Report from August Pastor Training

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We had a great week in Region 9 with our Pastors and the entire ICA team in Lethem. It started out a little rocky since Carl and James missed the Charlotte flight to Miami because of weather out of Savannah but they only missed the morning of the first training day on Tuesday. Jai and I covered the morning session.

We had a chance to ask each Pastor to list the hardest passage of scripture to understand and preach. Also, we had each Pastor list the top two issues in their Church and/or community. This provided a foundation for understanding the issues each Pastor faced. Half the Pastors attending were new to our training. Several different denominations were represented at the conference. Several admitted they were discouraged from attending by their leadership. However, these Pastors are hungry for training and to develop other pastor friends and to network so they have someone to turn to for personal advise. We encouraged this interaction and everyone agreed to keep the discussions private.

Prior to every session we had music and worship lead by out ICA team that was very special and led to the proper spiritual framework for our study.

Carl and James led different modules of our sessions. This was the first time James had been with us in Guyana. After hearing James teach, I asked him to prayerfully consider becoming a member of our teaching team with the goal of having Pastor training every six months in both Region 9 and Region 1 with Carl leading one Region and James leading the other. James indicated he would definitely be praying about this possibility. ICA would cover his costs if he says yes. His Church is very missions minded and they may also partner with one of the younger pastors and their congregation which would be fantastic and may serve as a future model for ICA in linking US Churches with Guyanese congregations.

It was wonderful to see Pastors I have known before and great to make new friends with the new Pastors. I truly believe this is a way to make a real impact in these communities through helping these Pastors.

I wanted to follow up on the use of the tablets that were provided in this region by InTouch ministries. What I discovered is that the younger Pastors used them but the older Pastors did not because of their lack of tech skills. We have a real training need ahead of us to introduce technology in Guyana especially in the remote areas. Many of these communities now have Star-link sites in their communities provided by the Government which represents a real opportunity but only if the Pastors learn how to use it. Our Region 9 team for ICA is tech savvy and they are planning to spend time with each Pastor to help them leverage the resources they have been provided.

InTouch has an opportunity to put an AI front end on their tablets so you can just turn on the tablet then just ask a question and the AI searches the tablet and delivers the answer. Even i could use it if this was available.

Dr. Jim Strickland, the Interim Dean of the School of Agriculture from Clemson, was part of the team and he and I had a very productive week discovering the state of agriculture in Region 9. The opportunities are amazing.

God is moving in Region 9.

Call me with questions anytime at 704 293 0745.

Steve

Prayer Guide for August Pastor Training

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Hello friends of Guyana. It is finally time for another Pastor Training Trip. The last one was canceled because of snow causing canceled flights. We are grateful to be back to reaching out to pastors.  Carl Martin has shared the vision of what we are doing in Guyana and a pastor friend of his, James Porter, will be going and helping to teach.  We are so grateful for the commitment Carl has made to go every six months to train pastors in the remote villages of Guyana. Besides being a wonderful teacher, he is so relational with them that the pastors feel they can discuss any issues they are facing. Steve Puckett will be going also. God has opened another incredible door and we will have one more on the team. Jim Strickland, the Head of Animal and Veterinary Science at CLEMSON UNIVERSITY is also going. He will be assessing all the ways he can help our pastors there in the Savanna. They are all bi-vocational and are farmers and ranchers. While Carl and James are doing the training, Steve and Jim will be visiting the surrounding land so Jim can best know how to help the farmers and ranchers have more up to date procedures of how to have viable and successful crops and herds.

SUNDAY, August 2—Travel day to Guyana Please pray for planes to be on time so connections can be made smoothly. They arrive in Georgetown at 11:27pm.

MONDAY, August 3—Our four Guyanese staff along with Carl, James, Jim and  Steve will fly on a small plane from Georgetown to Lethem which is south near Brazil. Lethem is the only town in the Savanna and has less than 4,000 people. (When we get gas in our truck, it is poured by hand from a container rather than having a gas pump.)  Sixteen pastors from this region will also travel on Monday to reach Lethem.  Our team and the pastors will stay in a hotel in Lethem and do their training there instead of in a village. It will be a treat for the pastors to get to do that.  Pray that as they gather, there will be sweet fellowship and great anticipation for the training that will start the next morning.

TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, August 4, 5, 6—These are the training days. There will be three sessions each day.

9:00-10:45

11:00-12:30

Lunch 12:30-1:30

1:45-4:00

This may seem like very little break time but I assure you, the pastors want it that way. They are hungry for Carl’s teaching and always beg for more. I know getting to have James there will be a big bonus. During these sessions, there will be a lot of discussion and interaction.

Please pray that the teaching will be clear and meaningful and impactful. May each pastor learn and grow so he can lead his flock.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Steve and Jim will do their traveling around the area so Jim will know exactly how to make recommendations to the pastors.

FRIDAY, August 7—The pastors will travel back to their villages and our team will fly back to Georgetown. They will have a final dinner and relive their favorite memories from the week.

SATURDAY, August 8—The flight back home is a 6:34am departure so they have to be at the airport at about 4:30am. Please pray for a good travel day.

Thank you for praying for God to supply these pastors with renewed zeal as they serve their congregations. Please pray for Jim Strickland to have good insight as to how to help our Guyanese friends have a more profitable way to raise cattle and grow crops.

Beth

Praise Report from July Village Trips and Report on Tragedy in Guyana

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Hay ministry friends greetings in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus christ 

As you know we went to our mission trip to the jungle and we are back we had a wonderful trip 

We had 187 persons give there life to Jesus christ 

Thanks for your prayers and support 

God bless you Jai 

******Now for a report on the tragedy that struck Guyana Saturday night. The ferry boat left Georgetown at 3:15 Saturday afternoon to travel out into the Atlantic westward all along the coast to Region 1 close to Venezuela. It is about a 23 hour trip. The manifest showed 133 on board. There was engine trouble but they took off anyway trying to repair it along the way. It would be found out because of all the people who were recovered from the ocean that there were actually 179 on board which made it much heavier. It also was discovered later that the captain and at least one crew member had marijuana in their system and other crew were drinking alcohol. About 3 hours into the trip, they were 7 miles off shore and a huge wave capsized the overweight boat. As of now, there are 100 dead and it took a long time to rescue many who survived. Two of our pastors were aboard. Pastor Clifford was found Saturday but Pastor Philip wasn't recovered until Sunday night, at least 24 hours after the accident. God provided a 5 gallon barrel for him to hold onto all night long. Our third pastor, Philbert, had a granddaughter, Tracy, on board and she drowned. Our staff is devastated. They personally knew many who perished because of the work they have done in Region 1 where there people were traveling to. MANY of them, including Tracy, Jai had led to Christ. Because of this ministry that you all have prayed for and given to financially, those who perished in the accident are now in Heaven. We pray for their grieving families but are overwhelmed that because of their decision to trust Christ for salvation, we know where they are and know we will see them in Heaven. Jai knows one lady who lost 8 children. Please pray for our staff as they continue to work as they grieve. Thank you all for your prayers and support. This shows how important it is to get the Gospel out to every village.

Love, Beth

Prayer Request for July Village Trips

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Hello Friends of Guyana,

Jai was having trouble with his email so he asked me to write the request for prayer for these trips. He and Markey are leaving this evening to go to three river villages and will do two nights of Celebration Services at each village. In the day they will distribute used clothing, flip flops, reading glasses and Messengers (the handheld device with the audio Bible and 120 of Charles Stanley's sermons on it).

Monday, Michael and Nicholas will fly to the savanna and do the same at three villages there. Thank you for your prayers for the Holy Spirit to draw many to Christ. Also, please pray for safety and health for our staff. Also pray for their families that they leave at home each month. We are grateful for supportive wives. That makes all the difference in this ministry.

