July Request Prayer Guide for Team Trip

 2019 Guyana Trip Itinerary

 Our team verse for this year is, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11.  We are excited to enjoy laboring together with our American team and our Guyanese team.

SUNDAY- July 14—Team arrives in Georgetown a little before midnight.  Please pray for ease of travel and for the families we are leaving at home. Please pray for the health of the team while we are in Guyana.

MONDAY- July 15—This morning, we will travel the 2 ½ hours to Jai and Tracy’s house where we will stay for the two weeks. This is a rest day since we got in so late last night. It is also an in-home workday. We will make salvation bracelets to prepare for the week where we use them everyday with the children and prisoners. Our new team members will get to know our Guyanese team and we will start putting the Roman’s Road to Salvation bookmarks in the Bibles that we will give away tomorrow at the prison.

 The colors on the bracelet stand for the steps to salvation:

---Black bead—Sin that separates us from God and we can’t get rid of it on our own

---Red bead—Jesus’ blood that he shed to cover our sin if we accept His free gift of salvation

---White bead—A clean heart. This is what God sees when he looks at us after we are forgiven.

---Yellow bead—Symbolizes the streets of gold where we will spend eternity since we have been forgiven.

---Green bead—Stands for growth-We need to grow as a Christian by prayer, Bible study, involvement in a church and time with Christian friends, etc.

TUESDAY-July 16—Today we will go to the New Amsterdam Prison on the male side at 10:00. We will see 1/3 of the male population today. There is something new this year that is very exciting. This is the prison where our Guyanese team goes every other Tuesday so they have a close relationship with the warden. Jai told them that we wanted to see ALL the prisoners so while we are there, they are not going to send the inmates out to work. The only ones that will not be there are those that have court dates. This is a wonderful new development. First we will tie a salvation bracelet on each man’s arm and welcome him. In the service, we will have worship songs, testimonies, solos (some from the prisoners) and then Jai will preach an evangelistic message, clearly explaining that even though these men are behind bars, they can be free. If they accept Christ, they can be free from the guilt of sin and be seen as cleansed by their Heavenly Father as they start a new life in Christ. Next, the men are brought in groups to have their feet measured and to be given a pair of flipflops. Our team will sit with a basin at our feet and a chair across from us. The prisoners will be directed to a chair and we will wash their feet and talk to them about what they heard. If they accepted Christ in the service, we will affirm their decision and if they have questions, we will talk to them and pray with them. Those who accept Jesus as Savior will be listed so they can have follow up. All will be given a toothbrush and toothpaste and a Bible if they don’t have one. Those who are serious about growing and are willing to commit to doing a Bible study will be signed up for a class and learn from Kristi Buttles’ Bible study. This is going to be a huge help to the men who need a solid foundation for their new faith. Please pray that their growth will be huge because of Kristi’s faithfulness in writing this Bible study.

Those who would like to be baptized will have a chance at the end of the foot washing. We will make it clear to them that baptism doesn’t save them but that it is a public display of their faith and a symbol of their death to their old life and the beginning of a new life. Please pray for open hears and that the Holy Spirit will make the message of salvation very clear to them. 

Each afternoon, we will continue to make salvations bracelets as the numbers needed are large since we need one for each prisoner and each child that we see for each opportunity both weeks.

In the evening, we will have team time and play games.

WEDNESDAY—July 17—Today we will go back to New Amsterdam Prison and do the second 1/3 of the population of the male prison. Please pray as you did yesterday for these men to make a decision to accept Christ.

THURSDAY-July 18—Today at 10:00 we will finish seeing the men at New Amsterdam Prison. What a blessing to be able to share hope with them.

FRIDAY- July 19—Today we will go back to New Amsterdam Prison but will be ministering to the women’s prison. We will have the same type service as we had with the men. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to draw many to faith in Christ and for those that are already Christians, that they will be encouraged and see more ways to grow in their faith. 

I haven’t mentioned it before but each afternoon after we get home from doing our ministry, we have a meal and spend time sharing our testimonies or things that are going on in our lives back home so we can get to know each other on a deeper level. Our Guyanese team also share their stories and what is going on. It is always a very special time that connects our hearts. We feel like these Guyanese that we have worked with over the years are family.

