Parika Pages: 2008

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Interior Trek with Norm's Team

Hi Everybody!

I didn't get a chance to upload these photos amidst all the Christmas bustle. Kim (director) and I went to the interior (Mazaruni District) with a fabulous team from the US in the beginning of December. It was about an hour-or-so flight across the jungle to Chi-Chi Airstrip.

Just as soon as the plane is undloaded, it turns around and takes off, leaving us stranded pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It's a grand adventurous feeling watching the plane disappear.

And the trek continues on foot ...

Into the trees...watch out for snakes!

This time it took about 4 hours for us to reach Chinoweing. What a welcoming sight, as we crested the hill and spotted the village in the distance, knowing we'd soon be able to rest our weary bodies and drink hot tea in the night.

Here I am greeting "Grandmother"

Kim shields an elder from the rain on the way to church.

Norman participated in an Akawaio traditional dance, a rare privilege in the village.

This beautiful mom gave birth in the woods a few hours from the village. Her 3 year-old daughter cut the umbillical cord. I don't know how many days (if any) they waited until mom proceeded to hike back to the village with her 2 children.

Catie and the kids enjoy looking at pictures.

En route to visit a couple of sick men who weren't well enough to come to the clinic themselves -there were 5 of us on the ATV all together. I thought I was going to fall off the whole time. The medicine, blankets, and machetes (very useful tool in the interior) we gave out were greatly appereciated.

Mount Ayangana

I was amused by this poster in Captain Roger's house.

By day 3 we were on our way out. The people of Chinoweing were so thankful for our visit, especially those who are hungry to learn more about God and His Word. There is an eager anticipation for our return sometime in the new year.

The views were breathtaking. God is such an awesome creator.

We lugged a lot of stuff down a really steep mountain. It was seemingly impossible but the Lord gave us strength and agility. During the entire trip I think I only fell over twice.

Five hours of almost non-stop hiking is follow by 2 hours of boating on the Mazaruni River. When others moved to the bottom of the boat I was grateful for a chance to stretch out. I definitely felt the journey in my muscles and joints but it was kind of a satisfying pain.

We spent 2 days in Imbaimadai, a mining village on the river. I volunteered at the children's feeding program and visited people I'd met on previous trips. We also blessed the school with textbooks and a pencil sharpener. I am so looking forward to going again!

Kim and Norman had a good talk with this rum-shop owner (dude who owns and runs the bar/haberdashery). He closed down his shop one night and let us hold a church service there.

Thanks for tuning folks, and THANK YOU for praying for us. It was a safe, fun, rewarding journey with few and minimal injuries. I did have over 20 chiggers (little egg-laying critters) burrowing in my skin by the end of it (and I wasn't the one with the most) but, hey it's all a part of the adventure!

I'll be posting again soon now that I've got the luxury high-speed internet while I'm in Candada.

God bless you,

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Events in November

Hello Friends, here are some photos from the past few weeks...

A fabulous youth group from Georgetown stayed with us for a weekend.

They did some work on the campus moving sand and blocks.

Francis was eager to join the fun, as usual.

Movie night on our campus.We were glad to have some of our neighbours bond with the city folk.

Karen made a treasure hunt with Bible verse clues.

She also mesmerized the crowds with her mad Dutch Blitz skills. What can I say, she's from a Mennonite town in Manitoba?

Refreshing coconut water after a long walk to Parika.

One of the girls got a boat driver to give us a free spin around the dock.

Vidya and I were back-up dancers for Francis and Sarah on family talent night.

My buddy Joshua and I were guests at a wedding. He and I are playing a never-ending game of tag going on 3 months. Josh runs way faster than me but I reserve the right to call time-out anytime I want so at least I have a chance to get away.

Our literacy club is going great, I'm so thrilled to spend time with the kids in our neighbourhood! I hope one day we can have a playground for them, too.

Thank you for lifting me and Guyana up in prayer.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Checking In...

Hello Friends!

You know, it occured to me the other day, that when I graduated highschool I had difficulty deciding if I should pursue teaching, nursing or social work. Here in Guyana I'm involved in all three and more. God knows my heart! Please read on for some updates on what's going on with us in Parika...

Kids
We received a huge old bread truck from previous missionaries so Winston and Tim filled it with our tools after we all spent hours scrubbing the truck down. This gave us room to use half our tool shed for our literacy club. Some days we have up to 21 kids, which is fabulous and challenging because many of the children need one on one help until they can grasp the letters and sounds. Some 8 year-olds are farther along than some 15 year-olds but everyone is improving. We are enjoying the kids and the creative outlet of making up new lessons and we're hoping for consistent volunteers so the kids can get the one on one they need.

Our neighbour, Sabrian, joins the action.

Kim and Tim get started. We had a water shortage (lack of rainfall) at the time so we had to wash it with trench water, which is basically river overflow mixed with urine and tadpoles. Mental note -"Keep mouth closed when throwing water." It was actually white underneath all the grime!

