Report 2021 July Mission Trip Report

2021 Guyana Summer Trip Report

Dear Ministry Friends,

Thank you so much for praying for us last week as we traveled to Guyana and served in the prison. The Lord met our every need as we had some stressful moments concerning one of our team member’s PCR test. As we were checking in, the lady at the counter hadn’t seen the type documentation that his lab provided and said he couldn’t go and canceled his flight. Then, he found proof in the small print that it was a PCR test so another agent rescheduled him, but put the wrong name the ticket. As Megan was helping try to rectify the situation, they were told that the new ticket had been booked and with a few minutes until the doors closed on the plane, they both got on. As we landed, Megan got a text about his flight to Georgetown with a departure almost three hours before we were to leave. She knew something was fishy and saw that the agent had booked him to Georgetown, Bermuda rather than Guyana. That problem led to several hours on hold with the airlines as well as several hours in line at the American Airlines service desk to rectify the issue. Finally, he got a ticket but it was standby. This team member was a minor so we would never leave him in Miami so Steve waited behind so if he didn’t get on, could give him his seat and stay behind until the next day. Praise God, after a very stressful day, both had a seat and were the last two to board. We were on our way. What Satan meant for harm, God used for good…..The seat that our team member had to give up on the first flight was occupied by a man who had lots of spiritual questions and two of our team members were able to talk to him and share answers and suggested websites and Bible passages. Who knows what God will do as a result.

Our prison time was not as we expected either. Missions = Flexibility. Because of the weekend being a holiday in Guyana, there was more food than usual and it took the prisoners longer to be served and to eat so we waited outside the prison for over an hour and didn’t have time to complete our work so they allowed us to come back and have an afternoon session. That happened Monday and Tuesday which gave us a lot more time to talk with the prisoners. 

We had a new group of prisoners in each service. The worship time was wonderful! Megan and Charlene are very gifted and led us into a time of close communion with God. The prisoners were singing and clapping and worshipping. Then Tony preached very powerful sermons that made it very clear to the men how they can have a new life in Christ, forgiven of their sins and spiritually free even though they are incarcerated. At one of the sermon slots, Jai felt led to step in and give his testimony rather than have Tony preach. At that very service, there was a young man who could identify very closely with what had happened to Jai as a Hindu when he was being troubled by a demon. The troubled young man found help and understood how to accept Jesus so he could have power over that troubling demon. 

As we washed the feet of each man, we were amazingly encouraged by how many of them said that they had already accepted Jesus as their Savior in previous years as we had been in other prisons where they had been. Since then, they had been studying their Bibles and attending services and were enjoying their life as Christians. 

Seventy-eight men prayed to receive Christ for the first time, either in the service or as we talked to them one on one. Fifty-six of them decided to be baptized which we did at the end of each session. In a second prison, 12 more men wanted to be baptized but there was not enough water and our Guyanese team will do that later. 

One hundred and twenty men asked to receive Kristi’s Bible study which goes into depth how to grow as a Christian and how to mature in faith. By the end of the week several men had gathered friends and already started leading this study in their quarters. 

One man walked up to the Officer in Charge (Warden) and handed him a homemade weapon. He said that he wouldn’t be needing it as he had gotten a Bible and now was changed. One other man was thrilled to get not only his flip flops and toothbrush and tooth paste but his new Bible. He said several years ago, he had been with us and prayed to accept Jesus and started reading his Bible. He knew his family didn’t know the truth of the Gospel of Jesus and sent his Bible to them. His whole family had received Jesus as Savior. Now he had his own Bible to continue reading and studying. 

There were many more stories but I will stop there. Our team became a family with each other and with our Guyanese team. What a blessing to have that Body of Believers to serve with. Again, thank you for praying and please continue to lift up these new brothers in Christ as they learn and grow. Starting next week, our Guyanese team will resume their weekly services which had been canceled during Covid. They will serve there three weeks and off one week as they travel to the remote villages.

Thank you for being a part of our ministry in Guyana through Prayer and Giving.

Beth