Thank you,

Beth

Praise Report for June Village Trips

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Hay ministry friends greetings in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus christ 

We are back from another wonderful trip from the jungle the weather is still bad here in Guyana the rain is still falling and we just have a slite storm the same day Venezuela has the earthquake 

We had 42 persons give there life to Jesus christ 

Please pray for us here in Guyana that the rain will stop and for Venezuela 

Thanks for your prayers and support God bless you Jai 

Prayer Request for June Village Trips

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Hay ministry friends greetings in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus christ 

Both teams are leaving for the jungle for another mission trip the team going to the savanna will be leaving tomorrow 

And the team going to the river villages will be leaving on Tuesday 

We will be going to 3 villages each and do 6 nights of celebration crusade 

Please pray for us as we travel on the road river and trails and pray for a harvest of sols 

God bless you Jai 

Praise Report from the May Village Trips

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Hay ministry friends greetings from all of us here in Guyana 

We are back early from our trip because of bad weather here in Guyana 

We could a only go to 2 villages each and do 4 nights of celebration crusade each the rain is falling none stop in Guyana and we didn't have much people come out to our celebration crusade 

We have 62 persons give there life to Jesus christ 

Thanks for your prayers and support 

God bless you Jai 

PS From Beth----Isn't it amazing that even thought the conditions caused a problem, they still had such a wonderful harvest? God is so good and Guyana is coming to Christ because of the faithfulness of our staff. Praise God!!!!

Praise Report from April Village Trips

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Hey Friends of Guyana,

This report is a week late because I was on a cruise with my two daughters and didn't have internet so I am sending you the wonderful report now. Thank you for praying for our staff as they continue to reach the remote parts of Guyana with the Gospel.

Hay ministry friends greetings in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus christ 

We are back from another wonderful trip from the jungle we had a great trip 

We had 205 persons give there life to Jesus christ 

Thanks for your prayers and support God is doing great things in Guyana  

God bless you Jai 

Praise Report for March Village Trips

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Hay ministry friends greetings in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus christ 

As you know we went to our mission trip to the jungle 

Both teams are back from another wonderful trip we went to 3 villages each and do 6 nights of celebration crusade each 

We have 165 persons give there life to Jesus christ 

Thanks for your prayers and support the harvest is still ripe and ready in Guyana  

God bless you Jai 


Prayer Request for March Village Trips

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Hay ministry friends greetings in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus christ 

Both teams are leaving for another mission trip to the jungle 

The team going to the river villages are leaving midnight tomorrow night and the team that going to the savanna are leaving Tuesday morning 

The reason for the savanna team to leave till Tuesday is because all the flights for Sunday and Monday is full 

Both teams will be going to 3 villages each and do 6 nights of celebration crusade 

Please pray for us as we go for our safety and for a harvest of sols 

God bless you Jai 

Wonderful Report from Prisons

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Hay ministry friends greetings from all of us here in Guyana 

This week has been an extra wonderful week doing ministry in the prisons in Guyana we have 13 inmates give there life to Jesus christ 

And this morning 10 inmates at the mazaruni prison was baptized 

Thanks to those of you who give towards the mazaruni prison ministry so that we can continue to go and preach the gospel to those inmates at the prison 

God bless you Jai 

Praise Report from February Village Trips

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Good Morning Friends of Guyana,

Jai's email isn't working again so I am sending the report for him and it is another wonderful one. They went to two villages in the savanna and three in the rivers. There were 197 salvations. Praise God!!!! Also, they were there for the dedication of a new church building that our ministry helped build at one of the river churches. The people from Canal Bank raised a good portion of the money themselves. They paid $2,000 and we paid $3,000. It is such a blessing to know how invested they were to raise that amount of money out of their very meager funds. It was thrilling for Jai and Markey to get to be there for the celebration of the new church building. Thank you all for praying for God's work in Guyana.


February Pastor Training Prayer Guide and Giving Opportunity

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Dear Friends of Guyana.

Before I give you the daily prayer guide for pastor training, I want to let you know of a current need that has just presented itself. On the last trip to the river villages, our old Honda generator that we have used for years died. Steve said he is shocked at how many years it has lasted under the harsh conditions and with bad gasoline. It will cost $1,400 to replace it. If God lays it on your heart to give toward this purchase, it is tax deductible. Please make checks out to:

International Celebration Assm.