Construction

We thank God we received a donation that will be enough to complete laying the second floor of our new building! There have been some complications with the transaction so the funds haven't come through just yet, but they will arrive. Sometimes the progress of this building seems mega slow – I just want to get it done! But as we wait and pray and work on the next bit and wait and pray...Psalm 127:1 is becoming more meaningful to me than ever. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it, labour in vain.”

The necessity and benefits of this soon to be classroom-office-apartments-kitchen-dining area are ever present and I often think, “If only we can finish it, we could do so much more!” But I am grateful for what we have now and I realize that while the building will have benefits and meet needs, we must do well with what has been entrusted to us today.

So, this structure is going up with tons of cement, a few workers, many volunteers, and lots of prayer.

As for baby Joel, with the hole in his heart, someone in the doctor's office misplaced his medical records and Joel was crying to much to get his test done (video of his heart) when he went for his appointment. Thankfully, I had made copies of his med history, which will suffice and after more follow-up with the doctor, his test has been rescheduled. Meanwhile, proving the identity of his parents continues to be an issue, but at least we've made some progress and I am determined to keep trying.

Discipleship Training School
Plans for our upcoming Discipleship Training School (DTS) are going great – except we don't have any official students yet and the school is just over 2 months away! Several people have enquired and taken applications but none have committed – yet. I started getting discouraged about it this week because if we don't have students by December, we'll have to postpone the whole thing. Not that there isn't plenty of other work to do without having a DTS. But why would God have us go through all the prep and planning and not bring students?
I've been swaying back and forth from doubting to repenting for my lack of faith and then I was biking one afternoon when a Sunday school song came to mind, “God told Noah to build an ark, to build an ark...” And I remembered, Noah started building this gigantic boat when there probably wasn't a hint of rain in the sky. And even if it hadn't rained, what mattered was that Noah was faithful. So, I'm going to continue planning and believing and praying. Please pray with me.

Thanks for tuning in. Your support encourages me!

Peace & Joy,
eM

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Psalm 126:3

Hi Friends!

Thanks for tuning in, I have good news to tell you! God has really blessed us here in Parika this past month and we are grateful. When we move ahead, it frees us up to keep dreaming for God's purposes to unfold in this place He has given us to steward. It is exciting to think of what will be here a year from now and in years to come. With all the goings on, we join the chorus of missionaries calling, “We need more labourers!”

Community

Em and the letter "b"

Children
Our children's literacy club is off to a good start with 7-14 kids in attendance twice a week. We'll soon be hosting the club more often but we don't have space for more kids yet. The children race through our gates when it's time to begin and we already see improvement in their recognition of letters and sounds. What a privilege to have this chance to intstill value and hope in the lives of this young generation while they learn to read. They are great!

Vidya helps kids with the alphabet.

Youth

Pastors and youth leaders are asking us to get more involved with their ministries. We are encouraged by their enthusiasm and look forward to partnering with them even more. We want to host an event for youth leaders here in the near future, to encourage the leadership and facilitate unity among the churches in the area. God has great plans for the youth of Parika and we want to help them seek God and His dreams for their lives.

Mercy

We thank God for the recent donation to help us re-start a hospital ministry. We visit Georgetown Public Hospital weekly, bringing snacks, necessities and cheer to patients on the HIV/AIDS ward and the children's ward. Several ladies in our community have been eager to get involved and we are looking forward to seeing this ministry grow. Two weeks ago some of the ladies met a very sick 2 month old baby girl and her mom. The doctors said nothing else could be done and the child probably would not survive. The ladies prayed for the baby and last week we returned to see her improving!

During one of our hospital visits, we met a young mother and her baby boy, Joel. Joel is 6 months old and needs surgery for a hole in his heart. The surgery cannot be done in Guyana so I've had the privilege of getting to know Joel and his mom while helping them get the necessary documents and tests so he can be helped overseas for free. This meant a lot of trips to Georgetown for me, going back and forth from the immigration office to the hosptial, hours waiting on doctors and trying to figure out paperwork. It's complicated because the mom is under age and we've had difficulty tracking down her parents, whom we need due to obvious legalities. Plus, baby Joel's father doesn't have proper identification either which throws another wrench into the situation. It's going slower that I anticipated but we are making progress. Please pray for baby Joel!

Construction

Kim with the crew

Praise God! The front half of the second floor on our new building is complete! We are grateful for the donations and for the church groups and neighbours who joined the bucket brigade, passing cement and fetching materials to help us get the job done! We need $5000 US to finish the second half of the floor. If you would like to give, please contact us! guyanayouthwithamission@yahoo.com

Winston passes a bucket of cement.

Blessed

We were blessed with a barrel from Ontario that enabled us to be a blessing to others. Through the materials donated in the barrel: Schools in several villages (Imbaimadai, Chinoweing, and Waramadan) received supplies, we got great stuff for our literacy club, Imbaimadai and Chinoweing got medical supplies and a local boys' home received a first aid package. God knows our needs!

Thank you for being with me in this. May our Good Lord bless you.

All for Jesus,