SATURDAY-July 20—Today we will begin our children’s ministry at 9:00. We will be at Tain Bible Church where we will minister to about 200 children. They will be greeted with friendly smiles, hugs and have a salvation bracelet tied onto their arms so they can reference it throughout the day. We will have fun songs and worship songs. We will teach the Bible story from Matthew where Jesus is asleep during the storm. Children of all ages will be reminded that when we go through scary things, Jesus is always there to calm our storms. He didn’t keep them from being in the storm but is there with them. We will see how we can cast our burdens upon Him. We will go over the plan of salvation and the new life they can have in Christ. 

As we wash the children’s and teen’s feet, we can point to the bracelets that they were given and go back over the plan of salvation. We do not try to force anyone to accept Christ because we know that is the work of the Holy Spirit. We just want to make sure they understand and have the opportunity if God is drawing them. We pray with the children and love on them. They will be given new flipflops. Please pray for the children to go home feeling loved and that many will accept Jesus as their Savior. Many times parents come to bring their children and end up understanding the Gospel for the first time. We have had parents saved on numerous occasions.

After lunch, there will be some time in the afternoon for souvenir shopping and game playing.  We will have a special dinner tonight because this is the end of our first week of service. Two of our team members are only staying one week so this will be their last day with us. We will have a special team time where everyone will tell his/her favorite story from the week of what took place. This is always a very special time. Jai will take them the 2 ½ hours back to the airport where they have a 12:37am (Sunday morning) flight so they have to be at the airport around 10:30. Please pray for safe travel for them.

SUNDAY—July 21—Today we will go to church and after lunch, do a prayer walk in Jai’s community where we will pray for people and invite children to come to our Monday event.

 MONDAY—July 22—Today at 9:00 we will have a children’s service in Jai and Tracy’s yard and expect over 100 children. It will be the same type service that I described on Saturday, the 20th. Please refer to that day for specific prayer requests.

 TUESDAY—July 23—Today at 9:00 we will be doing a children’s ministry at Farish Bible Church and expect about 200 children.

WEDNESDAY—July 24—Today at 9:00 we will be dong a children’s ministry at a church in New Amsterdam with about 200 in attendance.

 THURSDAY—July 25—Today at 9:00 we will be having our special day with the children at Alness Christian Church. There will be about 200. This is our last day to minister to children. We pray that among the children that we have seen over the past week, some of them will be the Christian leaders of tomorrow for Guyana and that many of them will be with us in Heaven for eternity.

 FRIDAY—July 26—Today is a very special day because God has opened a door for us to do something we have never done before and this is our 13thsummer to serve in Guyana. We are going to do a service at the Police Training Center in Berbice. One of the pastors that Jai knows is their chaplain and he wanted us to come and share with them. We will have praise and worship music, solos, and testimonies and then an evangelistic message. We will wash their feet and talk one on one and give them flipflops. It will be great to be able to encourage those who will soon be serving their communities as police officers. Those who trust Christ and have a heart of compassion will do a much better job as they handle difficult situations. Please pray for this opportunity and for life-changing decisions to be made.

SATURDAY—July 27—Today we will go to Mahaica Girls’ Home at 9:00. This is where our Guyanese team goes every other Saturday and where Jeanne and Megan went a few months ago to minister. Instead of doing our usual event, we are going to have music and then play fun games. We will divide into 4 teams and have a competition. We will have a blast. Then, afterwards, we will have a more serious time and see if the girls want to talk to us one on one about any issues they are struggling with in life. We will counsel them and pray for them. We are sharing a pizza lunch with them. 

We will spend the afternoon touring Georgetown. We will visit the largest wooden church in the world and see the sea wall that was build by the Dutch.  Georgetown is below sea level so it has a sea wall. We will shop for souvenirs, go to a museum and then have our last dinner together at a special restaurant. There we will have another special team time where everyone will tell his/her favorite story from the second week of ministry. This is always a very special time.

Jai will take us to the airport for the flight that leaves at 12:37am. We will have to be at the airport at 10:30pm.

SUNDAY—July 28—Please pray for safe travels today and good travel logistics, no delayed flights. We will look forward to sharing about our trip when we get home. 

 Thank each of you for praying for us. Your role as prayer warriors is just as important in the Kingdom as the work of those of us who go. That is how the Body of Christ works. Hallelujah!!!!!