62777 Carolina Commons Dr.

Ste 600, #135

Indian Land, SC 29707

or Zelle to my email

bethwpuckett@gmail.com

If you Zelle, please email me your name and address so I can send a tax letter

Now for the Information on the Pastor Training Trip……

Please pray for this upcoming trip. Carl Martin is going for another pastor training trip. We are so grateful for the commitment Carl has made to go every six months to train pastors in the remote villages of Guyana. Besides being a wonderful teacher, he is so relational with them that the pastors feel they can discuss any issues they are facing. Steve Puckett will be going with him to the Savanna. Here are the dates that you can pray specifically for the trip. They will be joined by our staff, Michael and Leon on this trip to Region 9 near Brazil in the Savanna.  Jai and Markey will be doing a trip to Region 1 near Venezuela in the river villages this same week. Please pray for them as well.

SATURDAY, January 31—Carl and Steve will travel to Guyana, Carl leaving from Savannah and Steve from Charlotte. As they are leaving, there is a prediction of ice and snow. Please pray they can get to the airport with no problems and that the the flights will be on time. They will arrive at 11:15pm and stay at a hotel close to the airport.

SUNDAY, February 1—Our four Guyanese staff along with Carl and Steve have gotten permission to go into the Women’s Prison at 9:00 to do a Sunday service. Our Guyanese team will lead praise and worship music and Carl will preach. There is one inmate who has a wonderful voice and loves to sing praises to God so I imagine she will also sing. Thankfully we have a great relationship with the prison authorities because they don’t often allow people in on Sundays. Please pray that the women will be encouraged to walk closer to God and for those who don’t have a relationship with Him, that Sunday will be the day of their salvation.

MONDAY, February 2—This will be a travel day in two directions. Jai and Markey will go to Region 1 to the Savanna. They will go to three villages to do Celebration Services as well as share used clothing, flip flops, reading glasses and Bibles. One village they will visit has a pastor who is a part of our pastor training. Their church building was too small and in disrepair. The cost of building a new church was $5,000 because they had to have a zinc roof. The members of the church saved up money and paid $2,000 themselves from selling what they had grown. That left $3,000 for our ministry to pay to finish the church. We are so grateful to see their dedication to wanting to grow their congregation and working hard to help build their church.

Michael and Leon will fly with Carl and Steve to the Savanna. Twelve pastors from this region will also travel on Monday to reach Lethem, the main town in the region. To let you know how remote that is, the population of the largest town is only 1,740. Our team and the pastors will stay in a hotel in Lethem and do their training there instead of in a village. It will be a treat for the pastors to get to do that.  Pray that as they gather, there will be sweet fellowship and great anticipation for the training that will start the next morning.

TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, February 3, 4, 5—These are the training days. There will be three sessions each day.

9:00-10:45

11:00-12:30

Lunch 12:30-1:30

1:45-4:00

This may seem like very little break time but I assure you, the pastors want it that way. They are hungry for Carl’s teaching and always beg for more. During these sessions, there will be a lot of discussion and interaction.

Carl will be teaching on:

Abiding with Jesus and Leading Ourselves (John 15)

Equipping and Shepherding Our Leaders (1 Peter 5)—Making Disciples by the ABIDE method

A-Align with the methods and model of Jesus

B-Biblically driven in life and sermon preparation

I-Intentionally develop leaders

D-Disciple-making by modeling and implementing a set process

E-Environment that encourages growth as a disciple

Finally, Shepherding, Equipping and Leading Others (Ephesians 4) Equipping the Body by Feeding, Leading, Loving, Serving and Sending them.

Please pray that the teaching will be clear and meaningful and impactful. May each pastor learn and grow so he can lead his flock.

FRIDAY, February 6—The pastors will travel back to their villages and our team will fly back to Georgetown. They will have a little rest and a final dinner then head back to the airport. The flight back home is shortly after midnight.

SATURDAY, February, 7—Carl and Steve’s flight home leaves at 12:55am. Please pray for a good travel day and wonderful memories of what God has done during the week.

