feel about this trip. I have heard from a number of team members who got sick that it is totally worth getting sick to have been able to be a part of this movement of God. I am blessed to lead such a selfless team.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

I Thessalonians 5:18

Again, thank you so much for being willing to pray. You are a vital part of this ministry.

Beth

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