Thank you for praying for God to supply these pastors with renewed zeal as they serve their congregations.

Beth

Praise Report from January Village Trips

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Hay ministry friends greetings and happy new year to you 

As you know we went to the savanna and river villages for our mission trip 

Both teams are back safely and we had a great trip we had 210 persons give there life to Jesus christ 

Thanks for your prayers and support we are off to a good start and with your prayers and support we look forward for a great year 

God bless you Jai 

Prayer Request for January Trips

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Jai's email isn't working so I will let you know what he told me. Tomorrow, both teams will be leaving for the first trips of 2026. Jai and Markey will go to Region One to the river villages and will go to three villages. Michael and Leon will go to Region Nine in the savanna. They will drive the new truck full of supplies. They will serve two villages this month. Thank you for praying for many to receive Jesus as their Savior. 

I have a new need that has come to our attention. Pastor Clifford at Canal Bank in Region One has a need for a motor for his boat. If he could get one, he would use it to go up and down the river to pick up people who are prospects for his church. He would love to reach more people this way. If you feel God leading you to give, the cost would be $1700 and donations are tax deductible. You can give by check made payable to:

International Celebration Assn.

62777 Carolina Commons Drive

Ste 600, #135

Indian Land, SC 29707

OR you can Zelle to bethwpuckett@gmail.com

Thank you for your prayers and gifts. We have great anticipation of what God will do this year in Guyana.

Blessings, 

Beth


Praise God for 2025 Result

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Dear Friends of Guyana,


This week our staff went to every prison in Guyana and gave each inmate a gift as well as giving them Christmas cheer with music and a message of why Jesus was born. I am sure you will rejoice with us as we heard the news that 26 inmates accepted Christ as their Savior this week. Praise God for continuing to reap a harvest in Guyana.

The salvations in 2025 were 2,259.

The total salvations in Guyana over our 20 year ministry reached 36,186. Many of you have been our friends since we started and so many have joined us as prayer partners year after year. We are grateful for each of you who support us in prayer and going and finances. May you have a blessed Christmas and we look forward to seeing what God will do in 2026.

Love, Beth

Christmas Ministry in the Prisons--Please Pray

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Jai’s email isn’t working so he asked me to send their prison schedule out for him. They will give every inmate a gift as well as doing Christmas carols and a Christmas message. Please pray for decisions to be made for Christ…..

Tomorrow we go to the newanserdam prison

Thursday we go to the lusignan prison morning and women's prison in the afternoon

Friday we go to the mazaruni prison

GIVING TUESDAY--WE CAN USE YOUR HELP

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Dear Friends of Guyana,

Today is called GIVING TUESDAY and I want to take this time to thank all of you who have faithfully given to God’s ministry in Guyana. Some of you will be doing “end of year” giving and I wanted to let you know of our needs in case God touches your heart to help us serve the Guyanese people.

I will list our current needs and pray that some of them will stand out to you as you consider helping us. We are very careful to use God’s money very prudently.

We purchase flip flops every six months to take to the remote villages and to give the inmates on our yearly mission trip.

***$2,500

We need $600 each month for our 2 visits to Mazaruni Prison that requires a hotel stay and renting a boat to reach the prison.

***$600 per month

Tooth paste to give the inmates in the large men’s prison where our team will go in March.

***$2,500

Tooth brushes to give the inmates in the large men’s prison where our team will go in March.

***$1200

Roman Road tracts to use this year.

***$200

Purchase of beads and spools of leather strapping to make salvation bracelets to give to each inmate and child.

***$300

Each month, our staff of 4 head out in two different directions, two going to the savannah near Brazil and two going to the river villages near Venezuela. Each team goes to three villages so a total of 6 villages served. Each trip costs #3,500 so a total of $7,000 per month.

***$7,000

Gifts are tax deductible.

Make checks out to:

International Celebration Assn.

62777 Carolina Commons Drive

Ste 600, #135

Indian Land, SC 29707

or Zelle to bethwpuckett@gmail.com

Thank you so much.

Beth